Don't let smiles deceive you! This apparently happy bubba decided today about 6km from home that she thought sitting in the running pram for even one more second was a bad idea.  Cue snack break of hot cross buns and a crawling stop to work out all those wriggles.... and still no love for the pram. This was completely out of the blue, after several months with no issues being in the pram, even 2 hours the other week!  Charlotte normally loves watching the world go by and then eases herself into a nap.  But not today! So my long run turned into an endurance bicep workout.  Still, we had a lovely morning walking and talking to all the other runners, walkers and cyclers out on the Fernleigh track this morning.  In proves that when it comes to babies, you just have to be prepared for all eventualities.  I am grateful I got to spend such a lovely morning with one on one time with my gorgeous daughter, even if it does mean my marathon training is now a little bit behind schedule, again! There will always be another marathon to run, there will not always be memories like this to be made. 
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With temperatures set to sore to record breaking highs this weekend, now is a great time to evaluate your running goals this weekend.  Whilst heat training is considered the poor man's altitude training (yes, the elites deliberately train in the heat for performance enhancement), running in such extreme temperatures as over 40deg can be downright dangerous and even deadly!  There have been documented cases of runners getting rhabdomyolysis and dying (they do so much muscle damage the kidney shuts down).  

Here are some suggestions to play it safe:
1) Go early - when it is cooler

2) Shorten your intended session and take regular water and walk breaks.  I would suggest no more than 15min continuous running without a 5min water and rest break. 
Better yet, replace your session with this one:

HILL REPEATS
           5-10min easy jog warm up
           5x100m hill repeats with walk down recovery.
                 2-8 sets (dependent on your fitness level), take a good 5min between sets to re-hydrate and recover in the shade
           5-10min easy jog

3) Replace your intended run with a strength session at home in the air-conditioning! .  If you are like most runners you probably tend to neglect your strength work and this is the perfect opportunity! I promise you will get more benefit out of a good strength routine targeting your core, glutes and leg stabilising muscles than flogging yourself in the heat just because you feel like you should. 
This is also a great time to try that gym or yoga class you have always wanted to (as long as they have airconditioning!)

4) Water running.
What an awesome way to get in a quality session with no impact!
WATER RUNNING
            Swim 4x100m warm up
            Run in deep water
                     30 sec on: 30 sec off x12     
                     2 min break
                     15 sec on: 15 sec off x8
                     2 min break
                    20sec on: 20 sec off x10
​           Swim 2x100m cool down  

So this weekend take care of your body and listen to it! I guarantee a few adjustments and you will be a lot happier and healthier than trying to slog it out in the heat just because.  Not only can it be demoralising, but at best the stress on your body could take much longer to recover from, causing a decrease in performance in next week's training sessions.