July = Hot & Humid Running

I'm a Minnesota gal, period. There's a lot about Minnesota in me and one of those things is my toleration for cold weather. It's summer days like the ones we have been having that remind me that I really prefer to train for spring races so that I can train during the cold winter months. I would MUCH rather warm my body up by running than stepping outside and start sweating without having put one foot in front of the other.

Minnesota had a terribly long winter this year. There was recordable snowfall up until May 3rd!! I'm happy to have not gone through that - but the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) didn't have an "April Showers, Bring May Flowers" kind of spring either. We went from cold & dreary to hot and humid! No nice spring in-between.

Northfield, MN - May 2, 2013
photo credit: Emily Spoden

I've been running this month despite the heat & humidity. I have to. . . Chicago is less than 3 months away. I run outside in this heat because I really can't stand the treadmill! I just run shorter distances, stop to walk and take on liquids more, and try to stick to shaded trails. 

Tonight my group cancelled the organized group run because of the heat index being in a dangerous zone. I wasn't planning on joining the group any way - I'll be waking two toddlers up at 5:30 in the morning to catch a flight to Minnesota! I needed the night to pack and prepare for our trip!

Here are some great tips for running in the heat. I would add trying to run in the early morning or late evening when the sun isn't so high in the sky.

www.ericadhouse.com

I'm following the Haus of Girls monthly miles challenge again and so far I'm at 26 miles for #50milesinjuly! Not too bad for a hot and humid July so far! 

26 miles for #50milesinjuly

I'm off to Minnesota tomorrow for a little over 2 week vacation. I will be missing 3 Saturday long runs with my group. Since my Mom is training for Chicago as well I don't see too much troubles in getting my long runs in.

Stay cool!

Winter…I mean Spring Running

This is what greeted me Saturday morning when I got up for my 7k run. Snow! Now I'm the first to say I actually like winter running. I like how it's quiet (not everyone has it in them to run in freezing weather) and I like that I actually warm up while running rather than stepping out into humid sweat. 

But snow on April 20th I can do without! 

I'm meeting a friend in Nashville, TN for the Country Music Rock N' Roll half marathon this weekend. I wanted to try to break the 2 hour mark during this race. I ran the Rock N' Roll Montreal half marathon in 2:02 so I thought it would be doable. My friend told me its been hot! Like wake up in the morning to 70's hot. I just ran in snow - my body isn't prepared for hot running yet. So I've decided I'm going to enjoy a girls weekend away, run how I feel and enjoy the music along the course.