With the early afternoon temp around 81F, I decided it was time for a long run!I jumped in my Jeep and headed to the bike trail. I took three 16oz bottles of water. I'm goin' for 16 miles!
I strategically located my Jeep for an out and back to the south and then another out/back to the north with my Jeep as a mid-point for water.The plan was a SLOW run to build endurance. Most of my summer running has been a bit faster than last year. I haven't worked in as many long runs as I did last July. As I was looking at the calendar I realized the marathon season is approaching quickly. I need long runs!
Did I mention it was hot? I wore a white shirt. I could also use a white (good guy) hat!
In January I sat in on a Jeff Galloway running presentation. He stated that for ever 5 degrees above 60 F a runner should reduce their pace by 30 sec/mi. I calculated that at 81 F I should slow my pace by 2 minutes so a nice 9:00/mi pace would be 11:00/mi in this heat. Hmmm...ok!Off I went! I was able to keep a 10:10/mi pace for the first 4 miles. I turned around where the path was closed. I was getting hot. The paced seemed about right if I wanted to live.
I refilled my water a the baseball diamond.
I consumed 33 oz of water in the first 8 miles. Stopped at my Jeep for another 16.9 oz bottle. I had the top down on the Jeep so I reached in and unlocked it. This made the alarm go off. I had the key tied to my shoe. Bent over, I pushed the panic button to see if that would stop the horn. Nope! It just made it beep faster. I finally hit the unlock button a few times. With my heart racing like a "looooser" on the loose, off I was went for another 4 miles to the north.
I was out of water again by mile 11. Just as planned I stopped at the other baseball diamond to refill...
The town had REMOVED the water bubbler! Nice new grass was growing in that spot. I looked all around. Nothing. I'm out of water. I'm hot. I'm 3 1/2 miles from my Jeep. I decided it was closer to continue running north to a gas station about a mile more.With credit card in my shorts I ran a mile north and realized I was still a 1/2 mile from the gas station. Oh that 32 oz Gatorade will be a prize possession! Or maybe some milk. I could eat a hot dog. The dehydrating mind does funny things.
I guzzled half of bottle of "rain" flavored Gatorade. The other half went into my empty water bottle. The thoughts of hot dogs and milk disappeared.Five long miles back to my Jeep I finished in 3 hours and 17 minutes. The mileage tallied up to 18.2 miles.
It was a hot and long outing, but a really good afternoon!
Note: I'm planning to do a 4 mile race tonight. Starts in 3-hours!
