After missing a run on Tuesday evening when it started deluging (Is that a word? I guess it is!) just as I set out, and not having any opportunity at all yesterday due constant rain all day, I knew this morning was likely my only chance to get some miles in.
On the plus side, a temperature of 59 degrees and overcast. The downside: 95% humidity. It was so wet, and the air so heavy, that I felt like I needed scuba gear.
Whether the humidity or the lack of running this week, my legs just felt dead. Eating more Sports Beans than I've ever eaten before seemed to give me a little energy back, and I drank plenty of water, but I still felt really exhausted and disgusting most of the way through this one.
Unfortunately, I just hate running in the heat and humidity, and getting my distance is going to be a challenge. I'd rather run 15 miles in 40-degree weather (or even 10-degree weather) than 8 miles on a day like today.
About this time last year, I cut my mileage back from three 10 mile runs per week to three 6-7 mile runs per week as the weather got more warm and humid, with the occasional 8 or 9 thrown in if we had a cooler, less humid day or I felt particularly good. My problem this year is that I'm running the full marathon at Philly, instead of the half, on November 20, and I don't think those mileages will cut it.
I should be ok adding most of my distance in September, October, and Early November, but if I want to get in two or three 20 mile runs before the marathon, I'll have to keep my base up. In hindsight, the fall marathon may have been a bad idea, but at least weather at the race itself should be perfect.
That's enough venting. I'm sure I'll get used to it, the weather's been all over the place this year so it wasn't a steady warming up to allow me to slowly acclimate, and I just hadn't had a run this year yet with anything near this level of humidity. But, still, if any readers out there also loathe running in the heat and humidity, I'd love to hear what you've done to make it more bearable.
