Running while HOT

Well, summer has definitely arrived here in Southern Maryland and running while hot is not a description of how I look while running!

I did not let the heat discourage me from getting my runs completed. The key I think is to wake up early in the morning before the heat and humidity really get going. I would say that the average temperature last week was a warm 95 degrees for the high and the low was not much better---maybe 80 degrees. No complaints and no whining though...


I have decided to greet the heat rather than complain about it. For example, I tell myself as I step out of the air conditioning and into the outdoor natural sauna; 'Ah, yes the heat, I was expecting you. Join me for a run.' or 'Gee, I hope it warms up out here pretty soon because I love to sweat!' It is strange how such silly thoughts can truly "help" to get me through the run without focusing on the high temperatures and extreme humidity.

I have gleaned such mental strategies from my training book---the Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer. The authors stress the mental preparation as equal to the need to train physically. It is referred to as "constructing your own reality" ---change your thoughts and actions and you can change your reality. In other words, change your attitude or in much fancier terms cognitive reframing. I will go with the term attitude adjustment. It isn't that this is totally new information, but using this technique with regards to exercise is quite new for me.


Simply defined one must at times force oneself to have a positive attitude even when that positive outlook is counter to what you feel or think at a particular moment or during a particular activity. In my case it is running. For example: Pain is a sign of weakness. (after an attitude adjustment) Pain is expected and a sign that your body is working hard to become stronger. The pain is the same, but the interpretation is different. It is amazing how powerful our minds are and how when we make the choice to be positive and change our outlook or interpretation--what we thought once impossible begins slowly to become possible.

We are not in control of what happens to us, only how we react to what happens to us. I can choose to complain about the heat, getting up early, and muscle soreness, or I can just complete the run. I am choosing to run.

Yesterday was Father's Day and I am so grateful to have been able to spend the day with my father as well as my husband and father to our two wonderful daughters. This Father's Day perhaps more than others I was reminded of the blessing it is to have those we care about with us on a day like Father's Day, but also throughout the year. This reminder came from the sudden death of Tim Russert.

How does Tim Russert connect to my marathon goal? I certainly enjoyed watching him on his show Meet the Press, during election result nights, or early morning Today show appearances. However, I think his life was larger than his passion for politics. His legacy is one that we all should strive to have as our own. He valued faith, family, love of country and hard work combined with enthusiasm for learning and life. He described his greatest accomplishment as being a devoted son, husband, and father. I am grateful for the lessons I have learned from his life. Live life to the fullest, attempt those things you feel are out of your reach, be grateful, and take not one day for granted. Not one day, or moment,...or run.

Quote for Week 19: “Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.”