Thursday, July 17, 2008

But I Like the Heat!?

It's definitely July in the Chicago area. Yesterday was a hot/humid/high heat index day--close to 100 degrees heat index--90 plus temperature.

Planned to run around 11:00. The time worked for me, plus I'm training for Louisville--and I KNOW it will be hot on the run there!

It was hot--on the path I saw several cyclists, 4 walkers, 1 chipmunk, NO OTHER RUNNERS! Wonder why! If I weren't training to run in this weather, I would have run early (or later) with all the other sane people.

The plan called for 75 minutes. I planned to run about 8 miles. I knew it would be tough because I had finished running at 3:30 p.m the day before, also in high heat. But, I forged ahead with as much fluid as I could carry in my fuel belt.

The path I run on is about 50% shaded, and have I mentioned before that it is really hilly? The hills are what make running in the heat that much harder for me. I did good the first 5 miles--the last three were really tough. Lots of walking again. Finished in 1:30--UGH! Glad to be done. Thinking about Louisville run the whole time--CAN I DO THIS?

Went to the gym right after and did some good stretching/core/upper body strength work. Easy 1000 meter swim. Ate a good dinner. I was hungry again later, so I ate again--more good stuff.

Today calls for a 90 minute bike. Since I'm racing on Sunday (Racine) and won't get my long bike in (only 56 miles) I'm planning to ride a little longer. It's another hot one, but I do much better in the heat on the bike! I guess it's all that wind I generate--ha ha! (And I'm riding at 8:00 a.m.)

Hope everyone has a great day. Stay cool if you're in a hot place.

Until next time--God bless!

2 comments:

Michelle said...

You are sticking with it. Nothing is getting in your way. Hills AND heat sounds like a killer combo. Glad you're getting plenty of fluids and fuel for all that work!

Iron Jayhawk said...

Ooooh. Send some of that heat mojo my way for Sunday!

Looks like the water is going to be ridiculously cold. The humidity in the afternoon may warrant a post-race dip in the pond.