According to news stations, today is to be the hottest day of the year. And the hottest day since 2007. The official temperature hit 101 degrees. There was also an "excessive heat warning" alert. I'm not sure what the heat index reached in our area, but I'm sure it was over 110. Yesterday, the heat index hit 121 in Memphis and 116 in Jackson. I saw the weatherman just before I headed out the door at about 6:30 pm. He said it was 98 degrees with a 107 heat index, at the moment.
Since I did not do my 10 mile long run until Sunday, I did not run my 4 miler on Monday. I also took my regular Tuesday rest day. So, extreme heat or not, I had to run today's 5 miler. However, the heat was not the thing that was making me most uncomfortable during this run. It was ALL the JUNK I've eaten the last couple of days. Monday, a CPA was at the office checking out the books. The owner's wife fried some chicken and cooked some other things for the occasion. Although I didn't any of "that" food, I did eat more than I usually do for lunch, especially the Cheetos. That same night, I ate 7 biscuits, ice cream, and some other stuff. On Tuesday, the CPA and I went to O'Charley's. That night I had pizza, ice cream, and Cheetos. I'm used to a a few peanut butter and crackers or cereal for lunch. I usually eat more than I should (and later than I should) for supper, but I'm usually not already stuffed. This eating binge weighed heavy (no pun intended) on my run.
I took it easy - easier than I should have. I let the combination of heat and extra weight convince my mind that I should be struggling. So I struggled. When, in fact, I could have been running faster. I finally overcame the feeling of "this is the last 5 miles of 100 miles through the Sahara" with about 1/4 miles to go. Mile 1 was fine - 9:26. Then 10:28, which I thought I could live with considering the heat index, and I didn't want to suffer heat exhaustion. Miles 3 and 4 were really slower than I should have done - 11:07 and 11:19. As I said, I picked up toward the end of the run, but the damage was already done, and Mile 5 was at 10:43. Overall, it took me 53:03, for a pace of 10:37.
I did keep my average heart rate down - 161. I didn't want to have a heat stroke. My max heart rate hit 186, but that was only because I tried to "run" some during the last quarter-mile. My resting heart rate was a LOW 50, but I'm not sure if that is right. I need to watch the heart rate numbers; the battery may be dying. My recovery went from 184 to 130. Again, the first number is because of the push at the end. Still, it dropped 54.
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