What have I become?

Okay, so the simple fact of that matter is that if you'd have told me any time up to about a year ago that I'd be doing any kind of running on a regular basis, let alone training for and running 5k races, I'd probably have laughed at you. I've gone through most of my life believing that I hated running, and that short of some sort of health issue that left me with little other choice, it would never be something I would get into.

That being said, on Sunday I had what is probably the biggest "who is this person?" moment that I've run across to date in my running life.

First, some background - as you know if you keep up with this blog (which, let's be honest, isn't a dreadfully time consuming task these days), a few weeks ago I began round 2 of my training schedule, prepping for the "Run for Reading" 5k in Mechanicsburg on August 14th. What you may not realize is that there was a rather noteworthy climate shift between the time I completed my serious training and started to taper for my first 5k and when I went to pick up training again - good old southcentral PA summer weather had crept around, which meant I was encountering 85 degree heat with accompanying high humidity, when previously I had been predominantly dealing with maybe 65-70 degree, relatively dry weather as the worst case scenario.

Anyhow, I was able to get through the main part of training that week - I was running in the evenings at/around sundown, so that blunted some of the heat issues, though I was certainly feeling it. When the weekend came and it was time for my 5 mile run, however, it was a different matter. I tried to run on Saturday morning - got out at maybe 9, thinking that would be good enough to beat the serious heat of the day - and it was. However, it was already 75 degrees, with humdity probably up in the 80% range, and the sun was out and just beating down. A 5 mile run at the pace I was planning to run ordinarily wouldn't have been much of anything to me at this point, but about a mile and a half in, I knew I was in trouble. It didn't help matters that I went out slightly faster than I had planned, but I don't think that was really the issue - I was just not prepared for the conditions. I toughed it out, but ultimately I was bonking with pretty much nothing at my disposal to remedy the situation, so I pack it in after a disappointing 3.5 miles.

Overall, I was really discouraged by the workout, and with the weather forecast not looking much different for the next several days (except for when it would rain), I wound up not going out at all for the next week. By the end of the week, my resolve was back and I prepared to get started up again in the week to come - with one notable change - I would move my workouts to the early morning, which is how I had started out, until the middle of winter when it was just to cold. So, I had come full circle, as I was now finding it too hot to run after work. Running in the morning is also helpful now that softball season is in full swing, because I can't really run in the evening on game nights.

The schedule change worked quite well through the week, which brought me to the weekend and my next attempt at a longer run. I was resolved to do a few thing differently this time, which I expected would help. First was to increase the frequency with which I took in water, to compensate for the extra I was losing due to conditions. Second was to bring some sports drink along, to replace some of the things I was sweating out besides just water. Lastly was to be absolutely sure to keep my early pace under control.

However, there was still the matter of conditions - and Sunday was looking an awfully lot like the Saturday of my ill-fated last attempt. All of which leads me to the "who is this person?" moment - I decided to set my alarm for 5:15 on a Sunday morning so I could get out before the sun was all the way up. When I took off, it was only 68 degrees, but weather.com actually said it was 100% humidity. It was actually rather cloudy, so the sun wouldn't have been a major issue anyhow, but I'm still glad I got out really early. The run went markedly better than my prior attempt, and I completed a full 5 miles at a pace I was pleased with, though I did run the last 2 miles on flatter terrain than I usually would because I was starting to feel it and I wanted to make sure I covered the distance.

Really, I think the "who is this person?" moment came after the run, when I had showered, replenished fluids, and had something to eat - at which point I laid down to take a nap before church. That kind of blew my mind. (Don't worry though, I didn't let that interfere with my more standard post-church nap... )