Sunday, August 09, 2009

Back from vacation, learning an old lesson

ORN: 9.4 miles total, with 7 x 1 mile repeats, average 8:56 (but averages are deceiving)

You'd think I would have learned this by now. But apparently not.

Hydration matters.

Running last week on vacation in northern Wisconsin was awesome. The cool temperatures, dry air, beautiful woods to run through, stress-free atmosphere all worked together to make a great week. I ran hard, felt good, enjoyed every step.

And, as often happens, I somehow thought that what had happened would continue to happen.

When we got home Saturday night, we were greeted with a classic set of the "Indiana Ninety-fives"... 95 degrees with 95% humidity. Out the door at 7am this morning, it was already 76 with very high humidity. The schedule called for 7 one-mile repeats. I decided, with the heat, to be happy with 8:45s.

The real problem, though, was I decided to not take any water with me. Shoot, I figured, it would "only" be about 9 miles total and, shoot, I didn't need much water in Wisconsin and, shoot, I don't really want to put on my water belt, because shoot, I don't like how tight I have to cinch it up around my waist to keep it from bouncing.

Shoot.

It all worked fine through the first four intervals. All within 4 seconds of each other at 8:41. Felt good. My shirt was drenched in sweat, though, and it was just awful outside. The fifth interval slid to 8:59 and the last two were a real struggle, at 9:17 and 9:36, respectively.

Worse, I hurt like crazy. My feel, my hips, my quads all ached, in a way they haven't in a long time. This is, for me, one indication of dehydration...somehow the joints are less "lubricated." I drank about five glasses of water in 45 minutes once I got home; I had clear evidence that in that "mere" 9 mile run, I indeed had dehydrated.

You'd think I would know better. Perhaps it's good to relearn this on a non-race, short day out.

I'm gonna counteract this by wearing the belt on each of my runs now...even the short ones, while it is still this humid...which will be through much of September. It also makes me wonder if I shouldn't investigate a non-waist-oriented water device.

Enough on this, though. We had a fabulous vacation and here are a couple of photos of the fam.

The Fam, at Schoolhouse Beach
Here we all are, at a favorite spot. I'm in the back. From the left, is son Matt, son David, his wife Susan and my wife. Drew had the "binocular eyes", then Nathan and young Miss B. It was awesome to spend a full week together.

G and me
My lovely wife and me on a fire tower. In the background is Lake Michigan and, on the horizon, Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Yeah, the sky was really that blue.

Vacation or no, do persevere. And drink plenty of water...do as I say, not as I do!!

8 comments:

Karen said...

Joe: I thought your youngest son (in the photo) was Matt and that your middle son was unable to make the trip. I'm sure that son Nathan will be pleased that you missed him so much that you named him in the photos.

Seriously, these are great photos of everyone! You are allowed a little kidfusion!

Karen

John said...

Ah, Joe, you would have rightly chastised me for not hydrating on a "California 80" day.. and yet, you did not see the wisdom of water on an "Indiana 95" morning!! Makes me feel better for deciding not to bring my fuel belt on Friday's 10-miler in the heat... even the teacher makes those decisions on occasion!

I agree with Karen.. you are entitled to a little kidfusion, especially as you reacclimate to the Indiana humidity. Good to be home, no?

Great photos, really.. thanks for posting them. Chris wants to take a trip there now!

Backofpack said...

Joe,
There are several good and comfortable packs out there. I really like my Nathan Intensity, even on a hot day. I like to pack it with ice, then water and go. I used to use the waist pack, but as you mentioned, did not like how tight I had to cinch it. Packs have the added bonus of extra room for hat, gloves, shirts, and food. You'd be surprised at what I can cram in!

Love the family photo - glad you had such a great vacation!

Darrell said...

7 x 1 mile repeats is a whole lot different than my mere 4 x 1. Wow. Was there no warm up or cool down, how about intervals in between. Don't you count all that mileage as well?

For that lubricated effect, maybe a little WD40 will work!

IronWaddler said...

Joe,
No matter how much we think we know about running somehow we always forget and need to relearn something ususally the hard way.

Love the photos. Blue sky looks awesome.

John said...

Meant to tell you, Joe, those were great splits, especially in the heat.

The fact that you did that 7 times is amazing!


John

Karen said...

Talk about Kidfusion... I didn't know that a hydration system shared the name of your son, Joe!! Go Nathan!

http://www.nathansports.com/our_products/hydration_nutrition/speed_2.html

And I do think it is always good to relearn old lessons!

Karen

Wes said...

Yup... anything over an hour requires fluids. Love the pics of Michigan... but still too cold of a place for me. Now the 95 thing I can associate with :-)