Tonight I was supposed to do an urban 4 miles followed by a downtown happy hour for the runners, but Luke wimped out. In fairness, it was 104 today and it's hot. Hell, when I left for my run at 6:30, it was 97. Yeah, yeah, why don't I run early in the morning? Because it's still nearly 80 at 5 am and I"m a night person. I didn't fall asleep until 1, was up at 3, back down at 4:30, up at 7:30. With the high heats at night, sleeping is really hard. The best time to sleep is the coolest part of the morning and best time to run. Considering how I sleep there is no way I'm getting up at 5 to run. And by 7:30 it's already in the high 80s and humid. So I wait until the sun goes down. It's hot as a blow dryer, but I guess I'm getting used to it.
So, yeah, Luke wimped out. Understandable. It was hot. But even though it's hard, I am getting used to the heat. What drives me nuts is that I can be pushing along at what feels like a really fast pace - I'm red, hot, uncomfortable... and pulling 10 to 10:30 min miles. On a treadmill, in a/c, that exertion is more like 8:30 min miles.
So today I was reading on DM about Galloway's run/walk method. This has appealed to me, especially b/c the repetitive motions of running as a consistent pace tends to exacerbate my cramping. I decided, hey, it's hot as hell, maybe the run/walk will help me feel less like I'm going to die as I run. I decided to go with a 5 min run; 1 min walk alternating intervals for a total of 4.5 miles (walking warm up and cool down).
The best parts:
-I was, for the first time in months, able to open up my stride and run. It felt wonderful - until th e97 degree heat kicked in and reminded me I couldn't do it for very long. One of the big problems with running in the desert is the general overheating of everything. The walk breaks really helped in allowing my heart rate and body temp to recover a little bit so that I could take off strong in the next segment.
-My overall pace was quite a bit faster than it has been - I actually got down below a 10 min mile, which I haven't been able to do consistently since... April? May?
The drawback:
-um... so far... none. I think this may be a good way for me to train in some of the hotter months of the year when I have to run outside.
The plan: I'm going to do my next long run also at 8.5 mi distance. I'm going to try this distance with the walk/run method (but walk 1 minute every mile), and see what happens. I'm also realizing that I'm going to be walking at least 1 min, maybe 2 min every 2 miles at the water stops during the HM. If I decide to do a run/walk scheme, I may try training to that.
Finally, a review: I've been using the Juno Sports Bra from Moving Comfort. It's brilliantly designed and eliminates bounce w/o just compressing. But there is something about it that hits me in the wrong place and causes cramping just after the 3rd mile. 3 runs w/ it, 3X cramping on the right just after the 3rd mile. I'm going to try it for 2 more runs before returning it. If you are small torso'd and busty, it's worth giving a try. Likewise, if you are of regular proportions, like the pull over bras and want a nice profile w/ outstanding support, go for this bra (seriously, the bust shape is beautiful, and the cups are really amazing), but for my particular build it hits the rib in the wrong spot.
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