Living in the south is a different experience. The accent is different, the food is different, the socially acceptable traffic violations are different, and the way you address people is different. (Everyone is babe or sweetie. i.e. "What are you ordering sweetie?" "You want fries with that babe?")
One thing that I didn't expect to be different was my workout schedule. Back in Utah, running in the summer meant waking up around 7 to get in a run before it got too hot. However, in New Orleans there are only 2 temperatures. Hotter and Hottest. It's hotter when the sun is down and hottest when it's up. (I'm not even exaggerating. Hotter is defined at 87 F with the humidity index making it feel somewhere around 95 F. Hottest is 100 F with the humidity index making it feel somewhere around 108 F.) Since I'm training for 1/2 marathon, I'm running long distances which makes for 1+ hour runs. This causes a problem since the sun is up at 5:45 and as mentioned earlier, it is hottest when the sun is up. I've solved this problem by changing when I'm awake and when I'm asleep.
Let me break it down. I wake up at 3:35am. No joke. 3:35am. I quickly dress and drive to my friend Kristel's house. Ryan (a girl), the other member of the crazy running group, shows up too.
We set out at 4am on our run. We run 1 mile to the park and then do as many laps as necessary to add up to our desired distance. You might think it would be cool out and that we would need long sleeves or maybe a light jacket. You are dead wrong. It is so hot out that we stop every 2 miles to take a quick drink. (In New Orleans, the heat and humidity cause you to sweat so much that you can quickly become dehydrated and die. That's what Ryan said. She's a nurse.)
We finish our run around 5:30am. I put my beach towel over my car seat (at this point I'm completely soaked with sweat) and head home. Once I'm home I walk or train Kita, eat some breakfast, take a shower, and go back to bed - usually around 7. I wake up again at around 10:30...sometimes later ;) I used to feel somewhat lazy about the fact that I slept in til 11:30 on some days. I then realized, however, that with Shane getting home late from work, we aren't in bed til midnight most days. This means I get 3.5 hours of sleep before I run and then 3.5+ hours after I run. That's 7 hours of sleep broken up by 3.5 hours of running and other important stuff.
I feel like a rockstar...or maybe I'm just crazy.
6 comments:
I think you're crazy. :)
You are my hero. I'm not kidding, I'm seriously amazed by your dedication. I don't think I could ever do that. Props, girl. I wish I was like you.
Definitely a Rockstar
I think you're flat out crazy!! I had dinner w/coly last night. She said you guys had a blast. I would be a horrible running partner though.
You had me laughing the whole time, Alyssa! I definitely believe you when you say it's hotter and hottest- that's exactly how it was in Thailand. But I have to say that I really miss the Thailand heat. Here in HB the weather is almost too perfect. It's always 70-75 degrees all year long. No bugs. No rain. No humidity. Usually we brag to people about it, but deep down, I would rather have all the heat, sweat, humidity and bugs. It's just more fun that way.
You are completely crazy...and amazing! I only wish I was that dedicated and motivated to run. Maybe you can rub off on me sometime.
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