Smart Person, Stupid Decision

Whose inane idea was it to hold a sixty mile charity walk in the tail end of July, when the weather is likely to be least compatible with human life and extreme activity?

Barring that, whose inane idea was it to sign up for said charity walk, knowing that they don't deal well with extreme heat and dehydration?

Oh yeah, that'd be me.

Today's lesson: Being conditioned for high levels of activity and being conditioned for high levels of heat and humidity are not the same thing.

Today's plan was to walk ten miles on my own (to and from a friend's house), then stop by the house, meet up with my husband, and put in another 4-5 miles together. Unfortunately, miles 6-10 were walked around noon, in full sun, in about 90-degree weather with extreme humidity. While I've done 10-mile walks before without any trouble, I didn't stop to think about the temperature, the sun itself, or.... well, anything else.

So now I am collapsed at home, nursing a serious dehydration headache (in spite of two bottles of water, a giant glass of water, and another of orange juice), and trying not to swoon, throw up, or fall off the sofa from dizziness. And desperately working to convince myself that I don't need to walk the last five miles later tonight.

Better to get this lesson over with here and now, though, than halfway through the walk, I guess....