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I did last weekend’s long run on Friday morning because the weather was a bit nicer than Saturday morning (I love summer because I have so much more flexibility!). I set my alarm for 5:30 to eat breakfast (a big drawback for summer running is the early start times to avoid the more intense sun… I learned my lesson after last week’s run), and then snoozed a bit more before heading out right after 6 for my run.
It was getting light outside, but sunrise wasn’t technically until 6:15, so most of my run was done before the sun actually started to beat down on me. That being said, my pace has absolutely slowed down to the heat (it was 75 degrees with about 75% humidity when I left), and I held on to about a 13 minute pace per mile- so much slower than my pace for my last few half marathons!
I have to work to not beat myself up a bit over those slower times- I know that pace has to slow in the summer, especially with me having POTS! It’s more important to be safe than to be fast.
The first two miles felt a bit stiff as I was slowly shaking out and trying to find my groove. Then I turned and ran in a different direction and caught a great cross wind which I was SO thankful for!
I tried out my new running outfit today and really loved it! This mesh shirt is totally breathable, and is essentially like not wearing a shirt while still giving a bit of coverage. These under armor shorts were really comfortable, and the little holes in the shorts also let in a lot more wind which was nice! I give a huge thumbs up to this outfit, and you can probably find me running in it most of the time this summer.
Around mile 4.2 I passed this little field with hay bales out, and I stopped to take a quick picture because I thought it was so pretty. This fly over state sure is beautiful!! 🙂
I finished the run at 5.65 miles, and had the best run of the last five weeks… since my half marathon the first weekend of May! I averaged a 13 mile pace as I mentioned above, and I’m ok with that considering the heat.
Now it’s your turn to share! What time do you get up to run in the summer? Any summer running “must-haves” that you rely on for your runs?
I’m just getting over a knee injury (knock on wood) but when I was running a ton, I would either wake up at 530 to be out by 6 OR run late once the sun went down.
Not ideal, but gotta do what ya gotta do!
exactly- it’s better to lose sleep than to run in the heat! I hope your injury heals quickly!
I relate to this so much… My long run this weekend was actually pretty excrutiating. I got muscle cramps and a very upset tummy because of the heat. I was frustrated at first for having to walk so much (how is this so hard… I just ran a marathon a month ago?!) However, it’s my fault (I started a full hour and a half later than I had planned). But needless to say… lesson learned.
All the advice I’ve been given recently says this… it takes several WEEKS of running in heat to adjust and we should be running by effort instead of pace! So you’re doing just great! I know the heat exaserbates your illness as well… so give yourself lots of time to adjust. We will be cursing the cold soon enough 😉
It sounds like you had a TOUGH run! Getting physically sick from exercising is no fun! It does take weeks to adjust to the heat, and I look forward to feeling a bit more adjusted! And yes- it seems like we just adjust to the heat and then we have to start adjusting to the cold again!