Summer has finally arrived! Time to get acclimatised…

Yes the theme this week was the sun has arrived and stuff is happening! It was a bit of a rollercoaster really.

Let’s get stuck in.

W/C 17th June

Tuesday

Tuesday intervals in the park with Lindley were back! It was a great motivation, as I don’t think I would have put as much effort in otherwise. It had forecast heavy rain but as we got there, it seemed to be fine. Ha!

The session involved what I called the lumpy loop. It headed down under a bridge in the park then back up again and round before a downhill recovery. Shortly after we set off, it began to rain heavily.

It made it that much harder to get motivated, but I was already there. I might as well continue. I like to do progressive efforts, but I focused on being consistent and I more or less was.

Of course, when we finished the rain stopped again.

Oh, how we laughed…

Thursday

I had a job interview on Wednesday so I there no adventure or active recovery day this time. Priorities and all that!

Back out with Lindley as usual on a route I really did like. I just forgot about the long climb up to New Hey Road.

We set off during the 2nd half of the England game and it turned out to be a great decision as we missed nothing.

It was boiling though! The heat was back and yet again we weren’t used to it. Whilst I did enjoy the run there was a point where I could have easily run home and cut it short.

I didn’t though and the lovely bronze runners stuck with me and kept me going up New Hey Road.

I wasn’t the only one struggling in the heat and it’s important to remember to take it steady in these conditions.

Saturday

I didn’t get the job I interviewed for and whilst I felt fine physically, I was still processing it mentally.

Due to this, I decided to pace 34 minutes at parkrun. I could have tried to run a sub 30 but I would have tensed up, struggled then be upset if I didn’t achieve the goal even if I tried my best.

The day before I was listening to an episode of The Strength Running Podcase featuring Nike’s global head coach, Chris Bennett. In the episode, Chris talks a lot about how we base too many of our runs on performance rather than other factors. You don’t have to run to try and beat your time or for a set distance… you can also run to get outside for 30 minutes and clear your head or to check out the view on a trail you’d heard about. There is so much more to running than what the watch says, especially when you have stuff going on. A run is a run and changing the plan is smart. I’ll post a link at the bottom so you can listen if interested.

Anyway – got a bit off track there.

34 minutes at parkrun. It was a mild morning that soon warmed up. It felt really good physically, but more importantly – mentally.

I chatted with people most of the way round. On the 2nd lap, the hills can be soul destroying so motivating runners of all ages was great. I encouraged two kids to carry on running as ‘it’s the last time we’re doing it, might as well get it done with!’.

As it did get warmer, it was important to also check in on others to see if they were coping OK. As we turned around a corner a man had to sit down on a bench as it has got to him. He would still aim to finish, but walking the rest of the way.

The supportive parkrun community was out in force today and it felt great to be a part of it. I do sometimes feel invisible at the moment so this was wonderful. Two lovely ladies at the end excitedly told me that they achieved a personal best thanks to my help. This meant so much to me and I was so glad I could help them achieve their goals.

Regular readers last year may remember that I did say how frustrating it was to have pacers as they stressed me out. I still do find them stressful but having done it myself now I really respect it. Especially something like parkrun where people are volunteering, it’s a helpful guide… and there’s always next week.

Oh – I forgot to say… I ran it in 33:59 so I did pretty well!

Sunday

The plan today said 12 miles. Only 1 more mile than last week. No problem.

I had the pleasure of running on the Leeds and Liverpool canal from Kirkstall to Calverley and back. I haven’t run on there since 2019 so I was VERY excited.

I lived in Leeds for 2 and a half years and it was where I started running! So I will always be grateful for this canal for getting me started. When I lived there I did usually run the other way (from the Royal Armouries towards Woodlesford) but the good thing about this canal is that it goes on forever! Perfect for long runs.

I knew it was going to be a warm one so I had my salt stick chews ready with water. I usually use Tailwind in my water but I hadn’t had them with salt stick and I was on an ‘away’ run. Didn’t want to have an accident on route!

The first section of the run was fine, I felt the heat but I just kept it steady. When I got to Rodley the canal became a lot more open with less trees and coverage. The sun had come out. This continued when I reached Calverley, when I could finally turn around at the 6 miles mark.

By the time I was back under the cover of trees, I was spent. Mile 8 and I began to feel the energy sapping effect.

I’ve been running for a good few years now and know that the hot weather always gets to me. I’m prone to migraines, vomiting and all that good stuff. With this in mind I slowed down and focused on running the mile I was in. Mile 9 – less than 5k to go. I can do this. I didn’t feel great.

I got to mile 10 and had a breather, messaged my friend to let him know I was OK but I would be a bit longer than expected.

Those last 2 miles I mostly walked. This is OK. Still early in the marathon training and still early in this heat acclimatisation process. I didn’t have any aches and pains, just the exhaustion of the heat. It does take a while for us to acclimatise so I just have to be patient.

Week 3 thoughts

I was expecting to experience the *~* weather *~* at some point and I’m glad I have early on. This gives me time to get through it and not have it impact my longer runs. I know fancier Garmin watches can tell you how acclimatised you are – mine is pretty basic but I’m sure I’m at about 40%? No idea really haha.

Anyway, I can run 12 miles no problem, so moving forward it will be fine.

No aches and pains so we’re staying strong and focused. Week 4 let’s goooo!