Pushed a bit too hard on a recent run and paid the price!

I normally make sure that my training or cardio is something that isn't too punishing. This isn't supposed to hurt or be something that I dread. That is kind of the entire focus behind my training: Do something that isn't going to make me not want to go back next time. This is the advice I give to anyone that is thinking about getting back into or getting into training for the first time. If you hate it, you aren't going to do it, so while I don't really expect very many people to "love" running, it shouldn't be something that you loathe.

Well I don't know what got into me, but the other day it was extremely hot on the running path and I intentionally went at mid-day to dodge the crowds and I pushed it too hard because I am stubborn.

src

Despite being an athlete of some sort almost my entire life I sweat in a way that could be called profusely when I exercise. This was true even when I was an elite-level athlete in high school and it is just the way I am. I have never had it checked out because I don't think there is anything that can be done about that. My engine just runs hot. There isn't really anything I can do about that especially in summer. I can't stay in the shade but I suppose I could go running at night and run the risk of getting robbed of my phone in Chicago. I suppose being chased by gang-bangers would probably get my heart rate up pretty high as well.

I'm cool with the calories and the time isn't an accurate representation of how fast I was moving because I left the watch on after the 5k was done. The reason why I was pushing it was because I have been striving for sub 7 min kilometers and even though I wasn't specifically pushing it at the start, I did notice on one of my km's that I was below 7 per km, and well, I wanted to keep this going

Just because I am trying to be a more relaxed exerciser doesn't mean that I don't feel pressure to perform. I really wanted to finish in under 35 minutes for the full 5K and I managed to do so. But at what cost?

To say that my engine was running hot would be an understatement. When I finally hit the 5k mark I stopped to a walk immediately. My heart was pounding and despite not wearing a shirt I was just dripping. I also felt a little bit light headed. I quickly ran out of water and cooling off in that sun was not an option. Towards the end where I could almost see my house I started jogging again because I just wanted to get out of the heat. I skipped my post run stretches that I normally do outside my house and instead went straight inside and got in a cold shower. I stayed in there a long time and my heart rate stayed high and as soon as I got out of the shower I immediately started sweating again even though I was in front of a fan and my apartment is quite cool

This is my body's way, I think, of telling me that I am over-working it. It took me about an hour afterwards with a ice pack on my head, a cold drink in my hand, and a fan pointing right at me to return to a normal body temperature and a normal resting heart rate. It doesn't feel healthy when I am sitting on the sofa and my heart rate is in danger of hitting zone 3 even though I am not moving.

So I guess this is a lesson to be learned. This was NOT a relaxing run at all and I let my ambition get the best of me. I really do want to get to a 30 min 5k but perhaps the dead heat of the afternoon during summer in an area with almost zero shade is not the right place to do this.

I sometimes go into beast mode and try to mentally trick myself into digging deep in these situations but I don't know if the aftermath is really worth the cost. I could be damaging myself actually. I do know I am not looking forward to trying that again and maybe I should stop being an idiot and be more careful with how I choose to exercise.

I am a stubborn athlete and I don't like to be told what I can't do. But maybe I should listen a bit because that recovery time was too long. It shouldn't take an hour to return to a normal body temperature.