I was very naive at the start. The humidity was not high, and the temperature didn’t seem too crazy, at 84 degrees, but it was still the afternoon and the sun was shining. That, combined with not having run in anything higher than 72 degrees since early September (except for a couple of rough runs in South Florida in December), made this run very difficult. I guess I’m just not ready for hot weather running yet. I know it will get easier, with more practice, as the hot weather becomes entrenched.
Two mistakes, I think. First, I tried to run too far, and second, I didn’t bring water or Gatorade with me. I chose a 6.2 mile route, out and back through East River Park and down the East River a ways. There is a water fountain in front of the track in East River Park, about a mile into the run, which I would pass at miles 1 and 5.
Could feel the heat pretty quickly, but the first half of my run was into the wind. Running into the wind is good in the heat, because it helps evaporate your sweat, and keep you feeling cooler. I did dial the pace back a bit. With a quick stop at the water fountain, my first 2 miles were done in 18:21. After another 1.1 miles, I hit the turnaround, and was then running with the wind. There was less resistance here, so the going was easier, but it felt much hotter without the wind. My pace was steadily dropping as the middle 2.2 miles were finished in 21:27.
Then, things started to get really hard. The sun started really bothering me, and I started feeling very dehydrated. Did not stop before getting to the water fountain again at the 5 mile mark. Drank a lot there, but could not continue running. Was feeling dizzy and just very tired. Alternated running and walking the rest of the way. Probably walked almost half of the last mile. Final 2 miles was done in 21:20, not bad considering the walking. 6.2 mile total was 1:01:09.
The hardest hot weather run is the first. I’ll be better prepared the next time, and hope to be properly acclimated by the time we get to July and the New York City Triathlon.
