Hot, Humid and Tired

  Saturdays long run with rogue was a 12 mile adventure through central Austin with very high humidity. High humidity is a good training tool since the more water molecules in the air means less oxygen molecules. This in turn means is harder to breathe which makes your body more efficient in taking in air and energy utilization. It also makes you slimy sweaty with squishy shoes. You can always hear me coming after a run like that by the squish squish squish sound my shoes make. It is kind of gross actually and a very hard run for me. One reason is the lack of sleep. I probably only got in a good three and a half hours the night before. I did not have time for breakfast before the run and I ran with Steven, Kelly, and Spencer who are all faster runners than I am. Running with people faster than you is good because it just makes you run faster than you would have on your own.
  The run totally wiped me out and afterwords I took Oskar to Barking Springs for a chilly dip in the water to help save my legs for Sundays bike ride. Barking Springs just might be his favorite place to play. I like it because we both can get in the water at the same time. We came up with a new game where I would stand in the waist deep water and he would swim to me. Then I pick him him up, turn him around and throw him about 5 or 6 feet away. His head never went under water and he kept swimming back so I can only assume he liked it. The cold water is great on your legs after a hard workout because it cuts down on the inflammation and speeds recovery time. This is crucial when you are training so you can get the most out of your next workouts. It is also essential for your soul after a tough run and the cold healing waters of Barking (Barton) Springs does the trick. Oskar feels it is essential for my sanity as well since he gets to play like crazy chasing skipping stones and splashing around like some sort of wild animal.