Comments on: Strides For Stroke (aka Heat Stroke) 5K Report

By: More On The Plan | Girl In Motion: A Running Blog

More On The Plan | Girl In Motion: A Running Blog — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 15:15:27 +0000

[...] summer was awful. It started with that race collapse/hospital stay which screwed with my head royally. My paces dropped a lot more than the previous summer; besides [...]

By: Mark U.

Mark U. — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 13:32:25 +0000

Flo – Me again… Suffering from the same uncertainty as to how to best adjust my pace taking into account hot/humid weather conditions I did some additional research and found a couple of great sources which I intend to use in the future: http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/html/heatindex.shtml (to, for example, convert your 83F and 69F dewpoint conditions to an equivalent 87F heat index), then http://premiercoachingonline.com/temperature-adjustment/ which suggests that an ideal 5K 6:40 pace would be heat-adjusted to an understandably slower 6:50 pace. Personally, as I run about 10F hotter than Daniel’s (or Tinman’s) pace-adjusted tables this suggests my own equivalent pace would be even slower yet, i.e. a glacial 7:10! Bottom line – the toughest thing we do is not racing in heat – but is adjusting our expectations (which one of these days I hope I can do)!

By: Ewen

Ewen — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:42:30 +0000

Sorry. I thought you did most of your running in the mornings when it was a bit cooler (relative to the afternoons).

By: linds

linds — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 01:46:28 +0000

wow Im soooo glad you are okay !!! also sorry the stoopid hospital sucks about giving water lol i had the same thing happen to me last year during my stay, 12 hours of no water and i refused IV so i was DYING !!But rest up and take care, I will be happy to see you back on the roads next week

By: CurrentlyVince

CurrentlyVince — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 05:17:03 +0000

I’m very glad that you’re back here to chronicle your tale! Thanks for the reminder that we need to take precautions in the summer. I remember heading out Sunday morning for a run when the dewpoint was reported as 79F here in Houston. It was like wandering into a stew and I sure didn’t feel like doing anything resembling 5K pace!

By: Mark U.

Mark U. — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 02:14:54 +0000

Flo,

Thank God that you’re OK!

Racing a 10K in hot-humid Houston a few years ago I’d helped a woman runner by literally catching her as she nearly collapsed mid-stride – which luckily happened just as I was about to pass her. Proving a runner’s sheer-determination (& our collective insanity) in her semi-conscious state she was repeatedly mumbling “please lift me up and help me finish” (which I obviously did not do, we were over a mile from the finish!) As I remember it, after they’d brought her to the emergency room and ran tests they found her to be both overheated and depleted in electrolytes. Following that incident, and an even more life threatening scare in seeing a good Houston running friend nearly die from a hyponatremia-induced seizure I’ve become a HUGE customer of the S!Caps, so was glad to see in your write-up that you’re already familiar them. FWIW I agree with your view that had you thought to bring some of them you might have been OK. Still… it’s understandable and you shouldn’t beat yourself-up, or suggest you need to HTFU!! Glad you’re OK!

By: Katherine

Katherine — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:51:46 +0000

I AM SO GLAD TO HEAR YOU’RE OKAY! this is one of my huge fears as a runner. It is amazing how the heat impacts you without even realizing it and it becomes a huge situation instantly. Best recoveries!
Katherine