The Heat is On

Last weekend, David and I travelled to the Quartz Mountain Resort near Altus, Oklahoma to attend the Quartz Mountain Music Festival. Pepe Romero, the world-renown classical guitarist, performed at the festival. David is a classical guitarist, and he truly enjoyed watching Pepe perform. In addition, we celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary on Sunday!

Several people told me that it would be hot and humid where we were going, and I tried to adequately prepare. On Saturday morning, I ran six miles with no problem, and I did not carry water. It was definitely more hot, humid, and hilly than I am used to on my typical runs in Amarillo, but it was not unbearable. This made me over-confident for how I would feel on my 10-mile run scheduled for Sunday morning. I set out around 7:00 a.m., and the first three miles were not too bad. I ran for what seemed like an eternity and managed to run only 8.5 miles. Fortunately, I was smart enough to carry water in my Camelbak, but I ran out of water before my miles were up. The humidity and heat were ridiculous, and the hills numerous, and I ran out of steam at 8.5 miles. Thinking that I would make up the remainder of the miles when we returned to Amarillo, I got ready and we had breakfast. About an hour after breakfast, my stomach began hurting and did not stop.

I went to bed early Sunday evening and got up at 6:30 on Monday morning. After doing my hair and make-up, I had some cereal for breakfast. I was not feeling bad and had every intention of making it to work. After my cereal, while filling my travel coffee mug, I became nauseous. A minute later, I was running to the bathroom to throw up. I was sick and unable to eat for most of the day Monday, causing me to miss work and my workout. It even affected my strength and energy on Tuesday, and I took that day off as well.

It could have been food poisoning, although David and I ate similar things and he did not get sick. I truly believe that the heat got to me and made me sick. On days like Monday, all I can say is that I am thankful for the dry climate and breeze of Amarillo! I am heading out for a run today in Amarillo, and even if it is hot, you won't hear me complain.

For more information on heatstroke and heat exhaustion, visit this Runner's World article: http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-369-370--12030-2-1X2-3,00.html.

To Skirt or Not to Skirt . . .

Have you seen these new running skirts? These are getting so popular that Runner's World published an article on the topic in its July 2008 issue. You can see more Runner's World discussion on these skirts at http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-369-371--12738-0,00.html. Before I read the article, I swore that I would never wear a running skirt. There is something about running in a skirt that is contradictory to an athletic event; in my mind, true runners do not wear skirts.

The article made some good points, such as the fact that the skirts don't ride up. Anyone who runs much has fought the dreaded upward crawl of their running shorts. When this happens to me, I am quite thankful for the miracle product that is Body Glide (http://www.bodyglide.com/). However, I just cannot imagine running in a skirt. I wear skirts to work, but these all come to my knees. I do not own a mini skirt that I wear in public, so why would I run in one? The skirt seems to take the seriousness out of the sport, but maybe I am just too serious. I am thinking about buying one and trying it out. If I do, I will let you know.

Weight Gain

How is it possible to run/exercise more than I have in my entire life and my clothes are tight? I have spent the last month trying to convince myself that my pants are tight because I am getting more muscular. However, the ruse is up. I am gaining weight, and it is happening because I am eating too much. I wonder if this happens to a lot of people when they start running? The appetite increases and you eat more, i.e., you eat too much. Maybe it is the dessert. I am still eating similarly to how I ate when I wasn't training, but now I am allowing myself to snack and eat dessert more often.

I envision runners as long, lean calorie-burning machines, and that's what I want to look like. I want to be healthy and not too skinny, but I sure don't want to run 15-25 miles per week and worry that my pants won't fit! The plan is to not do anything about this until after we return from our vacation to Chicago (we leave on the 4th!). When we return, maybe I will start lifting weights and limiting my desserts. I also want to try yoga. I am working on positive self-talk ("this is a learning experience," "everyone goes through this"), but I need to see some improvement quickly because I am getting discouraged!