It's Hot!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012 · Mike Davis

The temperatures are rising here in the northeast and summer is certainly coming in with a bang! My wife and I decided that it would be wise to get out and run early this morning and it may not have been early enough! We set out around 7:00AM and it was darn hot and humid. I ran 5 miles at a fairly snail pace, but I’ll take it. Hot weather running is really a challenge and takes some pre-planning. Hydration is critical early and understanding the limitations that come with the heat is very important. Under normal conditions, the heart pushes blood that carries oxygen to those muscles that we are exerting when we run. During increased hot weather, some of that blood and oxygen diverts to the skin to cool our bodies down. Thinking about that; now the oxygen that normally gets to those important running muscles, is less than normal thus our bodies feel weaker. I know personally I start to scuff my feet or am heavier on them for sure and my wife made note of that this morning. What can we do about that? Probably nothing, besides understand that running in the heat will challenge our running.

Another effect of the heat is our heart rate. When the temperatures rise, our heart rate also raises about 10 percent higher. Despite slowing down, we find ourselves breathing heavier and wondering if it’s the thick air or what? While the thicker air doesn’t help, what actually is happening is that your heart rate has increased and you are working harder. Again it’s not something you can do a lot about, but just be aware and do slow down.

Training throughout the summer can be a challenge, so you need to adjust when you can. Run early or later in the day, hydrate often and use sun block. Heat wears us down; sometimes even before we put on our running shoes. Don’t forget about good nutrition along the way as eating the right foods keeps your energy level higher and will keep you in the right frame of mind to run. Have a training plan and check the forecast, sometimes all you have to do is plan a scheduled run around the warmest parts of the day. It also helps if you look for the lowest humidity level of the day and run at that time. Each of us are different, some deal with humidity better than heat, while others deal with heat, but can’t run in high humidity.

Coaching runners is a 12 month job for me and I have to sometimes convince a runner that they can run when it’s 10 degrees or 90 degrees. Be smart, don’t force a certain distance or underestimate the inherent dangers of the heat. Having someone to run with is always safe and sensible. Our Monday night training sessions are at a great time and also give you someone experience to work with. Take advantage of this opportunity.