On the work front, I scored a job teaching martial arts to kids and have had preliminary discussions to start a class for adults. This will be my first paying job in 10 years. The classes for kids start in the Fall, so until then, my kids and I have been training on our own. All in all, life is going quite well in nearly every area except one.
As you can imagine, living in west Texas means the days are HOT. This has NOT been beneficial on my running and training for my next marathon. In fact, I'd say I've taken a few steps backwards in terms of my fitness. While the heat here is indeed a dry heat, when it's up around 100, running becomes impossible. Now, I know there are some of you skinny folk who scoff at my weakness. I would answer by asking you to go out in the heat and try to train for a marathon at 250 lbs.
Thus far, the only way I've managed to get any miles in at all has been to get up early and head out around sunrise when the temps are in the mid to upper 70s. Even then, running for more than an hour becomes a trial. That's because by 8 am the temps have already begun rising into the 80s. Yep, it gets hot early here.
There's also the fact that while the early morning hours are cooler, they are more humid. The dew points (a measure of the amount of moisture in the air) are typically in the mid to upper 60s (fairly humid; places like the deep south have dew points in the lower to mid 70s) in the morning. By late afternoon, those dew points have usually dropped into the mid to upper 50s, meaning really dry air. That said, the temps during that time are at their highest. So... I can go out and run in humid, cool air, or dry, hot air. The choices aren't inspiring.
In terms of marathon training, I imagine I can get my mid week runs in since they generally only last for 45 minutes to an hour. It's the long runs that concern me. How in the world do you go out and get a 10-15 mile run in (much less 20 miles!) when the temps rise so quickly. It's definitely a pickle!
I guess the only solution will be to get up even earlier. Can you imagine getting up at 4 am to go out and run for 3 hours? Me neither. But that might be the only way to do this. The thing is, though, I'm a committed marathoner. I actually look forward to the long runs as a way to decompress from the long week and have some time to myself. So, as the summer drags on and the runs get longer, I'll be getting up earlier. For those of you in San Angelo, don't worry; I'll be really quiet as I run by your house!
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You'll be quiet except for the pit pat pit pat of your Nike's (or whatever). Someone might wake up and think you are running away from whatever illegal deed you have done. Let not your heart be troubled...run...run...run like the wind as if there is no humidity!
ReplyDeleteThis heat in Texas does take some getting used to. My mom ran over 30 marathons in her life, and she loved it. She did what you are doing, getting up early to beat the heat or pushing through the hot weather to make her miles. I wish you luck! I know trying to train for a marathon in the heat is hard, but I am sure you can do it!
ReplyDeleteI trained for a half marathon last summer and it was HOT! Yes, I got up and did my long runs at 4 am before the sun was up. I also drank lots and lots of water and carried a camelpak with me filled with ice water. I would pour the water over my wrists and neck. My runs were so much slower than normal but I completed them.
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