The beginning....well Week 4

I should have started this from the beginning of our training but we will just have to start here. :)
So let's get up to speed.

My adventures in running began July 11, 2007, when I answered an activities post on Craigslist for a running partner...yes I know, I should have been scared but I wasn't. I met, my now dear friend, Andrea and she got me up to two miles in one month. Andrea was a wonderful trainer. My first goal was to run Lake Johnson (3 miles) in it's entirety by the end of summer. I did accomplish this feet and more. Fall and winter came, my running dwindle to 2 or 3 miles, maybe 3 times a weeks.

Fast forward to September 2008. My running regimen was basically the same; not a lot and not very impressive. Running 101 was a program for beginning runners who desired to run an 8k (5 miles) by Thanksgiving. I joined the group and slowly got up to 5 miles running the Turkey Trot in 51 minutes. After Running 101, some of us participants created our own social running group and we have continued to run every since.

April 2009, we discussed the Raleigh Galloway Half or Full Marathon Training Program. We all decided to give it a shot and join the program with intentions on running a half in early November 2009. I spoke with Ron, the director, and he mentioned that most participants of Galloway who's goal is to run the half usually end up running the full marathon. So being completely insane, Calvin and I registered for the City of Oaks Marathon which is held on November 1st, 2009.

Our training consist of 2 days during the week and one long run on Saturday.
This is where we are in our marathon training:
Week 1 total of 9 miles, long run 3 miles.
Week 2 total of 10 miles, long run 4 miles.
Week 3 total of 13 miles, long run 5 miles (I skipped Galloway and ran 7 at the Race for the Cure)
Week 4 total of 13 miles, long run 6 miles.

This weeks long run was good until the end. Calvin and I ran at home because my softball tournament started at 9 and I feared I would not finish training in time for the game. We began our run at 7. It was already hot (got up to 96) and humid. Around mile 5.5, I started getting chills and goose bumps and so I slowed my pace.

Researching this phenomenon on the Internet, I found it could be due to dehydration and heat stress. Some sites recommend you weigh yourself before your run and after to see how much water weight was lost. This will give you a good idea of how much water/electrolytes you need to take in. Also, if the weather conditions are particularly humid with little wind, your sweat does not evaporated off your skin inhibiting some of the cooling process. Good to know.

So the moral of this weeks training....hydrate more before running, drink more fluids that contain electrolytes, and monitor my temperature more closely.