Wednesday, May 24, 2017

WWU - Back to Running

Oh man, even though I got a lot of exercise while we were on vacation via walking, getting back to running when we returned was rough.  I had 12 days off between runs, and during that break, our temperatures shot up tremendously; I jumped back into running with 4 miles in heat and humidity that made it feel extra rough.

Two days later I ran with Jeff and Diane but only managed to get in 2.5 miles before having to call it - the heat index was near 80 degrees at 5:45 am, ugh!  I wasn't feeling good during the run; as I sat at my desk, drinking a cold glass of water afterward, Jeff walked by and said my face was beet red and practically glowing in the darkened room.  Not sure what was up with that, if I was just unaccustomed to running in such extreme humidity or what, but in preparation for our Saturday run, I made sure to hydrate well the day before, along with drinking a glass of Nuun (I still have some old tablets that I've hoarded from before they changed their formula).

Saturday morning dawned, and as I always do, I checked the weather online.  Thunderstorms were predicted, but not until about 9:00 am - we'd be finished well before then.  I could see storms on the radar, north of us, but we seemed OK, so Jeff and I got dressed and drove to the clubhouse.  As we made the short drive, we started to see lightening flashes in the distance, so I checked the radar again, and in the 45 minutes since I first checked it, the storm had moved south and was predicted to hit momentarily.  We literally got to the clubhouse, parked the car, and all hell broke loose - it was a true Texas gullywasher!  So, no run that morning, boo.  Instead, we went to Blue Baker and enjoyed catching up with almost everyone (Cary was attending her last class and Jimmy was on a fishing trip).  Our baker gave us lots of treats - a fresh-from-the-oven loaf of ciabatta bread, and a plate of blondie brownie ends:
This plate was cleared, FAST!

We maybe get the blondies once or twice a year - I don't think they make them all that often, which is probably a good thing, as they are ridiculously delicious and much harder to resist than their other desserts.

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Yesterday, despite 100% humidity, my 4 mile run went much better.  Jeff, Diane and I ran around our neighborhood and it felt like a normal run, which was a relief after back-to-back hard runs.  Finished, being completely soaked with sweat - yep, sounds like what running in south Texas will be like for the foreseeable future.  But my legs cooperated, so I'm good with it.  You take what you can get; I was reading a blog where they talked about the importance of wearing technical fabric so it can wick away moisture ("moisture" - hah) and dry while you run so you will be comfortable, but it's impossible to keep ahead of the moisture here - running in such high humidity just means you are a soaking-wet sweat-fest.  I'm used to it at this point, and it almost seems normal to me, egad!

12 comments:

  1. I feel for you. I ran last week in heat and humidity and I was drained. Lucky for us, it rarely gets that way but who knows what the summer will bring.

    Kudos for getting it done and at least you have company in your misery.

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    1. Thanks; hot humid runs have to be experienced to be believed.

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  2. I think "wicking" is a relative term when it comes to humidity levels. Even here, right by the ocean, I've had some humid runs where I sweat so much my shoes were literally squishing by the time I was done.

    I'm so glad you had a decent run fairly soon after your vacation end. Good old muscle memory will never fail you!

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    1. Wicking - it's incomprehensible when you live in a humid state. Weird to hear that it actually works in other areas (and yes, I'm a little jealous).

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  3. Oh, that is very sad--thinking that Texas humidity is normal. Seems like a trip to CA is overdue😊

    Boy, I could picture that Texas storm approaching, and then bursting open--great description!

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    1. I know, I totally need another trip to CA! Not in the cards for this year, unfortunately. :(

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  4. I always think about humidity in the Carolinas and Florida--I never really considered that Texas is chronically humid! Ugh.

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    1. Oh Wendy. It's like taking a full-on shower when you run here.

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  5. I don't think I've ever heard the term "gullywasher" before!

    I used to lump Texas into the "dry heat" part of the country until I ran with you guys a few years ago. Man! It gets pretty gross and humid here in the summer too, but it's usually only insufferable in July and August. May seems too early for that.

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  6. Our weather got quite warm here too but I am thankfully it hasn't gotten as bad as it was last summer. I couldn't seem to get out of my 6 mile rut because the heat and humidity just drained me.

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  7. OMG those brownie blondie bits droooool

    Ugh, that stinks that when you got back to it, the nasty summer weather was showing up. Time to start getting mentally ready for it, right?! And physically... but I feel like so much of it is mental!

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  8. Glad to know running in the heat gets better! I went out for a 10k on Saturday and had to call it at 4 miles, and I was walking most of that. I just have to keep trying...

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