Too Hot to Trot

My mind tends to romanticize running - or at least imagine it's much easier than it really is - when I'm at rest and feeling comfortable. Today I planned to replicate some of the speed work I've done on the treadmill in an air-conditioned gym, but outdoors during peak sunshine with no cloud cover. It didn't go well. My plan to execute a neat, disciplined workout interspersed with 6:00 miles quickly deteriorated into a random mix of accelerations and hobbled jogging that didn't resemble anything I originally intended. Even my cool-down for the last mile turned into a crawl. Altogether I ran a little over four miles in about 32 minutes. That's not too bad, but I was struggling and part of me continued to come up with excuses to explain my fatigue: "It's super humid today!" "It's the hottest it's been all summer!" (not really, but it felt like it, since I'm usually indoors) "I didn't eat breakfast yet!" That last one might actually be legitimate, although I did eat a granola bar before setting out.

Still, none of that made my run any easier and I was just happy to get home without heat stroke. But running under the sun today made me appreciate that my upcoming 5k time trial race will be held at night. Today's experience also reminded me of a man I read about who set the world record (back in the 1990s) for running some insane distance in 115 degree heat through Death Valley. Lest I get judgmental and question him, I thought running during the hottest hours today was a fine idea, too. So it seemed from the comfort of my living room. I want to say I've learned my lesson, but I'll probably do it again some day, since we as a people have an amazing ability to forget pain. Which, by the way, might explain a lot of the crazy things we do.