Thursday, June 17, 2010

THE STICKIEST DAY FOR ME YET













(In effort to try and take more photos while blogging, Me after my most humid run yet, and favorite essential items that get me through the hot runs)


Oh Austin how I love it when you rain in hot temperatures, like today. It rained about an hour before my run and so the entire run was like running in a hot shower. But surprisingly my 7 mile run time was not too bad, even faster than the last one.
Schedule is very crazy these days because work is very busy and I am so tired before I slip my running shoes on, and wish so badly I was able to run in the morning. But I am getting used to it slowly, and when it does drop 5 or 10 degrees it is an instant relief on the trail.

Over the past 9 months I am learning different ways to comfort myself during the training. Winter season was a cinch because the sun was less intense and my Lupus was minimal in terms of creeping around. But with the sun and heat come challenges. A couple of things that help me cope below:

First off, I finally bought some new shoes, first pair since January. Shoes are expensive, and just dropped $500 into my car last week, but had to bite the bullet, for my feet's sake and get a new pair. I like to recommend what works for me, and I have kind of flat feet and it's hard to find a good match, but the Adidas Super Nova Glide II are awesome, the only running shoe that has ever fit my foot like a glove. If you are flat footed, do try on a pair.

Because my face gets affected by the sun when I have Lupus flare ups, bumped into the best sunscreen for anyone sweating it out in Austin or anywhere hot or by the water. It smells awesome, and it stays on and does NOT burn your eyes. It's from Hawaiian Island Creations, and it's in a yellow tube and is SPF 50 2X Sunblock. I pour on the sunscreen from head to to toe before the run.

I have felt a little queasy around the half way point of my runs lately, but decided to grab a 20 oz of Gatorade and slam shortly before I start running (even chill it in the freezer at work for a bit, so it's slightly slushy) and it has helped greatly with energy and and only needing water along my run. It makes me feel cooler for awhile too.

I bought a new hat and some new shorts. I have been wearing a regular ball cap to shield the sun, but makes my head overheat, so bought a running hat, and some light dry-fit shorts, big difference on feeling lighter and cooler.

I continue to use regular over-the-head headphones when I run because they are large enough to cover my ears and help prevent Lupus inflammation (which can hurt inside the ear area) by keeping the sun off.

So, with all this preparation, I have felt all right in the sun, and though I complain of the heat, I am relieved that I am still able to train without too much difficulty heading into the harshest part of the summer.

I cannot wait to go home and visit in a couple of weeks. I have not been to Michigan since Ryan's funeral. It will be strange, a little, maybe, but look forward to seeing my family and watching them sweat in 70 degree weather while I put a sweater on! Ha!

No comments:

Post a Comment