A story of going from being a non-runner to planning for a marathon in three years...

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Heat Effects


My Garmin does not like it when I sweat too much. It freaks out, forgets what screen it should be on, and generally pisses me off. And since the weather has been extremely sweat-inducing you can just imagine the battles I have to fight with that stupid watch.

At some point after my run last Friday the GPS function got turned off. I discovered this on Monday night right before our run. Meaning it took the Garmin a little over a quarter mile to locate a satellite and get a signal.

Then at the 4 mile mark I looked down to try and pause it for our short break but it had reverted to the battery life screen and I couldn't tell if I'd stopped the timer. Hence the 12 minute mile there. Well, that and some walking. Hey, it was HOT out.

I'd brought my hand held water bottle with me and decided I'd try for a nice, easy 8 miles. Seeing as how I was at the almost very back of the pack and my running companion was only going 5.5 miles, I thought it was going to be a lonely 4 more miles. But I convinced one other runner to join me.

Turns out I HAD stopped my Garmin timer at some point and then completely forgotten to turn it back on. Oops. So I lost some information there.

And then the worst heat effect of all: GI cramps. Yes, the dreaded need for an emergency bathroom break hit around mile 6 or so. I thought I could tough it out but at mile 7.5 I decided I couldn't make it the last .5 miles. Well, I probably could have but it might not have been pretty. So I ducked into a grocery store and took care of business in their bathroom. The last little bit of the run was still tough, though.

I was wiped out by the time I got home. I was practically falling asleep on the couch during dinner and I think I drank a liter of water. My clothes felt like I'd taken a shower with them on.

Still, I managed 8 miles and I'm hoping it's the last truly hot and humid run I'll have for the rest of the summer. One can dream, right?

Monday Night OPRC Long Route by snmnstrz21 at Garmin Connect - Details