A Case of the Ughs

Since my last race in early May (the Flying Pig in Cincinnati, OH), I'm finding that I have a distinct lack of motivation to walk very many miles each week. I like to shoot for about 20 miles/week, but lately I'm lucky to walk 10-12. Some of it's life - lots of distractions (work, family, etc.) - that mean there often don't feel like there are enough hours in the day to get it all done. Sleep isn't always easy to come by when things get busy, which makes it awfully tough to get out of bed at 5:30am to go for a walk. Some of it's the weather; last week here we had multiple days of 95-100 degree temps during the day, which meant that in the early AM when I'm walking, it's 75 degrees and 95% humidity. And some of it's my personality: exercising because it's a good thing to do can't always make me feel like getting out the door. I sometimes, maybe even often, need a goal to pursue or a deadline that's looming ahead to help me kick into gear.

The problem is this: life will always be busy; it's summer so the temps will be high for a while; and I don't have a race on the calendar. So what do I do? I'm still working on that, but I do have some ideas. One is to find a smaller race to shoot for, maybe a local 5K, to give me something to look forward to. Another is to set some interim goals: step up my mileage incrementally (15 this week, 18 the next, etc.). I should probably also set some goals to take off the weight I've recently gained. And another thing I may do is explore some other exercise options to give me some variety in my fitness plan, things like biking or swimming. Finally, I can look for ways to get some walking done in a practical way; I can go to the store or run errands on foot (no pun intended).

Ultimately I'll get my weekly mileage to where it needs to be, I think. Until then, I need to keep plugging away as best I can - and get off the couch.

Hot! Hot! Hot!

North Carolina, where I live, is having a heat wave: highs this week have topped 100 a couple of times, with more promised. I walk in the mornings before work, and yesterday when I stepped outside at 5:45am, it was 80 degrees. I mean, that was the low temperature for the day. Plus it had rained a few hours before, so it was downright steamy out. One of those days when you feel a wall of stickiness when you walk outside.

Now I don't know about you, but I sweat. I don't glisten, or perspire in some sort of elegant, ladylike way. I sweat. By the time I got back from my 3 mile walk, I was soaked from head to toe. So what do I learn from days like this?

1. Walking early is the best solution. I'm lucky, because I'm a morning person. But even if I wasn't, there's no way I'd be walking at the end of the day when it's 90+ degrees out.

2. Tech fabrics are great. They don't keep you from sweating, but they do help the sweat evaporate more quickly, thus keeping you cooler.

3. You hear this a lot on hot day, but hydration is important. As much as I sweat, I can lose a lot of fluids on days like yesterday.