A bit hot for running !

Wow ! what great weather we have been having :) I can't remember a bank holiday weekend that has been so consistently nice !

After having a week last week with reduced mileage I wanted to up the miles I ran a bit this week... In total I ran 31.96 miles, the first time I have run over 30 miles in one week.

Tuesday evening I had planned a 7 mile run along the river in the evening, relatively flat and a nice route.... the thing is I had only roughly planned the route and it was one I hadn't run before..... I also started out a bit later in the evening than I had planned.... I know I really should know better and I should have stuck to a route I knew but when I go out cross country I do carry ordnance survey maps with me on my phone (a great app called Multi Map) and I normally use the same app on my ipad beforehand to map out my route so I know where I am going... but this time I "guessed" at the extra distance and true to form got it wrong. By about 2 miles.

2 miles doesn't sound much but at the end of a run when it is getting dark and you are running through fields and woods that you don't know it seems further than it actually is ! the other thing I find is that although some footpaths and bridleways are clearly marked and "obvious" others aren't. I ran the wrong way at one point in to a dead end in woods (and brambles) and had to retrace my steps.. I also stopped a few times to look at the map (you know the "surely I must be there by now" feeling !). But, I now know the route and it is certainly one I will run again.. I also now know how I can shorten it and where the footpaths actually are ! the high point of this run was the field full of baby lambs that I ran through, really tiny newborn lambs...

Anyway, this is Tuesday evenings route..



You would think I would learn from my mistakes... and most I do but Good Friday I had a run planned from Steyning to Worthing Sailing Club. Phill was on safety boat duty down at the club so I thought it would be great to run down there and get a lift home. I sent him off with a bag of my stuff including recovery drink, clean top etc to leave in the car and I took the spare car key with me so I could still get to it all if he was still on the water. I had learnt from my lack of route planning Tuesday and had measured this route at 11.4 miles and it was almost exactly spot on. What I hadn't taken fully in to account was the temperature and the effect of running in full sun. Running along the river I had a choice of paths... the one that I though might offer some shade... or the one right on the river bank in the sun... I opted for the one that I thought would offer some shade. It didn't really. I got very hot ! Once I crossed the river and ran along the river bank (the path I now know I should have chosen) it was far more comfortable even if it was still in the sun because of a slight breeze. About 4 miles in I really didn't think I would make it and found some shade to stand in for a couple of minutes to cool down. I contemplated phoning Phill and telling him that I had turned round but knew my the time I had got home I would have covered 8 miles anyway so thought I would continue to the seafront and then see how I felt.

From then on it did get a bit easier, a slight breeze from the made it a bit more comfortable and by then I had stripped off to just shorts and running bra, by this point I really didn't care what people might think, I was just soooooo hot !

I made it to the Sailing Club... slightly slower than I had hoped but a very valuable learning experience.

Things that I learnt on this run :

1. Running when it is over 20 degrees C really makes it much, much harder
2. I don't like running carrying 1.5 litres of water. This made the first part harder than it was normally and affected my balance and posture. Next time I will stick to 500ml and take change to buy additional drinks on the way or fill up from water fountains etc.
3. Sunscreen works :)
4. Over the 11.4 miles I lost about 2 litres through sweating.
5. I must sort my feet & trainers, I'm still getting blisters in the same places..

Anyway, this is a map of that route.