Today’s schedule called for a two-and-a-half hour run. The thought of running that long was intimidating. Since it is 100+ degrees these days, the run HAD to be on the treadmill; at least most of it. So the plan was to start running at exactly 4:55PM for 90 minutes on the treadmill at Lifetime Fitness, take a 5-minute break for fluids and nutrition; and then run the rest of the 60 minutes outdoors. I made two mistakes.
- I didn’t take enough fluids during the first 90 minutes. My calorie intake was also sub-optimal. I paid for this in the last hour.
- I didn’t account for how hot it was going to be at 6:30PM. It was 108 and humid which made for really difficult running conditions.
All in all, I did well for the entire 90 minutes on the treadmill and the first 20 minutes of the outdoor run, but then lost steam. I ended up doing only 45 minutes outdoors, thus cutting down my total time by about 15 minutes. I was started to feel dizzy in the heat and didn’t want to chance passing out! “Listen to your body,” I have read, and today I did!