Celebrate Israel Run 4M

No PR; I just feel lucky I got alive! 

Running a race when I've been training on a treadmill in a heatwave is probably not a smart plan. It was a little bit of deja vu from the previous week's 4M. The same middle loop of Central Park. The same 5(ish) hills. Start and Finish line, the same.

NOT the same weather.

Not my favorite type of email 2 days before the race.

Nothing gets you thrown into summer weather like the first heatwave of the season. It was miserably hot. The familiar sweating before you do anything feeling reemerged. Have I mentioned I'm not a fan of sweating? Or the heat? Why do I continue to sign up for races that require summer training?! 

The race itself wasn't bad. Nothing on my body hurt (Thank you, new shoes!), I just couldn't breathe. I was a fan of the shaded side of the park and thankful for the constant breeze. It stopped for a second at one point and that was when I realized how much help it was. I didn't foolishly try to race anyone to the finish line, definitely not in that heat. I also noticed the pollen count was down, too, because I wasn't incredibly sick, like I was after the last couple of outdoor runs. Just wiped out from the sun.

Yes, I was sad my pace suffered but what's to be expected when you get thrown into acclimating to summer training?

There was some on course entertainment that helped. It was a family of runners and the older daughter (I'd guess around 10) was not  a fan of running. It really made me sad because you could tell the parents just wanted their children to enjoy the sport they loved, they were just going about it the wrong way. After a mile, the mom got too frustrated and left the dad to deal with her. I really felt for her, because if my parents made me run a race at that age, I'm pretty sure my reaction would've been a spitting image of what I was watching. Sadly, that was a fleeting moment. When the daughter proceeded to cry loudly, I almost lost it for her poor dad. My internal monologue went something like "oh no, girlfriend. You cannot cry and run; that's too hard and it's not cool. Ger your shi$t together, we still got 3 miles". I believe she finished the race, but I'm pretty sure it'll be her last. Wowsers.

 

SO thankful for my Under Armour heat gear tank. 

Tested, and approved for hot summer long runs. 

I'm another week closer to my Under Armour What's Beautiful goal, even if I didn't PR, and another week closer to Dumbo Dare Challenge weekend. Let's hope the Mini10k this weekend has better weather. 

Are you a fan of summer training? How do you deal with the heat?