This summer season has been brutal to Runners along the upper Eastern part of the U.S. Here in NYC it has been constant rain and humid conditions. Not sure about how the rest of the country has been faring, but if you reside anywhere in the Middle Atlantic states you have been in a constant battle with swamp-ass and moist nether regions.

No amount of baby powder or anti-chafing balm is gonna cure this! Believe me, as most dudes go, I apply so much baby powder I walk out of the bathroom looking like the I fell into a vat of flour. My gal also wants to strangle me as she can’t stand the layer of powder on everything in the bathroom.

Hey ladies, you want us to stay fresh and not smell like dirty ass, so be happy that at least we try! Now if only you all would stop harping on us about leaving the toilet seat up.,,,,

Even with the extended heat wave of 90 degree temps and oppressive humidity, I still took part in two more recent races over the past few weeks. The first was the NYRR R-U-N 5K in Central Park. This was a hot wet mess. The heat and humidity that evening was just stupid. I’m not the fastest runner. Heck, I’m just happy to compete and feel the elation of crossing the finish line.  I was all sweaty just waiting in my corral to start, so my race plan was to take this one slow and not have heat stroke along the way.

Although I stopped at every water station to hydrate and walk a bit to help cool down, along with taking a quick sprinkler shower here and there, I did a pretty decent 10 minute pace. I was absolutely drenched, and felt like my underwear had disintegrated along the course. There was no finishers medal, but the saving grace of this race were the ice pops they handed out as we crossed the finish line.  Helped me and many of the close to 5000  runners not pass out, as many were a bit light-headed at the end. Fun times!

The following weekend was the NYRR Manhattan 7 Miler. This one was on an early Sunday morning. It’s an unusual distance for a race and the first time they held one like this in years, so I had to give it a shot. Around 4500 other runners also jumped in. Yup, I bet you guessed it. The conditions were hot and steamy. I swear, it’s almost as if every race and training run I have done this summer has been in a sauna. It’s been the Turkish baths of racing season this year. The hot dripping sumo wrestler of runs. The Fat Bastard of Austin Powers racing adventures. Well, you get the idea.

Again, I decided to take my time and not overheat. Even the race organizers made announcements to the crowd to take it easy, and run a smart race considering the heat. Hey, no problem on my end. The first few miles I felt pretty good. By mile 5 though I hit a wall. A wall of heat? My legs felt as if they were made of lead and running in slow motion. Not Steve Austin “Six Million Dollar Man” slo-mo, but more like I had cinder blocks as sneakers, and was running in a pool of Jello. I had to grind this one out, as did many others on this day. The elation of finishing this one felt so good, along with getting a Marino’s Italian Ice at the end! Soaked and sweaty, I took a seat on a park bench and savored the spoils of victory with my cherry ice.

Many said after the race there should have been a finisher medal for this one, and I agree. Just don’t take away our ices! Those are golden!

Once again, both race events were held by NYRR (New York Road Runners), and they along with all the volunteers did a terrific job. Race #55 and #56 in the books! In fact, I myself decided to volunteer at one of their races last month to get a taste of what goes on putting these events together. It’s a terrific staff and group of people. I was a “course marshal” and was assigned a spot to monitor the runners, help out pedestrians crossing the route, give direction and info, and to cheer on the participants. It was a lot of fun, even though getting up double extra early on a weekend was kind of rough.

You know what? That was one of the nicest summer mornings we have had so far. Figures that I wasn’t running that day. I did go out for a training run last night. 5 miles on a rainy and wet Saturday. Humid. Drenched. I need an ice pop. Stat!

New York Road Runners – https://www.nyrr.org/