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August 13, 2005
Two Flat Legs
The weather around here is starting to sound like a broken record. Hot and humid. Hot and humid with a chance of thunderstorms. Every day is more of the same. We have had something like 27 days of highs over 90 this summer. We had, like, two, last summer. As if the heat isn't bad enough, the humidity is sky high, making it feel so much worse. There have been so many days that we have had an excessive heat warning, yet, like an idiot, I continue to run outside. There are a few "runners" at the gym who can not believe that I run outside in these conditions, they keep telling me that it is risky (OK, it is) and that I am an idiot (I probably am) for going outside. I saw on this morning's news that we have not yet broken a record on any of our hot days, but we may today. They were forecasting a high of 100, with the heat index anywhere from 105-115.
So early this morning was really pleasant. Nothing like running when it is 80 degrees with 93 percent humidity. Clearly backing off was essential. Thank goodness that I really don't have something on my plate to need an especially long run. I showed up at five minutes to seven and there were only two other people there. We were talking about how the weather must have scared everyone away. Around three minutes after seven, everyone started to pull up. We used to actually get started on time, but now 7 AM means more like 7:10. Pretty much everyone made the decision to round down this week. There really was nothing to be gained by doing a long run in these conditions.
J and I had talked on Thursday night about how long I should run. I had kind of wanted to get to my "standard" 90 minute run. Once I can do 90 comfortably, I feel like I am in shape. When I can do 90 minutes, I also feel comfortable making a jump to 2 hours. Don't ask me why, but that is my benchmark. He said that although I may not mentally feel this way, I have had a tough ten days in my training and should round down and do what my body is telling me, anywhere from 60 to 80 minutes. Well, with this morning's weather, that was a no brainer.
Most of us ended up doing one of our standard ten mile routes. The main reason for doing this is that J had put water out on it so that we could have a water break if needed. There were a few other ways to go that would have passed the cooler, but this is the one that I felt like doing and was about the right length for me. It has a few rollers in the first five miles, but is generally downhill. The next two miles are a series of four hills that get steeper with each one you hit. The main problem is, as with almost all hilly routes around here, you climb say ten feet and then drop five and then climb 15 feet and drop another five, a constant up and down. The guy who I was running with kept complaining about the hills and I kept responding, "that one wasn't that bad" or something along those lines. When we got to the last one he thought I would say it wasn't that bad, but I repsonded, "now this one sucks". I tell myself that the hills aren't bad until the last one so that I can get up them. I knew that the water was at the top of that last hill. We got some water (I only sipped a little and put the rest of it on me to cool me down) and headed out for the last part of the run. This is a generally uphill road back. The thing that makes this ten miler especially challenging is that the first half is easy and the second half is really uphill.
I got back and was soaked. Some people had gone even shorter, out half an hour and then turned around. We all looked like we had been in a swimming pool to swim laps, not out for a Saturday long run. Once again, we hung out gossipping for a while before I got around to leaving.
I got to the gym and got out of my soaking wet clothes. As I was changing I noticed that my rash is spreading more. I hope that I don't have to go back to the doctor for it. I am itchy and trying to not scratch at it, but it is a real challenge for me. I'm trying to use a numbing gel so that I can't feel the itch, but I digress. I did the elliptical for half an hour and the bike for another half hour. I like to do an hour of crosstraining on Saturday, but splitting it up makes it go faster and is so much more comfortable than sitting on the bike seat for an hour.
Once I got done crosstraining, I made a real point to stretch. My legs felt so flat today that if I were a bicycle I would have had two flat tires. I lifted more than I usually do and then got out of there. In an effort to give my legs some more life, I bought some ice on the way home and then soaked in the ice water.
Hope that everyone is having a good weekend!
Posted by Blondie at August 13, 2005 05:06 PM