After my long run last Sunday, a week and a couple days ago, I sat down on a bench to take off my sneaks and socks.  I wrung out my socks, and about a cup of water hit the steamy sidewalk.  The last week has been extraordinarily hot and humid, and when we finish a run of any length, we are as wet with sweat as if we had stood in the shower with our running clothes on.  The Body Glide doesn’t protect much, and you get cuts and abrasions from the material of your shorts at your waistline and other areas.  But something else has been going on, acclimation.  I think summer running has its challenges, but once you accept that you can’t go as fast as in cooler weather, and that you need to drink enormous volumes of water to stay hydrated, it gets fun and rewarding.  Last Saturday, Brandon and I ran a 7 miler with passing rain showers, and the rain was cool, not cold.  It felt good, and we didn’t get any wetter than if we had no rain.

This was a long week, miles-wise for me, totalling over 44.  My plan for getting in longer runs early in the training seems to be working.  I’m concentrating on slower long runs, even pacing, and  conditioning of the legs for endurance.

It wasn’t a particularly interesting week for wildlife.  We saw the common animals hanging out, geese by the flock, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, and the dead raccoon on Coles Mill.  No fox or turtle this week.

There is news on the beer front.  Saturday, I bottled my Königesz-Hefeweizen, a simple German wheat beer made with Canadian wheat and German barley malt, Tettnanger hops, Bavarian yeast, and South Jersey tapwater.  An early taste test showed great promise, and the brew is a light amber with good clarity.  We need to wait about four weeks to start drinking it.

The heat will continue this week, although the weekend may be a bit milder.  We have plans Sunday for a Manayunk-Forbidden Drive loop, a fourteen mile run with a big hill in the middle.  It should be good.

Frank