# It's hot and humid... let's go running



## shorinsakka (26 Jun 2007)

Less than two months to go until BMOQ starts.  I am sitting at my kitchen table in my pad in Okazaki, Japan.  It's the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the real summer.  The humidity is at 80% and the heat is just coming down from 32C.  I have been out on my bike doing some shopping earlier in the day, and it was like pedalling through a swimming pool.
I had been running the day before, being on a running schedule every second day.  I am killing time until my flight back to Canada in a week or so, my Japanese language classes having finished the day before.  Having cleaned the kitchen and checked my packing boxes, I am in a bizarre state.  I want to, no, I NEED to go for a run.  These past few training sessions have been flying by.  I ponder for a few more minutes and then go get my running stuff on.  My favourite running shirt (the greatest footie club in the world, Hamburg SV) is still drying from yesterday.  I only had time to wash the sweat out.  That's OK.  My stopwatch is by the door.  The time from yesterday is still on it, a hard-earned 36:04.  Reset and start.  Out the door I go.  I walk briskly, swinging my arms and rotating them clockwise and anti-clockwise.  I pass by an old lady doing her gardening.  As always, she stares at me.  A stranger in a not so strange land.  Her husband is much more polite, and wishes me a good evening.  Right back atcha pal.  I walk through a park composed of cherry blossoms (long out of blossoming season) and smelly sugi trees.  Two kids are goofing off on a park bench, absorbed in the latest Nintendo DS game.  They don't even notice as I pass by.  The air is thick and moist, and makes getting a full breath a bit uncomfortable.  
I turn right and weave through a maze of small cars and scooters.  It's almost dark.  I turn around a final corner and turn left onto a sidewalk which runs alongside a larger road still busy with traffic.  I break into a trot and easily lope up a slightly inclined hill which ends at my turn-off, a brightly lit convenience stop marked Mini-stop.  It's all downhill next as I concentrate on not stepping on my hills too heavily.  I am doing well, the pace slowly increases as I run down an even steeper grade and turn right onto a road which runs by the student village.  Turning left, onto a footpath next to a sports centre.  Then it's across another road and down 20 flights of steps.  I am at the reservoir.  There is nice even pavement all around it.  Even in the gathering darkness I can see the mated pair of swans not far from the shore, they are busy grooming their feathers.  As my footsteps echo in the shadows, they turn for a moment and stare at me with perhaps bemused expressions on their faces.  My pace steps up a bit more, the ache in my ankle gone.  My slightly stiff shoulder is swinging back and forth easily, and I concentrate on maintaining an even form.  My head has gone up and my shoulders back without noticing until I round another corner and see my shadow in a streetlight.  I pass three slack-jawed high school students who are deep in a conversation about the relative ease with which different foods are concerned.  How Japanese.  I look down at my feet and am briefly mesmerized by the two white shoes moving back and forth at my steady gait.  
Curiously after only one lap of the reservoir I am feeling a bit sluggish.  Two more laps follow, I pass a woman and her dog, her arms pumping and the dog with a depraved expression on its face as it attempts to lick between its legs and walk at the same time.  Sweat erupts out across my body, dripping into my eyes with a steady consistency.  Attempts to flick it away are futile, and it starts to burn my eyes.  My shirt is stuck to my back.  I can feel a steady trickle going into my shorts and down my legs.  An itch develops near my knee, right below where my arm can reach.  My forelock, previously bouncing against my broad forehead, flaps up one last time and sticks.  My underwear have started to ride up.  My thighs seem to be getting heavier.  I finish one last lap and don't remember feeling this tired the previous night.  I take the stairs two at a time and as I take the last two and heave myself over the curb my knee cracks.  My breath is coming heavier now, and I don't seem to be able to get a full tank of air.  It's now up the long slope back up the hill, along a different street.  I hit a bump in the hill which briefly takes a higher grade, and charge up it at the same pace.  My body is getting heavier, and it seems to me my hair is weighing me down.  I wipe my forehead with my sleeve which comes away slick with sweat.  My calves are starting to burn as I head up the last section back to the Ministop.  My arms are starting to pump a little too hard and a slight wave of dizziness passes over me.  I shake my head and double my effort, trying to match that earlier effortless pace.  I have lost all interest in the Chinese characters which adorn the signs of the pubs and restaurants down the hill, usually a source of entertainment with their clever double meanings.  I pass through a traffic signal and almost stumble as the grade of the road slowly goes down.  
I have beaten the hump again, but the last long straightway stretches out before.  The 99 Yen shop which marks the end of the run is barely visible, its orange and blue sign peeking through the branches of a tree.  I blunder down an uneven sidewalk and once again pick up my pace until my I can hear my feet beating an even tattoo on the pavement.  Cars flash by me with insolent ease, their drivers peering through the window at me.  I can see the egg racks parked outside the 99 shop gleaming dully in the flourescent light.  One last turn and I am done.  Another wave passes over me as I slow down but I master it and keep walking.  I feel much more tired than usual.  Am I ready for the army?  Two runs in two days and I am exhausted.  What happens when I am in full uniform and doing the 13km ruck?  I don't feel great and stare up at the barely visible stars glimmering through a haze of Japanese light and smog pollution.  I trudge up my steps and fish for my key in the back of my running shorts.  Maybe I can't do this.  
The door opens and I click the stopwatch off and sit down on the step in my entrance, pulling off my shoes and soaking socks.  Depressing.  I stand up and start to go up the stairs to get my towel for a glum shower.  The stopwatch catches my eye again.  Dammit.  I force myself to look at the stopwatch.  I toss the stopwatch back on the shelf and bound up the stairs and smash open the door to my room.  Clothes go flying around the room in a frenzy as I take the stairs three at a time on the way down to the bathroom.  I look at the stopwatch again. 34:54.  Who. Is. Your. Daddy.  This just might be the right job for me after all.

Keep it up everyone!  If I can do it, so can you.


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## Bane (26 Jun 2007)

Ever heard of a paragraph?


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## shorinsakka (26 Jun 2007)

Bane said:
			
		

> Ever heard of a paragraph?



Yes.  I was still editing a second time as you posted.


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## oozieman (26 Jun 2007)

I always wait until the hottest part of the day to run. I personally think that is the best time to run.


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## Armymedic (26 Jun 2007)

> Keep it up everyone!  If I can do it, so can you.



Not everyone wants to follow off the edge of a cliff either...

Good on you for your accomplishment, but I am assume you are an accomplished runner. I also assume you are well hydrated before you went out.If you were not either...

Then, as a medical professional, I would call you foolish.

Do you know what is the demographic who sucumbs and/or dies from heat illness?
Military recruits. 

And no, you can not "train" to beat heat illness.


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## scoutfinch (26 Jun 2007)

It is too much frickin' effort to go back and read again to figure out how far you ran.


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## Armymedic (26 Jun 2007)

My guess...6-9 kms.


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## scoutfinch (26 Jun 2007)

I am guessing he/she is new to running.  His/her first paragraph talks about being on a training schedule that calls for running every second day.  No offence to anyone new to running because we all were at some time but that is a noobie schedule.  And there is no way a noobie is running 9k in 34:00.  I am guessing it was 5 -7k.


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## shorinsakka (26 Jun 2007)

St. Micheals Medical Team said:
			
		

> Good on you for your accomplishment, but I am assume you are an accomplished runner. I also assume you are well hydrated before you went out.If you were not either...
> /quote]
> 
> Yeah, hydration is important.  I should enclose a picture of all the 2L PET bottles of water I go through.  I am a soccer player, which means I am used to playing at all sorts of ungodly temperatures here in Japan.  In this sense "used to" means "used to preparing properly for."
> ...


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## chimo2u (27 Jun 2007)

I love the english language.... Creative writing and english was always my strong point, so I really enjoyed your story! It was so descriptive I could imagine myself being there in the moment!!! NOW If only running was that "accomplished" for me, but, eh.... I'll keep practicing my every- other- day schedule, cause I am definitley new to running! My end goal is to be able to run 5 km in under 35 min.... NOT sucking wind and feeling as comfortable as I can! When I do that, then I know I've completed a major accomplishment for myself. I am a female, 37 YO... so even though a sub 35 min 5 km may not sound pretty fast to some, to me, it will be a happy day! I  am hoping I can reach this goal in 12 weeks!!! 
Good Luck at Basic Trg. Once again, I enjoyed the re-cap of your run!!


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## Bane (27 Jun 2007)

I'll take my 5 degrees, overcast, 2-4 kt breeze and a slight hint of drizzle fall days, you can keep your stinking hot summer days!


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## formerarmybrat23 (27 Jun 2007)

The guy writes a beautifully descriptive story, and all they can do is nah say. A few paragraph breaks would have been nice, but the quailty of the language and thought makes up for it. I enjoyed it alot. Japan is probably a beautiful place (can't say I've been). It is real dedication to keep running while over seas. I hope that this story inspires new prospectes to getup and get out. Keep it up!


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## Kendrick (27 Jun 2007)

I'm with Brat on that one.  Great read.  Well written, except for a couple of mistakes.  I could've seen this as a sort of editorial in "Running World".
And so what if he is new to running, everyone needs to start somewhere anyways.  I think he has a good attitude.


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## scoutfinch (27 Jun 2007)

Don't get me wrong... I think it is awesome that you are out running.  I really do.  I am sorry if my post sounded as if I was disparaging of your hard work.  My comment was more directed at the point that I could not discern from your post how far you ran.  

Congratulations on your achievements.  You should be very proud of it - regardless of how far you covered that particular day - if for no other reason than you got out the door and went for a run!  (I am a running addict and as far from a running elitest as you will find!)  Every run is a good run.  Some runs are better than others.  Some are faster than others.  Some are longer than others.  But the mere fact that you went out for a run speaks to your commitment.

I am a firm believer that everyone starts somewhere and the fact that you are running every second day demonstrates that you are using sound judgment and not going into it too quickly which can only result in injury.  

Keep up the good work... but next time, through in a few paragraph breaks to make it easier to read.


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## wirrell (3 Jul 2007)

i live in central america and i see where your coming from with the humidaty and all i try to get a run in every day and every run is a good run


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## Romulus (5 Jul 2007)

I despise running in the heat. It was 37c in my home town today, it killed me. Any ways to beat the heat while running? I always make sure I'm super hydrated but I work outside all day so its hard. I usually do 6k 30-32 mins on a gravel trail.


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## shorinsakka (13 Jul 2007)

Olga Chekhova said:
			
		

> I am a firm believer that everyone starts somewhere and the fact that you are running every second day demonstrates that you are using sound judgment and not going into it too quickly which can only result in injury.



Well, I am not a runner in the sense of being a runner only to the exclusion of all else.  I usually play two full matches of soccer a week as well.  I am unsure as to how much running is done during a game, but one of my soccer technical fitness guides suggests that a player playing the full 90 minutes covers between 10-16km, depending on position and fitness level (pros go even farther) as reported by a tagged sensor feeding the data of distance and speed to a computer (there is a cool map of the field with different colours and lines to show where the player went  8) ).  So, in that sense, I run quite a lot... every second day running is just the training for the important stuff.... the soccer matches, which in Japan are played at 1430, with 30-35C of heat and now, during the rainy season, 50-80% humidity.  In between those second days are weight training sessions and much needed rest days after matches.

Anyone have some tips, now that I have just arrived back in Canada, of dealing with deer flies while running?  I have a hat, with one of those patches of sticky tape on the back, but I still get munched on.


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## Kat Stevens (13 Jul 2007)

Yeah.....Run faster! ;D


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## shorinsakka (13 Jul 2007)

Romulus said:
			
		

> I despise running in the heat. It was 37c in my home town today, it killed me. Any ways to beat the heat while running? I always make sure I'm super hydrated but I work outside all day so its hard. I usually do 6k 30-32 mins on a gravel trail.



I'm not sure there are any ways to "beat the heat."  While training, I always try and run in the early morning or evening when it's cooler.  Also, I run a circular route which repeats itself a few times so I can stash a water bottle(I hate carrying water) in case I need a little refreshment or cooling down.  Also, keep in mind in Japan you can also buy cold drinks almost anywhere since vending machines are rarely more than 50m away in any given urban or suburban area.  
I find the worst problem is actually drinking too much water, since your body can only absorb a certain amount at a time.  You might find you are losing water faster than your ability to absorb it, which is not a good situation.  I have to time my drinking carefully or I cramp up.
During especially hot periods of the summer, the rules of the games of soccer we play are modified, including a longer break at half-time and more than three substitutions (league rules state we can agree on the amount of subs before the game starts, if we can't agree then it's the usual three subs).  By extension, take it easy when training in heavy heat!  
Yes, I have gotten used to it to a certain extent, but then I have lived in this sort of weather for almost four years.  You won't get used to anything when this kind of heat only lasts a few weeks at most in Canada.  I guess if you really want to become acclimated, you'd need to live in an area with the conditions you want to train in.  Much safer that way I think.


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## Agent-0 (24 Jul 2007)

Those camelbak things are pretty good for running, if you're going for a long one. Other then that, they kinda get annoying, but it does the trick if you don't want to run around with a bottle of whatever in your hand.


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