Summer is Official Here
When the weather reaches triple digits summer has officially begun. There is one stipulation though……it’s not just triple digits because 100°F isn’t so bad. It’s when the first two numbers are ones that it’s begun. The forecast this week had highs of 113°F. That’s pretty damn hot!
This makes for challenging running schedules. Sometimes I like to run in the blistering heat to torture myself a little. I have a couple rules when it comes to the heat that I’ve developed over the past year. They are really geared around water.
Don’t bring water if the temp <94°F
Don’t bring water if you are running <10 miles
Sometimes I break the rules for torture but if it’s hotter than 94° and I’m going more than 10 miles I usually always bring water. I think it’d be irresponsible not to. I have had my moments in the heat. I remember a run last year where I only had to do 4 miles and it was 108°F outside. I thought….no biggie…..4 miles is nothing. At about mile 3 I was hurting. 108°F is suffocating. Side note: If you want to see some insanity, look up the Badwater 135. This is a 135 mile race through Death Valley in the middle of summer. I believe the 2021 edition is next weekend. These people are insane.
This week had a couple of special heat runs. I started my Friday workout run at 930PM and it was still 99°F outside. That was just under 10 miles……I brought some water on that one. Then yesterday’s “long run” was only 10 miles and I went in the morning. When I started it was low-mid 80’s and by the time I finished it was low-mid 90’s. I didn’t bring water on that one and it was tough.
This next week is going to be my final taper week. Last week I did 46 miles and this week will taper down significantly more until my event next weekend. I basically have a bunch of 4 mile runs to keep my legs loose. It will be another hot week and then off to racing for the first time in about a year and a half. It almost doesn’t seem real after all of the cancelled events I’ve had. Anyway, I’m looking forward to simply enjoying the event and not going to crazy.
Run a trail…..be happy!
