Surviving the Long Run in Florida

 Alternate post title: “Surviving Death”

...Dad and I ALWAYS do a "How do we FEEL?!" picture post race.  Tradition haha!  

First of all, Happy National Running Day!  Even though I am not primarily a "runner," triathlon does include a run leg, so I do my fair share of training to associate with the running community. This week coach had me run 14 miles at a "comfy effort."  Afterwards I said, "well, it was certainly a strong consistent effort...but I wouldn't call it "comfy."  I don't think it's possible to run in this heat/humidity and be "comfy" haha! 

(I mean, nothing is going to feel good after my recent "wipeout" this past weekend-click here)

Whenever I train (competive swimming, triathlons, etc.) my reaction to discomfort/pain goes like this: 1-get really angry at whoever decided I should do this, followed by 2-get really sad and cry because I’m in so much pain and being angry takes too much energy from whatever I have left. 

No matter what I do, it is going to be hard to run in these conditions (I know it's getting pretty hot/sticky up north too), but there are some things that make it slightly less miserable…slightly…

1)  Music

A good playlist is SO important.  It's really what I look forward to the most.  I create a playlist before whatever distance I’m doing and add songs that I’m currently into-usually a mix of genres.  Really as long as it has a beat or is sung by Enrique, I’m good to go.  I try to make sure that there are enough songs to last the entire run.  Around the 3 hour mark in my marathon, I started to hear songs repeating since I didn't have enough in the playlist-I was like, reeeeaaaallllly?! Not cool.  Not making that mistake again!! Here’s  a sample of a playlist I recently created for a long run.

I'm Born to Run-American Authors
On and On- The Score
Deeper-Meredith Andrews
The Pheonix-Fall Out Boy
Red-Taylor Swift
Raging Fire-Phillip Phillips
The Fighter-Keith Urban
Nothing Is Impossible-Planetshakers
Relentless-Hillsong
Kryptonite-3 Doors Down
Move Along-The All American Rejects
House Party-Sam Hunt
Between the Raindrops-Lifehouse
Snow (Hey Oh)-Red Hot Chili Peppers
Burn-Ellie Goulding
Clocks-Coldplay
Stronger-Kelly Clarkson
Bailando-Enrique
All In-Lifehouse
Drag Me Down-One Direction
Stitches-Shawn Mendes
God's Great Dance Floor-Chris Tomlin
Brand New- Ben Rector (even when I shuffle the playlist to be random, this song always manages to be played during the final mile...oh the IRONY!!)

2) Water...WITH Electrolytes

In the past, I would NEVER dare stop for a sip of water…and you can IMAGINE  how awful this made it! What used to be something I NEVER included in my runs, this has become absolutely essential to me now.  It’s also always exciting to find some sprinklers along the route.  I usually need to refill a 20 oz bottle once every 5 miles (40-45 minutes).  BUUUUTTT DO NOT forget to add some electroytes to the water since you will loose so much through sweat. Gatorade of choice: Blue Frost (it's refreshing and mild unlike the lime which I think is a wee bit too strong for my liking and kind of makes me want to gag). This is the bottle carrier I use (I hate things around my waist, so this is works well for me): 

3) Shorts WITH a Drawstring

Don’t even THINK about wearing shorts without a drawstring when running here.  My shorts become plastered to my legs and start falling down because they are that drenched in sweat.  After running 12 miles with the final  3 miles done holding onto my shorts, I was NEVER going to wear the wrong shorts again.  Lesson LEARNED.

4)  Hat

I’m still too vain to wear sunglasses during training haha.  My tan lines are bad enough without having “raccoon eyes” to boot, but a hat gives just enough shade annnddd keeps some of the sweat from dripping in your eyes.  Soooo it basically kills 2 birds with one stone. 

 

5) Size Up Your Shoes

You may or may not have heard that your feet swell when you run.  I’ve found this extra true while running in the heat.  I LOVE Mizuno Wave Inspire shoes (I have 4 pairs right now!).  They are great for narrow feet with a close yet comfortable fit.  I usually run in my size 9.5 if it is colder outside, but down here I only wear my size 10 shoes since I notice more swelling when I run due to the heat.  So far I have had no blister or toe nail issues, and I think this is probably helping.  Pictured below: Dad's shoes next to mine!   I call his the "clown shoes" since they are huge and overloaded with cushion! His feet are not thaaattt much bigger than mine, so it always cracks me (and mom) up hehe!

6) NEVER Put Energy Chew Packets in Your Sports Bra...EVER
This isn't just a FL running specific thing-it's just a bad life choice wherever you are.  One day I wore shorts that didn't have any pockets-Sooo a sports bra is the next best thing, right?!  WRONG, SO WRONG.  The little "harmless" baggie RIPPED my chest apart as if a cat had clawed and scratched me until I bled. Side note: Biking with fuel in the bra works ok-I've had countless power bars stored there and it's super convenient compared to reaching behind you where cycling jersey pockets are located.  Your upper body stays pretty still while in aero position, so this works fine...BUT not gonna lie, you kind of have to get over the "I'm sure I look crazy sticking my hand down my shirt every 15 min!"  

7) Chamois Butt'R Cream
Even though this is a anti-chaf cream made specifically for cyclists, I use this pretty much all day every day.  You would be really surprised what areas will start chafing when you run for long periods of time.  I can go an hour without much rubbing,  but beyond that, NO!  My HR strap does the most damage, so I like to slather on a lot under it. Plus, it SMELLS SOOO good!  It's like a super pleasant smelling sunscreen-speaking of suncreen!!! USE IT!  Even when it is cloudy.  SPF of choice for me is 110!

8) SLOW Down and SMILE J

Yes it’s hard and yes it hurts and yes you will have to slow down.  Honestly it totally comes down to ATTITUDE.  It won't be hard to allow a run in the heat/humidity to become a major suffer-fest, but just because it's hard doesn't mean it's impossible.  Your pace will NOT be anything CLOSE to what you would hold in “perfect” conditions.  I get in my head all the time with “why are you going SO SLOW right now?!”  BUT I’ve run enough to know that my slow paces here are equal to a faster pace somewhere else.  I’m usually a good minute off my ideal perfect condition race pace.  For example, when I run in Chicago in the early spring, I can hold a 7:30 pace for 10 miles.   Two weeks later I hold about and 8:45 pace for 10 miles in FL.  You just need to take your focus off the numbers and appreciate that you are likely training in MUCH harder conditions than you will be racing (which is way better than the other way around in my opinion).  Staying positive and putting a smile on your face will keep you going.  If you are in pain, think of something that doesn’t hurt at the moment….anything…like your thumbs.  If they don’t hurt, focus on those. Just let your mind go to its "happy place" and don't allow negativity to creep in.  Thoughts of quitting WILL come, so be prepared to shut them down instantly. 

Now that you are done with your run, BECOME BFFs with you FOAM ROLLER (use it before your run as well if you feel a little extra tight-which is most the time for me haha!

It’s definitely hard to run here-especially in the summer-especially when you don’t get up at the butt-crack-of-dawn to do it (which is not worth it-85 degrees vs. 90 degrees isn’t worth getting up a good 3 hours earlier-just my opinion though).  BUT, by doing these things, I have found running in these conditions much more tolerable, and sometimes even enjoyable.  Don't fear the heat...just deal with it appropriately! What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right ;)