hot summer runs

One of the best parts about being off in the summer (besides spending time with my other half) is that I get to run in the morning!  Not that I dislike running in the afternoon after work.  I just like to get my workouts done and out of the way in the morning when I know I have plenty of time to fit it in.  And not that I can’t run in the morning during the school year.  I just am too scared to run outside in the dark and I simply can’t stand the treadmill, especially when it’s nice outside.

But, even with those morning runs, the summer also brings heat.  Oh, and humidity.  If you live in St. Louis, you know the saying, “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.”  And it’s definitely the humidity.  After taking the weekend off of running for our trip to Branson (I got PLENTY of walking in), I went for a nice 3 mile run Monday morning around 7:45.  It was a warm 75 degrees outside, which is usually great running weather, if not a little hot.  However, with the humidity sky high on Monday, it was a little less than comfortable.

I returned home, drenched in sweat for the first time since being pregnant.  And for me, sweating means major electrolyte imbalances (or at least that’s my theory).  If I don’t hydrate or eat properly before, during, and after my run, I will be sick to my stomach the rest of the day.  Guess what?  I hardly ate anything beforehand, I drank very little afterwards, but did have smoothie, which helped a little, but I definitely suffered from a massive tummy ache the rest of the day.  Boo.

I was a bit smarter Tuesday on my run, making sure I drank plenty beforehand and downed a water after I was done, which definitely made a difference in my stomach pain, and appetite.

I am thinking Gatorade might be a staple in my diet this summer… or maybe a homemade sports drink, since I LOVE making things myself!

#Fitblog Planks Challenge Update
Branson not only meant that I didn’t run, but I also completely forgot to do my planks on Sunday.  Oops.  However, I remembered Tuesday during my weights workout.  I also remembered that I’m up to 45 second holds this week.  Oh man, these were so much harder!  Forty-five seconds used to be nothing for me, but with my lack of core training in the past couple months, 45 seconds is ridiculously hard.  Tomorrow calls for planks with only a 10 second rest period (15 seconds on Tuesday).  Yeah, we’ll see how that goes.

I might have to alter my goals a little bit as my belly continues to grow.  The extra weight is making it MUCH harder to hold my planks.  I’ll see how the rest of this week goes and alter it from there.

Do your workouts change in the summer?  How does hot (or cold) weather affect your runs or how your body reacts after a hot/cold run?