Finally Adjusting To The Heat

News flash. It is hot out there, throughout many parts of the midwest. We had a mild winter and are now paying for it with a ruthless summer. The temps and humidity continue to plague workouts and slow our times. But this type of training can make us stronger, if only we're not afraid to get out there (after taking the proper precautions, of course).

Thursday I met up with the FN Runners for an fn hot run.
Even though it was super warm out, we still had a good amount of crazies out there joining me for a run!

L to R: Maggie, me, Amanda, Genevieve (+2 munchkins), Jill, Michelle, Keith, Susan

Yes, Maggie and I ran in sports bras. It was so hot and gross, we just didn't care. Plus, it was kind of a delayed response to Kelly the Culinarian's Sports Bra Challenge. We ran it slow, we ran it steady, we completed our run on a hot day and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. (This run was meant to be a recovery run after my mile repeat workout earlier in the week, so there wasn't a planned pace anyways.)

On Saturday, I had a long run scheduled for 13 miles. 7 miles at an easy pace, 4 miles at half marathon goal pace, 2 miles cool down. Prepping for my long run the day before, I made sure I had plenty of fluids (trying to learn from my mistakes). Even though temperatures were warm and it was humid, I headed out and tried to do my best in the heat. To be honest, the first 9 miles weren't bad. I felt my body was doing ok in the heat. Something I haven't felt before and it felt good. I picked it up at mile 7 as planned but came into a snag at the water stop at mile 10. I had trouble getting into my groove again and the heat was starting to wear me out. Miles 11 and 12 at "goal pace" didn't really workout so well, but that's okay. I did my best considering the conditions. I feel like I'm coming around to acclimating in this weather. I'm liking the feeling. This weekend is a similar workout and I'm going go try it again. The best I can do at this point is try! At least I'm going out there and giving it a try instead of staying in on the treadmill. Plus, I don't think I could do 14 miles on the treadmill and live to tell the tale. I would die of boredom (not joking).

In an attempt at trying to be "healthier" I bought some good groceries this week to make actual recipes and real lunches. Last night I made corn cakes that were super easy and super delicious. By themselves they were kind of bland, but the toppings helped make them great! The recipe can be found here. I didn't include green onion since Toph and I both don't like it, and we added tomatoes on top afterwards (I didn't want to mix them in and have it be too wet.) We also thought avocados would go great on top, if you had some available. The goat cheese definitely made the dish though. So good!

Thanks Pinterest!

P.S. Have you entered my SpiBelt Raffle yet??