Struggling but I'm winning

The summer humidity, the ongoing commitments of day to day life, and some nagging ankle issues are working hard to beat me down. I'm struggling, but I'm winning, and I can't wait to see the view from the top...

I make an effort to be committed to my running goals, but they always get re-prioritized by life's other priorities (family, work, social commitments, etc - you know how it is...). When I have a pressing ongoing project I am tempted to forgo my morning run so that I can get an even earlier start on the project, the rationale being that there are other people that are affected by the status of the project. On the other hand, I'm not being true to myself and my health by dropping my run.

I remember years ago rationalizing that there was no way that I could get to a gym or start a running routine because I had "urgent and pressing" responsibilities that just had to be addressed. Once they were taken care of, then and only then could I think of myself... but of course that never happens.

Of course, I've had people tell me that I needed to literally schedule my workout time as if it were a business meeting, i.e. make it mandatory. And predictably, I never did that. I always felt too committed to my work and family priorities. It was not until I sold my company that I suddenly had the time to run - which is how I started running...

Now I'm facing the same issues again, work projects and family commitments are demanding time and I've been tempted to forgo my runs to take care of those responsibilities. Just a few weeks prior to the Marine Corps Marathon last year I got enveloped in a huge project into which I felt so committed that I scaled back my marathon training - at obviously the wrong time - and I am sure that helped contribute to my tough marathon. It's not an excuse - it was my decision, but in hindsight a bad one.

But I've pushed back.

I am forcing myself to reschedule projects and meetings in order to accommodate my running and training routines so that I can meet my running and training goals.

The current levels of humidity are a different story, and there is not much that I can do about that. It has a way of just sucking the mojo out of me - it is so hard to run when it is so oppressively humid. Ugh.  I've been scheduling my runs early in the AM before the sun breaks the tree line - it's still humid, but at least the solar radiation is not knocking me down. Plus I'm working on the premise that by gutting it out and pushing through my runs that I'm actually getting stronger (yeah, right....).

I'm also fighting an Achilles strain, which requires careful running, resting the ankle, ice, and elevation. I've got a Ragnar Relay coming up in a month, and I'm determined to have a good run!

I'm struggling, but I'm going to win my battles!

Hot run

What's better than a mid-day 6 mile run with the temperature at 90 degrees plus, and heavy, heavy humidity? And no wind, by the way.

Everything and anything... But I had that hankering to do a tough run.  It had been a big weekend of drinking and eating and I had a lot of bad ju-ju that I wanted to sweat out. So I had good cause…

I got myself prepped with the necessary goodies for a "you-must-be-crazy-to-run-in-this-heat" kind of a run: Vaseline, sunscreen, a camel-back loaded with ice, a sweat-wicking skull cap, and sunglasses. And off I went – and I had a great, but tough, run.

I kept myself at a very easy pace, 9:50-10:15 min/mile pace and never got to a point where I was predominately breathing through my mouth (For me, that’s a key indicator of my aerobic intensity. If I’m breathing through my mouth 100% of the time, I know that my heart rate is pushing 130bps, and so if I’m breathing mostly through my nose while running I know that my heart rate is likely around 120 or so.

But it was hot, so hot and muggy!  My route had a lot of shade trees, but I had stretches of a half-mile or more that had no shade whatsoever, and those parts were brutal.

I started out sipping water from my camel back every half mile, and then later in the run when I was feeling the most heat (and I was definitely hot from exertion) I started drinking much more often as well as soaking my skull cap with the cold water from my camel back. I got hot enough that I took a walk break in a shady area at mile 5 so that I could cool myself down after a long stretch in the sun.

But overall it was a great, focused, run. I felt that I ran with purpose and determination. It goes without saying that the plunge into the pool afterwards was awesome. And I definitely felt like had relieved myself of most of the bad ju-ju... I know I have a good sweat going when the sweat is flying off my fingers as I run.

I lost 3 pounds during my run, despite constantly taking in fluids.  According to an article that I read, that equates to 3 pints of water loss – which sounds pretty crazy.  A three pound loss also comes out to 1.8% body weight loss for me, which I think is within the safe zone of temporary weight loss due to sweating fluids out. But the 3 pints of water still sounds nuts to me. That would be on top of all the water that I drank while running (which turned out to be ~2 pints). Hmmm

Humid Humid Humid

Humidity has hit my neck of the woods (FL) and it is only mid April.  And there is no such thing as a cool morning run - it is humid even before the sun comes up. And then when it does rise over the trees, the solar heat just adds to the joy. It's amazing what shade does to make you feel cooler.

Interestingly enough, the humidity drops after the sun has been up for a bit. If I could delay my runs until the sun has been up for a couple of hours, I don't feel the affect of the humidity as much. But then I have to deal with the actual solar heat.  Aye, such a dilemma...  (truth be told, I'm just glad to be able to be running).

Over time I've learned a few things about humid running:
- run slower
- run shorter.

If running longer:
- take with or have access to plenty of water, Gatorade is nice but not mandatory,
- look for shade,
- it's ok to take walk breaks,
- lube up to prevent chaffing,
- keep an eye on HR, either by feel or with a monitor
- wear clothes that breathe and wick sweat away from my skin,
- if I start tasting salt on my lips, walk and take water liberally,
- if I start feeling hot, stop running. (this is a big judgement call that I'm not good at...)

Normally I like to run with a hat to protect my head and shield my eyes, but when it is humid it simply loads up with sweat so I wind up sticking it my waist band (where it does nothing other than to annoy me).  So I found a white skull cap that does a great job capturing the sweat on my bald noggin and gives my head a little bit of UV protection. More importantly, it feels much cooler than the cap. The only possible down side is that my wife thinks that I look ridiculous - but fortunately I don't care... :-)

As long as I follow my rules (above), I still get a great run, sweat out all the bad juju, and move on.  And a jump in a pool afterwards always feels good!