To Sweat or Not to Sweat

To sweat, or not to sweat, that is the question.....

One of the odd things about the spring is then while it it is still cooler outside outside, which is a good thing in my mind, it stays exactly the same temperature at the gym. A sweltering, 100% humidly experience is the norm anytime I hit the treadmill. This is pretty much what my experiance at the gym looks like (minus the funny hat):

When you are used to running outside in a cool 40 or 50 degrees, the abrupt reintroduction of this thing called heat can be overwhelming to the system. Usually while outside, I do not even feel loose or start to sweat until about 3/4 of a mile into a run. At the gym, I am sweating practically the second I get there. At my gym, the best treadmills are on a lofted area, so I get even more sweaty going up the stairs. By the time I step on the treadmill, I look like I already have several miles under my belt.

This of course has its pluses and minuses. On the plus side, I warm up faster, and I look like a champion before even firing up the treadmill. On the downside, I need a lot more fluids, and sweat dripping into your eyes just sucks. i refuse to be totally cool and throw on a headband, I know, my fault on the sweat in the eyes thing.

So what about you, do you enjoy sweating a little, or do you prefer to stay high and dry on your workouts?

Boston

I will never get to run the Boston Marathon. I know it is hard to believe, but alas, this linebacker of a runner never going to hit the times necessary to tackle Heartbreak Hill. Most runners will never run Boston, we are the masses of 10K and half marathon runners that plod along, excited to break 10 minutes a mile during the 4th mile of our 10k.

Still, I know Boston. All runners know Boston. Every race that I, and many others have run is Boston, the same triumphs, the same disappointments. I have run Boston, we all have run Boston. The time that I somehow managed to run my first half marathon without walking, that was Boston to me. The time that I cried while trudging up a 200ft incline over just .1 of mile 8 during a half marathon last year, that was Boston to me. The time I ran with a friend during his first half, after he recovered from a broken hip, ribs and leg, that was Boston to me. The faces, both of anguish and jubilation that you see in the paper following every Boston Marathon, are the same faces I have worn, and seen during my time running.

I say this not to minimize the accomplishment of qualifying for the Boston Marathon or the tragedy today, but to say that I feel the anguish and pain of the running community tonight. I feel it because although I was not there today, I have been there many times before. To have the amazing glory that is a race finish sullied in such a way is inconceivable. This is the moment of triumph and pain, sometimes all rolled together, and it was stolen from those people today. They deserve better.

This is the Facebook post I wrote just after I heard the news: 
"So sad about Boston. What should be the crowning achievement in a running career, turned into horror. What pursuit is more noble and pure then a human being running? Why would someone want to destroy that? I hope runners all over the United States do not give into fear, I for one will not be. See you at the starting line."

So pray for Boston. Pray that we catch the people who did this, but most of all, keep running. Keep showing up to that local 5K, or make plans to run that big city marathon have always wanted to try. We, as a running community are strongest when we band together, put one foot in front of the other and all support each other. I am proud to be a runner, ever more so after today. I am sure i will be proud of the way the running community handles this tragedy. See you at the starting line.