Hot...very hot

The weather this summer has been very un-summery. We have had weeks and weeks of rain on the east coast of South Africa. Normally at this time of the year, as we near Christmas, we are sweltering in our tropical climate. We'd normally recline under a tree waiting for a gentle but balmy wind to re-align the sweat beads adorning our bodies. But this year has been positively British! Rain...and more rain.

However betwixt all of this, the odd memory of summer emerges - and we are all of a sudden treated to a sticky, humid 30C+ day. Today was one of those days.

The deep blue African sky is presided over by a glowing hot sun that seems to have awakened the earth below. Birds sing, butterflies dance on the warm thermals, and the iconic summer holiday "Christmas beetles" screech their song of joy.

And in this - we decide to go for a run. Now the first lesson is that if you are going to run on a hot day - do it early...Yeah, but it's holidays and sleeping in is part of the reward. So we finally hit the road at about 8:30am.

By this time the sun is well on its way to making its presence felt, and the heat is beginning to rise from the hot road surfaces. It's like be slowly roasted in a convection oven. But, nonetheless, in our eagerness to stem the broadening tide of the Christmas Girth, we set out.

The first 50 meters were not too bad - but by then we were hot - very hot. And then it was time for lessons. We have just completed, only about 4 weeks ago a marathon - so fitness should be no problem - but heat is.

As we set out with noble intentions of running 15kms - we soon discovered the wisdom of the Running Easy approach...an approach that enables us to run whenever and however we want. Our 15kms became 11kms and our normal 6:15 min/km became 7 min/km.

We needed this reminder - it's all about "Try Easier". The marvel of following an approach that says - "run within yourself", "run how you feel", "try easier not harder" - means you can adjust. You can run on hot days or cold days. You can run long distances or shorter distances. You can run fast or slow. It's because you are listening to your body.

So we walked the hills we'd normally run - we shortened the distance we'd planned- we ran slower than we normally would...just because we can.

And so even although it was so hot, we still had a great time - we still returned having loved our run.

So always remember - listen to your body - it knows what is best. Run so you love it, and you'll find that you love to run!

Yours in running easy
Craig

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