Training(2)

I've been good.  Added a few more miles since my last post.  I wanted to mention my run on Wednesday, which was less than memorable in miles, but a good reminder about running in the heat. I'd worked all night Tuesday, it was busy and didn't really have a chance to eat or drink much during my 10 hour shift.  After getting home and logging about 4 hours of sleep I got up and got ready for an afternoon run, it was going to be an easy short run thru the hills, recovery from Monday's run.  Ate a quick snack and ran out the door to el moro.  I started out feeling pretty good, but after the first hill my legs were quickly becoming fatigued.  It was warm out, so I started drinking.  Didn't help much.  By 3 miles I was walking back to the car, shaking my head trying to figure out what went wrong...Not enough sleep?  Don't think so, I do alot of training after work.  Heat?  Maybe, not enough heat training yet.  Low on calories?  Maybe, had only a p-nut butter sandwich in 12 hours.  Low on water?  Very likely.  I'd had 3 cups of coffee in 24hrs.  Thats it.  So I started out very dehydrated and as soon as i hit that first hill and started sweating my muscles were overheating.  Even after drinking a bottle of heed, I was still probably 3L low, and it didn't make much of a difference. 
I got home and downed another half liter of water, took an endurolyte, drank another half liter and ate dinner.
During my shift that night, I went easy on the coffee(not an easy thing to do) and kept up with the water and electrolytes.  The amazing thing, that morning, at the end of my 10 hours I felt great!  Much more energetic and clear minded than I usually do after drinking coffee all night long.  I had another run on my calender for Thursday afternoon.  So another 4 hours of sleep and I was up and on the trails again.  This time I finished off almost a liter of smartwater before getting on the trails.  Took an endurolyte and headed out to try to get in 9-10 miles before dark.  What a difference!! While I'm still a wimp on the hills I could get thru most of them without stopping, and then continue on quickly at the top.  At the end of the 9 miles I was tired and could feel the effects of the heat but could have continued on for more miles if I'd had the time.
So, moral to this little story...while drinking and eating during running is important, taking care of yourself while off the trails factors in big time too. I'd been too consumed with making sure I'd pack all my pills and powders for my run, I'd neglect to eat and drink properly before leaving the house.
And the warm up is very important too...