You’d think I was raised in Texas the way I handled the heat Saturday.  Ran eleven miles (everyone else runs ten) in 99°.  No water.  Only sweated out five pounds.  My body has officially acclimated to summer running.  My pace was likely pretty slow but my form felt good.  Running slow in the sun shows the wisdom of someone who did in fact run thirteen years in Central Texas.  I know a thing or two about running.

I wasn’t good for much else the next couple of hours.  Went to see Star Trek later in the evening.  I was able to recover enough to go see a show at an air conditioned, reserved seat, beer-serving theater.  In between, I cocooned myself with a smoothie in an overstuffed chair, while my physical parts regenerated.  Not a bunch of obligations this weekend with Ellie in Austin visiting Grandparents.  Karen and I are empty nesters and are enjoying ourselves.  The photo is me at a brewpub before the movie.  Life is good.

About my run Saturday, being able to effectively handle the heat, actually feeling good running in it, is awesome feedback.  Not just that I’m in shape for the summer.  More that I’m at the point with both my conditioning and form that I can adapt to my environment and run well.  Coaches talk about sport being so much mental vs physical.  I feel there’s a similar comparison in running on form vs physical shape.  I’ll take form over conditioning.  The joy in running comes from good form.  It makes me feel athletic.  It just feels so good.  It’s what enables a runner to detach the mental from the physical.  Running takes real effort, until you reach the point where your legs are operating without thought.  For me, this generally takes about two miles.  Then motion becomes smooth.  Effortless.  Feels good.