If you're curious, there was no blog entry yesterday because I didn't run. My training schedule has a day off every few weeks and yesterday was one of them. I didn't set the alarm and got to sleep in (okay, not really, it was to 9:30am, but that is still better than nothing!). Twice in one week with no alarms. That won't be happening again for a while.
Yesterday was a major day in college football around these parts because the University of South Florida (here in Tampa) played the University of Florida for the first time. Now unless you live under a rock or are completely oblivious to college football, you likely are aware that UF is a pretty good team -- there is a lot more that could be said on this point, especially since a bunch of their major players graduated, but let's leave it at that. USF was ranked #2 back in 2007 and hasn't yet cracked the rankings this year. I only mention this because I watched this historic game yesterday (UF trounced USF) and could not help but take notice of a comment that recurred several times from the announcers: it was hot. It was hotter than any of them remembered it being in the Swamp during game day (UF plays in a stadium called The Swamp). They even consulted some of the people who had been covering Swamp football for 30 years and they thought that it was abnormally hot. And let me tell you, that hot carried on this morning.
My run was much, much slower than I would want it to be, but I can definitely see why. I looked at the graph showing my time and there was a very clear deceleration that occurred during the second half of my run. Why? Because today there was no good answer. It was humid to start, hot as I went, and no cloud cover whatsoever to shield Mr. Florida 'Freaking Hot' Sun. The heat index at the end was 92F according to the National Weather Service. Accuweather put that at 106F. Let's average those two: 99F. Still horrid.
Oh, and in the 'you can't win' department, the humidity was 94% when I started. COME ON! At no time did the magic number of humidity plus temperature dip below 160. Not once. Dew point, you may ask? Between 75-77F. Looking back on these numbers, I can't believe I got through the run.
But hey, I persevered. For 8 whole miles. Liked the miles in the shade far more than the ones in the sun. And let me tell you, by the end of the run, quite a few of those were in the sun.
I'm awfully glad that I changed a few hydrating/fueling strategies for today's run or else I might not have made all 8 miles. First, I managed to do a route that took me past a drinking fountain in one of the parks around the 4-mile mark. Good plan because I was almost out of water by that point. Also, unlike most runs, I brought a little mini-Clif Bar today. You are supposed to refuel somehow for every hour that you are out (or something like that). I'm pretty sure that the Clif Bar helped. Plus it's small enough that it wasn't hard to bring with me stashed away in one of the pockets on my water holder. I need to experiment more with refueling since the actual marathon will require a strategy. Here's hoping that sport jellybeans will work.
If you're wondering, I don't drink Gatorade because it upsets my stomach. Gatorade, as you probably know, originated at UF because people were keeling over from the heat and ick in The Swamp. However, there are alternatives to Gatorade that I have used in the past and let me tell you, around 5 miles I was making plans to go and find some of those ASAP.
The post-run this week, though, is a happy time. First, I went and got a chocolate milk. This is the best recharging liquid known to man. Seriously. No one is quite sure why. But who am I to complain if I get to have a chocolate milk? Second, unless you live under a TV-free rock, you are likely aware that this is the first Sunday of NFL football. NFL football is one of my absolute favorite things in the whole wide world, hands down. Plus I get to watch with friends. Plus we are going to a place that has whole-wheat pizza. And you bet that I have earned that puppy today!
I know, I know, even I have gone on about how when you run, you still need to watch your diet. And in general, I am good about watching the diet. However, my body is already kicking up into high hunger gear, even on days when I am not running, so I need to be sure to fuel properly. Last night's dinner, for instance, was tofu with bean/spinach salad and wild rice. Can't feel too bad about that. Now it is time for some pizza and some FOOTBALL!
No comments:
Post a Comment