Back in Late May a friend of mine called me and asked if I wanted to fly to San Francisco to run the Marathon. Of course I jumped at the opportunity and began to train in earnest. The only problem was that in the Northeast we were approaching summer running conditions and that means both heat and humidity.
I know for some people this presents no major problems but for me this spells danger. I am one of those runners that do not perform well in extremes, especially the heat. I lose a lot of water and electrolytes and have experienced mild to intense forms of heat exhaustion. Even experienced runners make mistakes when they think they are not vulnerable to the same physiological problems as anyone else.
My first mistake was not giving myself enough time to really train for the race. This caused me to push too hard for too long on days when the temperatures soared into the high 90’s and with tons of humidity. I remember attempting to run 22 miles in these conditions and by mile 21 could just barely walk home let alone run. Upon arriving home, I immediately sat down in a plastic chair around the back of the house, turned on the garden hose, and put it over my head for about 20 minutes. I felt lucky that I only felt sick for two days afterwards and did not end up in the hospital. After that I made sure my runs were based on the actual weather conditions and not on some regimented training plan.
My second mistake was not taking enough days off. Every time I ran I lost major amounts of fluids and electrolytes. When I did this over many days in a row I felt awful even though I was taking electrolyte supplements. I found that only rest and fluid intake helped me to recover fully. And that means more missed conditioning days with only 8 weeks to train.
My suggestion for anyone that will listen is simple – plan far enough ahead, at least 4 months, so you don’t need to condense your training. This simple recommendation works any time of the year especially if you need additional recovery days or if you get busy, sick, need more time for your family or for any other reason. This type of thinking and planning will payoff with big dividends and will allow you to keep running without getting hurt.
Filed under: Racing, Training Tagged: | fuilds, heat, humidity, marathon, San Francisco, Training
I like your point about running based on running conditions, not the written-down plan. We had a lot of really hot and humid days here in New England, I know what you went through.
I also just ran in a race where there was no humidity – it’s so amazing the difference that can make, isn’t it?
No humidity is a wonderful experience especially when you have to train in humid conditions. I find my times and endurance really increase when the humidity is low and if it is cool …wow!
This summer after training in very high heat and humidity… much like what you experienced, I had a Mark Twain kind of experience at the San Francisco Marathon with almost cold conditions. It was not dry like the desert but it was cool.