K Pax-ian running

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

To bring this thread back to the subject of running then...

Today's scheduled run very nearly didn't happen, and in hindsight really wasn't a good idea. It reached 39 degrees C here today (102 F) and was still over 30 when I finally headed out the door at 11 p.m. To make it worse, it was also quite humid, and despite being well hydrated, it simply was too hot to run. It was only a very short run, but it was tough work and far from enjoyable.

The worst thing though is that I've now got a very definite shin splint in the left leg and will have to rest it for a couple of days. Resting won't be a problem tomorrow as similar weather is forecast, and after that I'm off to Sydney for a couple of days, with way too many distractions to enable any running. So resting it will be easy, although it's a great shame as I was making great progress.

I guess the moral is that when you are carrying more weight than usual, you have to take it even easier than you think is reasonable to avoid injury. Luckily this isn't serious and I will be fine by the time I get back Saturday night, when hopefully I can go out for a short test run.

I've come to the conclusion that running in temperatures greater than 30 degrees C is not for me - it's way too easy to get heat-stroke. Maybe if I was supremely fit and accustomed to running more regularly in the higher temperatures it might be better, but for now it's a pointless risk. Hot runs are always bad runs, so I think jumping on the exercise bike in front of a fan for a bit of cross-training a far more sensible idea.

Or sitting in front of a bar in a nicely air-conditioned pub with my favourite beer on tap sounds even more appealing. Especially if the cricket is on the big screen. Sigh.

Speaking of my favourite beer, they did a bit of impressive temporary advertising in these parts recently. Impressive enough to take a photo at least... this taken from my front yard.