{"id":32183,"date":"2013-03-16T15:28:07","date_gmt":"2013-03-16T19:28:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=32183"},"modified":"2015-12-27T15:45:09","modified_gmt":"2015-12-27T20:45:09","slug":"hotter-than-july-at-the-tel-aviv-half-marathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=32183","title":{"rendered":"Hotter than July at the Tel Aviv (Half) Marathon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tel<\/a>Extreme heat and marathons are not a good combo.\u00a0 So it was no surprise that the 2013 Tel Aviv marathon did not take place as scheduled on Friday.\u00a0 As soon as the 96 degree marathon day weather forecast arrived last week, the marathon-cancellation-chatter began.\u00a0 My friends and I were talking to each other constantly \u2013 nonstop speculation.\u00a0 Would we be running or not? \u00a0On Tuesday the organizers announced that the race wasn\u2019t cancelled, but would begin at 6:00 instead of 6:30. On Wednesday they announced that the half marathon and the 10k would take place, but that the marathon was officially postponed for a week.<\/p>\n

Postponed.<\/p>\n

The marathon was still doable, in theory, but the city wouldn\u2019t close down again so runners could fill the streets. Instead they scheduled it to take place in Park Hayarkon, where I run almost every day.\u00a0 The park isn\u2019t long enough for a marathon, and the idea of running back and forth over a small area rather than a running a city marathon full of cheering crowds was depressing.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t know what to do, so I did what any normal husband would do\u2026 I drove my wife crazy for days.\u00a0 In fact, Jess claims she lost two work days over this. I couldn\u2019t concentrate on anything.\u00a0 Should I run the Tel Aviv marathon a week later?\u00a0 Should I go run another marathon?\u00a0 The Rome marathon was only two days after Tel Aviv\u2019s. The Prague marathon?\u00a0 The Milan marathon?\u00a0 Zurich?\u00a0 Bratislava?<\/p>\n

The biggest problem with a marathon somewhere else is the expense.\u00a0 But since hernia surgery caused me to miss the Amsterdam marathon back in October, I felt it was okay to splurge now. The question was where to go.\u00a0 Once I\u2019d decided to run a marathon somewhere else, I decided to go back into training mode.\u00a0 I would run the half-marathon here, but proper marathon training would require me to run 31k, not just 21.1.\u00a0 So I would start early.<\/p>\n

The start time of the half-marathon was 5:45 a.m. starting time.\u00a0 It had to be this early to avoid the forecasted heat. So I had to start my own run at 4:30 a.m., the hour when the clubbers are dragging themselves home and puking in the street.<\/p>\n

I got up at 3:45 with a BG of 172, not the best but I still had some active insulin in me and for a 19-mile run it wasn\u2019t a bad place to start.\u00a0 I ran 2 miles at a very easy pace before stopped to check my blood sugar for the first time it was 161. Although it was very early in the morning it was quite hot and there was a warm breeze, a little too warm for comfort. I ran the next few miles at a good pace, a little slower than my marathon pace (8:00-8:10).\u00a0 At 5:35 I arrived at the race area. My blood sugar was 139 \u2013 time for a gel.<\/p>\n

When the race started it still felt like night, but as I ran the first three miles daylight began to take over the sky.\u00a0 And the heat began to take over the land. I was running \u00a0at a good pace but then after about eight miles I started to feel bad. I took another gel (as planned) but that didn\u2019t do much. At 7:00 a.m. the heat really surged. My mouth was dry and it felt like I was running in a wool suit. I had only 4 miles to go but I knew I was dehydrated, and my muscles felt fatigued. I kept a decent pace for another mile but then started to slow down. I felt so horrible, as thirsty as I\u2019d been since diagnosis, but I decided I wasn\u2019t stopping for anything. I fought myself to the finish line and crossed it in 1:42:25 according to my Garmin (and with my blood sugar at 158). Not my best run ever but, when I arrived home and began to hear the horror stories of the half-marathon, I realized it could have been much worse: one runner died, four were comatose, and many others were in serious condition, all due to dehydration and heat stroke.<\/p>\n

\"Tel<\/a>
Tel Aviv Half Marathon – Last Mile<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before I left the race I met up with my friends and we hung out, talking about the race, the heat and enjoying some post race beer that was being sold for $1.25. I don\u2019t usually drink beer<\/a>, but I figured I deserved it. I bolused and had a pint.<\/p>\n

I walked home in the heat. By 9:00 a.m. it was 90 degrees and people were still running (the 10K races started later). On my way I saw someone looking bad being loaded on to an ambulance. \u00a0<\/p>\n

At home I took a shower and got into bed to take a nap. I asked jess to wake me in an hour<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you check your blood sugar?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

I hadn\u2019t, so I did.\u00a0 83.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll get you something to eat,\u201d she said and got me some dried fruit.<\/p>\n

Jess woke me an hour later. I had a very hard time waking up. I guessed it was dehydration but when in doubt I usually test my blood sugar. It was 53.<\/p>\n

I had over-bolused for the beer and spent the rest of the day chasing lows.\u00a0 In between the snacking and blood sugar checks I thought about the race, how despite the severe conditions I\u2019d managed to do it and didn\u2019t screw up my blood sugar until after the race.\u00a0 And with a sense of trepidation tinged with confidence, I singed up for the Milan marathon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":32186,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1501],"tags":[575],"yoast_head":"\nHotter than July at the Tel Aviv (Half) Marathon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Extreme heat and marathons are not a good combo. 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