The Inside Out run was a nice physiological realisation for me. Yes it was hot, yes it was humid, the temperature felt 8 degrees hotter than it actually was, pushing us into the mid – high 40s instead of the slightly more pleasant high 30s. But in spite of insane temperatures and so much water vapour in the air that it feels like you are going to drown, I managed a 7:30min mile off the bat and kept pace pretty high throughout the 4 miles, even managed to kick for a 150 meter sprint at the end, which felt awesome. So I know that I can run in the heat and the humidity of the evening and I can run at a pace which will make my marathon training goals achievable.

WOOP!!

But, moving through this humid soup is hard work. A relaxed but purposeful walk from work, back to the hotel gets the heart rate going and I am worried about my salt levels – need to drink more electrolyte based fluids I think.  As I discovered earlier on, it is a question of pace. But if it does get too hot to do stuff outside, I have a plan.

The Brain Wave

A few days ago, I went ice skating with one of my Al Jazz friends; there is a small rink in City Center Mall. The rink is in pretty good condition and often quiet. For 35 Riyals I can hire a pair of sharp skates, and skate. My brief adventure on the ice on Friday was good fun, and successful – I did not fall over once. I have guestimated that the rink is about 100meters around. So 50 laps is 5Ks, 100 laps is 10Ks, etc etc.

I reckon could do some of my running training on the ice, it uses similar muscle groups and although it is not a direct substitute for the treadmill or the asphalt, I can keep cool, improve my core (through trying to stay upright), I don’t have to worry about my trainers melting, it feels like I am moving forward, instead of standing still – even though I will actually be going round in circles and most importantly,  it’ll be fun.

So what do you think bloggerverse, could Ice Skating replace some of my shorter runs over the hot Qatar summer?

Now For The Boring Technical Log

Last night I did a bike session at the gym, I think I will start doing a 30 – 45min cycle session every day I don’t run, to get used to using the exercise bike more regularly – as the metal beast will account for 60% of my cross-training sessions after the 22nd of June.

Tonight I will run back from work – which is like 3 miles if I go along the Corniche, maybe a couple of miles in the gym too, I haven’t run far in a while.