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.