Happy Feet 26.2

My friend, Ginny, posted a good article about running in heat, humidity and what she does during long runs. She is a marathoner and has run for a long time. Below is a long exerpt of her article...

Many runners in the southeast have recently been posting about heat issues on blogs, fb, twitter, etc. I have posted several times about April and May being tough months for me and running. We have roughly 4 seasons here, so it takes some doing each spring to get acclimated to the heat. This year, we had a cooler than normal April, but now we are having almost record high heat daily. Below I listed the things I do to run in the extreme heat and humidity of South MS, and even worse, South LA (more humid).

This is what I do:
*during my running break, I walked in the afternoon heat to try to get ready for my return to running.
*I eat before 85% of my runs. I am weird in that I get nauseated if I do not eat prior to a run.
*I'm also sure to drink a LOT of water before heading out the door in the summer, probably around 16 oz. of water, plus several cups of decaf coffee.
*I drop waters so that I have water every 20 min. or sometimes I wear a hydration belt.
*If I'm going over 1:40 (10 miles for me in the summer), I will also drop some Gatorade too. I drink some Gatorade and some water. I have Gatorade around 45-60 min. and then every 45-60 min., and continue with water every 20 min
*If I'm going over 2:00 (12 miles for me in the summer), I will also use gels (I prefer Gu chocolate), starting at 1 hour and then every 45 min beyond that.
I started experimenting with Accelerade gels over the winter which have an "all-natural whey protein and carbohydrates in a patented 4:1 ratio to help aid athlete performance and speed recovery."
*My pace naturally slows with the heat.
*When I get back, I drink another large glass of water and continue drinking throughout the day.
If I'm running in the evening I try to drink extra during the day and drink a large glass (16 oz) prior to running in the evening.
* A nice extra treat - a couple of years ago we started putting rags in the cooler with the drinks. For our long runs we run a 5 mile loop and we put coolers out around 2.5 miles and 5 miles with water, Gatorade, and wet icy rags to cool our face. It's so refreshing. Depending on our mileage we may be doing the loop several times, but it's convenient for water stops. (we alternate water/Gatorade duty each week). If I run solo, it's typically not as luxurious. It may be hot waters, and hot Gatorade by the time I make it to my stops.
*If I plan to race, I plan runs that will be run at the same time as the race. Last year in June, I ran a half marathon that started at 6:00 am. In preparing for it, I had several runs that started at 8:00 which should be the time that I was finishing the half marathon. Also, this year, I plan to run some 5ks later in the summer, so I will have many runs that start at 8:00 or 8:30 to get ready to run a race in the heat.
This seems to work for me. Several years ago a friend and I were out on a run in Aug. We did not have enough water and we both had a horrible, horrible long run. We both still remember that day clearly. Yes, it's a pain to prep, but for me, and her, we decided on that day not to duplicate that run. I takes some extra work, but it's worth it, for the hopes of a decent summer run. It seems to work, I haven't had another run as memorable as that horrible run several years ago. Typically, by mid June I have adjusted to the heat and it doesn't seem to be as big an issue as April and May when I am getting acclimated to it.

Some of the recommendations on a fb comment yesterday:
These were posted by Ben and Terry - good info for most people

*drink a lot of water throughout the day. Even on days when you are not training.
*it does take some time to get acclimated to the heat.
*try Endurolytes. They are capsules with electroyltes/salts/etc.
* slow down. Running in the heat is hard, even when acclimated to it. You can't run with the same speed you did a few weeks ago when the temperatures were cooler and the humidity was lower.
* Start out your runs hydrated and continue to drink fluids during the run. Especially if the run exceeds 40 minutes. For my lunch runs in the summer I make sure I drink a 20 ounce bottle of Gatorade/Powerade 1 hour before the run and another 20 ounce bottle right after the run.
* Sports drinks are better than water for drinking during exercise. They absorb more quickly, help prevent hyponatremia, and provide muscles with energy.
* Run when it is cooler if you can – early morning is best.
* You will gain a considerable amount of heat acclimation within the first two weeks but your body will continue to adapt for weeks as the temperatures continue to climb.
*Slow down. Even after your body has reached its maximum acclimation to the heat you can't excise as hard as you did when it was cooler.
*Try the electrolyte tablets that Ben suggests. I do use them (on occassion) prior to a run if the run is going to take me an hour or more, but I don't normally use them during the run-just Gatorade/Powerade.
* If you are taking gels during the run I'd suggest drinking water, not a Sports drink, with those. Too much sugar in your stomach will SLOW absorption. Gels should be taken with water. AND SLOW DOWN

For more information, you can go HERE.

Week of May 17, 2010

This week was a very good week for running! I had not realize how much I'd run until I looked back over my Weekly Run Log at the top of the page. This is the most running I've done in a week other than when I am preparing for a half marathon. On top of that, I even added a bike ride of 8.5 miles. No wonder I'm tired...running, walking, floor and weights PLUS this heavy humidity even at 5:30 in the morning.

I'm resting today, Sunday, and will start again tomorrow. I wonder what this coming week will bring. We'll see.

Stay healthy and happy!!

Morning Bike Ride

Update: We decided to take in a run/walk session this afternoon. We ran one mile and walked one mile together. Slow, easy exercise in order to burn a few calories.

First write-up:
We started out with a good plan. Thought we'd take of running today and yet still exercise. So we got up early to catch the sun rise on the beach. Though I was up earlier than Kent, I misjudged getting him up in time before the sun peaked out from the horizon. But we were on the road when it came up. Just wanted to be further along. Here are a couple of pictures of the sunrise. For more pictures of the sun rising, please go here.

Stopped along the way to get these. See we really do ride our bikes! We rode for 8.5 miles...easy ones. My gears broke and stuck in a really hard one...sooo hard to pedal, but a good workout in the long run.


On the Gulf State Park Pier stopping long enough to empty a shoe of the beautiful sand here at Gulf Shores! A typical scene.

At 7:00 a.m., the temps have already risen to the high 80's feeling like 93 degrees...per weather station!! It's gonna be a hot one today...

March of Dimes 5k

Though this race was not a good one for me time-wise, it was a fast, flat one and should have been. My first 2 miles were pretty good and "on time" but don't know what happened the 3rd mile. My Garmin got messed up and I had to go by the volunteer's mile call-out. I'm thinking it became harder as it began to heat up. This time of year in the lower south should begin no later than 7:30 to beat the heat and we started a few minutes after 8:00. I'm not a sweat-er but I was already wet before it started! The humidity along with the heat was a little daunting and challenging for me. The race was held at The Wharf and over $3,000 was raised for the March of Dimes. What a great reason to run.

Several of the Orange Beach Firemen ran and they brought an old fire engine. It's pretty cool.


Though my time was poor, I did receive First Place in my age group. The awards for age groups were feathery boas with a medallion hanging from it: pink for the women and black for the men. Real different and cool looking; although I can't see a man liking it, ha!



With Ali Vincent (5th's Season's Biggest Loser Winner) speaking at the banquet that night, I wondered if she might run in the race. So I found someone that was working to see if she might be running in the race and they said she was suppose to. So I began earnestly looking for her with camera in hand. Finally, I had to put it up and head to the starting line. I figured she wasn't going to make it. As we lined up, I recognized a man I'd seen on TV. It was Roger Shultz from The Biggest Loser (TBL) of the 5th Season, too! I knew he was from Alabama but I never thought about him coming as I thought he lived around Birmingham. He was one of Alabama's leading football stars in his day. That Season, it came down to the winner being between Ali and Roger and they both were there!! We are huge fans of TBL and that year we rooted for Roger because we liked him and he did a great job losing his weight AND he's a "good ole Southern boy". But on the flip side of that coin...we rooted for Ali because we just thought she was the cutest little thing and we loved her personality and inner strength to overcome the weight obstacle. We had no idea that the winner would come down to be between these two. But we were happy just knowing it would be either of them. When I saw that she was going to speak at the Healthy Woman's Conference while we were down here, I immediately signed up to attend, not knowing all that was going to be laid out before me.

So without further ado, here are some pics I took of the race.

Roger and Ali as they were coming in to the Finish Line.

After finishing.


Roger's family ran, too. His little boy received an award in his age group. A pic of the Shultz's and Ali.


As you can tell, I am so stoked to have my picture taken in the middle of both of these great people.


Outside of being the Director of our church's Summer Day Camp, this was one of the best days in my life. It was a healthy, energetic, celebrity meeting, fun day!! I was on Cloud Nine the entire time. I only wished Kent could have shared this with me. I know he would have loved to been there, too, but other things had been planned and he wasn't able to come.

(NOTE: Our family blog has been updated with pictures from the banquet.)

On The Beach

We ran in the sand on the beach early this morning. It was different but I really liked it. My ankles are weak and I could tell that I was stronger after the run. We ran at 6:37 and the sun was behind the clouds while we ran. There was a light wind blowing which provided a little resistance but it wasn't bad at all. Kent got in 2.5 miles and I put in 3. With the sand and wind challenge, time was not an issue. We thought we'd put in 30 minutes or however long we could make it. Both of us did good. It was wonderful watching the waves come in to shore, listening to the sounds of the beach and feeling fantastic. It's not necessarily how much you do but that you do...

It's going to be a great day ahead. Lots of sun with lots of work to do. Get out and DO something!! You'll be glad you did...

Great Bike Ride

Today we went for our first long bike ride. We are going to incorporate different things into our running program and bike riding is one. We rode once when we were in Pensacola for 4 miles. We began with a plan of riding for 6 miles along the beach and back to our camp site. After starting, it was easier than we expected and before we knew it we had completed 5 miles. It looked like our sites were more on a destination than it was on a distance, but it all worked out great. We stopped once at the pier, once for a snack and once for a bathroom break. Other than that, our ride was solid and before we knew it we were back home...10 miles later!! All in 1:25:00. This is true time as we stopped our Garmins when we stopped riding. We have no idea if this is a good time or not but we were pleased. We couldn't believe that we had gone so far. We felt fine and decided to ride our bikes everywhere we went today. So we got home, rested about an hour, changed clothes and headed out to eat lunch. I hope we're not sore tomorrow. Another addition in our exercising while we're on vacation is to run on the beach a couple of times a week with tomorrow being one of those days. This may change to another day since we rode so much further than we planned.

A quick shot of Kent while we take a quick 5 minute break of water and apples. Ain't he a cutie?? This was so much fun.

Fiesta of Five Flags

This year we both got the chance to participate in the Fiesta of Five Flags Race in Pensacola, Florida. The last couple of years it has only been Kent, who sadly left me sick in the bed at the camper. But this year I was able to accompany him. Initially I signed up for the 10k but to change to the 5k. That was okay as I was very glad to feel like running.

Having run the race a couple of times already, I knew about the hills before us even though the worse was in the first part of the 10k race. I felt very good and was doing well...much better than I expected. My time and pace was on schedule. Then the "hill" came up, which I thought I was prepared to "take" but I wasn't ready for my good energy to leave me so quick. Knowing I had a great downhill ahead, I tucked my chin and went for it. I felt very good in the home stretch and took advantage to sprint in through the Finish Line. A PR was not in the plan because of the hill mentioned but I did want to meet a certain time. As it turned out, I did.

It was a good day for racing and I was so excited to feel like doing it. I came in 82nd with a finish time of 26:58. To top it all off, I received 3rd place in my age group which was a surprise. The trophies were real cute and reflective of the fiesta itself.

Leonard Vergunst, Race Director for the Gulf Coast Running Club, blew his competition away...as usual...coming in second overall. He received the 10k Masters Award coming in at a blazing 37:20; that's a 6:01 pace!! WOW...Congrats, Leonard!! You amaze me! I can't believe we're the same age...what an inspiration!

Here's my trophy. As soon as my picture is posted, I'll put it here.


Look at all those cute little five flags.