Tolerating heat...and drinks
Yesterday Zack and I went out to run together at noon (95 degrees) - this time not on the trails, but the 7 mile Scenic loop and the 4.2 mile loop at Town Lake.
The first 7 miles were good; though we were on the road it didn't really feel like 95 degrees- there was enough shade and some good breezes. The only problem was the water in my handheld warmed up and all I could think about for the last few miles of the loop was COLD WATER. Sipping warm water while running in the heat is just gross. One way I cool myself down on hot runs is to pour some of my water on my neck down my back as I am running. I did this yesterday and it was about as refreshing as a warm bath. Blech.
Cool thing on the scenic loop- we got the thumbs up from a girl driving through the neighborhood.
We made it back to the cold water jugs at Town Lake, cooled off a bit, then started the loop on the trail. About a mile into it I started to feel tired and my legs felt heavy, like I had run 18 miles instead of 8. I'm not sure if it was the heat or the fact that my pace was faster because I was running with Zack. There were patches on the trail that felt like we were running through an oven, and the breeze was now missing.... I had to walk some of it because I really didn't have the energy. So much for my heat running skills.
After the run Zack and I headed over to Taco Cabana to get a margarita and some queso- my favorite post-run snacks. Well, actually queso* is my favorite anytime snack- if queso didn't exist I would be 10 lbs lighter... And what could be more perfect than a cold icy margarita after a run in the 95 degree heat? Anyway, at Taco Cabana I got a strawberry margarita and Zack got a regular one and some queso and chips and sat outside on the patio so that we didn't stink up the place (that's why we go there and not to one of the nearby Mexican restaurants). I took a few sips of my margarita and it just didn't taste right. I did not taste like strawberry and actually tasted more like cough medicine or some sort of paint remover. I asked Zack to take a sip and he said "Jennifer that tastes like straight tequila". I was a bit out of it from the run and I just figured that my taste buds were a bit "off". So I returned the drink and asked for a regular one (Zack's regular one was good). Very un-hardcore of me, I'm sad to say. Another time in my life it would have been a major score but we had to go pick Marcel up from Saturday-care and I didn't want to make an ass of myself. Or pass out for the rest of the day...
Despite my whiny last few miles, the run was good- the Scenic loop is always beautiful and challenging. And after we picked up Marcel from school we headed over to see "Cars"- I'm not a big animated movie fan- but Cars was entertaining and I really liked the "message" of the movie...
*Favorite Austin queso joints:
- Texican Cafe- Chili con Queso Maya - and not to mention the yummy, strong margaritas (but not too strong of course)
- Baby Acapulco 's- Queso Compuesto- my coworker got me addicted to the queso and the Baby A's soup...
- Kerbey Lane - Kerbey Queso
- And you cant beat the "Fully Loaded Nacho Car" at Chuy's for Happy Hour!
