But I'm from Thailand, Dammit!

If history is doomed to be repeated, then Musselman is going hot and humid again. After my spiral into the depths of heat exhaustion at Eagleman, I am determined to not repeat that performance at Mussel. So I hatch a plan: run and ride during the hottest, muggiest, most oppressive time of the day to acclimatize. When it wasn't as hot, muggy, or nearly as oppressive I wore a long sleeve shirt just to increase my core body temp during my workout.

So summer finally rolls around to Upstate NY this weekend: highs in the 80's with lots of humidity is forecasted for this weekend. Hoot! I'm gonna be out there in the thick of it! So out there I went yesterday after sweating half of my fluid volume in Mary's yoga class (the room is heated to 85 degrees) that morning. I drank a 16 oz smoothie and a 24 oz bottle of Gatorade Endurance before my run. Within 23 minutes of the run, struggling to keep my E pace, I could hear the liquid sloshing around in my gut. I was working quite hard to maintain my easy pace. I could feel my heart rate was quite high; and I was sweating like Shaquille O'Neal. Is that all it takes to shut me down? 85 degrees and some humidity? But I'm from Thailand, dammit! Isn't there some genetic advantage from being born to an ethnicity that built an empire (in the 1500's albeit) in the equatorial jungles of Southeast Asia? Apparently not. Besides, I doubt that empire was forged from my ancestors' efforts to bike and run in the jungle heat.

Actually, my uncle and I are the only members of my family that engage in any kind of aerobic exercise. My uncle (who recently passed away from lung cancer) gave up years of smoking to take up and become quite successful at marathon running. Living in Thailand, he trained early in the morning or at dusk when the temps were relatively cooler: high 80's/low 90's and 85% humidity. He's run marathons in Thailand and The Great Wall of China marathon in conditions similar to Eagleman. So why can't I? Because I live in Upstate NY and spent most of my run training in frigid temps and howling winds? Phooey!

I've read that it takes 8-10 days to acclimatize to heat and humidity; and that a 25% reduction in pace is equivalent to running one's normal pace in cooler temps. So that means 12:15 min/miles for my heat E-pace...Ugh.

Today was day 2 of acclimatization...Not as heinous as yesterday, but not much prettier in execution. I slowed to a walk on the big uphill just to get my heart rate down and become less short of breath. It wasn't even that hot, but the humidity made it hard for me to cool down AND move forward effectively. The only enjoyable moment was seeing an enormous tom turkey fly out of a tree and land right about 10 feet in front of me. This is NOT fun training. Nonetheless, I'll be out there again this afternoon to ride and run again. I shall have no fear of the heat for Musselman. I'll think about my uncle during the run and remember how much he loved his new life as a runner, how the heat and humidity of Thailand can feel like the warm, safe place we call home, how running---whether in Upstate NY, Southeast Asia, or the Great Wall of China--can bring you to new and wonderful adventures.