Hot

Oh man was it hot. I sweat like crazy; that's a standard for me (damn the Florit genes). My clothes look like I just pulled them out of the wash (but unfortunately they don't smell like they came out of the wash...a side effect of my training is that I do laundry much more often, else my closet be unapproachable). Anyway, today was a good run besides the absurd heat.

I headed straight west, into the Mount Pleasant/Columbia Heights/Rock Creek Park area. It's so pretty, I can't believe that it actually counts as DC. Not because DC is not pretty, but because that area just seems so homie and almost suburban. Miami was so boring to run! In my head, it was always something like, "hey that house is the same as mine. Hey, that house is identical to the one next door. Hey...that's a gnat in my mouth/nose/ears/eyes...there's a person who won't smile or say hello to me because that would be weird." People are more aware of what a neighborhood and community is here.

The best part of my run: I was turning a corner and this cute Odie type dog was staring at the SUV to my left...the woman in the car hollered at the dog that she would be right back. The car turns the car and Odie chases her around the house. Too cute. The first 15 - 18 minutes of my run were very pleasant. I alternated between up and down hill streets (rather than my standard of running straight one way, and then straight back in the other direction). It takes a little more effort, simply because you can't tell exactly what's happening next, but I think ultimately it'll be better for my training and not over using the knees/feet/ankles when I've got no juice left. The hills do make my arms heavy though. I remember when I was running track in high school, one of the girls that ran distance with me (who by the way was a speed beast) was made to run with five pound weights in her hands in order to make her run with her wrists at hers hips. I can't imagine how frustrating that must have been. I think of her when I start to get tired and I find my hands at my chest.

The other positive about today: minimal pain! I'm trying to figure out how to balance not weighting the foot, or the braced knee...or the good knee. I guess that sounds like I'm hopping around on a half a foot or something, but it works. It's also helping me learn to step lightly and not stomp my feet with each step.

Today, I've got a few push ups and around 150 crunches to do. (I'm annoyed that I ever stopped my crunches. While I was up in Germantown, I was at like 300 crunches 3/4 times a week)! Shame on me. I still haven't gotten my yoga mat and I've highly neglected yoga at the climbing gym, which is dumb. My mom is pushing me to do it at the gym, which I ought to, but the issue is: now that I'm living in DC and not a bajillion miles away, I have a little more flexibility in transportation. So I typically climb on Monday and Wednesday, and I should do yoga at home Tuesday and at the gym on Thursday. I still have the jeep, which makes getting home from the gym 30 minutes faster...but then I deal with parking on the street late at night (when spots are limited) and then driving the car in the morning (which is a pain). I love having the jeep...I even more love leaving it parked at my office.

Tomorrow afternoon, some friends and I are heading to Carderock, MD to climb in the even hotter sun (almost 100 degrees apparently). Can't wait. Even though it's hot, and the rock will be hot, I want to be outside before summer really ends, and even more so, I want to get tan! (Sports bras and shorts are the required attire, according to the boss. I just wish the boys would follow the same attire!) We climbed at Carderock last weekend, and it was pretty challenging in that it's much more footsy than what I've climbed before, and the hand holds are pretty much absent. It was awesome.

Tonight is the half way to St. Patrick's Day Pub Crawl, and knowing that, my climbing friends have agreed to an afternoon climb rather than an 8 am climb. Thank you, thank you, thank you for allowing me to sleep in later.

On that note, I'm off to finish my work out..