I tend to overheat when running, plus the sun and warm temps make my insides boil. I prefer early morning runs in general because I don't have to worry about SPF lotion, sunglasses, or hats, and the trail and roads are much less crowded.
Because this winter was so cold, I switched to after-work runs. With today's forecast of sun and upper 60 degrees, it was time to switch back to morning runs.
I woke up excited for my run. I dressed, drank a homemade sports drink (water, lemon juice, agave nectar, and chia seeds), ate a handful of raisins, and was out the door at 5:20 a.m. It was 37 and chilly, but I quickly heated up and was very comfortable.
Today was the start of my new 10K training plan. I went to the river trail and did 2 miles at tempo pace (target 9:49 but sometimes was more) sandwiched in between 2 miles at an easy pace. Damn if I didn't get nauseated while doing the tempo pace! I had nothing to eat but a few raisins, so it can't be what I eat that's contributing to the nausea. Every time I push myself to a hard effort, I get nauseated. I really need to buy those salt sticks to see if that helps. It was nice to have the mile of easy running at the end to calm my stomach. I was back and showered before the sun came up. Great way to start the day!
Distance: 4.02 miles; Time: 43:20; Pace: 9:49-11:30
The other nice thing about morning runs is it frees up so much time in the evening. After work, instead of rushing the dog out for a walk so I could get back and go running, I drove us over to West Park for a walk. My dog is heat intolerant and can only go on short walks when it's above 50, so today was pretty hot for him and too hot to walk to the park like we usually do. They had emptied the pond last week but just filled it up, so he was able to wade in it a bit (I don't let him go all the way in though) to cool down.
I got used to doing yoga first thing in the morning. It's great preventive work to deal with workday stresses. But with morning runs I'll need to start doing it in the evenings. Turns out it's also a great way to end the workday. Tonight I did the 30-minute hip release video from Yoga Journal that I love.
Labels: 10K training, easy run, heat, morning run, tempo run, yoga