Heat & Humidity

I've been back home on Guam for a few days now, and I am reminded of how extremely hot and humid it gets during this time of year. From my experience running on Guam, I would say that May is the hottest month of the year, with June coming in a close second only because we get a little more rain. Even with the rain, it is still hot, hot, HOT!!! A short 4-miler yesterday, which started at 5:56AM had me sweating like a pig right from the start. I was incoherently babbling something like, "Squeal like a pig, squeal like a pig!," on the tail end of that run.

Looking back at my training diary from 1983, I can see that I was putting in a considerable amount of mileage in preparation for the length of Japan run. Daily runs were in the 10 to 20 mile range, with long runs of up to 3-4 hours. Many days included two runs, once in the morning and another in the evening. The fitness level was pretty good. I have recorded in my diary doing 10 miles of the Pre-Memorial Day 13.8 Mile Race from Anderson Air Force Base to the Paseo in late May. I led the race with Joe Taitano, putting in miles just over the 5:00 to 5:15 per mile range on the rolling course in the oppressive heat of May. I told Joe during the race that I was dropping out at 10 miles to save myself for the soon-to-start length of Japan, but I think he didn't believe me. Whenever I put in a little surge to increase the pace, he came with me. He seemed surprised when I told him at 10 miles to take it in for the rest of the 3.8 miles. Actually, he begged for me to continue running with him. Being the nice guy that I am, I declined. I think he didn't want to suffer the last 3.8 super-HOT, brain-frying miles all alone. (By the way, the race is no longer being run. Today's runners can opt to race the more sane 5K distance in May.)

By early June 1983, I had received the special running backpack that I ordered from an ad in Runner's World magazine. Although these are widely available today, it was a challenge to locate a runner's backpack with a strap that comes across your chest. This strap keeps the pack from bouncing up and down as you run. There is no way one can do an ultra-run with something as annoying as a bouncing pack on one's back. I tried a few runs with this backpack, not really knowing how much I would end up having to put in it, and how I would later on the run weigh the pros and cons of taking with me even one small sheet of paper in the backpack.

The mind and body were just about ready by this time. I was all set for the flight to Kagoshima, a direct shot from Guam on Air Nauru.