Disappointingly educational

I am still stewing over my run today. I try never to be too hard on myself when things don't work out the way I expect because, well, not only could it happen in a race but also, that's life!

Today was one of those (for lack of a better word) incidents where perhaps a little over confidence and lack-of-preparation got the best of me. Though I am slightly disappointed with how the run went, it was very beneficial to come to grips with the reality that running in warm (dare I say hot?) weather is very different than running in cooler weather. Though that might seem slightly obvious, it is most relevant to having (and adjusting) your hydration strategy come race-day.

Having switched over to afternoon runs as of last week, I took today off to ensure I got my long run in under the Arizona sun. Of course, today just happened to be the hottest day of Fall thus far (high of 92).

(Queue lack-of-preparation)

Having dismissed the 'heat' I would be running in, I obliviously thought that preparing my water bottles and Perpetuem a few hours in advance would make them cold enough to withstand the Arizona sun. Wrong.

(Queue over-confidence)

Having performed quite well in my last couple (shorter) runs, I started this run like I was attacking a shorter run in cooler weather. Starting my run at 9:30 should be cool enough to keep an even pace for 3 hours. Wrong again.

When you put those two together, nothing but bad ju-ju happens - just like it did today. When you don't respect the heat, it will take you down in a big ball of scratchy salt.

So while the run itself was disappointing, it was a great reminder that long-runs - whether in the desert heat or not - must be respected.

Lesson learned.

Respect the run, respect the heat.

Check.