Running thru July!

It's July? What? When did that happen and where has this year gone? I feel like it was just March a few weeks ago. I've been a busy bee with my new consulting gig, a full-time corporate marketing job and 2 summer grad school classes. My days start at 6 and end at 9:45 when I get home and crawl into bed. This will all be worth it in the end... that's my mantra right now anyway.

I don't have to tell anyone that July is HOT, but it's especially hot in the South and even more so than normal with that extreme heat wave we just had. My family in Virginia was without power for a few days and in 100+ degree temps. So completely miserable. Luckily, North Carolina missed the storm part of the heat wave, but we got all of the heat, including 3 days of 103 degrees. I tried running at 7 am and 7 pm and both were equally as hot and miserable.

I've shared my hatred for treadmills in the past, but I did have to use one last Friday when the heatwave began. It was too sticky in the afternoon to go for a run and I was babysitting the most adorable 1-month old nephew in the evening so I sucked it up and busted out a 5k in 24:31 on the machine. Unfortunately, this did not prepare me at all for my 4-miler on the 4th.

It was a "new" course according to Run For Your Life, but I've done parts of it in other 5ks and 8ks. There aren't a lot of hills, but they ones that are on the course are long hills, quad-killing hills. It was not my best time for a 4-miler, still under 10 minute miles and I said beforehand that I wasn't "racing" but using the run as my workout for the day. It was still disappointing that it was 4 minutes slower than my last 4 miler. Even though it started at 7:30, I was still a sweaty, sticky mess at the end. July races are not going to be my forte.

Planning for our August 5k, looks like it might be the NC Rock & Run at the Music Factory. Would be my first time for this race. Anyone done this before?