Heatwave.

This has been one hot week of running. To beat the heat, I ran at 8:30pm on Monday and 8pm on Tuesday. Both nights were still pretty warm, but not nearly as hot as my Wednesday run.

Wednesday was hot as can be. Owen had the day off so he went out to play golf early in the morning and I was home with the boys. We had plans with friends at 4, for a BBQ and to watch the 4th of July fireworks, so when he got home at 2, I quickly got it together and went out for a run.

I had some grand plans to run 7.4 miles. You know, in honor of the day. But, yeah. That didn't happen.

Instead, I ran a nice-and-easy 4. And dripped with sweat the entire time.

Now, after all of these hot runs, I hope that we can enjoy some cooler temps on race day (Sunday!). As much as I can handle the heat, racing is just better when it is cooler.

Speaking of the Boilermaker race, I'm finalizing my race day plan and will share it tomorrow. So, until then, enjoy the day -- thanks for stopping by!

~ Felice

Running in the heat.

It's been all kinds of hot this week, which is to be expected given that it is July.

But heat like this (high, high-90s) doesn't always make for great runs. And yet, I've had a few. Wednesday evening tempo run, Friday late-afternoon easy run.

My Friday run rocked, even though it was probably 94 degrees when I headed out.

Why?

Because I did a few things right (at least in my opinion, I'm no doctor or sports expert):

• I hydrated early and often throughout the day
• I had a little extra salt with my meals and snacks
• I embraced the heat
• I ran easy

That third one? About embracing the heat? Yeah. It's key. You can't expect to run well in the heat if you start your run cursing it. And, frankly, that goes for just about any run. Start out cursing and, well, your run will pay you back with something to curse about.

For Friday's 94 degree run, I started out thinking that my muscles would be loose and warmed-up in no time. I also thought about how much of a treat every patch of shade was going to be. And then I thought that these high-heat runs are going to make my lower temperature runs feel easy peasy! I can go for that.

It all worked because I ran a nice easy, easy run; just over 4 miles at a comfy 9:10/mile pace. Not speedy but not draggy, either. 

Just right. And it felt great.

It probably didn't hurt that I was wearing these bad boys for the first time:

So, hydrate, salt-up, and embrace the heat! 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone!

~ Felice