You are out there. On your own. Hours pass by. You finally decide "Ok, I'm done!" and head back home. Or the trailhead. Or the car.
You get in your own head space. Yes, that's a real thing. Trance like workouts. You don't feel "the pain" you are inflicting on your body because beta endorphins are a wonderful aspect of all of this.
I have called it "Skate, The Movie" because once I get in the Zone, it is really like watching something on TV.
You just "do" it.
Yes, I know that's a line from a sneaker ad. Give me that.
But really you detach and you get to watch things happen as you are burning an awful lot of calories per hour.
1000 calories per hour of cycling, 1500 calories per hour of inline skating for me, personally. Those numbers come from my own sport watch and are backed up via three separate sport analysis apps.
I do watch what I am doing. Rather closely. Always have. The goal on skates is "once around the world at the equator" of 24,900 miles. I'm getting close at 24,620.
This is the "Statistically Hottest Month of the Year". Two weeks before, two weeks after August 7th, the heat is at its highest point.
What does that mean to you or me, an Endurance Athlete?
First, allow yourself flexibility. If you need to take "a pause", do so. Remember, you did not get where you are by overdoing it, even if others think you are overdoing it. I know, confusing, right?
I was out there today. 27.3 miles on the bike. There are many who do more miles in a workout. I hold my distance down to what I can do in two hours. I figure more than that and, in this heat, I am burning more than calories, I am probably burning muscle.
We get days above 90F/32C, and will until October. Typical Florida Summer. 65% relative humidity. It is uncomfortable, but you do adapt. Trust me, I have.
I have a 4.5 mile route. 7.25 Km. I do 6 laps to get a marathon. There's a little wiggle room in the distance. Measurements are not perfect and we don't expect them to be. There is always GPS. Take your phone, load up some tunes, get into the groove, I do.
So instead of only taking one break in the middle of this workout, I pause twice. Two water stops. Bring the heart rate down and cool my heels.
That's the second suggestion I have. Give yourself the option to take extra breaks and hydrate. I can't say hydrate enough. Stop and drink as much water as you need. Then drink more. You are more like a Steam Engine than you are a gas powered car.
Today in the South Florida Steam Bath, I took an extra break. I had my water stop, then went back at it. I know that in the heat, I am less efficient at moving my own bulk, plus my equipment, around that loop. The second water stop happened because I noticed my speed was dropping. On my bike I have a lot of monitoring equipment. Because I like to know what I am doing, I have a trail camera recording video. The battery only lasts two hours.
That is something to consider. When you measure your workouts in terms of multiples of hours, your battery may not last. The camera does not. The phone does.
Second water stop, I emptied my thermos on my head. I bring two. 20 ounces of ice water, twice.
Luckily there is a lot of water available at the park. Four separate locations. If you do not have that ability, your workouts will be limited by how much you can cart with you. Sport bottles or a camelback. They are a big help, trust me.
After that second stop, at 5 laps of the big park, I noticed my speed dropped down to what I would not consider a good rate. Since I also monitor my heart rate, I consider it acceptable. Your body does a good job at maintaining a balance. If you can monitor your heart rate, you can know whether you are working out at peak.
That peak will vary due to conditions, and vary considerably.
Your maximum heart rate is your age subtracted from 220. The target HR is 50-80% of that. As an endurance athlete, I am able to maintain my HR at a peak of the maximum, and I typically workout at 90% of that maximum as an average. When I tell that to health professionals, they typically are surprised but I have been doing it for years, and I am a "senior". I do peak higher than that maximum frequently.
Finally fuel. As in: what do you stuff in your face has a lot to do with how efficient you can convert all this to distance. I aggressively monitor my diet on workout days and on rest days. The "Carbo Load" I do before I workout won't take me through a 2-3 hour workout. I always bring a snack for that first water stop. Typically that snack is a couple of cookies or a power bar that I have on the bumper of my jeep. 
The quality of the Carbo Load is important. On a workout breakfast, I try for as low a fat count as possible. The reason is that I want to avoid Runner's Trots. Unpleasant need for the rest room NOW because the body is trying to expel the fat you ate earlier. So don't take it in. This morning it was oatmeal with fruit and non-fat milk.
You can have what you feel you need later. I know I do. There's a bag of potato chips calling to me from the kitchen. I must need the salt. The time to splurge is after the workout. I did.
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