Running is Leaving Me Breathless

The heat and humidity continue! I've been committed to getting up and out the door early, but despite my best efforts, I've been struggling on my runs. After a couple of miles, my heart rate spikes and I have to slow to a walk. The heat has never been my friend, but this is the first summer I can remember consistently having issues with high heart rate and breathing. I'm blaming the weather, but I'm considering programming run/walk intervals back into my runs. I'm going to see how this week goes. Stay tuned. 

Weekly Rundown

Sunday: Trail Sisters run 6 miles

Monday: CrossFit with 400m sprints

Tuesday: Fluid Running

Wednesday: trail run 6 miles

Thursday: CrossFit

Friday: run 6 miles

Saturday: waterskiing

I ran with the Trail Sisters twice this week- once on the previous Thursday and then on Sunday. It was a small group but I was excited because they agreed to meet me at one of my favorite local trails. It was another steamy morning--is there any other kind these days? But I picked this trail for its shade. The trees are really tall and provide nice cover from the sun. We started out with a 10:1 run/walk per one of the other women's request, but we started walking a lot more than that. On the way back, the leader and I walked the final mile. My heart rate kept spiking--seems to be a theme for me this summer--so walking was the way to go.

Monday's CrossFit WOD was one big MetCon. We did 4 rounds x 5 minutes each, with a 1 1/2 minute rest between each round. We started off with 12 back squats (55#) unbroken, followed by a 400m run, and AMRAP burpees. The first 2 rounds went pretty well for me. But with round 3, the wheels fell off the bus. My heart rate spiked during the run and I had to stop to walk. Same thing with round 4. Our score was number of burpees per round. Mine were 19-20-14-14. So even though I had to slow down, I took solace in having the same amount of burpees for the first 2 rounds and the last 2 rounds. I also didn't have to modify the workout. Hey, you take victories however they come, right?

The remnants of Hurricane Beryl sent some rain our way Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. We got less rain than the area south of us, but it was enough to make things sloppy! I decided to run the main trail at the preserve instead of the single track--I just didn't want to deal with the wet foliage brushing up against me. There was a cool easterly breeze and it helped mitigate the 95% humidity. This was a decent run! There were quite a few puddles, so I worked on my puddle jumping skills. I also tried Jenny's suggestion of using catnip spray to repel the flies, which seemed to work! 

Check out all the slugs on this mushroom!

When I checked the WOD for Thursday, I was so happy to see bench presses in the strength portion! Specifically, tempo bench presses, which means a 3 second descend with the bar to the chest before pushing back up. I wasn't sure how it would go, so I started at 55# for the set of 5 lifts. For the remaining 3 rounds, I added 5 pounds each time, finishing up at at 70#. We alternated the bench presses with dumbbell twist curls, sets of 12. I used 15# dumbbells for these. The MetCon was a 12 minute AMRAP of 9 cal on the rower, 12 abmat situps, and 12 boxovers, hands only. The boxovers were tough and after hitting my shin on the box, I had to use my feet lightly on my way over. I finished 5 complete rounds of this.

My gym is also starting the annual Summer Challenge. This week was a Strongman Chipper: 20 tire flips, 30 per arm single arm dumbbell shoulder press (20#), 400m Farmer's Carry (35#KB/arm), and 400m Bear Hug Carry (50# bag). I was really proud of myself--Sammy Jo trained me to push myself and I did.

Friday morning was sunny and relatively cool--70 degrees--when I headed out the door to the bike path. It was also very humid. I felt pretty good for the first 4 miles, but by mile 5 my heart rate started to spike, forcing me to slow my roll and take a couple walk breaks. I'm assuming this is due to the humidity. Until this year, I've never had this happen. Since I recover quickly once I slow down or walk, I assume it's nothing serious. It's frustrating, though.

On Saturday, we went up to the lake. As soon as we got there, the hubs took me out to waterski. It felt as amazing as you might expect! The water was warm and it was fairly calm. I went 2 more times throughout the day. We also went to the Lodi Ag Fair, which is a a small town fair with carnival rides and 4H animals. We go every year. And then, after one last ski, the skies opened up and it poured. Of course.

'Marv', one of the many bovines at the Lodi Ag Fair

How was your week? Have you ever experienced heart rate spikes on the run? How are you faring in the heat? Is anyone racing this weekend? Since it's going to be so hot again, I'm relieved that my race was canceled!

 I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown.