No Walk Breaks Today

Temperature: 83 degrees; splits 9:04; 8:51; 8:59; 9:38; 8:55; 45:27 total for 5 miles; 9:05 per mile pace.

I'm still kicking myself because I didn't bring my running attire to Atlantic City. As my wife and I walked along the Boardwalk yesterday, I watched several runners go by, looking like they were having a good time. It definitely would have been an enjoyable run for me, with the ocean nearby and all the sights and sounds of the Boardwalk. My wife even commented that she was surprised I didn't plan on running while we were there. Well, live and learn. Next time I go away, I'll pack my running gear.
Yesterday's mail contained an entry form for a 5 mile race on Father's Day (June 21). The race is one that I ran in 2 years ago. There's 1450 runners, the course goes along the shoreline, it has plenty of water stations, there's digital clocks every mile, and there's 3 bands along the course. Plus the post race food isn't bad either. I have 2 months to prepare for it, meaning running 5 miles without stopping and walking. So, today being a ridiculously warm 83 degrees, and me haven't run since Wednesday, I decided to challenge myself and see if I could suck it up and run 5 miles without taking walk breaks. The first 2 miles were easy, the third mile wasn't bad, and at mile 3.4 I stopped for a well deserved and much needed drink from a water fountain. At that point I was feeling like I might not make the 5 miles. I not only drank a lot of water, but I immersed my face in the water as well. I was regretting not wearing my running belt that holds water bottles. As I resumed my run, it felt like steam was going to blow out my ears. I wanted to quit so bad, and blame it on the heat. I reached mile 4, and looked ahead at what seemed like an endless mile. It was now a psychological battle, with me reminding myself that my time didn't matter, and that I just needed to keep running, no matter how slowly. Plus I knew that there was an ice cold Powerade waiting for me in a cooler in my car. I wasn't going to allow myself to drink it if I quit running. I somehow finished with the second fastest split time of my run, jumped into my car, turned on the air conditioning, and chugged my reward. So much for a proper post race cooldown! Overall, I can't complain. Other than a 30 second break to drink water and assure I didn't drop dead, I accomplished my goal. Tomorrow it's supposed to be near 90 degrees. Tomorrow will definitely be a run-walk-run day. Tomorrow I will wear my "tool belt" (as my kids call it) and make sure I have plenty of water with me.