Cold Sweat: Don’t be fooled by the chilly weather!

Blasts of cold air are making for some record breaking temperatures across the country. Even though you might not feel dehydrated, unseen factors can siphon your energy and performance on the course. Steve found out the hard way.

By: Steve Kendra

I learned a lesson the hard way about a month ago as I was completing my last training run before the Tucson Marathon. I would like to share it with you in hopes that maybe I can save a few of you the problems that I encountered.

Four miles into the run I felt a mild pain between my shoulder blades. Then, around seven miles, during a short incline, I noticed my respiratory rate going up significantly more than normal. I could feel my heart rate climbing. And, I was moving so slow at the time that one of my running buddies was walking next to me as I jogged up the hill. It was snowing fairly hard and the temperature was about 34 degrees. My younger friend wore just a wicking long sleeve shirt and shorts. I was wearing running tights and gloves, a hat and sweatshirt, and my NF running jacket. I had not planned on running that day and had not eaten breakfast or lunch. I don’t remember drinking much of anything before or during the run either.

Anyway, after the run, we drove back to my house and I felt a little strange. I noticed in the shower that my heart still seemed to be racing. After a shower, I put my heart rate monitor on and found that my heart rate was fluctuating between 100 and 130 even one hour after my run, doubling my normal resting heart rate. I debated about going to the hospital, but because we were having our Endurance Team staff dinner, I decided to just take it easy. After dinner I started feeling a little more normal. My heart rate began returning to the normal range. The following day, however, I woke up to a memory I had not experienced in 25 years — what felt like an epic bachelor party hangover.

To make a long story short, I went to my doctor on Tuesday. On Wednesday I went to the cardiologist who put me through the complete workup for heart trouble. I passed with high marks with the exception of my blood pressure being a little high. Dr. Alderfer, my cardiologist, has run Boston ten times at about twice the speed I could run it. I explained the events of that day to him and he sort of smiled. With his tongue in his cheek, he asked me how long I had been doing my job directing the team.

He told me it was a classic case of winter dehydration.

The day of my run it had been cold, windy and snowy, and even though I missed breakfast and lunch, I did not even feel like I needed to eat. I didn’t even drink anything after I was finished for an hour or so. Dr. Alderfer said my heart was racing trying desperately to get fluids to the areas of my body that needed it, but there wasn’t anything there, and my heart just kept racing away with nothing to do until I gave it the fuel it needed. The hangover feeling the next day was also a side effect from dehydration, which is mostly what a hangover is I am told.

The marathon the following Sunday went OK although I was dreadfully undertrained to do 26.2 All along I was viewing it as a training long run for me to prepare for the Antarctica Marathon in early March. However, at 23 miles I remembered just how tired and badly one can feel in a marathon even with poor hydration.

My message to you: we really do need to pay attention to this amazing machine we have been given to care for 80 or 90 years. It’s like any other machine in that it needs lubrication, fuel and the right fluids to keep it functioning properly.

I’ll see you on the course!

Steve