Dog days and dogs that don’t like them

September is upon us and there have been intermitting nights of cool that leave us with a brisk morning apt for running. It’ll trick you though and if you wait too long you find out that summer is still here and a brisk morning is just that- brisk. The temperature still hasn’t really broke to the point that marathon training is permissible and we continue to fight with the heat. I am ever thankful that the Rock N Roll chose Savannah, and with 23,000 people registered I know it is good for the community, but damn, really? have you ever ran in Savannah in the Summer?



We have reached the point in our training where we are at 18 and 20 miles on our long runs. It really doesn’t seem that far after this long but I never fantasized about licking a salt block before. Most of the miles are spent thinking about current trends, a lot about what to eat for dinner, and a little about how bad my legs and muscles feel. I wonder how far the people who designed bike lanes in Savannah think runners and cyclists go? The bike lanes come and go with no connectivity what so ever and are obscured in places to the point where I have to wonder does the 10 years of debris buildup signal that I might get ran over as well? Don't worry, you will get your chance to have these thoughts as well. This is around mile 15 of the Marathon route






So the dog days of summer drag on, I can always chart the temperature by the dogs. As soon as the temperature drops they will be feisty as ever and tearing around the yard. But for now, they are still in lackadaisical southern summer mode where the muse to move has not yet visited.

Luckily, the fall garden is jumping (even in the drought of 2011) and the fall squash, summer okra, jalapeño and cayenne peppers are blooming. I have papaya going, fall basil, Echinacea, brussel sprouts, lettuce, collard greens, and red onions popping like crazy.

So maybe it sucks to run in the summer here but the gardening is year round! Can’t wait to see what is in season come time for the pre-marathon dinner!

OKRA Flower!!!

Bike Lane?????

Even in September I have had two stroke outs, the days when the sun burns you to a crisp and you don’t know what happened until after two days of rehydrating. I really envy the runners who don’t have to subject themselves to this but I really respect the rest of us who do! I wrote about this earlier but it really takes a certain sort of personality to brave the elements, whatever they may be. I have an aversion to running in the snow but not in 100 degree weather. I couldn’t imagine (although I long for the chance to) running a mile high in altitude in Denver. There really is a mind set of perseverance and persistence that transcends runners.