noattentionspan

In 4 days I will be doing the Desert Half Ironman in Osoyoos. Temperature expectation for Osoyoos on Sunday is 35C (95F). That would be about 10C (18F) higher than any temperature felt so far this year in various races.

If things are going reasonably well I will be about mid way back from Cawston heading over the rollers and getting ready to climb the back of Richter up passed Spotted Lake and through the Crow’s Nest Pass.

An hour and fifteen minutes after this point I should be starting my run. That’s the goal, to be running by 11am, right into the worst heat of the day

I’m starting to think that I should go up earlier and get some time acclimatizing to the temperature. And I need to make sure that I carry lots of electrolyte replacement items. Tablets, pills and fluids. Just one more thing to make sure I pay attention to of course.

— later in the day

So, I went into see the chiropractor today for him to do some actual work on me. Did it help? I dunno. I’d say no right now, but then we weren’t expecting anything to be “fixed” in one session. Do I feel different? Yes. When he was working on me I could tell just how tight my muscles are. Shockingly tight across the hip flexor actually.

After a bit of dinner I went down for my regular Wednesday run with the Running Room and figured that this was a GREAT opportunity to get some heat training in, finally.

It sucked. Well, it didn’t suck so much as it provided an object lesson in how poorly my body deals with heat when not acclimated.

What did I learn? More water is better than less water. I gave a small bottle away to Tara who forgot hers at home, but I would have done that anyway. Better that we both run on short water than either of us run on no water.

Nutrition matters SO MUCH MORE when it’s hot. At least for me. I could feel the food I’d eaten an hour previously. Wasn’t a good feeling, wasn’t a good taste, ug. I should have had a snack for about 20 minutes in with a bit of fast carbs and some electrolytes. I was sweating.

Keeping up with the other folks, or dropping back for other folks would have been better than just running on my own.

Mostly though, I learned to keep my mind engaged and working on keeping me moving. Focus on the muscle groups being used, focus on staying cool, focus on keeping myself positive. When I lost that tonight I lost a lot of ground.

After the run we hung about in the store for a while and then Quinton and I went off to Canada Games for a bit of a swim.

The place was packed, but I did managed to get a 2km paddle swim in before the kicked me out, so that’s good. The swim felt good after the hot run.

Let’s see what the morning brings eh?

S

Nutrition and Exercise

Morning Weigh-in: 195lbs

0745
- Vector with yogurt

— start of work

1030
- Mango juice (140 cal)

1200
- Leftover steak strips, pepper, onions all over rice. 1 medium plate

1330
- 3 small candies (100 cal)

1430
- Pear

— end of work

1700
- Re-fried rice with sausage and a bit of cheese

1830
- Gel

1830 – Tempo Run
- 10.27km flat run in the heat out of the Running Room.

2100 – Drill Swim
- 4×500m with pull buoy and paddles

2300
- Glass of Juice
- Bowl of Ice cream