The humidex warning is more of a guideline...

I think I'm crazy. In all fairness, it was okay yesterday in the shade at 7:30 p.m. And it's not like we were running hard. But the warnings were to stay indoors and don't do strenuous exercise.

I had already planned to meet up with 2 of the girls from my now-completed running group on Monday night (last night) to run the familiar course our instructor took us on. Yeah, I suppose I'm not as socially stunted as I thought I am, and I managed to make friends with Michelle and Krista. Maybe part of it was that we ran into each other (no pun... yada yada) at the Broken Social Scene show in June and it solidified that we have stuff in common, other then trying to learn to run. And Michelle and I bonded over working at design companies. It's funny the things you pick up on and hold on to when making friends. Oh, they also swear a lot. Sometimes that can be a comfortable plus.

Anyway, we ended up running almost 5 k (approx 3 miles for the imperial ones) and I ran about 90% of the course, discovering that when I say that I can walk as fast as I run that it really is true. When I felt I needed a short break, I power walked at the same pace that they were running.

Usually, I run in the mornings to avoid the grossness and exhaustion of the late afternoon. And lately I have been really easy on myself. Too easy, as discovered by how spent I was last night. Running with others really does make you push yourself more and I think I will try to run with them at least once a week. Plus, I need to get used to running after work as the sunrise gets later and later. Not too comfy with running in the dark morning all by myself.

That awesome feeling in my lungs? It's back today. With a vengeance.

(eta: Of course, what I've neglected to mention was that I spent the rest of the night on the couch in a stupor, barely able to yell my excitement during the elimination round of Hell's Kitchen. For those of you wondering, I dragged myself to check my email during the crab scene.)