Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Another Milestone!

No pun intended!  Somehow, by the grace of God, I managed to run 7 miles this morning to bring me to 500 miles run on my transcontinental journey!  I woke up at 4.00 am when Kevin left for the airport so I got an earlier start and, since the kids didn't have school, I could run a little longer than usual.  

This is my view at mile 500.0, about 5.5 miles away from Hayers Gap, VA in Washington County.
The photo below shows my progress to date through Virginia.
I have 237.7 miles left to run before I cross my first state line into Kentucky!  I would like to accomplish that before we leave Thailand for the summer but I can't promise anything.  It has been horribly hot and humid here and I am taking it one day at a time as far as what distance I run.  Right now, it is 97 degrees with a "feels like" temperature of 104.  This is our forecast for the rest of the week & the weekend:  

Bangkok, Thailand Weather

Updated: Apr 18, 2012, 2:30pm Local Time

RefreshUPDATE DATA
TonightApr 18Thu19Fri20Sat21Sun22
Mostly CloudyScattered T-StormsScattered T-StormsAM T-StormsScattered T-Storms
Mostly CloudyScattered T-StormsScattered T-StormsAM T-StormsScattered T-Storms
--High95°High95°High95°High93°High
82°Low83°Low82°Low82°Low82°Low
Chance of Rain:
20%
Chance of Rain:
50%
Chance of Rain:
60%
Chance of Rain:
40%
Chance of Rain:
60%

I cannot believe that I have been able to continue running outside in this weather. Every morning it is such a struggle for me to get out there and run.  I can't stand running on a treadmill so I either have to tough it out or not run.  I thought I had reached my limits of tolerating the heat and humidity while we were in Miami but that was nothing compared to this.  Much to their dismay, I stopped running with the dogs a few weeks ago because I noticed Simpson was taking a long time to stop panting and I don't want to make him sick.  I walk the dogs first and try to ignore their pleading eyes when I leave to run.  I drink a glass of Gatorade before I start out and leave 32 ounces of it at the house so I can loop by during my run and rehydrate.  It makes all of the difference in how I feel and, by the end of my run, that cup is always empty!  

About two weeks ago, for the first time ever in the almost 25 years that I have been running, I began to listen to my iPod while running.  I needed something to distract my thoughts from how miserable I felt and the iPod has worked like a charm.  The first week I used it, I ran 30 miles and the second week, I ran 28.  I get lost in the music, forget about how hot it is and just run.  Ha!  I make it sound so easy!  

I probably have the most eclectic playlist...
Cold Play
Sean Kingston
Toby Keith
Elvis Costello
Justin Bieber
Flo Rida
Usher
Pitbull
Beyonce
Shakira
Billy Currington
Bruce Springsteen
Enrique Iglesias
Jason Aldean
John Hiatt
LMFAO
Neil Diamond 
Michael Jackson
Rascal Flatts
Sara Bareilles
Soul Asylum
Tim McGraw
Tom Petty

Definitely an interesting mix but it gets me through a run!

Have a great Wednesday!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love reading your blog!

My girls and I will be moving to Nichada, me in May, them following at the end of July. Reading your blog has made it feel like we know it a little already.

Quick question, can we paint the walls of our houses? It looks like you did.

Amy

Kristen said...

I am so happy to hear you enjoy my blog! Yes, you can paint - if you are leasing directly from an owner, the lease will most likely contain a clause that you re-paint to the original color when you leave - this can be negotiated out though so it might be worth your effort. We are in US Gov't provided housing and need to re-paint when we leave. Let me know if you have any other questions!