Temperature Rising, Swimmer Dropping

After taking three days off, including an extra one due to sunburn, I jumped in the pool last night. I managed a meager 2100 yards before getting out. There was probably a combination of factors that contributed to my early exit: it was an extremely hot day and the pool was very warm, it was the start of a long and hard workout, and I had been rear-ended in post-fireworks traffic the night before (which has most likely aggravated an injury I mentioned in Why Ironman? Here’s Why). It was disappointing to leave early because of a massive head/neck ache, but it won’t do me any good in getting to Ironman Coeur d’Alene next year if I put myself at risk.

So that’s what I’m dealing with right now. I was going to try a run tonight, but we’ll see how that goes. It was 95 degrees F when I left for work at 5:10 AM, I’m guessing that today is going to be another scorcher and so I might go to another pool workout and hope I don’t repeat last night’s fiasco.

I’ll post again later today regarding motivation as I’m currently watching a pretty cool “blogumentary” I found mentioned by Jonathan Starlight in his blog, Jonathan in the Distance. Some of what he says mirrors what I’ve found on YouTube and I’ll make mention of that later. Keep checking back.

Hot Weather Training

I spent a good portion of yesterday afternoon in the neighborhood pool, refereeing games of Marco Polo and Capture the Flag. Regrettably, three hours in the sun has turned me into a salmon-like pink version of my former self, radiating heat and a soft glow wherever I go. I felt like I had been keelhauled and then rolled in fresh sod when I woke up this morning; I’ve inevitably started to scratch and this really hurts. So I’m caught in a Catch-22: scratch the itch and cause more pain, yet satiate the itch; or ignore the itch thereby saving myself from more pain but facing an excruciating itch, which I could relieve myself of if only I were to itch and subject myself to more pain. Currently, Life is a Bitch.

As my dilemma progressed through the morning, I began to wonder how this could affect my training, as I had read somewhere that sunburn affects our ability to sweat and cool. I Googled it and found an amazing article on Hot Weather Training. It definitely deserves a link, and will give you a heads up when it comes to preparation for Ironman Arizona, Timex Triathlon, Soma Half or other such desert adventures in triathlon, marathon, hiking, biking… or Marco Polo. I’m not looking forward to the master’s workout tonight; this might become another day of rest.