I ran 28 minutes today. It was a beautiful 82 degrees with relatively low humidity, sort of breezy. Perfect weather for lounging around the pool, but (sing it with me if you know the words) TOO DAMN HOT for running. Especially running longer than I've ever run before. I'd say it sucked, but that would be an insult to things that suck (Ditto biting things, blowing things, etc). It was not at all enjoyable, let's just put it that way. Adding to my misery was my lack of a headband to keep my bangs out of my face, and my dollar-store headphones that kept slipping off my head at the worst possible moments.
But you know what? I did it anyway. I went slowly, stopped 3 times for water (stopping the music and the timer), and walked about 17 minutes in warm-up and cooldown. My total time for 3 miles was 45:10, for an average speed of just under 4 mph. I ran about 2.1 of those in 28 minutes, making my average run speed 4.5 mph. My walk speed was around 3.1-3.2 mph, mainly because I kept the clock running while I stretched and also while I stopped to talk to someone for a minute. With those things added in, it took me over 8 minutes to walk my 1/4 mile warmup.
My average heart rate was lower (154 bpm), because there was more walking this time and I took breaks during the running. I was in my 120-170 bpm zone for over 19 minutes.
Even in the longest stretch of the run, though, I don't think my HR ever got over 180. Now, if I had continued to run without the water breaks, it may have gone higher...but I'm not exactly itchin' to see what heat stroke is like, so I figured I'd play it safe.
So, in summary, 28 minutes seems a helluva lot longer than 25 to me, even though there's only 3 minutes difference. And I'm no longer running outside unless the temperature is less than 80 degrees. I may even bring that down to 75, because (again, sing it with me) hot-weather running SUCKS.
Posted by Joy at April 11, 2005 04:01 PMAwesome job on the running in the heat, I wouldve just kept walking in that weather! I dont remember how I found your site, but Ive blogrolled you and look forward to your daily inspriations! Thanks!
Posted by: dazed on April 12, 2005 07:23 AM