Desert Teen Surprise

Mileage
Today: 16
Present: 91
Count: 13

Its the little things that make your timeshare vacation special. Like the watered down dish soap and sign the bathroom telling you exactly how much you'll be charged if you lift the towels ($10 each). And the elderly couple sauntering by outside, he spedo-clad, she OK with it.

The flip side is that you get all the comforts of home without the burden of being there. It's usually warmer, too. In this case, perhaps too warm.

I set off this morning, earlier to miss the heat. I figured a 7am departure should do it. But I didn't expect to run 16 miles, a sweltering meander along the Palm Springs bike path system. I just kept going. Long blocks blew by, the oasis waking to a warm May morning.

90 minutes always clicks. Sometimes, eerily so. I hit it with five miles left, already over the heat and the thermometer rising.I told myself that these five are all that matter. That the first 11 were easy, that I came to the desert to train, not jog.

I ran through sprinklers, refilled at fountains serving water up lukewarm. It tasted amazing. I really faded in the last mile. In my mind I was already done. I had already sunk into the pool, enveloped in cool. I was on my second glass of ice cold lemonade. Those images kill. The closest you can get while you're out there is to stop. And stopping is the only thing that will ensure they never come true.

http://app.strava.com/activities/56777760