I’ve always proudly boasted that the heat doesn’t bother me. In fact I always said that I prefer to run in the heat more than I do the cold. Well, I used to anyway. I don’t know if it’s because I’m 40 now or if it’s the 5 extra pounds I’m carrying but the heat is getting to me. I can’t remember ever sweating as much as I have in the past weeks. Is it just me or what?

In an effort to consolidate time, Paul and I decided to use the time that Blake & Cam were in swim class at Crawfish Aquatics to get our week day runs in. Unfortunately, their class is from 5:15-6:15 in the afternoon. Do I need to tell anyone how freaking hot it is running around the Jimmy Swaggert complex at that time of the day?! I can’t speak for Paul but the most mileage I can manage is 3miles at that time of the day. This past week, Paul wasn’t able to come one afternoon so I had to run it myself. I decided it would be a good time to just concentrate on hill work (I’m not comfortable running across the street in those parking lots without Paul). So, I jogged over to the ramp that goes over Bluebonnet and I just sprinted up and down the rap about 10 times. What was I thinking?! I had sweat dripping in my eyes, my lungs were clogged with hot air and my legs were numb by the time I was done. I tried to block out the fact that Bluebonnet motorists could see me and if I fell, everyone would get a show. I did have some young men in maroon truck yelling at me. I’m not sure if they were praising my efforts or suggesting I covered up my mid-drift and go home. I chose to believe it was praise, which was just littlt boost I needed to keep going. It was a good work-out and I’ll probably do it again this week.

We decided to get our long run done on Saturday morning and we wisely agreed to get up at 6:00 in the morning to get an early start. It was a little cooler and I thought I would be able to see the sun rise while enjoying an early morning run. Wrong! The sun didn’t just rise, it exploded into the sky and radiated heat, even at 6:30 in the morning. My thoughts drifted off again, I guess my brain knows that need that I need that mental diversion to complete my task, and I thought about how Paul and I both lost adult extended family members to cancer in the last two weeks. It’s hard to see an adult battle cancer even when they’re older and have lived long happy lives and had many wonderful experiences. I can’t imagine a child going through that when they haven’t had a chance to experience all the good that life has to offer. And I certainly can’t imagine watching a child go through that. That made the heat I was dealing with seem small in comparison.

I am Flash and I am running on faith that I will lose at least 10 pounds while training for this event, I am running on faith that I can complete the full 26 miles of this marathon and most importantly, I am running on faith that I will be able to raise the money that I said I could raise for St Jude Hospital. Please help me, I can get the training miles in on my own but I can’t raise the money by myself.

Thanks.