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.
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