Hi friends, just checking in before the festivities of our Independence day begins. To recap Ironwoman and I diligently and carefully plodded through 10 miles in the ridiculous heat on Saturday.
I think it's important to take a moment and advise on warning signs for heat exhaustion. When the sun is high and the humidity makes you feel like you're swimming, it's easy to push your body past no return. Luckily, the husband gave a recent safety speech to his team about the importance of staying hydrated and cool. Things to pay attention too, cool moist skin with goosebumps (this happened to me near the end of the run, however at this point, in the run, we were suddenly running into the breeze!) faintness, dizziness, fatigue, weak, rapid pulse, low pressure upon standing, muscle cramps, nausea, and a headache. Essentially, as dehydration increases from the loss of body water, lightheadedness may occur and/or fainting, this further leads to a low-grade fever.
Advice for humid, hot days: plan your most strenuous activity for the coolest part of the day (started running at 6:15am, ew). If possible put the outside activity off until the next coolest day. Wear loose-fitting, lightweight clothing, hence why Ironwoman and I were suddenly brave enough to join the sports bra running team...more on that later. Drink plenty of fluids (we were stacked with our camelback bags, not to mention the water in vehicles.) Take extra precautions with certain medications especially if you take medications that can affect your body's ability to stay hydrated and dissipate heat. (This was new info for me, luckily we didn't have this problem though.)
See a doctor immediately if you have a high body temperature, altered mental state or behavior, alteration in sweating from excessive to none, nausea and vomiting, flushed skin, rapid breathing, racing heart rate, headache.
I have an alert set on my Garmin watch that alerts me if my heart rate gets too high. I am doing my best not to overtrain and especially on days as hot as Saturday, it was important to pay attention to that. I got to the end of my run before the alert went off! For me, this is good news, because it means I am able to run longer distances with more focused energy, whereas my alert would go off during shorter runs on cooler days.
Alright! Moving along to today's topic, Mantras. Last week I was finally able to break through the mental wall of training. Which, if I hadn't of been able to do that, Saturday's run would have had me swearing off running altogether. However, that doesn't mean that today's 4-mile run was a piece of cake though either.
I am still trying hard to fight back against the voice in my head that says I need to walk or just give up. It's working, slowly, but it's working. On Monday I completed 3 miles with a consistent negative split. First time in a long time I broke an 11min mile! This morning I completed 4 miles of hills and a few 10-second sprints. My 4th mile which should have been my fastest was my second slowest mile of the run.
I decided today I will never judge myself based off of the first mile, simply due to it being the worst. I always have to adjust my laces, my hair, my hat, my shirt...something is always uncomfortable until I get going. Then once I get into the rhythm I monitor my energy level, do I have what it takes to push through 3 more miles at this pace? No, okay run a little slower? Do I have excess energy for being this far into the run? Yes! Run faster! Today, I'm still working on turning off how my body feels (tired, uncomfortable.) and running by how I feel motivated! Energized! relaxed!
However, if I check in with my body and a part of me is in pain, that's when I dial way back, focus on my form. If it continues to hurt I'll finish out with a walk.
I did my best to let go of any thoughts that passed through my head. Focusing on my breathing and for a time a few of my favorite mantras. This is what pushed me through my last mile to get back home.
I started with this year's favorite!
An Old Favorite
And a NEW favorite.
This one has been a game changer for me. It's a very poetic way of saying, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Brene Brown has a Netflix special called The Call to Courage. I promise it is worth an hours worth of your time to hear her talk. Part comedy, part motivational, Brene Brown sends a message of daring to do great things, even when it means you will fail.
If I get the chance to get behind the keyboard tomorrow I will share with you some fun treats I have planned as well as my music playlist for my annual 4 on the 4th run!
Blessings Friends,
A
I think it's important to take a moment and advise on warning signs for heat exhaustion. When the sun is high and the humidity makes you feel like you're swimming, it's easy to push your body past no return. Luckily, the husband gave a recent safety speech to his team about the importance of staying hydrated and cool. Things to pay attention too, cool moist skin with goosebumps (this happened to me near the end of the run, however at this point, in the run, we were suddenly running into the breeze!) faintness, dizziness, fatigue, weak, rapid pulse, low pressure upon standing, muscle cramps, nausea, and a headache. Essentially, as dehydration increases from the loss of body water, lightheadedness may occur and/or fainting, this further leads to a low-grade fever.
Advice for humid, hot days: plan your most strenuous activity for the coolest part of the day (started running at 6:15am, ew). If possible put the outside activity off until the next coolest day. Wear loose-fitting, lightweight clothing, hence why Ironwoman and I were suddenly brave enough to join the sports bra running team...more on that later. Drink plenty of fluids (we were stacked with our camelback bags, not to mention the water in vehicles.) Take extra precautions with certain medications especially if you take medications that can affect your body's ability to stay hydrated and dissipate heat. (This was new info for me, luckily we didn't have this problem though.)
See a doctor immediately if you have a high body temperature, altered mental state or behavior, alteration in sweating from excessive to none, nausea and vomiting, flushed skin, rapid breathing, racing heart rate, headache.
I have an alert set on my Garmin watch that alerts me if my heart rate gets too high. I am doing my best not to overtrain and especially on days as hot as Saturday, it was important to pay attention to that. I got to the end of my run before the alert went off! For me, this is good news, because it means I am able to run longer distances with more focused energy, whereas my alert would go off during shorter runs on cooler days.
Alright! Moving along to today's topic, Mantras. Last week I was finally able to break through the mental wall of training. Which, if I hadn't of been able to do that, Saturday's run would have had me swearing off running altogether. However, that doesn't mean that today's 4-mile run was a piece of cake though either.
I am still trying hard to fight back against the voice in my head that says I need to walk or just give up. It's working, slowly, but it's working. On Monday I completed 3 miles with a consistent negative split. First time in a long time I broke an 11min mile! This morning I completed 4 miles of hills and a few 10-second sprints. My 4th mile which should have been my fastest was my second slowest mile of the run.
I decided today I will never judge myself based off of the first mile, simply due to it being the worst. I always have to adjust my laces, my hair, my hat, my shirt...something is always uncomfortable until I get going. Then once I get into the rhythm I monitor my energy level, do I have what it takes to push through 3 more miles at this pace? No, okay run a little slower? Do I have excess energy for being this far into the run? Yes! Run faster! Today, I'm still working on turning off how my body feels (tired, uncomfortable.) and running by how I feel motivated! Energized! relaxed!
However, if I check in with my body and a part of me is in pain, that's when I dial way back, focus on my form. If it continues to hurt I'll finish out with a walk.
I did my best to let go of any thoughts that passed through my head. Focusing on my breathing and for a time a few of my favorite mantras. This is what pushed me through my last mile to get back home.
I started with this year's favorite!
An Old Favorite
And a NEW favorite.
This one has been a game changer for me. It's a very poetic way of saying, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Brene Brown has a Netflix special called The Call to Courage. I promise it is worth an hours worth of your time to hear her talk. Part comedy, part motivational, Brene Brown sends a message of daring to do great things, even when it means you will fail.
If I get the chance to get behind the keyboard tomorrow I will share with you some fun treats I have planned as well as my music playlist for my annual 4 on the 4th run!
Blessings Friends,
A
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