Transitioning to Fall

September is upon us and that means that August, typically the hottest month in Central TX, is past us.  I survived and logged 174 miles in the process.  I'm pretty happy with that, but have a goal of 200+ miles for this month, aiming for 45 miles for each of the first two weeks and then 50+ for the last two weeks of September.  I'm hoping that the increased  mileage will time with a drop in daily temperatures.

A snapshot of Secret Beach in Austin, TX

The labor day weekend was warm in Austin, with daily highs hitting triple digits.  It made me very lethargic and hermit-like during the middle of the day.  Boyfriend was out of town, so I was flying solo as the single mom to Bailey.  I got up very early each morning (by 6am) and headed out for my run and then did not emerge for more exercise until the evenings, when I took Miss Bailey on walks.  If I went out during the day, it was errands that utilized the air conditioned car.  The exception was a trip to Secret Beach with Bailey on labor day.  We went with her friend Raisin.  Secret Beach is a stretch of sandy shoreline along the Colorado River in East Austin.  It is very hipster (perhaps you already got it from the name) and people will bring coolers and beach blankets and hang out.  It is also great for dogs who like to run around, splash and generally be hooligans.

Bailey (left) and Raisin (right), doing doggy things and 'sploring

Bailey, having a great time

Chasing after boys

Enjoying the water and trying to cool off

The heat has continued to build since this weekend and through this week, with triple digits nearly every day. Boo! I hate it!  The good news?  Tomorrow might be the last triple digit day of the year!  I glanced at the 10 day forecast and tomorrow is projected to hit 104F (yuck!) but then highs in the 90s for 9 days after that.  Average highs for the second half of September are high 80s and 90s, so I can only hope it is all downhill from here.  There is nothing pleasant about physically feeling your skin burning from the UV rays in the five minutes it takes you to walk between buildings on campus.

Anyways, here is my week thus far:
Monday: 8.51 miles over hills, 90 minutes of flag football
Tuesday: off! Boyfriend returns :)
Wednesday: 8.16 miles, 90 minutes of flag football
Thursday: 2km swim

Wish me some cool, dry weather!

Summer Running in Austin: Part 2

I think I'm getting the hang of this summer running thing...

Previously, I wrote a post about the difficulties of running during the intense, long Texas summers.  And while the heat has not abated, I am am impressed by the adaptability of the human body because my runs seem to be getting better and logging miles in the heat seems to be getting a little easier.  Good thing too, because I have at least another 6 weeks of pretty high temps.

Walnut Creek, Austin, TX

This weekend, I had two great runs.  On Saturday morning, I took Ike to Walnut Creek in North Austin for a 72 minute trail run.  We both love running in that park; Ike because he can be off the leash and explore (he once flushed a massive, male deer), me because there is over 11 miles of trail network that twists and turns and covers all kinds of terrain, so it is pretty hard to get bored.  I started out at a relaxed and comfortable pace, tackling the steep uphills and screaming downhills with grace.  Around 50 minutes, I was still feeling good and conscientiously picked up the pace, finishing sweaty but strong.  I was pleased that I felt no soreness and hardly any fatigue in my legs.  I know the same distance on road would have a very different result, got to love those trails!

For the rest of the morning, Ike came over to my house for a play date with Bailey.  Unfortunately for Ike, she is full of energy and had had no exercise yet that morning.  The result was an unrelenting desire to play, which manifested itself as jumping on Ike and following him wherever he went.  Poor Ike!

Yesterday, I had a 12 mile long run on my schedule.  Instead of getting up bright at early at 6am, I snoozed my alarm and slept until 9am.  The lack of sleep throughout the week had caught up with me.  I was pretty bummed about not getting the run in, and set my mind to getting it done in the evening, something I have really never done with a long run, and especially not in the middle of the summer, when temperatures in Austin can persist above 95F well beyond 10pm.  Well, I ate a late lunch and made sure to drink plenty of fluids.  At 7:45pm, I headed out the door, 20 oz of water in my hydration pack and prepared for my first ever evening long run. Fortunately for me, late afternoon cloud cover had kept the temperature below 100F.

I started sweating about 5 minutes into the run and was pretty well covered 20 minutes in.  I ran west, under the MoPac expressway, and continued on a hilly course through the affluent neighborhoods surrounding Tarrytown and Mount Bonnell.  I watched a beautiful sunset, and 45 minutes in found myself running in the dark.  I was careful to watch for cars and stay out of their way.  Otherwise, I really enjoyed running in the dark, which was quiet and tranquil.  I had plenty of material on my iPod and tackled hill after hill with gusto.  Before I knew it, I was crossing back under MoPac with only 2 miles left on the run.  At this point I was pretty thirsty and finished off my water, and while I was tired, I never felt extremely fatigued and was able to hold a strong pace all the way through.  I finished 12.38 miles in 1:46:41, giving me an average pace in the 8:30s.  Considering all the obstacles: summer heat, long distance, dehydration, night time running, hills, I was very pleased.  Of course lots of cold water and a cold shower helped too.

So what is the take away point?  Pushing through uncomfortable conditions, be it hot or cold weather, will eventually pay off.  The human body is an amazing machine and can adapt to a lot of conditions.  Eventually, the rewards will come, and in this case, it was two great weekend runs.  Hoping the momentum will carry me through the rest of the week!

Summer Running in Austin: Part 1

It's that time of year again in Austin, TX.  Day time highs above 100F (yes, that is hotter than body temperature...), overnight lows between 73 and 78F and temperatures hovering in the 90s long after 10pm.  While morning temps in the mid 70s may not seem terrible, the humidity averages 90% at that time of day.  In summary, Austin summer weather is nothing short of unbearable for outdoor running.

Despite that, I try to make the best of it, getting up bright and early to run in the "cooler" morning temps.  My paces are slower and I feel like I'm running through a wall of humidity.  The sweating starts almost immediately and somewhere between 10 and 12 minutes in, my body is literally coated in sweat.  In my desperate attempts to keep myself cool, I am wearing very little clothing and have nothing with which to wipe sweat from my eyes, ears, forehead, shoulders etc etc.  I let it pool all over me and just go with it.  Lawn sprinklers are a welcome sight and offer a brief moment of reprieve.  When I finish, all the sweating leaves my core body temperature dangerously high, which can be alleviated pretty efficiently with a 10 minutes cold shower.  I follow this up with massive quantities of cold water, and it usually takes me the entire day to properly rehydrate.

Thirst on the run has been a major issue lately.  I have been trying to do longer runs in the range of 10 miles.  In cooler weather, I can easily run 16 miles without any water, but the summer heat has made that impossible.  I finish 7 mile runs totally parched and can recognize that the lack of water on the run is impacting my performance.  I finally caved in and got a hydration pack (actually boyfriend bought it for me as a birthday present!).  I got the Nathan 2-speed waist pack.  As a minimalist runner who hates taking "stuff" with them, the idea of a handheld was not appealing and the Nathan waist packs are not supposed to bounce.  I am hoping these extra 20oz can help me build up to the 14 mile range through the summer months.

On Sunday, I made the fatal mistake of sleeping in.  Sadly, I was very tired and had also gotten up early on Saturday morning to run.  I silenced my alarm and didn't get up until after 9:30pm, far too late to brave the morning heat.  This left me no choice but to run in the evening.  As previously described, evening temps stay in the 90F range up until about 10pm, so I decided that I would make the best of it and run at 8pm, a half hour before the sun went down.  I am babysitting my friend's dog Ike, who loves to run, so I took him along.  Ike is an incredible runner and has a lot of endurance, so I was surprised when both of us were lagging about 45 minutes into the hour run.  At our last intersection, Ike even lay down on the ground, something I never see him do, indicating he was hot, exhausted and running on empty.  We slogged through the last 5 minutes and celebrated with  frosty glasses of water.  The worst part was that, even though I had my new hydration pack, I elected NOT TO BRING IT WITH ME!  A 7 mile run is a standard distance for me, and I convinced myself I wouldn't need it and should wait to use the pack for longer runs.  A mere 3.5 miles into the run, I desperately regretted my decision.

So what have I learned with all these hot weather running?
1) The weather isn't going to get better for awhile.  Don't wait for ideal conditions, just motivate yourself and go out and do it
2) Running in the morning is almost always better than the evening.  Unless there is a massive rain storm and you happen to synchronize your run with the rain
3) Hydration makes a big difference.  Drink drink drink leading up to the run
4) Even dogs hate hot weather running.

When I finally use my new hydration pack, I will write a review with my thoughts about it.  In the meantime, stay cool and run long!