Sorry for neglecting you for so long. I have a lot to talk about, so rather than posting one ridiculously long blog I am going to post several shorter posts.
Hot Hot Heat
No, not the band. The weather here in Central Indiana (and much of the rest of the country) has been sweltering this summer. Since my last post I have experienced Indy's first 100 degree day since 1988, a streak of 23 straight days in the 90's, and close to 30 days of above average temperatures (sorry I have waited to long to write this can't find the number). Have you guessed the topic of conversation yet? That's right, Hydration.
Allow me to tell a story of dehydration. Twas the year 2000 and I was a sophomore at North Side High School. During this track season I found myself in limbo between the 800 and the 3200. We were loaded up in the 800 and had a sold 4x8 team that I had no chance at making. I was still not keen on the idea of running eight laps on that track that were required for the 3200, so I found myself running the 1600. I had this crazy idea that I would do mix of 3200 and 800 workouts and I would be perfectly set for the 1600. My coach did not think that was the best idea, but I would hop in for some occasional intervals with the 800 guys. One Saturday morning I ran my prescribed workout at the park near my high school and ventured back to the track. I noticed the 800 guys were doing some 300's, so I sneaked in and ran the last few. After practice we stretched out and chilled in the locker room before heading home. I got cleaned up and waited around to be picked up by Marc David and Joe Perkins to go out to lunch. While I was waiting I had an excruciating headache and my vision became blurry with little peripheral vision. For some reason I ate two pickles, I guess the juiciness of the pickles was appealing, and I took two aspirin, seriously this is the only time in my life I can recall taking aspirin instead of Tylenol or Advil. During lunch I felt horrible. I could only manage to eat about two bites of my hamburger, but I did eat my pickle. The weirdest thing is that I barely touched my water the thought of drinking it made me feel sick. I think I drank about half a glass. When we finished Marc thought it would be fun to stop by our coach's house. I really just wanted to go home, but I decided to tough it out for a quick visit. Shortly after we arrived and while we were talking outside I proceeded to vomit the three pickles and two aspirin, the only things I had consumed since my run. Surprisingly, after throwing up I felt the best that I had felt all day. I was even able to drink a glass of water and not feel sick. Now, I am sure there is a doctor out there that can tell me why everything happened, but my non-medical background self was trying to tell you a cautionary tale of the importance of proper hydration.
Jack Daniels (no, not that one) has a pretty complex algorithm to determine fluid loss and sweat rate. If you would like to know more about this let me know, or check out his book Daniels' Running Formula. For me I use a less complicated rule of thumb when it comes to hydrating, drink a crapload of water everyday during the summer. You could also try to drink more water than you can shake a stick at, but I prefer to stick to the crapload method. How much is a crapload? Well, it depends on the day. I tried to keep track one day but I lost count somewhere around 120 ounces. When I was in college I drank about 1.5 gallons per day one summer.
Here are some tips for beating the heat and avoiding dehydration.
1. Hydrate the day/night before your run
2. Run during the coolest part of the day. Mornings are typically the coolest part of the day, but tend to be more humid, while evenings after the sun has gone down are drier but warmer than the morning.
3. Keep track of how much weight you lose during your run
4. Keep track of how much fluid you consume during your run
