It's getting hot in here....

I ran my last training 20 miler on Sunday. I still didn't come in under 4 hours like I would have liked to have, but at least I didn't cramp up for the last 6 miles like I did the first 20 miler. (Shout out to Jennifer Hiller for helping me through the last 3 miles!) So now the taper begins. This weekend I run 12 miles, then the following weekend 10 miles, and then the marathon! I couldn't be more excited. Of course after the way things went in Chicago on Sunday, I've been obsessively checking the weather forecast in D.C. It'll only give me 10 days out, and the forecast calls for highs in the 70s, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for race day.
Yesterday people at work were wondering what the big deal is about 88 degrees and high humidity. "That's pretty normal for us..." "88 isn't even that hot."
Well of course it's normal in places like South Texas, Miami, Louisiana, etc. But most of the people who said this yesterday have never run more than a mile in their life, let alone a marathon. I'd like to think if you've been training in those sort of temperatures you're likely to be okay. But anything above 85 degrees is well, wretched, when you're running 26.2 miles. Heck, it's tough for me to run anything above 10 miles in that kind of weather. The sun beats down on you, the pavement reflects the heat back up at you, the humidity sucks out any fluid you have left in your system, and you're left cramping, sick, confused and falling down.
Training in San Antonio gave me a whole new knowledge of weather and the small difference a degree or two can make. I've learned the large difference in 68 degrees and 70 degrees. It feels downright chilly when it's 68 degrees, especially if there is a breeze and you're midway through a run. 70 can feel oppressive. I had a lot of training runs that began in 72 degree temperatures. Which is why I often started as close to 5:30 am as possible. It's still amazingly humid at that time, but at least you aren't fighting the sun too. 20 minutes after the sun comes up, it just keeps getting hotter. A breeze is a God send, and shade is your new best friend. I can't imagine 88 degrees.
The high in D.C. today is supposed to be 92. Yikes. But they promise a cold front is on it's way and they should be in the high 60s and low 70s by the end of the week. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it stays that way.