I'm Wilting

I got up for my run this morning. Very excited. I decided to make it out the door by 6:30 AM instead of my regular 5:30 AM because, hey, I'm on va-ca, right? I was so excited to be running in a single t-shirt, shorts and a baseball cap, I actually got out ahead of schedule. OK - 10 mile tempo run. I am reviewing my route in my head - I have never run this route before (thank you Google maps) - as I cross the building lobby and the automatic doors slide apart - WHAM! Hit by humidity. It was thick out there. Coming from MN where it has been 40 degrees and dry this was unfamiliar, but it's only ten quick miles, off I go. 

I had planned to warm up the first couple of miles, kick it to tempo pace and then give myself about a mile warm-down. I followed that plan for all of - um - about three-quarters of a mile. By this time I was warm. I mean sweating. It felt good and I felt good - nice and loose with not niggling aches or pains. I am cruising through town, but I am starting to get the feeling this might not be the best run. My mind was all over the place. I was double checking my route, checking my pace, checking my time, checking my distance, thinking about how much I was sweating, how I hadn't had anything to eat, how I hadn't had much to drink, how my feet were landing kind of loudly, how my chin was rising and causing my shoulders to bunch and on and on. I couldn't find my happy place. 

About five miles in I had had enough. I stopped and walked half a block. I needed to regroup and revaluate the mission. I really didn't feel like I could maintain an even tempo pace without killing myself, so I decided to finish out the remainder at a whatever pace I could hold comfortably. The humidity  was just a killer. 

After training for the Twin Cities Marathon last summer, I know I can run in the heat and humidity, but I definitely need to build into it. This was too much, too soon and I was mentally and physically unprepared. Needless to say, I did finish the full distance. I gave myself a really easy last mile to warm down. 

When I got home - dripping wet - I checked the weather. Temperature = 70 degrees. Dewpoint = 68 degrees. That is like 93+% humidity. I might as well have been running in a jungle. I didn't feel so bad about my "performance." It would be tough for most people. Tomorrow is another open water swim. It is supposed to be breezy, but hopefully it will be calmer in the morning and I can get it in early. I really have no idea how the ocean works. I am used to lakes at home that are always fairly calm except in a storm you wouldn't want to swim in anyway. At any rate - Spring Break Training, so far, so good.