Some days when I run I feel as if I have concrete blocks for shoes and a corset tightly tied around my chest. On these days I know that I either have a nutrition or hydration problem. Lately, it's been the latter.
I've been really surprised and dismayed at how slow my first two training runs have been. Prior to this week, I was running 8:30ish miles for 3-5 miles. This week I have been lucky to keep up a 10 minute mile pace for a 3 and a 4 mile run. My goal for the marathon is to run 10 minutes miles on average and finish the race in 4 hours and a half.
It dawned on my today that my slower pace may have something to do with the weather, which is far more humid lately. Today in NYC the humidity was 82% and the high temperature was 96 degrees. A simple Internet search taught me that humidity and high temperatures reduce the evaporation of sweat from our skin, which reduces our body's ability to cool itself. We then sweat more as the body continues it's attempts to cool us down. The more we sweat, the higher our rate of dehydration. Thus, high humidity and high temperatures leads to higher levels of dehydration. This has been my problem.
Dehydration is probably a rookie mistake. Better to learn that sooner than later, I suppose.
Here is a helpful article from Runner's World that I found to help me better understand how to hydrate. I hope it is helpful to you.
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