I woke up this morning with the sundown shining in
I found my mind in a brown paper bag within
I tripped on a cloud and fell-a eight miles high
I tore my mind on a jagged sky
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in
Yeah, yeah, oh-yeah, what condition my condition was in
I pushed my soul in a deep dark hole and then I followed it in
I watched myself crawling out as I was a-crawling in
I got up so tight I couldn’t unwind
I saw so much I broke my mind
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in
Yeah, yeah, oh-yeah, what condition my condition was in
Someone painted April Fool in big black letters on a Dead End sign
I had my foot on the gas as I left the road and blew out my mind
Eight miles outta Memphis and I got no spare
Eight miles straight up downtown somewhere
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in
I said I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in
Yeah
yeah
oh-yeah
– Mickey Newbury
I got to thinking just the other day about training conditions. There is something about training in conditions that many folks would find sub-par if not downright abysmal, that I find appealing. Maybe even enlightening. It’s like it’s a doorway to someplace else.
I often hear people spout all sorts of drivel along the lines of…’I couldn’t run today because it was rainy’ (or snowy, or windy, or too hot, or too cold…. pick your climate) Excuses why not to do something abound. Reasons (and a plan) to do something are scarce.
A lot about training in tough conditions is mental in nature. But not all. I don’t want you going out and dying of heat stroke or hypothermia and come back and say ‘offwidth made me do it’. I will have zero sympathy. You have to go about this intelligently. It takes the body a long time to adapt to extreme conditions. Even then you can only take things so far.
In the case of running in extreme heat… again ease into it. Lower temperature runs gradually working up to higher ones. Shorter runs at the start. Above all else… hydrate. Before, during, and after runs. I will hydrate days before a significant heat or endurance event. Electrolytes? Maybe. It depends on how long your effort is going to be.
One of the hottest runs I can remember was early one afternoon in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mid 40’s at least. I had a camelback filled with water and ice.I only did about 5k and it was pretty much just a shuffle at the end. It was one of those days the heat mirages were shimmering off of the asphalt. Real egg frying sidewalk weather.
I had a pretty hot ride in Tucson last year. That one crossed the line a bit. Dehydrated and heat exhaustion. I could barely pedal or keep upright, needed a lift home, and was feeling the effect for a few days. Pretty damn close to a trip to the ER. Don’t let that happen to you! I hadn’t been acclimating to the heat properly, I wasn’t hydrating well enough, and I was pushing way too hard for the conditions. Rookie moves for sure.
Running in the rain is beautiful. I lived for a time in the lower mainland of British Columbia. If you are going to be a runner you are going to have to run in the rain.
Let it snow, let it, snow, let it snow… I don’t get too much opportunity to run in the cold and snow anymore, but I did my time. So cold it hurts to think. Sometimes swaddled with so much clothing you can’t really do more than waddle. But there is really nothing like feeling the crunch of fresh snow under your feet (or tires), a starry pre-dawn reflecting on ice crystals, and your beard freezing to your face.
Michigan
Cold Swinging in the New Year: Denver
Well, I married me a wife, she’s been trouble all my life
Run me out in the cold rain and snow, rain and snow
Run me out in the cold rain and snow
Well, she went up to her room where she sang her faithful tune
And I ain’t goin’ be treated this way, this ol’ way
And I ain’t goin’ be treated this way
She’s coming down the stairs, combin’ back her yellow hair
Well I’m goin’ where those chilly winds don’t blow, winds don’t blow
I’m goin’ where those chilly winds don’t blow
Well, I married me a wife, she’s been trouble all my life
Run me out in the cold rain and snow, rain and snow
Run me out in the cold rain and snow
Run me out in the cold rain and snow
Run me out in the cold rain and snow
Run me out in the cold, cold rain and snow
Run me out in the cold, cold rain and snow
Run me out in the cold rain and snow
– J. Garcia / B. Kreutzmann / P. Lesh / Pigpen / B. Weir