Sunday, August 02, 2009

Hot Week in the PNW

Holey-moley - has it been hot here this week! We topped out the other day at 103, and have had several days in the 90s. For a girl who thinks 80 is about as hot as it should ever get, this has been way too much! We don't have air conditioning here at home - on the day we broke 100, we broke 90 inside the house. It's finally bearable again - still hitting the low 90s, but the big difference is it's cooling down at night. When the temp was 70 at 6 am, our house would hang around the mid-80s. Yuck. Considering I've been told to stay out of hot tubs and saunas, having the house so hot was not a good thing - I could feel it in my chest all week. We spent one evening hanging out at the neighbors - they have air conditioning and they invited several neighbors over for tacos and coolness. One day I worked at the college (advising) from 12:30 -4:30, then stayed in the lounge an extra hour reading just to enjoy the cool temps. I picked Eric up at home and we went to Taco Time - again for the ac - and followed that by hanging with the run club at Starbucks. An extended ac day!

So, what did all that mean for me and running? I got up and out earlier, and still struggled through five miles on Tuesday. On Wednesday I ran 3.5, walking the last half mile. I skipped Thursday. Friday, Jenny, Steve, Rob, Eric and I headed back up to the White River course to run in the woods. Eric and I went up to Ranger Creek and the first look out the back way, the others did the traditional loop. We met at the lookout and came back down together. It was cool and beautiful and fun. I also had my first soak in the White River - so cold it made my feet ache (it's glacial runoff). I finished the week with 35 miles - not bad considering the heat. I managed that because I had run 9.5 on Sunday before it got hot, then the 12 miles at WR. I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of our run.


The trail ahead.


Climbing.


Eric and I and Mt. Rainier, photo by Jenny


Jenny and Mt. Rainier


Steve and Rob, photo by Jenny

Here's hoping for cooler days this week!

11 comments:

lizzie lee said...

Astonishing views...

Indeed it has been hot. The 100+ day was terrible. I didn't know what to do.. Fortunately, our basement is really cool and it seemed it had A/C, but I needed to do stuff upstairs... My husband decided to sleep downstairs that week. He really can't stand the heat. Anyway, happy to get the temperatures dropping!!!

Anne said...

I kept hearing about the heat in the PNW and wondered how you were faring. Beautiful shots, by the way.

Sarah said...

Glad you found ways to beat the heat!

Wes said...

I read about the crazy heat and was concerned about you. I figured you and Eric were a very resourceful bunch. Given your history and all (of kicking bootay) :-) Stay cool!

Darrell said...

Anything over about 95 is too darn hot.

You could always take a trip to San Fran, its always cool there.

Unknown said...

I'm ready for some cooler temps this week. Mostly to keep things cool inside the house. It was great to finally get you up to Ranger Creek even if you went the "wrong" way :)

Thomas said...

Using their A/C is a novel excuse to go out. I admit I haven't thought of that one before. Sadly it won't work for me in Ireland, though.

Joe said...

Hot, indeed. Son Nathan in Portland has reported same issues... what a "downer" for all.

Great pix from the heights... jealous of your scenery!

Sunshine said...

The pictures look so serene and cool and peaceful.
But we certainly have been hearing about your amazing heat.

Scott McMurtrey said...

We finally had some rain to cool things down over here. It's been nice. :)

Anonymous said...

Oh boy was it hot!?! What a crazy time in the PNW, huh? I'm impressed that you got a decent amount of mileage in. My week wasn't so good - I think I squeaked out 15. Sorry you didn't have A/C. That would've been miserable! Glad you survived. (Now this weather seems quite chilly - doesn't it?)