Wise-Up To Fitness (WTF): Overheated and Underhydrated

Even though I do a good deal of homework and reading on eating and exercising right, I ain't a registered dietician or a certified personal trainer, so sometimes I wound up learning things the hard way, my Wise-Up To Fitness (WTF) posts are exactly that - and I'm sharing them with you so you can avoid the agony I've been through. Got any of your own to share? Feel free to let me know.

Wednesdays are my usual run days, and yesterday I felt energetic and hyped up throughout the day, so I thought I could do an eight-mile outdoor run right after work.

What an effing idiotic idea as hit the bleepin' wall at 3.5 miles (and that's if you count the half mile that I begrudgingly walked to the store to get me some much needed beverage) -- between the fairly full blast of sun at 5-something p.m., the ninety-plus degree temperature, and my lack of water (asides from my usual ~32 oz. before the run), I was exhausted, dehydrated and overheated!

Which goes to show, do hydrate and adjust your routine as appropriate for the occasion, which in my case would've meant carrying a water bottle and running closer to dusk -- which is exactly what I did on my much more leisurely five-mile "make up jog" tonight.

Activia Experience While Running

Ugh, had a planned 10/11 mile hilly run cut short to a 7-mile due to getting an Activia experience 5 miles in. For your reference, courtesy of NBC's SNL:

First off, I didn't pull the full "Jamie Lee!" (possibly the look.) Fortunately, I made it home without incident and thankful I don't run far away enough to worry about where I have to take care of business. But now I'm just wondering what could've set me off, so to speak.

The top (or should I say bottom?) suspects are:

1) drinking coffee about half-hour before my run, which might have woken up my GI tract as well
2) having warmed milk in middle of night after unexpectedly waking up (and I'm just a tad lactose sensitive)
3) a meat and alcohol laden dinner from two days ago, VERY out of the norm for my body and probably tough to process

More likely, it's probably the combo of the three strikes that got me out. I guess lesson learned to keep a closer eye on what I eat.

And apologies for all the bad puns and possible TMI - believe me, it's way crappier experiencing it first-person.

The Good, Bad, Pretty and Ugly of my Nine-Mile Run

Good: Surprised to discover I didn't need any mid-run hydration for nine-miles (when I started running, I had to drink water at every mile!) Glad to know my body's water-regulation mechanism is improving even though I still sweat like crazy.

Bad: My right-leg IT band started acting up towards the end of my run, which I attribute to too many uneven driveway pavements from sidewalk running. Hope the mid-run and cool-down stretches (and ibuprofen) will keep that at bay. And I seriously hope this doesn't repeat itself on my next semi-long run or I may have to reconsider the LA Marathon in favor of a mere half in Laguna (and a slower paced training for the Pasadena Marathon in November).

Pretty: When changing out of workout clothes, loved how ripped I looked in the mirror...

Not-So-Pretty: Figure reverted to normal after I drank water to quench my dehydrated body.

Good #2: Actually felt myself in that zen-like zone halfway through my run; not a common occurrence for me, but always appreciated whenever I get it.

Too full!

I am no saint and sometimes I don't follow my healthy eating habits to a 'T'. But boy does my body send me nasty reminder signals to keep me on track.

Totally ate too much Thai take-out today for lunch after a stressful morning of work, and now I feel totally grossed-out-bloated with a little cramping to boot. Ugh...

So there's my lesson today in not only getting proper portions of food but also eat slowly so my stomach has enough time to send satiety signals to my brain, allowing me to stop before it's too miserably late.