How to run like an idiot

When the weather forecast calls for a day of extreme heat, a smart person will find something to counter the heat, like swimming or surfing, or avoid it altogether and enjoy some indoor activities. Yes, that, or if you're a running addict, you might want to find a course in the shade. If you're an idiot, you think to yourself, gee, today would be a great opportunity to run in some hot temperatures, as…. training!

When a group run starts at 8 AM, a smart person will arrive just a few minutes early, fresh and ready to go, maybe stretch a little bit. An idiot will arrive more than an hour early, and run for an hour first, with at least a 1000 ft elevation gain.

Dog Meat and its nearly 20% grade

When the group run is a challenging 12 miles up 3000 ft of vertical, a smart person will stick to that route and return in 2 to 3 hours. An idiot will tack on 4 more miles, up and over a second summit, down a ravine and back, tacking on an extra 1000 ft.of climbing.

When returning to your car after 5 hours in the hot sun, running 21 miles and climbing more than 5000 ft, a smart person will call that a good, if not tremendous workout, drink some water and go home. An idiot will pick up a pair of heavy dumbbells, farmer carry them for a mile up and down hills, and add some pushups and squats for an hour.

If you're a great idiot, you will do all of the above. If you're a supreme idiot, you will do all of the above because your idiotic friend suggests it. When I call this a dumbbell workout, it's not just because of the two dumbbells used at the end of the run, it's because of the dumbbells doing the run.