Cut Short

I think it's safe to say, if it's over 90 degrees at the Seattle Marathon, I won't be setting any records.

Of course, I will be more prepared than almost anyone else.

Today was one of those days where I had things scheduled in the morning and in the evening, but nothing to do in the middle, which always throws off my balance a bit. Since I didn't get home until after 11:30 last night, I thought it unreasonable to get up at 6 and do my scheduled 12 miles. Unfortunately, as I had to be somewhere by 9:00, this was my only option if I wanted to get the run completed before the heat of the day took over. I still chose to sleep.

So, when I got back from my appointment, I suited up and headed out into the heat. Even though it was a couple degrees cooler than yesterday (technically), the humidity was much higher today which made it feel much hotter. I'll never understand how it can be one temperature "really," but it "feels like" a different temperature. Isn't the entire idea of temperature about how it feels? If it feels like 101, in my opinion, the temperature should actually be considered to be 101, not 96. Unfortunately, the people in charge of meteorology won't return my phone calls.

One mile into the run, I knew I was going to be in trouble. I lost the shirt and put my head down, but there wasn't any relief. It actually took me a mile and a half to realize that I'd forgotten to bring the water I had set aside for the run. This was a huge problem. My entire belief that I could complete this workout was dependent upon me having an energy gel and water at my disposal. No matter, I thought. I can still do this.

After two miles or so, I headed into downtown and the heat went up exponentially. At about 3.5 miles, I had to stop and stand in the shade for a minute or two. I considered my options, and decided that the best plan was to run up to an easy-to-identify turnaround point and then head back, cutting the run short. However, as soon as I started running again, I felt much better for the rest I'd taken, and decided that I could complete the run. It was to be a glorious triumph over the forces of nature that would be celebrated for centuries to come.

Yeah, I made it 9 more blocks.

I was just simply not prepared for the heat. I needed to have water and shade in my plan, and I'd failed at both. Today was a failure of planning. I ended up completing just under 6 miles total while running. I walked more than that (because I had to get home), but I don't want to count those in the record of today's event.

This is becoming a bit of a pattern with me, and I'm not very happy with it. In the last few weeks, I've given myself permission to slack off with alarming regularity. I can justify every instance, but I wonder how much better I'd be doing if I had not let myself stop that first time. I've got to refocus myself toward the goal. Four weeks from today I'll be running through the streets of Seattle, and I want to be confident, not full of excuses. Next Saturday, I'm running 20 miles, and I'm running all of them, if it means I have to get up at 5:00 in the morning to get them done.

That being said, it'd sure be nice if we could get a cold front next weekend.

Please?

Saturday's Run:
96 Degrees / Humid
5.98 Miles
45 Minutes, 32 Seconds