Today was aquajog day. Let me tell you, after the past two days of being completely sweaty and overheated, it felt awfully nice to stay in the pool instead. It is hot out and I went around noon, so I could feel the full effect of the sun. But one of the most rewarding aspects of pool jogging is the fact that when the sun blazes down, you can just dunk your head in the water to cool off. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.
I live in a condo community, so there are lots of older, retired people here as well (this is Florida, after all!). There is one guy that I've now seen twice at the pool and I can't quite figure him out. He'll swim a lap -- a lap across the shorter part of the pool, no less (so, maybe 15 feet?) -- then take a break at the side. Or answer his phone. Today he had a 5 minute conversation about baseball. Later, one of his friends showed up and they talked about the fact that their bodies are breaking down (remember, this is Florida). After all this, he will then do another lap, or maybe even two if he is feeling ambitious, followed by another break. When I left, he was on the phone again. Standing in the pool.
Can someone explain this to me? I could see just lounging in the pool, but this 'workout,' I don't get it.
PS - I just saw someone out running. In the sun. The RealFeel temperature is currently 103F. Wow.
Showing posts with label aquajogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aquajogging. Show all posts
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Slight setback
Today I had a root tip extracted when I was at the dentist's. For some reason, when I scheduled this, I didn't quite process the fact that the dentist would be extracting something out of my mouth. All went well and it doesn't really seem to be hurting or anything, but I was given the same list of what not to do following surgery as was provided after my wisdom tooth extraction. On that list is 'No vigorous exercise' (or something like that, I'm paraphrasing). Basically, you don't want to jar the mouth in a way that could damage the blood clot that has formed.
I don't know that going for a run in icky conditions really meets that requirement. So for tomorrow's run, I'll go aquajog instead. Less jarring, less straining, less hot, yet still an actual workout. A slight setback, but really only a very slight one. I'll be back on the road on Saturday.
If you're curious, aquajogging does work your legs, even if not quite in the same way as running. Unlike running, it makes you work your hamstrings and quads since you have water resistance that affects both muscle groups. It's not as tough, but still poses its challenges!
I don't know that going for a run in icky conditions really meets that requirement. So for tomorrow's run, I'll go aquajog instead. Less jarring, less straining, less hot, yet still an actual workout. A slight setback, but really only a very slight one. I'll be back on the road on Saturday.
If you're curious, aquajogging does work your legs, even if not quite in the same way as running. Unlike running, it makes you work your hamstrings and quads since you have water resistance that affects both muscle groups. It's not as tough, but still poses its challenges!
Day 2
For some reason, today's run did not feel quite as bad as yesterday's. I managed to get out a little earlier because I woke up at 6:30am for no reason at all (even weirder, I did this after sitting up late to watch the Red Sox game. They are on a West Coast tour and I keep telling myself that I will not stay up to watch the whole thing. Then it's already the 7th or 8th inning and I decide, 'Meh, why not?' Today, at least, is an afternoon game). There was more shade as a result. Also, I left my visor at home, which I think may be a culprit in why I feel so hot. It might be time to invest in the fancy, wicking one that I saw the last time I was at my local running store.
However, my time this morning was horrid. Horrid! Even worse than when I first started running. Some of this has to be because of the temperature, but still, it makes me nervous to see this. Over the past couple of months, I have not been running as much because I wanted to give my body some rest before tackling a marathon program. That's not to say that I wasn't doing anything: I swam, did weights, went to yoga, and aqua-jogged. But now I'm nervous that I left it for too long. Part of running, for me, is that you have to have faith in whatever you are doing. For instance, you have to believe that your training plan will have you adequately prepared for the race. Then you have to believe that you will execute the training plan properly so that you will be prepared for the race. Then you have to actually execute it. These things make me worry because I'm always afraid that I'm not up to the challenge. I hope that I didn't let things slide too much by taking a break because if I'm really running this slowly, then it will be lot of very slow, very very long runs.
You would think that you would speed up from doing lots of running over time, right? Not necessarily. Speedwork can make a big difference and that isn't something that plays a huge role in my current training plan.
I need to look at the brighter side of things:
..........and now you see why I don't track my time any more.........
I will say this: if this morning's (and yesterday's) time is anything to go by, then I pulled off a minor miracle at last Saturday's Florida Death Run. The Florida Death Runs are a series done by the Lakeland Running Club (actually titled the Summer Sunrise Watermelon Series) where you run 5k around a lake. It's a beautiful course, well organized, and there is watermelon at the end. The only bad part: there are four races and they are all in the summer. Last Saturday, I did not do very well at all because of the high dew point/humidity. In fact, I had to walk at two points, which I just don't like to do except as a last resort. But I did go relatively faster than today (and yesterday), which must have taken a herculean effort. I didn't notice at the time because I was too busy trying not to die.
There is some good news. Next week I will be in Boston for a week and a half, so I can contrast and compare in more favorable conditions. If I am still this slow, then I will just have to confront that then. See three points listed above.
However, my time this morning was horrid. Horrid! Even worse than when I first started running. Some of this has to be because of the temperature, but still, it makes me nervous to see this. Over the past couple of months, I have not been running as much because I wanted to give my body some rest before tackling a marathon program. That's not to say that I wasn't doing anything: I swam, did weights, went to yoga, and aqua-jogged. But now I'm nervous that I left it for too long. Part of running, for me, is that you have to have faith in whatever you are doing. For instance, you have to believe that your training plan will have you adequately prepared for the race. Then you have to believe that you will execute the training plan properly so that you will be prepared for the race. Then you have to actually execute it. These things make me worry because I'm always afraid that I'm not up to the challenge. I hope that I didn't let things slide too much by taking a break because if I'm really running this slowly, then it will be lot of very slow, very very long runs.
You would think that you would speed up from doing lots of running over time, right? Not necessarily. Speedwork can make a big difference and that isn't something that plays a huge role in my current training plan.
I need to look at the brighter side of things:
- There is no way to get faster without just going out and running.
- Worrying about getting faster will not make me faster. Complaining about running slowly also will not make me faster.
- The weather really is challenging.
..........and now you see why I don't track my time any more.........
I will say this: if this morning's (and yesterday's) time is anything to go by, then I pulled off a minor miracle at last Saturday's Florida Death Run. The Florida Death Runs are a series done by the Lakeland Running Club (actually titled the Summer Sunrise Watermelon Series) where you run 5k around a lake. It's a beautiful course, well organized, and there is watermelon at the end. The only bad part: there are four races and they are all in the summer. Last Saturday, I did not do very well at all because of the high dew point/humidity. In fact, I had to walk at two points, which I just don't like to do except as a last resort. But I did go relatively faster than today (and yesterday), which must have taken a herculean effort. I didn't notice at the time because I was too busy trying not to die.
There is some good news. Next week I will be in Boston for a week and a half, so I can contrast and compare in more favorable conditions. If I am still this slow, then I will just have to confront that then. See three points listed above.
Monday, July 26, 2010
The Challenge of Florida
Today I got a new toy, one of those armbands that lets you run with your phone. This is not because I actually want to run with the phone (I am pretty much a running purist and don't even take music...more on that probably later), but because my phone is also a GPS unit. Voila, instant distance tracker. This toy will be especially fun since I live in a part of Tampa with lots of old trees -- which provide lots of nice shade -- and twisty streets to explore. Much nicer than Upper Middle Suburbia, where I moved from: the running mostly consisted of the same loop, some of which was directly in the sun no matter what the time of day.
Official running starts tomorrow with a little 3 mile jaunt. However, even this short run is going to be a challenge. The Challenge of Florida, to be exact. The Challenge of Florida is something I have been battling since I moved here in 2007 and I haven't yet found a way of beating it.
What is the Challenge of Florida? Simply that I find it far too wretched for running. When I first moved here, I was aware that it was hot, but unaware of how pernicious Florida heat could be. In fact, it's not really the heat per se (although it is hot, don't get me wrong), but the humidity and dew point combined. Also, the sun is very strong, which is tough on us Northerners.
Here is the basic problem: during the day, the strong sun heats up the air. That makes it too hot to run, starting around 10am. So you'd think that the easy answer would be to run either after the sun has set or before the sun rises. Ha! Nice try. The one benefit that the strong sun provides is burning off the humidity. The humidity then builds overnight until the air is pretty much saturated (levels in the upper 90s). This cycle repeats from May-ish to late October-ish -- or early November-ish if you are really lucky. In other words, this is half your year.
High dew point tells you just how close the actual air is to becoming dew. If the dew point and temperature match, then there are ungodly amounts of water in the air. I often like to check in with Wikipedia to see how we're doing, dew-point-wise. For the run I did on Saturday, the dew point was 78F. According to Wikipedia, that is, "Extremely uncomfortable, fairly oppressive." Still better than 80F or above, which is, "Severely high. Even deadly for asthma-related illnesses" -- but only 2 degrees better. The real problem, if you are running, is that the high humidity and dew point mean that you sweat, but it doesn't evaporate. So you don't actually cool off, even if the temperatures are somewhat manageable (by which I mean in the upper 70s/low 80s. When I lived in Massachusetts, I used to complain when temperatures got into the upper 70s and I went out to run. Memories).
In my first attempts at running outside in 2007, I thought that I would adapt to the climate. And I did to a point: when I began, I couldn't even make it 2 miles without having to stop (and thinking I might die). I took the sunset approach, which was unwise because the heat and everything did not dissipate just because the strong sun wasn't there any more. Also, you risked potential thunderstorms that can happen daily. But I still didn't fully adapt. Actually, I often wonder if anyone does, the conditions are just horrid. For much of the summer, I have been aquajogging instead, which is where you have a buoyant water belt and jog in the pool -- I highly recommend, even though it instantly makes you look like you are retired. But it's a nice activity with the added bonus that you can dip your head in any time you get hot.
The current temperature (4:46pm) is 95F, the RealFeel temperature is 109F. Humidity is 77% and the dew point is 77F. I need to find a way to meet this challenge, but I can't say that I am looking forward to it.
Official running starts tomorrow with a little 3 mile jaunt. However, even this short run is going to be a challenge. The Challenge of Florida, to be exact. The Challenge of Florida is something I have been battling since I moved here in 2007 and I haven't yet found a way of beating it.
What is the Challenge of Florida? Simply that I find it far too wretched for running. When I first moved here, I was aware that it was hot, but unaware of how pernicious Florida heat could be. In fact, it's not really the heat per se (although it is hot, don't get me wrong), but the humidity and dew point combined. Also, the sun is very strong, which is tough on us Northerners.
Here is the basic problem: during the day, the strong sun heats up the air. That makes it too hot to run, starting around 10am. So you'd think that the easy answer would be to run either after the sun has set or before the sun rises. Ha! Nice try. The one benefit that the strong sun provides is burning off the humidity. The humidity then builds overnight until the air is pretty much saturated (levels in the upper 90s). This cycle repeats from May-ish to late October-ish -- or early November-ish if you are really lucky. In other words, this is half your year.
High dew point tells you just how close the actual air is to becoming dew. If the dew point and temperature match, then there are ungodly amounts of water in the air. I often like to check in with Wikipedia to see how we're doing, dew-point-wise. For the run I did on Saturday, the dew point was 78F. According to Wikipedia, that is, "Extremely uncomfortable, fairly oppressive." Still better than 80F or above, which is, "Severely high. Even deadly for asthma-related illnesses" -- but only 2 degrees better. The real problem, if you are running, is that the high humidity and dew point mean that you sweat, but it doesn't evaporate. So you don't actually cool off, even if the temperatures are somewhat manageable (by which I mean in the upper 70s/low 80s. When I lived in Massachusetts, I used to complain when temperatures got into the upper 70s and I went out to run. Memories).
In my first attempts at running outside in 2007, I thought that I would adapt to the climate. And I did to a point: when I began, I couldn't even make it 2 miles without having to stop (and thinking I might die). I took the sunset approach, which was unwise because the heat and everything did not dissipate just because the strong sun wasn't there any more. Also, you risked potential thunderstorms that can happen daily. But I still didn't fully adapt. Actually, I often wonder if anyone does, the conditions are just horrid. For much of the summer, I have been aquajogging instead, which is where you have a buoyant water belt and jog in the pool -- I highly recommend, even though it instantly makes you look like you are retired. But it's a nice activity with the added bonus that you can dip your head in any time you get hot.
The current temperature (4:46pm) is 95F, the RealFeel temperature is 109F. Humidity is 77% and the dew point is 77F. I need to find a way to meet this challenge, but I can't say that I am looking forward to it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)