Running With Jack

After work yesterday it was a toasty 35C/95F as I suited up and headed out the door for a run around 4:30 p.m.. I ran the same 9K/5.5M route as Monday night, but this time I just let my legs decide how fast they wanted to run. I started out about the same speed as my tempo run on Monday, but by the end I had slowed down by 30 seconds, it was hot! I averaged 5:35/K (8:58/M), a pretty good pace considering the heat.

So why is Jack braving the summer heat? Well, the answer is easy, the 80K/50M run starts at 5 p.m., the hottest part of the day in our region. We have had an extremely cool spring, this sudden heat wave is a shock to the system. With only 9 days to go until race day it is imperative that I get used to the heat as soon as possible.

In any case I felt good after the run, this is a good sign. I drank around 3 liters of water throughout the day before running, this is essential for running successfully in the heat.

Today is a holiday in Germany, so I am waiting until it gets hot so I can run a couple more hilly sections of the 80K race route. My goal is around 21-23K (13M+), easy pace. I have 3 liters of weak sports drink loaded in my CamelBak and I?ve been hydrating since I woke up this morning (5 a.m.) it is supposed to reach at least 32C/90F by this afternoon bring on the heat, I?m ready!