heat and beat feet

I composed this in my head as the next blog post but it's been so crazy at work, i'm only just getting it down.

Training for the marathon has gone very well. I've done the work. I've worked hard on the areas I know I tend to lag at which are consistent long tempo runs and the mental training that comes through working on that. I used to have a lot of long runs that just ended up as slogging shuffles and I think working on hip/glute issues has kept those issues at bay (as well as helped foot issues).  That's my guess anyway.

I feel ready and looking forward to a tough battle out there on the roads. What I've been most fearful about has been weather. we've had a fairly warm late fall and the temps had stayed in the 40s pretty consistently. Then the temps have dropped and we've been in the 30s. The best i can hope for forecast for my goal marathon? This marathon has an early start so i should be done by 10 am. I hope that the temps will be on the low side in mid 40s and rise to mid 60s by the time i finish. I expect higher humidity (which I am used to).  That can be 20 to 30 degrees higher than what i am used to at this time. 

So what to do? I researched all about heat training and decided to do something about it.  That meant that the last couple of weeks i've done three runs a week all bundled up. One of those runs (sometimes two) has been on the treadmill with typical indoor temps. And I have also been exploring the gyms in my area and acclimitzing to higher temps by sitting in dry saunas (and a steam room when available). 

It's been interesting. I can say that I am definitely more accustomed to these warmer runs. I do start sweating earlier and am really surprised by how sopping wet my layers have gotten. I have to remind myself to drink a lot more to hydrate afterwards too. This is in line with expected adaption to heat. You sweat earlier and more.

The sauna has been quite enjoyable overall. Really it feels wonderful going to bake yourself when it is freezing outside.  The first time i tried this i lasted about 30 minutes in the sauna. After a couple weeks about every other day, i am now more comfortable and last 50 minutes. I definitely have noticed that I am sweating earlier. The first couple times i did this i could feel my heart rate going up (expected) but the last couple times it took much longer for this to happen. I have been leery of bringing electronics into the rooms so i just bring a magazine until i get too soggy to hold it. Another unexpected byproduct is that i start to lose the ability to really concentrate so generally just lie down and try and relax instead of reading.

We'll see what this does. It certainly cannot hurt!

What can hurt is what I've been doing at work. We are in the middle of a multi-stage, multi-floor office move within our existing building. By the end of the week, i've been on my feet non-stop and my legs were aching. Anytime i'm not up and about (or running, ha!) i am trying to sit with my feet up. I will have a couple days off before teh marathon so that'll have to do.  I broke out the compression calf socks to wear at work and those do seem to feel better.

Taper on!