For the next few weeks I am following the B.A.A.’s recommended training schedule for my upcoming B.A.A. Half Marathon. That meant a long ten mile run on Sunday, a day off yesterday, and then somehow fitting in a five mile run on my normally packed Tuesday. Overall it was a rough morning for me.

While I went to sleep at a decent hour to wake up early at 6 a.m., I woke up and was definitely a bit dehydrated. Unfortunately I failed to realize that and fully hydrate myself ahead of time. That meant going out and running right away was much more painful mentally and physically than normal. On top of that it was extraordinarily humid out. It was like breathing soup. A mile or so in I realized this was not going to be a record nor a good run, I was just hoping to put in some base miles.

While my goal was five miles I had to give in after three. The breathing was tough and clearly my body lacked the nutrition it needed. It really sucks to do that but the reason it is called practice is because it is learning experience. This was not my first early morning run but it was one where I did not have the fuel I needed to accomplish my goals. My body did not have the hydration it needed nor the nutrition it was used to. I was fighting headwinds the whole way.

The good news is now I think I know how I can survive this more easily next time. Besides hopefully being more acclimated to the earlier hour, I ordered some Clif Gels with caffeine so that my body has the caffeine it is used to along with some nutrition. I will likely put some time in to consume more water before I go out and some Gatorade as well. If you’re going to do something tough, anything to tip the scales in your favor is worth trying.