Hubris

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Or is it irony?  I admit, I’m not always clear on the definitions.

Regardless, here’s why it’s on my mind.

After reading lots of race reports and blogs about running and racing in the heat, I noticed a theme:  nausea.  Many runners report feeling nauseous when running in hot weather.

Ha! I thought.  That never happens to me!  Except at the finish line of races when I’m pushing it really hard. 

Well, I’m sure you know where this is going.

I ran on Monday night when it was in the mid-90s and incredibly humid.  Seriously, it felt totally disgusting outside.

I have no idea how fast we were running because my Garmin didn’t get a signal until a mile into our run and even then I’m a little suspect of its results.  I thought we were definitely running significantly under 10:00 minute miles although, perhaps in the heat, it just felt like it.

I managed 4 miles with my legs slowly feeling like lead.  And, strangely enough, even though I was sweating like crazy and taking sips of water from my water bottle, I still had to stop and pee at mile 4! 

The last 1.5 miles felt like a death march.  And we when had to stop at a red light at an intersection a quarter mile from the finish I had to double over and put my hands on my knees to calm down my stomach.

Yep, I felt nauseous.  I was so happy that run was over. 

I ran again on Thursday evening and just did 30 minutes around some nearby neighborhoods.  I explored some new streets and found a park with a statute of Christopher Columbus.

I ran through Little Italy and mile 18 of the Chicago Marathon.  I discovered a no-man’s land of empty lots and boarded up buildings somewhere in mile 2 which subsequently led to that mile being my fastest (sub 9:00!). 

I was dripping sweat and was hopeful that the sprinkle of rain would turn into a full-fledged downpour.  No such luck.  Instead I took a quick shower when I got home hoping to cool off.  It kind of worked. 

Last year I would have thought a 30 minute run wasn’t worth my time.  Now I know better.  All runs don’t need to be long to be useful.