Certain variables can make a run easier while others make it harder. Temperature and humidity are two variables that have a significant impact on the outcome of a run as I learnt last Sunday.
The past three years have allowed me to run at mild to cold temperatures in Poland. Now that I’m back in Australia and it’s the end of summer, temperature reaches the high twenties and early thirties. Going out for a run in that is tough and that’s probably why most of the fun runs start at around 7am which is just fine with me – afterwards I can go out for a nice breakfast near the water.
The 8km run on Sunday was tough. Real tough. I was expecting an easy run but after the first two kilometers I began to feel like crap. The sun was shining, the temperature was rising and my running outfit was suitable for cooler conditions. I was very thankful for the two water stations available and made use of both.
Another variable that was against me was food. I had eaten a bowl of wheat-bix with fruit and almonds about an hour before the run. Bad idea. I wanted to puke most of the race. I’ll know better for next time. In Poland, most of the races started between mid morning to mid afternoon which meant that my breakfast had enough time to digest.
I’m glad that I took part in this fun run series as it gave me an idea of what I have to do before future races; each one is a learning experience. I have less than four months to the Gold Coast Marathon. This one race has taught me (a) not to eat breakfast an hour before the race; (b) to wear less clothing because my body will heat up and make me feel uncomfortable; (c) pace myself from the beginning; (d) train more regularly because more than four days without running will have a negative effect on my form.
Overall I came 12th in my age group, 38th female, and 166th overall with a time of 41:26.
There were no medals but that’s ok the photos are enough and much easier to store. All money raised from the entry fees go to the Ronald McDonald House Charities which I think is great!
Sounds like you’re settling in fast! It must be such a big change temperature-wise – and culture! Impressed that you’re getting out there already, and raising charity money too:)
I love the temperature and the culture in Australia and I can’t believe that I actually stayed away for more than three years.
As for the charity money I like entering races where the entry fee goes to some sort of charity that really needs it. 🙂
Three years is a long time, but going by your blog you loved Poland too! Must be tough having two homes. I read another post recently from someone about running clothes, she moves between two parts of the US with different weather and says she aims to wear clothes for temps of about 20F more than it really is – if that helps!
It is tough especially when there’s family on both sides of the world.
As for the temperature, keeping that in mind definitely helps, the thing is remembering to put into practice. I seem to forget the little things before a race 🙂