The Heat is On

Well it had to happen. Summer is here. I'm not one of those people who were complaining about the lack of stupidly hot weather. I was very happy with what we had. Bring me 25C (75F) any day and I'll be happy. Even the rain; I love running in the rain. I just can't imagine why people would think very hot and humid weather is great.

This week was another fairly high mileage week for me. I ran about 80km, for a total of about 7h30 of running. I had a double longuish run this weekend 25km on Saturday and 21km on Sunday. That went well, but on Sunday it was extremely hot and I didn't bring enough fluids. The last 5km were harsh.

I'm considering signing up for the Iroquoia Trail Test this weekend. That's a 32km trail race with rugged trails, major climbs and 2 river crossings. It fits well in my training plan, IF I don't run it too hard. I've never done that race before but it's supposed to ba a classic. The usual suspects are all signed up, so I will probably do it.

I've started treatment for my heel pain last Friday. I'm seeing the physio six times. He is doing Iontophoresis with Dexamethasone. Basically, using an electrical current to force the medication inside my Achilles. I was a bit skittish about using steroids for my Achilles, but further research into injection vs iontophoresis reassured me (advice from Tim Noakes, author of Lore of Running: if your doctor wants to inject your Achilles with Cortisone, leave immediately). The physio also gave me stretches and strenghtening exercises for my tendon, which I have been doing studiously. I have my second treatment today. I'll let you know how this all turns out.