Feeling the Heat

Welp, it's July now. It kind of snuck up on me thanks to the move and everything. I'm 8 weeks out from my half-marathon and really struggling with training. See, it's hard to convince myself I need to wake up at 6 AM to get out and run, because I'm unemployed and usually only have a few things to accomplish each day. Plus, my cats are so darn tempting to stay in bed and cuddle with, that the idea of pushing myself to go outside, sweat, struggle, and run for an hour just don't line up. But I think I learned my lesson today. I got lucky the other morning because I waited until around 11 AM to run, but managed to sneak in 3 miles before I really started to feel the heat of the day setting in. So today, I thought that if I got up a little earlier and was out the door by 9 AM to complete my long run (6 miles on my new, mileage-based training plan), I should be just fine.

Not the case. I opened the door and immediately was swallowed up in humidity. So I stepped back inside and ran to weather.com to see what I was up against for running today. My odds were either going out the door at that moment into 80-something % humidity and lows 80s (feeling like mid-80s), or waiting around until tonight when it would drop to just below 60% humidity, but still feel like it was in the 90s. No good either way. I told myself "this is July....this is what I've got to deal with," took a huge slug of water, and out the door I went. I only made it 2 miles before I started to feel dizzy from lack of air. I find it way harder to breath in humidity than in heat, because if it's hot, at least the air is still consumable. However, with humidity, I'm hypersensitive to it thanks to living in Williamsburg and Tallahassee, so it always feels like I'm trying to cut through it with a knife when I am breathing. Not exactly the ideal situation for running.

I stopped myself at 2 miles because I was genuinely afraid I might  pass out if I kept going (and I'm typing this a half hour later, with a lot of rehydration and still feel dizzy each time I stand up). Which in a twisted way, pissed me off that I didn't feel well enough to keep going. I know that's not how you're supposed to react when your body says "no more," but it doesn't stop you from thinking it. After walking the last mile home (luckily my plan had only been to do a 3-mile loop twice, today), I was truly feeling upset at myself and ready to give up on training for this half-marathon. "You're not a runner...you're not good at this...you'll never be able to run that far...you should not have signed up for a half-marathon" were the thoughts running through my mind. Albeit, they may be true--especially the last one--in the air conditioned house, with ice water from my supportive fiance, a purring kitty, and the goal to drag myself out of bed at 6 AM tomorrow to try again, those thoughts melt away. The even weirder part about it is, I'm even looking forward to seeing if I can make tomorrow's run better. How cliched is that?!?! From things I've read and how I interact with the running experience, it seems about on par. We're all a little twisted in that we keep putting ourselves out there for more pain and struggle, but I know from experience, that the feeling you get when you cross a finish line at a race is so satisfying that it's what keeps me coming back for more. I can't wait to tackle the VA Beach Rock n' Roll Half on September 1st. Now if only I could order some perfect weather to help me get there!