I Need a Pool

Yesterday, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting up with thatguywiththebeard (aka Greg - yes, yet another "Greg' in my life - I'm up to 4 now) for a less-than-pleasurable run. Not because of the company, mind you, but because of the searing heat and humidity that we experienced during our five mile slog in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

My cousins rented a beach house for a week and invited me to come on down, so I took off work yesterday and reached out to Greg, knowing that he lives in the VA Beach area. I've been a follower of his blog for a while and didn't want to miss the chance to get to meet up "in real life." Luckily, we were able to plan an afternoon run.

I felt especially priviledged to get the opportunity to run with Greg, who usually prefers to go it alone. To be fair, he probably had no idea what he was getting himself into when he agreed to meet me for a 5 miler. I'm a pretty big chatterbox when I'm out for a run, which is odd because in the other arenas of my life I am decidedly a silent type. If he had known about my non-stop talking habit, he might have opted to remain elusive. But he took me in stride (sorry, couldn't help it) and despite the incredibly hot and muggy weather, we had a good time. As many-a-runner has said countless times before me, you never regret a run.

It felt worse than it looks, I promise.

I'm sure we made quite a sight as we chugged along the two lane beach road - super tall, lanky Greg and super short Kathryn - both dripping with sweat and red faced (at least I know I was red faced). Two people who, if I had passed by them, would've certainly made me think to myself, "Man, runners are crazy."

But I guess part of the fun of running is meeting other people who are just as "crazy" as you are.

During the last mile and a half or so, even I wasn't chatting anymore. You know it's a hard run when I shut up. After what seemed like an eternity, the beach house came into view. I said, "I don't know about you, but I'm jumping directly into the pool."

Which is exactly what I did (after removing my Garmin, shoes, and socks). It was far and away the best post-run activity I've ever engaged in. I felt like complete sh*t as I approached the pool but as soon as I hit the water, I felt 100% fine. I wish all of my runs ended with a plunge into a pool.

I think Greg agreed.