I hope no one has melted from the heat across much of the country recently. It's been pretty blazing hot around here, so I thought I'd share my strategies for avoiding heat stroke. Because heat stroke is no joke.
If at all possible, I'd advise trying to exercise indoors or during cool parts of the day. Unfortunately for me, neither of those options are possible. I don't own a treadmill (and wouldn't have room for one, anyway) and I don't have a gym membership. Given that I get up at 5 am on the weekdays as it is, getting up earlier to go run or bike is not happening. And that pretty much takes care of the cool part of the day.
So what else can I do? First off, hydration is very important. And I'm not talking just water. Electrolytes are important. So I take water spiked with electrolytes courtesy of Nuun tablets while I run or bike. So I'm hydrating as I go. When I finish running/biking I down some Gatorade Fit. And I chase it down with some coconut water. And I make sure that I take in plenty of fluids (mostly water) for the rest of the day.
What else? On the especially hot days, I adjust the intensity of my workouts based on the weather. I try not to push it too hard. I listen to my body and vary the intensity, accordingly.
After saying all that, I have to say that there were a couple of days this week that were not too bad. Completely due to cloud cover keeping the heat down. But it was still really humid. So lots of sweating going on.
And I guess I jinxed myself by saying that I was going to run or bike 6 days this past week. I only got in 5 days due to a late-night clean-up job created by my washing machine dumping water everywhere. I took the next day off from work. But a nap was on order. Sleep is important, too.
This week is an all running week. I took my bike in to the shop to get new road tires and new chain only to find out there was a really old recall on the pedal cranks. So now I'm getting a whole new drive train on my bike for free. But I won't get it back for a week. But I'm not complaining.
Last week's recap:
Monday: Biking, 5.21 miles, ~25 minutes
Tuesday: Post-flood day. Nap.
Wednesday: Running, 2.28 miles, 30 minutes
Thursday: Biking, 5.31 miles, ~28 minutes
Friday: Running, 2.33 miles, 30 minutes
Saturday: Pre-programmed rest day. Running around of a different type.
Sunday: Long run, 4.8 miles, 1 hour
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Running on all cylinders
This week, I got to get in all my intended workouts unimpeded. So I got back up to my goal of working out 6 days last week. I already covered last Sunday in my last post, so here's how the rest of the week looked:
Monday: Biking, 5.28 miles, ~30 minutes
I don't remember if it was Monday or Wednesday, but I saw papa turkey last week. He looked a bit confused as to whether he wanted to cross the road or not. He stayed on one side of the road as I passed by on my bike. Those turklets/turklings had to come from somewhere ;-)
Tuesday: Running, 2.48 miles, 30 minutes
So I decided to go to running for 30 minutes on the weekdays. Running for 40 minutes plus the time it took me to change clothes then change back left very little time for eating my lunch. Plus, it's still been pretty hot, so I didn't want to overdo it.
Wednesday: Biking, 5.31 miles, ~30 minutes
Feeling a little worn out this day, but I pushed through. I do enjoy the sense of accomplishment once I'm done.
Thursday: Running, 2.51 miles, 30 minutes
I'm trying to better my pace. So I did some intervals in the beginning of my run where I would run harder for one minute then at a easier pace for two minutes. I didn't carry it out throughout the whole workout as the hills were not being helpful. I think I might shorten the intervals a little bit, like my former 30 second run/1 minute walk intervals of yore.
Friday: Biking, 5.28 miles, ~30 minutes
I wouldn't mind bettering my biking pace, also. I'm trying to keep up a steady cadence as I ride. I don't want to take all day on the MS ride for the 35 and 25 miles. But I'm also not going to push it hard either. I'm going to try to strike a balance between keeping a decent pace and having an enjoyable ride.
Saturday: Rest day
Saturday was my pre-determined rest day.
Sunday: Long run, 4.78 miles, 1 hour
It was decently cool (comparatively) this morning for my run. Still humid. But it didn't feel oppressive. So I felt pretty good for my run.
This week should be another uninterrupted week.
Monday: Biking, 5.28 miles, ~30 minutes
I don't remember if it was Monday or Wednesday, but I saw papa turkey last week. He looked a bit confused as to whether he wanted to cross the road or not. He stayed on one side of the road as I passed by on my bike. Those turklets/turklings had to come from somewhere ;-)
Tuesday: Running, 2.48 miles, 30 minutes
So I decided to go to running for 30 minutes on the weekdays. Running for 40 minutes plus the time it took me to change clothes then change back left very little time for eating my lunch. Plus, it's still been pretty hot, so I didn't want to overdo it.
Wednesday: Biking, 5.31 miles, ~30 minutes
Feeling a little worn out this day, but I pushed through. I do enjoy the sense of accomplishment once I'm done.
Thursday: Running, 2.51 miles, 30 minutes
I'm trying to better my pace. So I did some intervals in the beginning of my run where I would run harder for one minute then at a easier pace for two minutes. I didn't carry it out throughout the whole workout as the hills were not being helpful. I think I might shorten the intervals a little bit, like my former 30 second run/1 minute walk intervals of yore.
Friday: Biking, 5.28 miles, ~30 minutes
I wouldn't mind bettering my biking pace, also. I'm trying to keep up a steady cadence as I ride. I don't want to take all day on the MS ride for the 35 and 25 miles. But I'm also not going to push it hard either. I'm going to try to strike a balance between keeping a decent pace and having an enjoyable ride.
Saturday: Rest day
Saturday was my pre-determined rest day.
Sunday: Long run, 4.78 miles, 1 hour
It was decently cool (comparatively) this morning for my run. Still humid. But it didn't feel oppressive. So I felt pretty good for my run.
This week should be another uninterrupted week.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
A week in review
Time for catching up! Another hot week here in the south. And more challenging business. Let's get started:
Monday: Biking, 5.24 miles, ~30 minutes
Tuesday: Nothing. C had a dentist appointment in the middle of the day then I wasn't able to do anything after work. So it was deemed a rest day.
Wednesday: Running, 2.71 miles, ~30 minutes. It was another hot and humid day. I didn't feel as defeated by the weather as I did the previous week. I made sure not to overtax myself and have a sports drink with me as I ran. I knew it was going to be hot, so I set my goal from the outset as 30 minutes.
Thursday: Biking, 5.26 miles, ~30 minutes. I tried to up the pace some on this run. It's a goal I'm going to be working on until the MS ride.
Friday: Running, 2.61 miles, ~30 minutes. See Wednesday.
Saturday: We had company and L had a Tae Kwan Do tournament, so another rest day.
Today: Running, 4.82 miles, 1 hour. The long run is definitely a mental game. Yes, I want to keep running. Yes, I can do it. And I do. Not that the weather is a great motivator. Or hills.
This week, as it looks right now, doesn't appear to have as many challenges to getting out. Saturday is the pre-determined rest day.
Monday: Biking, 5.24 miles, ~30 minutes
Tuesday: Nothing. C had a dentist appointment in the middle of the day then I wasn't able to do anything after work. So it was deemed a rest day.
Wednesday: Running, 2.71 miles, ~30 minutes. It was another hot and humid day. I didn't feel as defeated by the weather as I did the previous week. I made sure not to overtax myself and have a sports drink with me as I ran. I knew it was going to be hot, so I set my goal from the outset as 30 minutes.
Thursday: Biking, 5.26 miles, ~30 minutes. I tried to up the pace some on this run. It's a goal I'm going to be working on until the MS ride.
Friday: Running, 2.61 miles, ~30 minutes. See Wednesday.
Saturday: We had company and L had a Tae Kwan Do tournament, so another rest day.
Today: Running, 4.82 miles, 1 hour. The long run is definitely a mental game. Yes, I want to keep running. Yes, I can do it. And I do. Not that the weather is a great motivator. Or hills.
This week, as it looks right now, doesn't appear to have as many challenges to getting out. Saturday is the pre-determined rest day.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Weekend work
A busy weekend including travel. How did I fit it all in? Not too shabby. My regular weekly goal is to exercise 6 days a week. And the majority of weeks, I've been able to meet that goal. But I don't beat myself up if I can't get there. Last week, I made it to 5 days. What happened? I had company at work one day that prevented me from going out for my regular lunchtime workout. Saturday was birthday party day for C, so I sacrificed the run.
Here's what I DID do:
Thursday: Biking, ~30 minutes, ~5.2 miles
It was a tad bit cooler on Thursday than it was Wednesday. And biking feels cooler, too, since I'm creating my own breeze.
Friday: Running, 40 minutes, ~3.2 miles
Cooler still. I left work early on Friday, so I did my running once I got home. It was nice to know that it really was the heat that was such a major factor on Wednesday.
Saturday: party!
Sunday: Long run, 1 hour, ~5.2 miles
Cooler still. I felt really good on this run. Especially on the second half. I don't know if I would call it "runner's high." But I did feel like I could have gone longer.
I want to mention something new I've been trying out. For my longer runs, I'm taking a sports drink out with me. (I did try this on the oh-so-hot Wednesday, but it didn't help.) Straight up Gatorade is way to sweet to me. They have a new product out, G Fit, which I've mentioned. It's meant to be more like a lightly flavored water. And I do like it a lot better than traditional Gatorade. Last week I also picked up a product called Nuun. It's a tablet that turns water into an electrolyte drink. It comes in lots of different flavors. The flavor is very light. I made a test batch to try out the taste. It was a little weird. But not awful. Today, I chilled the water first, added the tablet, then some ice. The flavor was MUCH better upon chilling. The thing I really like about Nuun is that I can carry them in my purse for when I can't carry around a bottle of G Fit. It's also great for traveling (again, when I carry G Fit with me). I'm going to try out some other flavors, too. I've had the berry and also have some ginger orange, which I haven't tried yet.
Here's what I DID do:
Thursday: Biking, ~30 minutes, ~5.2 miles
It was a tad bit cooler on Thursday than it was Wednesday. And biking feels cooler, too, since I'm creating my own breeze.
Friday: Running, 40 minutes, ~3.2 miles
Cooler still. I left work early on Friday, so I did my running once I got home. It was nice to know that it really was the heat that was such a major factor on Wednesday.
Saturday: party!
Sunday: Long run, 1 hour, ~5.2 miles
Cooler still. I felt really good on this run. Especially on the second half. I don't know if I would call it "runner's high." But I did feel like I could have gone longer.
I want to mention something new I've been trying out. For my longer runs, I'm taking a sports drink out with me. (I did try this on the oh-so-hot Wednesday, but it didn't help.) Straight up Gatorade is way to sweet to me. They have a new product out, G Fit, which I've mentioned. It's meant to be more like a lightly flavored water. And I do like it a lot better than traditional Gatorade. Last week I also picked up a product called Nuun. It's a tablet that turns water into an electrolyte drink. It comes in lots of different flavors. The flavor is very light. I made a test batch to try out the taste. It was a little weird. But not awful. Today, I chilled the water first, added the tablet, then some ice. The flavor was MUCH better upon chilling. The thing I really like about Nuun is that I can carry them in my purse for when I can't carry around a bottle of G Fit. It's also great for traveling (again, when I carry G Fit with me). I'm going to try out some other flavors, too. I've had the berry and also have some ginger orange, which I haven't tried yet.
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