I want to take some time tonight to write about yesterday’s run. I usually try to prep myself the night before my long runs just to make things go smoother. Usually the main component of this preparation is just a good amount of hydration. Since I’ve started loading up on water the night before I’ve stopped getting those nasty post-run headaches that I’ve written about so many times. Go figure, right? Well, this past Saturday I did the same thing. I drank a couple of glasses of water before sleeping. That all would have been good, right? Thing is, I also did something that I should have known not to do. See, as you know on Saturday I had friends over to help with appliances. Afterwards, we all went out to Kelsey’s to share some appetizers. And…perhaps you can see where this is going. First of all, I ended up eating a little bit too much. Before a long run it’s not a good idea to go out with a full stomach. Secondly, I partook of some “loaded nachos.’ Oh, they were good, no doubt. The nachos had a lot of cheese, ground beef, sweet red peppers and jalapeños. And therein lies the problem. No, the night before a long run it’s a horribly bad idea to eat anything really spicy. So all of that sets the scene that played out on Sunday morning.

Now, even though I had the washing machine now working, I didn’t have any washing detergent. As such, I was unable to wash my running tank prior to the run. That was unfortunate because I knew that the run would be really hot. According to the weather reports the temperature would be about 30°C, and that was without humidity factored in. I ended up having to go out in a full tee. I wasn’t happy about it.

I ran with the usual group that morning. Usually there are three of us that keep together, but we were missing one probably due to the heat (how smart of her, really). So, the two of us just decided to take it easy. About 20 minutes into the run I started feeling a little bit uneasy. The uneasiness started giving way to gastrointestinal distress. I thought that it might just be gas, but then I realized my stupidity from the night before, so I thought that I might have to make a pit stop somewhere. I was considering a nearby Tim Hortons, but my running buddy suggested that I wait for the Anglican church about 10 minutes away. Fine. I was kind of conscious about the fact that I’d be making a stop at a church though. She ensured me that it was quite all right. I suppose it would be. Would a church turn away someone in distress? I don’t know.

So, when we got there I was feeling a bit tentative. As I stepped in, there were a bunch of proper looking old ladies. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I smiled at them and signed myself as I went upstairs. I found the stall which really reminded me of something from an elementary school. At that point though, I was in no mood to be picky. You know, the interesting thing for me about that whole situation was the strange juxtaposition of what I was doing and where I was. In the distance I could hear hymns being played on a pipe organ. Oh, Lord! What a contrast. There I am having a nice sit-down moment while listening to organ music playing the background. Actually, it wasn’t so nice because the jalapeños made it an unpleasant experience.

Well, I washed my hands and attempted to get out of there without making a scene. Right down the stairs there were the church ladies again. Once again, I was at a loss for what to say, so I just told smiled and said “have a blessed day!” And then I was out of there. You know, I suppose I really could have just said nothing and left. For my part, I just wanted to make sure that their experiences with runners are good ones just so that they will not do something like shut off the washroom to the public.

Well, the run went on, and soon the heat and humidity just mounted. It was hideous out there. Really, it reminded me of that extremely hot and humid 21K run I had last September. I was sweating profusely; my shirt was soaked. My running friend and I had to slow down and take more frequent walking breaks. I mean, we weren’t in a race. The key idea was that it was a “training run” so we knew there was no point in killing ourselves. At the eleventh kilometre, the heat was really taking its toll on me. I had to actually walk for a long period due to a feeling of light-headedness. I knew that if I tried to push myself at that point I might just keel over. That’s how hot it was. My running friend also had to take a lot of washroom breaks along the way. We were considering cutting the route off and heading back early, but we decided to complete the distance. It didn’t matter that we walked a good chunk of the distance. The important thing was getting the time on our feet.

We did make it back after a good while. Being in the air-conditioned store was a great feeling, for sure. Similar to the brutal run from last September, I knew that some people cut off early while others felt really sick and had a hard time. Weather is one of those things in running that you can’t blame yourself for. If you’re having a hard time, guaranteed most others will be feeling the same way. This run did a lot to remind me of that.