Phew, but it was hot out there today. I couldn’t get out until about 10:00, so I decided - in my infinate wisdom - that rather than running in the local park, or down by the lake on the nice shaded trail, that I would run out on the shoulder of a hilly stretch of rt. 1626 down near Buda. You see, that route has some great hills (and pretty much no flat surfaces), and it happens to be part of the RunTex 30K coming up in January: a race I really want to do well on.

Anyway, I get down there and end up parking at the elementary school, planning to run 3 miles out and 3 back for a total of six. This doesn’t quite get me to the high school, which is the start/end point of the 30K, but it puts me on a lot of the bad hills that I’ll be encountering.

The heat was annoying (90 degrees, 65% humidity), and the sun was blasting down onto me. There was no shade, and from the beginning of the run I started to sweat. Still, as long as I kept it slow, this shouldn’t be too big of a problem. I’m going to be out for less than an hour, after all. Right? Sure.

Right after I headed out, I came across a small herd of boy scouts heading back from a hike. They were fun - many of them wanted high fives as I ran past, which was pretty cool. Of course, I couldn’t keep up my slow goal pace of 9:30 as I passed them, I had to kick it up a notch or two. At one point I looked down at my watch, and I was clocking a 7:20 pace! That couldn’t last, and I did slow down after I passed them, but the hilly first mile still went by at 8:24 - which was not a great idea.

Time: 8:24 - 9:11 - 9:04 - 9:51 - 10:39 - 8:38

After mile three I practiced drinking from my water bottle (75% gatorade) while running - I had limited success, but still got a decent amount of fluid in. Mile five was a different story. I actually had to stop and walk for about 90 seconds near the end; my pulse was racing (160s) and I was feeling weak from the heat. I downed the rest of my bottle, walked to the top of a hill (I was pretty close), and decided to kick it up a notch or two from there. That was pretty crazy, and I finished the course looking and feeling weak and shaky.

So. Not the best way to do a training run, I’m thinking. I’m supposed to be taking these easy, walking as needed. I’m not supposed to be giving myself heatstroke. Tomorrow I have to do four miles at 8:15 - I’m going to make sure that I’m completely rehydrated first, and do them as early as possible - and in the shaded park for good measure. Unless I’m just feeling stupid.

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