Hydration and Humidity

UGH... the 5K last night was MISERABLE.... 92 degrees and 70% humidity.   But hey, it's humid in these parts.   I can't (won't) just stop running, so I did some reading about hydrating in the humidity, and learned when NOT to run.


One piece I read was loaded with good advice, but offered the bottom line "don't run."  Well, okay, but what about runners who live in places like Florida, where the humidity is relentless?  They just "don't run?"
Reading a few running boards and comments on the article revealed the obvious - early in the morning or later in the evening are the best times to run in hot, humid weather.  My vote would be in the morning, after the previous day's humidity has dissipated, before the heat sets in, and before the current day's humidity rolls out.

It's a good idea to heavily hydrate the day before a hot run.  My preference is green tea, G2, and water, but all bodies are different.  I can't drink pop for hydration purposes, because it doesn't seem to really do any real hydrating for me.

We can also hydrate using water-heavy fruits and veggies.  Cold watermelon comes immediately to mind, especially in the summer.  Often, after a summer run, I'm not even remotely hungry, but I need to eat.  Ice cold watermelon is more like drinking food, haha.

One thing I learned that I didn't know is to pay attention to the heat index.  Duhhhh... I should have known this.  It's pretty easy to figure this out with weather apps on your phone or at weather.com.

Runners are also much slower in the heat and humidity than they would normally be.... well, some runners. A few runners at yesterday's race nailed it in a little over 15 minutes (WHAT???).    When it's miserably hot and I feel myself starting to overheat, I slow way down.  It's not about the time, it's about the run.  It's also about not passing out on the sidewalk.  =/

It's also important to slowly acclimate to running in heat and humidity.  At first, runners should cut their intensity by 60 - 75 percent, and slowly build up to their usual intensity over a period of ten days.

When I'm running in the heat, I need to bring water with me, no matter how long the run is.  I've read that four miles is the cutoff, and I've read that three miles is the cutoff.... but I know I need at least a swallow at one mile.  I think I'd use my own judgement - I know I need to take a drink as soon as I feel my mouth getting dry.   I hate carrying a water bottle with me (and there's NO way I'm wearing one of those dorky belly bag water bottle things), but I hate dehydration even worse.    I also always use G2 when the weather is hot.  In cold weather, water works fine, but in hot weather, G2 seems to keep me alert and prevent "space-out," or when I'm lacking some electrolyte or nutrient or something and my brain won't work.

I also always bring some type of energy bite with me on longer summer runs.  For me, I need to eat a couple at the 4-5 mile mark.  Anything after that really depends on what my food and fluid intake has been for the week.

I like to run on a trail that has random sections of shade.  This helps me from getting too overheated during the run, and I wear the loosest, lightest clothes possible.  Somebody at yesterday's race was wearing a hamburger costume... NOPE.     My phone is always with me, and somebody always knows where I'm running.  Telling someone when/where you're running shouldn't be just a summer thing, though.  Runners should always tell someone where they're running no matter what.

Don't wait; hydrate!

And for those who totally ignore all heat/humidity advice, learn to identify the signs of heat-related illnesses here.

Diet Matters!!!

I just finished a ten milers with an average pace of 13:48!!!     That's after Monday's fateful run.

Since Monday, though, I've been hitting the complex carbs, protein, and hydrating like a drunken gardener during a drought.  Years of terrible fad diet advice has rendered me a victim of the CarbFear.  Even though I know it's refined carbs (like all refined and processed foods) that are crap and usually empty calories, I always have "The Carb" in the back of my mind as some type of food goblin ready to render me tired, bloated, and unable to motivate because of course, I'll be immediately too fat to do so. 

I've been eating steel cut oats, bananas, brown rice, whole-grain pasta, hummus (TONS of hummus), sweet potatoes, kale, spinach, and plenty of chicken breast, tuna, ground turkey and boiled eggs.  I've also been drinking Muscle Milk light.  

I was extremely disappointed in my run on Monday, and the amount of time it took for me to recover.  I've had terrible shorter runs this week, and then I go out and do THIS.   

Eat!  Drink!  Be merry, but make it count!  :D 

Clean Eating Nutrition Rules 

*I don't necessarily follow a clean eating diet.  I have an occasional diet pop, or a spoonful of Nutella, or (gasp) a cupcake.  I just don't routinely eat processed, fast, or fake food.  

Nutrition, from Marathon Rookie 

*Probably should have read this a long time ago.. herp derp  

Puking on the Indoor Track

Not quite... but almost.

I ran nine miles today, which is the most I've run since the Indy Mini Half Marathon in May.  I felt good when I started - I've been running shorter 3-5 mile runs with an average 11/12 min/mi pace.  

It was pouring down rain, so I ran on the Valpo Y's indoor track.  I don't mind getting rained on, but today's weather was a frickin' typhoon or something. Oh, I loathe indoor running.  Seriously, what is there to look at or keep busy with when I'm running around in a circle on the 1/8 mile track?    The dreadmill is even worse. I'm stuck with TVs full of people I don't recognize or shows I don't know (I don't really watch TV).

So my plan was to just concentrate on the beat of the music on my iPod, which I do anyway, but today I was also using the beat to keep my mind off of the repetitive circle on which I was running.  The good news is that the track wasn't overrun with a bunch of little (or big) kids goofing off and getting in everyone's way, or silver surfers (old people) walking horizontally in sets of four across the track (more reasons I hate indoor running).

Everything was going well... had a good pace, running to the beat, concentrating on my music.... then I hit six miles.  Suddenly, my leg muscles seemed to want to stop.  I was dying of thirst.  My stomach started to hurt.  WTF?   Of course, the answer to this was run harder! 

I'm thinking, "Three more miles. Come on.  That's not even a full 5K."  Blister in the Sun came on the iPod and I was peppily bopping along.   Then I felt it.  The lump in the mid of the stomach when a massive puke is about to spew.  Whoa... so I slowed waaaayyyyy down.  That seemed to help.  I kept up at this pace for a while, and then my thighs started to spasm.  Whoaaaa again.   That's never happened to me.  Ever.  I figured this was a good time to walk a lap or two.  At this point, I was just over seven miles.   I walked a lap, and was feeling good, so I picked back up into a slow pace.   Slow pace was going well, which means fast pace will also go well, right?  I broke into a full sprint, and in about 15 seconds, a splitting headache hit me right in the middle of my brain.

I've had those headaches before, when I was doing CrossFit.  I'm p. sure it's from over-exertion.  BUT I HAD TO DO NINE MILES.  I continued at my walk/jog/sprint pattern for the next mile and a half, with one more "near-puke" episode.   I was never so happy to see my goal mile on the Garmin as I was today.

When I finished, I could hardly walk, and it wasn't because my legs were sore; it was because I was completely weak.  THAT'S never happened to me, either.  Ever.  Fortunately, Aaron was with me, so he drove home.  Thank gawd, because I was totally out of it.  He'd bought a protein shake for both of us, and I downed it.  I also downed a G2.  When we got home, I could barely walk.  I went into the house and sat down.  I couldn't stand for more than a few minutes without getting dizzy and weak.  I took a shower, thinking that would help.  I couldn't stand up in the shower, so I had to sit on the built-in benches in our shower.  Ugh.  I got out of the shower and just laid on the bed for a few minutes, unable to move.  I went into the kitchen and started to make dinner, and still couldn't stand for more than a few minutes.  I wasn't really hungry, but I pulled an egg out of our boiled egg stash in the fridge and ate it on a piece of Healthy Choice bread. I felt a little better after that, and I drank a glass of green tea, and ate some hummus with pretzel chips.  Almost immediately, I felt MUCH better.

Right now, I don't even feel like I ran today.  My legs are a little sore, but I feel amazing.  I've come to the conclusion that I was either dehydrated, or not eating enough, or a little of both.  

Garmin vs. RunKeeper. Garmin wins!

I've only been running for about a year and a half, but I have a good idea of how fast I'm running by how I feel.  I've been using RunKeeper instead of my Garmin for no real reason.  I guess I liked someone talking to me while I run, haha, in the form of the robotic voice quarter-mile updates.  The problem is that the quarter miles aren't quarter miles.. they're more like one-third miles that I am allegedly running in 10 minutes or more.

RunKeeper has been telling me that I'm maintaining a 13-15 minute mile.  I knew that wasn't right; I know what that speed feels like.  15min/mi is my current slow, distance pace, and not my short (2-4 miles) pace.
It's discouraging to know that I'm doing one thing, but a dumb app is telling me I'm doing another.

So I wore my Garmin today for my scheduled 3 mile run.  First mile came in at 11:03; and my overall average was 12:02 min/mi.  I'm using my Garmin from now on.  I still use RunKeeper, but I enter the stats manually.  I'm keeping track of the 500 miles I want to run this year.  I'm a quarter of the way finished!

Dinner!

Three years ago, when we found out my husband was diabetic, we went through the pantry and threw out anything that was processed, pre-made, and/or just fake food.  The only canned items we kept were vegetables, fish, chicken, and soup.  The sodium count is generally less than ideal on these things, but since then if I buy canned, I buy organic or low sodium.

Needless to say, since I'm not using anything processed, I'm going to the store quite a bit to buy fresh ingredients.    I mean, some veggies just don't taste the same frozen, and I can't do what I want with them once their composition changes after freezing.  Take cauliflower, for example.  I like to mash it up and make fake mashed potatoes, or pizza crust, or cauliflower fritters (recipe below).  I can't do any of that with frozen cauliflower, because once it's frozen, cauliflower becomes rubbery.

I grew up on Southern cooking, so it wasn't until I was an adult that I discovered cauliflower could be served in ways other than deep fried or drowning in a homemade cheese sauce.  I also remember the wonder that came with realizing chicken was much better grilled.

So anyway, while wandering in Meijer and trying to come up with something tasty and healthy for dinner, I checked out my Epicurious app.  It's a pretty cool app; I can punch in the main ingredient and narrow by the type of main course (i.e.; healthy, low-fat, low-carb, etc.) I want.    I found this:

Pasta Shells, with Chicken, Mushrooms, Escarole, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes. 

It's super easy to make.  I used the basil sun-dried tomatoes for an extra kick of flavor.

I also made these:

Cauliflower Fritters 
They are insanely good!  We put lowfat sour cream and hot sauce on them.  Try them!

TRX!

On Wednesdays, I do an outdoors group TRX with my trainer, Lynnette.  What I like about TRX is the stability I [think] I have when I'm going through the moves.  My balance sucks, and my hips want to go goofy directions when I'm trying to do stuff.  The TRX is sort of like a security blanket for me, haha.  I feel far more stable when I use it.

What's TRX??  Body weight workouts with suspension straps.  Below is a link to the TRX page, and two YouTube videos with the cool stuff that can be done with it.  (One day, I'll be able to rock the TRX like the girl in the video).

Tomorrow is a four-mile run; Friday is a three-mile run; Saturday a rest day, and Sunday a nine-miler.  I'm ready!

What is TRX?

Splits & Stretches

Been having some serious issues with breathing this summer. Last Friday, I visited the doc, who prescribed a rescue inhaler that I use just before I run.  The doc told me that this is the worst summer in 12 years for allergens, and I guess the asthma that I had when I was very young (I mean preschool age) can pop out of nowhere when the environmental and physical conditions are right. Evidently running in heat and humidity in a polluted area fits the "environmental and physical conditions," haha.  Additionally, I have a variety of weird allergic susceptibilities to various chemicals, such as some lawn fertilizers and Roundup. This sucks, because I am outdoors doing something nearly every day in the summer.  I'd rather suffer than sit on my butt.  In any case, the rescue inhaler has worked very well for me.  I've also discovered that taking Benadryl at night before I go to bed has helped clear up random odd ongoing nose/eye irritations.


Anyway, today's Higdon plan called for a slow three miler.  I went a little over, and managed to get faster toward the end of the run.  My goal is for all splits to be under 11/min mile by the Rock n Roll half.  It helps to be able to breathe...

I've also found that it definitely does help to stretch every day (go figure).  I have another weird issue with my left leg/hip, and left side of my back.  I'm p. sure it's some goofy tight muscle thing.   Back before I started working with my trainer, Lynette Murphy,  in September 2012, I used to have terrible pain in my left lower back and leg whenever I'd do anything physical.  Funny... since I've been working with her... no pain!  Well.... not counting her training sessions, hahaha!!!    Anyway, I told her about my hip issues, and she showed me some fantastic stretches specifically for hips.    I can't find a picture of the stretch I particularly like, and I'm not sure what it's called.   However, here are two links that provide information on some of the other stretches I use.  I don't do all of stretches listed in these links; some of them are crazy yoga poses that I'd kill myself trying to accomplish.  

Hip Flexor Stretches  

Basic Stretches 

Baby Bok Choy & Tofu

No. What I thought was going to be Meatless Monday turned into an early Turkey Tuesday when I learned that tofu can go bad. Ewwww.  It gets sour...like spoiled buttermilk. So I used turkey polish sausage instead. It went surprisingly well with the baby bok choy and celery stir fry. Baby bok choy has a nuttier flavor and is more tender than its full grown version - no stringy stalks to get stuck in teeth, haha. 

Me: "No tofu for the stir fry tonight." 

Aaron: "Why"

Me: "It was bad." 

Aaron: "Good." 

Taltree

Although today is supposed to be a rest day, I couldn't resist a short jog on one of Taltree's trails. 

24 - Hour Relay

Might do this next year:

Sunset Hill Farm County Park 24-Hour Relay

Quote of the week: "“I’ve always been a runner, and marathons weren’t challenging me any more." 

105 Days!

Thanks to my Hal Higdon training app, I know how many days until the Chicago Marathon so I'll know when I should really panic.

When the opportunity to join the Oasis for Orphans teams came up, I was already training for the Chicago Rock-n-Roll half.  I ran my first half marathon in May, at the Indy 500 Mini-Marathon, and I wanted to increase my speed, hoping to come in at least under three hours and beat my Indy 3h 15m time when I run the Rock-n-Roll half.  I'd started using a Weight Watchers-like app to track food and activity so I could drop a few pounds.  I planned on running my first full marathon next year... but I couldn't pass up this opportunity!   Plus, my husband entered the marathon via the lottery, and I didn't want to just watch him run for four hours.    Instead, he'll need to wait for me to finish, haha!