Running hot and feeling debris

Sorry, it's not my vault

Today's run: 3.2 miles

I recently looked at an old post about my experience dealing with a herniated disc I experienced a few years ago. That caused me to look at some related posts and then some unrelated ones. I appreciated how Emerging Runner served as a reliable, if narrow, chronicle of my life experience between October 2008 and February 2018. I also felt badly that I had let so much time go by since my last post, which was my only entry in 2018. I'll make no promises about what I do after today, but here is my second post of 2018.

As you'd expect, a lot has happened over the past five months. For one thing, I fixed the hand towel holder in the guest bathroom twice. Actually, that's about it. Last week we decided to replace the slate in our first floor hallway with oak. Between the jackhammer and bandsaw noise, demo debris, dust, stain and sealants, it's been a bit uncomfortable.

Due to its center hall location, the contractor needed to build a platform across the floors while they dried between coats. This created a ninja warrior-like challenge to get from one side of the house to the other. By the time the floors had dried and cured, we all became experts at vaulting from the den to the platform and back. Timing was everything. A misstep could easily land you on the sticky floor.

The other thing to mention, in light of this eponymous blog, is that I have continued to run. I'll give myself credit for lacing up and getting out as often as ever, but my workouts have become rote. I won't dwell on performance, but that hasn't gotten any better. Fortunately, I don't care much about that right now. I'm just glad to be out there, doing my run on my own terms.

That isn't to say that I'm complacent. Due to ongoing issues with my eyes, I need to take drops and, occasionally, other medicines. It's all good, but the drugs can have an effect on my heart rate, making it hard to exceed 75% of max HR. This has been going on for a while and I've adjusted my expectations accordingly. I've recently started incorporating moderate fartleks to keep my HR above a certain threshold, hoping to get closer to 80% at least part of the time.

Post run delirium 

This morning I got out a little after 6:00 AM. Humidity was already 79% and the temperature was pushing 80°. At that hour the trees were still casting long shadows and I took advantage of the shade as much as possible. Conditions were fine for the first couple of miles but the humidity began to get to me. I was sweating so much around my eyes that it was hard to see. I needed to clear them continuously with a cloth to maintain visibility and to minimize the sting from sweat.

I was about 2/3 through my route when my Garmin unceremoniously stopped working. It was my own fault because the battery had been running low and I kept forgetting to charge it. I wanted to make sure I covered at least three miles. Without the GPS for guidance, I quickly thought through a route that would get me my distance before returning home.

The sun had risen a lot in the 20 minutes since I'd started, upping both heat and humidity. I began to feel like I was on the last mile of a 5K. I soon turned onto my street for the final dash to my house and floated to the driveway, soaked with sweat and happy to be done.

I hope to get back to doing at least one post per week. Some changes to my medication may help me move the needle in a better direction for performance. If that's the case, I'll be a lot more motivated to share that progress.

The paradox of high humidity and faster running

Part of today's route. Pretty. Humid.

Today's run (street): 4.5 miles

Happy 7th of July. For some reason, the company I work for has made both the 4th of July and today company holidays. That, plus working from home last Thursday, allowed me to run for five consecutive days. Counting this morning, I've covered 21 miles in that period. I wish I could do that every week.

Even though I was up before 6:00 AM today, I managed to squander the early hours and didn't start my run until a little after 8:00 AM. When I stepped outside it didn't seem all that humid. There was a slight breeze from the north that combined with the mid-70's temperature, creating what seemed to be comfortable conditions. That was an illusion.

The neighborhood looked very nice under sunny skies and the first mile of my route was fairly shady. From then on, the temperature seemed to rise by the minute, along with the humidity. I mixed up my route in an attempt to break the boredom of my local streets and found myself running up what passes for a long hill in my neighborhood. Between the treeless road and the thickening air, I moved into direct drive mode. That's when I put all resources toward getting through the distance.

I often forget that when I put a little more power into my stride, my running efficiency (speed benefit as a function of expended energy) increases. This is the trick I occasionally use when a faster runner begins to overtake me in the neighborhood or on the Bethpage trail. By lengthening my stride and increasing cadence a little, I can lower my pace by a mile per minute for short periods without feeling like I'm working that much harder. 

About half the time I can hold back speedy challengers until one of us turns off to another road. Running harder, despite the humidity, helped get me to the 4 mile mark faster than I expected. The only issue is that I usually reach a point where I can no longer sustain the greater speed. Fortunately, I was able to maintain the pace and I even took it up a gear for the final 200 meters.

When I went inside to cool off before my shower, I realized that my level of sweat was equivalent to having jumped into the pool. In fact my running clothes looked like I had just done that. I have a different schedule this week that will involve some travel, so I don't know when I'll get a chance to run again before the weekend. If the timing works out favorably, I may be able to fit in a couple of mid week runs.

Running is great when you have fans

Fan-tastic

Yesterday's run (treadmill): 25 minutes
Today's run (street): 3.6 miles

Yesterday was the longest "work day" that I've experienced since leaving my company in February. It was a grind, especially due to the oppressive humidity and 80 degree temperatures. I covered a lot of miles on foot, wearing a wool suit and carrying a backpack. By my last meeting, I was a wet noodle. It's hard to believe that, not so long ago, I was doing that on a daily basis.

Prior to yesterday's trip into the city, I ran for 25 minutes on the treadmill. I knew I'd be covering a lot of ground during the day, but there's a difference between running and walking and I wanted that aerobic workout. I used the powerful floor fan that I positioned directly in front of the treadmill and set to the maximum speed. That machine makes a big difference on hot days, and it provides much greater cooling than the fans that are built into the treadmill itself.

This morning I was determined to run outside and I prepared for the high heat and humidity. I wore my Craft running shirt that does a great job wicking and channeling sweat. I tried to be strategic about which roads to follow, preferring those with large areas of tree shade. I ended up covering more distance than I thought I would, because I'd planned to keep it to around three miles due to the heat. In the end I was pretty boiled, but I was happy to be running outside again. However, I did miss my fan.