The skeeters are coming!! The skeeters are coming!!

Well I got up and took Riley on his 1 1/2 mile walk this morning and then had enough time for a mile run.  I figure a mile is better than nothing.  So I dropped Riley off at home and headed back around the loop.  I think Riley is liking the new routine of long walks.  I always worry about the long walks in the summer..I don't want to give him heat stroke, but he seems to be fine with it so far.  It helps that it has not been as hot as in past summers.  Last year I think we had 100 degree weather for most of July..this year only upper 90's.  Ah I can feel the cool in the air!

After summer school I came home and took a nap.  Those kids wear me out.  This evening I decided to try a new place for a walk...Government Island.

I have lived here for ten years and I have never heard of this place.  A neighbor told me about it.  She walks her dog there all of the time.  I guess that George Washington had some of the stone from the quarry here in Stafford sent up to make parts of the white house and the capital. Government Island is an historic 18th and 19th century quarry site that provided Aquia sandstone for the construction of the White House and the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Government Island was purchased by Pierre L'Enfant on behalf of the federal government in 1791 to provide stone to build the nation's new capital city - Washington, D.C. The Island was first known as "Public Quarry", as it was owned by the federal government to build public buildings.
Who knew?!  Well we decided to walk it.  It has a nice paved path and a long wooden boardwalk over the marsh and then some wooded paths.  It was a nice shaded walk.  Riley loved it!

I came home drank some water and headed back out the door for what I was hoping would be a five mile run.  It was hot and soupy outside.  I thought I was doing pretty well considering that my weather.com app said the feels like temp was 100.  I think it probably was wrong because it said that the actual temp was 89 feels like 104...although maybe it was right who knows.  I waited until 8:20 to run. I was running the loop and getting bit by some skeeters.  If you know me, you know I don't normally get bit.  I guess they liked my sweaty self.

I couldn't take it anymore so I stopped at 3 miles.  I really do need to start running more in the morning.  Less soupy air and less skeeters.

 

 three miles of sweaty  mess...

Beautiful day for a run

What a beautiful day in the neighborhood!  I did 1 mile in the gym (with a migraine, so that ended the running pretty quickly) and then later in the day another 3 miles outside.  I am so glad I had a migraine this morning, because that afternoon run in the sun was so nice.  I have forgotten what it feels like to have sun pour down on you while you run.  I was running in a light long sleeve running shirt and could have easily ran in a tee shirt.  The guy I kept passing on as we ran opposite on the loop had shorts and a tee on, and if he could run in that outfit I am sure I could have run in shorts and a tee too!  That's how nice it was!  Hard to believe that it is mid February and I am running without multiple layers on.  And I took Riley on the last mile around the loop.  Oh he loved it.  However I guess I wasn't running fast enough for him, because he kept pulling me around the loop. 

I hope this is a  good sign for my 9am Love the Run you're with 5k.  I think if my friend Megan and I run it next year, we need to find some nice pink or red tutu's to run it in :)