Another Long Run of Ick

You're probably getting completely sick of me complaining about the unending, awful running weather here.  It's hard to stop, I have to say.  But during today's run, I got to thinking about a few less depressing things than the Threshold of Ick.  For maybe 2-3 minutes.  The other 2 hours were agonizing.  I did walk/run it, even though I had this hilarious idea around 0.2 miles that maybe it wasn't so bad out.  Ha!  The sweaty hair around 0.7 miles reminded me that it was.

1) This is training: it's not the real run.  It's okay if I'm slow or sweaty or walking or whatever.  It's learning how to cope with a challenge.  So if I wake up on the morning of the 1/2 marathon and it is 77F with 90% humidity, I will have a strategy.  Although really if that happens, I will probably just cry or something.  Since the race is happening in a far more northernly clime, though, let's assume that it won't.

2) I need to read labels more often.  I haven't been using my normal healthy Gatorade (aka Recharge) because my local store apparently no longer stocks it.  Instead, I was using the sticks, which are basically juice mix that you add to water.  Take a look at how many calories that the sticks supplied on my run today.  I had two, so you can double that to 20.  Not nearly enough for a long run, I can promise you that!  I guess a trip to the Whole Foods is needed.

I did have my caffeinated jelly beans this morning though.  That may have been the highlight of my run.

3) The running around the drinking fountain route may be boring, but it is mostly shady and has the added bonus of a water fountain every 1.86 miles or so (that is the approximate length of the loop).  Who needs excitement?

4) I'm running in oppressive conditions.  Even Runner's World says so.  In fact, here is their advice for running in oppressive conditions:

High heat (85+) + high humidity (over 60%)
THE EFFECTS
Raises core temp, reduces blood volume; humidity interferes with evaporation of sweat.
THE SOLUTION

"Stick to easy runs or use the treadmill," says Puleo.

Adorable.  Okay, I am not in 'high heat' most of the time.  Only for half of today's run. Ah heck, it's close enough.

Also, is 60%+ high humidity?  Wow.  This makes me feel much better.

4) There is one saving grace about walk/run: it makes the actual activity very regulated and, for lack of a better word, doable.  It was much easier today to know that I only had to get through a certain interval and then I would get a break.  Also, when I started getting ahead of myself and felt like I couldn't get through the remaining intervals, I told myself that I could only do one at a time and there was no point in getting ahead of things (this was actually really helpful).  Otherwise, it would have been impossible.  So I just need to stick to this for the remaining long runs.  Incidentally, for the purposes of this training plan, I've decided that anything over 5 miles is a 'long run' and will have to be run/walked.  What this means is that 4 out of next week's 5 runs are 'long' and will have to be run/walked.

5) There is nothing wrong with dousing yourself with water at the water fountain.  It won't evaporate for the rest of the run, but there is nothing wrong with it.  In fact, because you will be slippery for the rest of the run, you may avoid chafing.  Unexpected bonus!

Believe it or not, I am in a better mood about this run than I was a few hours ago.  As the Runner's World article says, irritability is a sign of heat exhaustion.  Only three more weeks to go.  It's almost over.  So very close.