Saturday's run 3.75 miles, 45:21

Saturday's run
3.75 miles, 45:21 = 12:06/mile
Avg heart rate = 187
Max heart rate = 200

Saturday morning I woke up around 9:30 to the sound of drizzle on my window and overcast skies. By 11:00, the rain had stopped by my view was still overcast and my thermometer was reading about 79 degrees, so I decided to try an outdoor run for the first time since I was home in Charlotte.

I walked out the door to see that the skies in the opposite direction were clearing and the sun was coming out. It wasn't quite as "cool" out as I'd been expecting, but by this point I was committed and ready, so I pressed on.

I started jogging, and the farther I went, the more the sun started shining and the hotter it got and the more the humidity rose. UGH. I made it 20 minutes without stopping, but then needed a quick 1-minute walk break. After that, I managed to run for another 10 minutes before stopping for a walk again, 2 minutes this time. This was the point, almost 3 miles in, that the heat, humidity, and my low level of running fitness combined to make my run completely fall apart.

It took me 15 minutes to shuffle, walk, pant and gasp the final mile home. It was tortuous. It was awful. It was miserable. I've never been able to so vividly pinpoint the point at which I maxed out my anaerobic threshold and just couldn't go any farther. But I'm glad I did the run outside, and if nothing else it was good "preparation" for the humid torture of the Lunar Rendezvous Run 5K this Saturday.

(The Lunar Rendezvous Run is a mini-tradition for me; it was the first race I ran in Houston, two days after moving here, and this will be my 4th year in a row.)