Blog of a Middle Aged Athlete

As you probably have gathered through my whiny post yesterday, it is hot in Austin.  I just received an email from a gentleman in my running group that I thought I would share.  Stay cool!

 Heat Disease Alert

The most common health problem among endurance exercisers is heat disease. This is a serious condition which has resulted in death in a high percentage of cases, even in highly trained, young athletes.

Prevention:
• During hot weather, exercise at the coolest time (usually before sunrise)
• Drink water all day long
• Avoid caffeine, alcohol and other drugs
• Wear clothing that is light and loose
• East small, low fat snacks which you know will not cause you distress (far enough ahead)
• Don’t significantly increase duration or intensity
• Slow down pace even more to adjust for heat, humidity and hills – especially in the beginning
• Take walk-breaks more often on hot days

Symptoms:
• Intense heat buildup in the head, significant headache, general overheating of the body
• General confusion and loss of concentration and muscular control
• Over-sweating and then cessation of sweating, clammy skin and excessive breathing
• Extreme tiredness, upset stomach, muscle cramps, vomiting, feeling faint

Risk Factors:
• Sleep deprivation
• Infection (viral, bacterial, etc.)
• Dehydration (avoid alcohol and caffeine)
• Severe sunburn, skin irritation
• Unaccustomed to hot weather
• Overweight
• Untrained for specific training session
• Occurrence(s) of heat disease in the past
• Under medications – especially the following: cold medicines, diuretics, medicines for diarrhea, tranquilizers, antihistamines, atropine and scopolamine
• The following medical conditions: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, under extreme stress, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, drug use (including alcohol), cardiovascular disease, smoking, unfit lifestyle

See a physician who knows the beneficial effects of running and fitness
• Before beginning the program
• If you have any question about any of the above conditions
• If you notice any significant change in body functions, immune response, etc.

Take Action!
• Watch for heat disease in group members and take action if you think they are in trouble.
• Walk, cool off and get help immediately.

WOW.  Summer is here, and it is doing everything in its power to ruin my training regimen.  When I checked out my favorite weather site today, I was greeted with this:

“…A HEAT ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL
TEXAS AND THE COASTAL PLAINS THROUGH 7 PM SATURDAY…”

Great!  Just what I needed.

It seems that as a runner, I have a choice of running early in the morning with temps in the upper 70s and 70% humidity or at night when it is 100 degrees with 30% humidity.  What a choice!

I know what you are saying.  “Joe, would you like some cheese with that whine?”  I don’t mean to complain.  In fact, I love it here, and would much prefer to run in these conditions versus what the poor folks have to go through up north in the winter with all the snow and ice.  However, my runs during the last few weeks have been terrible!  My paces have slowed dramatically.  When I am done with a run, I feel terrible.  My next marathon is coming up in 4.5 weeks, and I am concerned about how I will do.  I actually ran twice this week on the treadmill at my gym, a practice I despise.  However, I figured it would do me some good to get the legs moving quickly again. 

Fortunately, the temps in San Francisco promise to be cooler than here.  Probably in the upper 50s.  Will I be able to go back to my faster times once I am there, or will my slower summer times have a negative effect on my performance?  I was pretty confident after my last race, what happened?

We’ll see how my 16 miler goes this weekend.  I’ll probably start before the sunrise.  I have to take advantage of the cooler temps.

I have a dilemma.  When I signed up for the San Francisco marathon a few weeks back, I just wanted to have a race to run that would keep me motivated over the summer.  I really didn’t have any great expectations for it, other than to hopefully set a new PR.  Then, once the fall marathon season kicked in, I would focus on qualifying for Boston.

Last night, while chatting with a member of my running group, it hit me.  Why not try to qualify in San Francisco?  Sure it is hilly.  Sure my training times have suffered in the intense Texas heat.  But why shouldn’t I at least try?

I’m afraid to fail.  There, I said it.   I’m afraid that I will tell everyone that I will try to qualify in San Francisco, then have to come back with excuses as to why it didn’t happen.  I am afraid that if I don’t succeed the first time, it will continue to haunt me and affect future attempts.  I am afraid that in my attempt, I will stumble across the finish line, many minutes or hours slower than my previous races, due to my aggressive race strategy.

Or…will attempting to qualify for Boston next month help me with future races?  If I try and fail, will it motivate me more (anybody that knows me knows that answer)? I will most certainly be smarter with regard to race strategy after this race, so what could attempting to hurt. Pride? Confidence? Physical injury?

A common rule of thumb is to slow your pace about 1 minute a mile during the summer.  Using my last long run on Saturday as a barometer, I ran 18 miles at a 8:38 pace.  If in the cool San Francisco mornings, I am able to reduce that pace by 1 minute, that would put me at a 7:38 pace.  So let’s do the math.  26.2 miles x 7:38 pace = 3:20:00.  My BQ time - 3:20:59.  So your telling me there’s a chance!

Oh, let’s give it a try and we’ll see what happens!