The "AustraCan" Runner

Sad realization hit me on Canada Day. To celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary, my husband and I seconded to Florida to visit my grandfather. Sure the season is wrong (winter instead of summer), but what's more Canadian than visiting the U.S., right?

Anyway, I brought my running clothes with the optimism of going for 2 runs...a 6k tempo one day and a 7-8k LSD on another day.

The day was hot for my 6k tempo, but a small ocean breeze cooled it slightly. Off I went along the boardwalk, and for the first 2.5k things were going great. I felt good, I felt strong, I felt confident I could keep my goal of a 5.35-5.45 pace (I was sitting comfortable at around 5.38 the first part). And then I reached Decision Time: stay on the boardwalk, which was just under 5k long, and do one and a half loops, or go onto the beach for an extra km?

In an example of poor decision making, I went onto the beach. I knew the sand would slow me down, so I ignored my pace and went for same effort instead.

The wind died to nothing. And that sun was HOT. It became burdensome to do such tasks like breathing, and I just wanted to stop. But onward I trudged through the sand, knowing that shortly I would be back on the boardwalk to complete the last 2k.

I misjudged how much the sand - and heat - would destroy me. At first I thought I would give myself a bit of time when back on the boardwalk, then speed back up to my sub 5.45 pace, but that was not to be. I could barely reign in a sub 6min pace. The sun was hot, the air was heavy, and there was no more breeze to cool things down.

I started taking walking breaks to follow the 10:1 run:walk plan. But 10 minutes of running seemed to stretch into an eternity.

I finished the 6k exhausted and over-heated. I walked into the exercise room (where a lady who hadn't spotted me was singing on the treadmill while watching the news) and collapsed spread eagle on the hardwood floor to cool down. I then crawled my way back to the condo to have a long, cool shower.

I remember a time when I could run in heat and not have it take away my will to live, but I don't think that time is any longer. I guess it's fair to say I'm no longer an Australian runner...but with my preference for warmer days (with 15-20C and sunny being my ideal running condition), I'm not quite a Canadian runner, either. I guess you could say I'm now an "AustraCan" runner.