It's HOT!

I am writing to you today from central Illinois, otherwise known as the surface of the Sun, where it is currently 95 degrees outside and the heat index is 110!  I was going to put a video on this post; the clip from Good Morning, Vietnam, when Robin Williams pretends to be a soldier giving a weather report.  But I realized that I had done a similar report last August.  Needless to say the same holds true this week, it is freaking HOT out!

The heat has made me adjust my normal exercise routine.  I had still been walking 2 miles over my lunch hour, and I tried to do the same on Monday.  I made it almost the whole way, but after nearly 30 minutes out in this heat and humidity, I decided to cut it a little short.  I must admit that the heat was really getting to me.  I couldn't believe it could get so bad while I was only walking!  Yesterday morning, I competed my 7 mile "shakeout" run which I usually take pretty slow.  I went even slower on that morning, and still sweat through my entire outfit before the sun even broke over the horizon.  I skipped my lunch hour walk today altogether.  I figure I will take my Thursday 5-mile "tempo" run at a little lower tempo than normal.

I am mostly nervous about my long run on Saturday.  As it is the weekend, I usually try to sleep in a little to get some extra rest, and I break my run into 2 loops so I can stop at the house to drink 20 oz. of Gatorade before heading back out for the second half.  I was going to bump the run up to 11 miles, but I think I will stick with 10 form one more week.  I may wake up a little earlier than normal to avoid the excessive heat, but it is still murderously hot at 5am.  Also, I am going to split the run into 3 loops, stopping twice to hydrate.  Even with these accommodations, I am more than a little nervous about the run.  I do figure that if I am really dogging it after 7 mile (1 four mile loop, and 1 three mile loop), I could conceivably call it a day.  Obviously, I would like to avoid that idea.

I don't really know for sure how it will all work out.  I pray that we get some relief form this heat very soon, and I hope very much that when I run my half marathon in September that the heat of summer has given way to a perfectly cool fall.  Stay safe out there!