The Hot Game

I'm currently sitting on the deck of Coffee'n'beans internet cafe, overlooking Mirror Lake on the first nice sunny day since I got here. Jennie and I are thinking of taking Anna's kayak out later today; neither of us have ever used a flatwater kayak before, and with Anna back in VT, it should be pretty interesting.

Yesterday, like most of the past week, was pretty humid and intermittently rainy. Jennie and I went to VanHo for an easy run and some strength. The trails were drenched and covered with mud, but my new Brooks needed a christening anyways. The workout was complete with a Tim Burke cameo during our strength session by the biathlon range after the run. It was a 2 hr session in total, and the humidity started to get to us by the end, so we decided to jump in the lake when we got back (which is right behind our house). I pointed out that after the 7 mile drive back with the windows down, we'd cool off and not be in the mood to jump in 55 degree water anymore, so Jennie suggested we play the "Hot Game."

"What's the hot game?"
"What?!? You've never played it? Oh it's the best, just wait."
"But what is it?"
"I'll tell you when we get in the car."

So we packed up our medicine ball and bungee and got in the car. The hot game, as it turns out, consists of turning on the heat full blast, keeping the windows closed, and driving back the entire way in your own portable sauna (without the supple athletic frame of Trudy Wilson, unfortunately). Jennie decided it would be fun to keep the fans pointed at me, though the car heated up so fast it didn't really matter. We drove at least 5 mph over the speed limit headed back to town, and didn't slow down once we hit the 30 mph zone. We passed the speedometer by the video store going 45, and sure enough, 3 seconds later a police car pulls up behind us with his lights on.

At this point, we're both drenched in sweat. It's beaded up on our foreheads, the car smells like wet runners, and when Jennie rolls down the window, the officer got a full blast of heat. He stood a little behind the window after that as he asked for her license and registration.

"Ma'am, do you know how fast you were going?"
"No..."
"Do you know what the speed limit is?"
"No...we're new in town, we're just staying for the summer to train. We just got back from working out and we wanted to jump in the lake; we're pretty hot."
He looks at the sweat dripping off our faces. "Yeah, you look hot."
"Uh, yeah."

He goes back to his car to check her driving record and leaves us laughing hysterically. He makes us sit there for like 10 minutes, then comes back.

"Just so you girls know, all the roads in town are 30 mph, and we're always checking for speeding. I'll let you go this time since you're new, but please drive within the limits from now on. Have a nice day."

Narrow escape. Good thing we decided not to wipe the sweat off our faces before he got to the window, or he wouldn't have been weirded out enough to let us go.

We got to the lake, finally, but the hot game effects had worn off with the open window. Jennie jumped right in, but I decided to go for just a leg ice bath. Worked for about a minute until Jennie pushed me in, causing me to yell obscenities in front of lots of small children and their parents on the beach. All in all, a successful day. Lets hope the rest of the summer is just as eventful.

~Audrey