The wife is out of town and the house is empty - why not set up a small training circuit to put some miles on those screaming yellow Etonics? After getting out the car and measuring the relatively scenic 4.75 mile circuit Saturday night (what better excuse to go out and eat at a chinese restaurant?) I decided to run it on Sunday AM. Nice, easy pace, just to have fun with it - exactly as the very nice lady at the running store had suggested... And being only moderately hilly, SURELY I wouldn't need to break down and walk - even for... an old balding overweight (moldy boldy?).

Starting out at 11:00 AM was an awful lot later than expected (excuses come plentiful and easy before committing to any physical exertion - how about another cup of coffee, Norm?) and there, I think, was the biggest mistake. Ol' Sol had different plans - unlike myself it had risen right on time and heated the air like a blast furnace - it wouldn't be even mile 3 before, sweating like a mule and smelling like a goat, I succumbed to the numbing heat and fell into a moderate walk.

Oh well, it was still a memorable jog/walk. The lady in the running store was right - it's OK to walk. And what did I learn?

One: I will terminally always overestimate my athletic prowess (it's a male thing, no matter how old we get), and

Two: don't ever underestimate the power of the sun and its heat!