Training in Phoenix

Greetings from the San Tan Valley, just south of Phoenix!

I knew before coming down to Arizona that it was going to be hot and that I would have to adjust my training sessions accordingly. My approach was to treat the high heat with the same amount of respect that I treat extreme cold weather. Shorten your exposure and when training; slow down!

So prior to leaving I shifted the 4 hour Saturday, 5 hour Sunday sessions forward a week and tackled those challenges in Markham. That meant that this past Sunday the schedule called for a 5 hour walk in Pinal County Arizona. I tested things out on Friday with an hour long walk through the community at 6:30am. It was already 33 degrees Celsius and the sun was on fire! I was really glad that I had decided to pass on carrying my usual loaded backpack and that I carried a bottle of GU2O energy drink. So wearing my bright red Canadian running shirt,hiking boots and poles I trekked off down the road for 30 minutes and following several amused waves from a few dog walkers and a "hey, you forgot your skis", I made it back in an hour.

By noon the temperature had hit 42 degrees and there wasn't a cloud in sight! By 9pm that night it was 44 degrees. Stepping out the door felt like standing in front of on open oven that is set at 500 degrees F! The effect is incredible! Your skin feels like it is slowly roasting, your throat feels raw and you feel totally drained and exhausted.

The thought of trekking for 5 hours was ridiculous! So I started negotiating with my inner trainer. What if I got up at 2am and started my trek when it was cooler? Images of coyotes, rattlesnakes and scorpions lurking in the darkness cancelled that thought pretty quickly! What if I trekked for 2.5 hours on Saturday and then did the other 2.5 on Sunday? A quick check of the weather forecast put a damper on that idea as the weather was going to get progressively hotter through the weekend!

So I did what I usually do and I procrastinated on a decision and did my scheduled 1 hour trek on Saturday and hoped for divine intervention. It came in the form of my husband who calmy said; "train indoors at the gym". Brilliant, I responded, I'll do 5 hours on the cardio machines! No; he replied, split the difference. 2.5 hours should be enough. 2.5 was what I did! ..... 35 minutes on the elliptical, 35 minutes on the treadmill, 40 minutes on a stationary bike,and then another 40 minutes on the treadmill again. All of those machines had "hill" workouts and so I hit the mechanically simulated hills for 2.5 hours. I covered just over 24 kms in distance, drank 4 litres of water and probably dropped 3 pounds sweating!

What does the weather look like for this week? Well, they just announced an extreme weather alert for the county and they are forecasting a high of 50 degrees Celsius for tomorrow!!! Elliptical machine here I come!!!