OK. First, the goal: get up at 4:30, meet at South Mountain at 5:30, start running at 5:30 so we would be done before 7:30, before it started getting hot. There was no shade there. The reality: those of us training for the marathon met at 5:30, others get there at 5:45, we find out they are not running down the mountain, we have to discuss it and then drive to the top, we start running at...6:10. What follows will be no surprise.
There were four of us running together, including my husband. The first 5.6 miles were steep downhill with a few steep uphills. We ran a 9:38 average over the first 8 miles (still downhill). That average is skewed upward a little bit by a 10:25 at mile 3 (big uphill). I concentrated on just letting gravity pull me down and not braking with my legs.
At mile 5.6, there was water! Our water was either gone or very hot by then, so we obviously got some more. BUT, it was Team in Training water. After we got our water, the lady asked us what "valley" we were with. We were thinking that we all live in the Valley of the Sun, so we werent' sure what she was asking. When she figured out we were not Team in Training people, she was MAD. But what do you do: refuse to give water to people in Phoenix in the summer? I realize we are not part of the Team and don't pay the exorbitant money to do it, but man, we needed water.
We then started running on a two-lane highway that is closed to cars. There were lots of runners and bikers out. A guy on a bike passed us and yelled, "Don't hog the whole road!" We weren't. What followed were some not-nice comments made by members of our group that will not be repeated (one, I confess, was made by me, but I know he didn't hear). :-)
Anyway, I digress. We turned around at 8.2, still going a 9:38 average. But then, what goes down must come up (that includes the hill AND the sun). Both came up with a vengeance, and I overheated and had to walk. After my few episodes of heat exhaustion, I know the symptoms and listen to my body. My next two miles were 13:40 and 15:05 because of it. Fortunately, there was still cold water at the Team in Training station (and no one around), so I was able to cool off. I was able to run the last 1.5 miles, so I know the problem was only the heat.
When we got back to the car, it was 8:30! No wonder: it must have been 90 degrees already! I wish I could have finished my FIRST SIX-DAY RUNNING WEEK with a bang, but...heat happens. Next time, we start running when we say we're going to start. We might have to get up before 4:00! Whoa! |