This year,at Science of Speed, we did an Independence Day Dare. In honor of the 240th anniversary of the United States there was a challenge proposed to all athletes to either ride 240 miles or 240 km or to run 24.0 miles or 24.0 km. I personally set out to run 24 km and ride 240 km. In hindsight I was a bit overzealous with that goal and did not calculate the amount of time it would take on the bike to complete the 240km.
With July 2nd being my daughter’s 6th birthday I set myself back from the onset and was only able to complete a 6.5 mile run. Not too bad of a start but with blazing afternoon temperatures reaching heat indices of over 105 degrees I was subdued after day 2 on the bike. 40+ miles felt like a death march and I quickly opted to finish the run method.
The added heat lead to wet socks and shoes and blisters quickly formed on the tip of one of my toes. I continued on and finished off a little over 5 miles on day 2. My gate was slightly altered to accommodate for the blisters on my feet but with a quick trip to Capital City Runners I was hopeful a new pair of socks would be a step in the right direction.
Day 3 and it was on like Donkey Kong. I got up a bit earlier to try and beat the heat. This was the best decision possible and I was glad that I pulled myself out of bed. The run went well and the socks helped. Even though I could still feel the blisters on my feet, the new socks seemed to help and I was able to finish out the split with reduce discomfort and just over the required 24 km.
What an adventure, my SWEET SoS #IndependenceDayDare hat is attained and I am sure there will be more of these challenges to come!
BRADY IrWIN 