Yesterday, I knew I needed to get out before the heat got too bad, and I had a virtual race burning a hole in my pocket.  This race was supposed to be run today, but I had a “live” race that I’d signed up for, so this Father’s Day race got an early slot on my calendar.

Da Lou has been sweltering awful for the last week.  I thought if I got out early in the day, I’d beat the heat.  Unfortunately, my plans didn’t quite go like that, and it was closer to lunch before I headed out.  As you can see in the image of the race course, it was 84°, which is still in the melt me into a puddle range for me.

I got going on this new course that I’ve discovered.  It’s all sidewalks, with no major road crossings, and is pleasant enough, even with the heat, due to a pretty fair number of trees around.  That’s probably the only thing that kept me from deteriorating into a puddle o’ goo.

And then there was the lemonade.

Wren Trail, which is the big east-wester on my course, has a bunch little neighborhoods that back up to it, and on one of those, there were some kinds with a lemonade stand.  Brilliant!  Hot day, captive audience on the trail, and some ingenuity.  I bought my cup for 50¢ (along with a little tip — I don’t carry change when I run), and guzzled it down.  It wasn’t the tangiest lemonade I’d ever had, but it was there, and so was I… a match made in heaven!

There’s not much to talk about typically for these virtual events, but in this case, the key takeaway is that kids really should be manning lemonade stands during the summer on running routes.  It makes the run so much nicer!!!

This event benefitted the National Park Service.

Race Course