Running in the heat

[Crystal_snowflake]

Hi. I tried going out this morning at 9am for a run - week 9 run 1 and I could barely do 10 minutes 😂. Anyone else find they vary so much depending on the weather? I also find end of day much better in terms of energy but it’s Just too warm! Anyone else?

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

I struggle through the summer as I’m not a morning person! I have to have at least 3 brews before my brain is functioning, and that has rather obvious consequences if I get them down me fast and get out there! I actually tried my first ever pre-7am run on Thursday, and it was really horrendous... I was done before the 5k mark. Yesterday it was much hotter, I went out at 11am (not highly recommended) and yet the run was much easier for me. My only conclusion from this is that, for me, time of the run is more important than the temperature in itself.

Top tips for myself from yesterday... I’d soaked a running top in the shower Thursday evening and hung it on the shower rail... and I soaked my buff just before I ran. The buff was then worn as a dripping wet beanie, my shirt was somewhere between damp and wet. Somewhere around 2 miles in everything was dry, but I was feeling the benefits of the added cooling in the early stages... buff came off my head and became a wristband to remove excess sweat from my brow. I believe these two wet items compensated enough for the heat... I ran 6k comfortably, without needing to carry water... glad it wasn’t a 10k day though!

When I started C25K 2 years ago, every day was too hot... I was running after 9pm most of the time... unless I could find a rain shower to run in. If the weather had been like this year, I’d have been taking extra rest days for days like yesterday, today is still hot, but nowhere near as brutally so.

If you look at the pro distance runners (more obvious with the marathon guys) you’ll see that they have two seasons a year in spring and autumn... during the summer they either run considerably slower, or go live up a mountain. We can take something from that (though few of us own a mountain retreat) and just take care to keep the pace down when it’s hot. Also we really need to be on top of hydration... my watch is estimating that I sweat 350ml on a hot 5k, and around 200 on a half hour walk (usually twice a day) so I’m already looking at taking an extra litre of water (allowing for extra sweating while not working out) on to remain hydrated, on top of the 2.8ish regular hydration target. I’m good at sipping water all day every day, but I do sometimes struggle to get a whole extra litre in... ice lollies are becoming my best friend!

Hope this helps a little, others have different ways of dealing with the heat. I must point out that I refer to running on consecutive days because I’ve been running regularly for a couple of years and have slowly moved to running 6 days a week... while on the plan and for a good while after rest days are very important, so running daily is not recommended for anyone not wanting an injury.

[Crystal_snowflake in reply to UnfitNoMore]

Thanks, I’m also a coffee fiend, and hadn’t had any before running. Great tips on hydration and wet clothing 👍. Hope I make the week 9 runs all the way through at some point soon 🙂

[UnfitNoMore Graduate in reply to Crystal_snowflake]

You will... running in the heat may be tough, but it’ll set you up wonderfully for cooler days. Some people pay a lot of money for a warm weather training camp, right now we are getting it for free 😎. I really loved the autumn and winter after starting in the summer heat, I’m sure you will too.

[Roxdog Graduate in reply to UnfitNoMore]

Interesting! So we will all be speedy runners in the autumn!

[UnfitNoMore Graduate in reply to Roxdog]

In theory yes... keeping the pace down does that anyway, and heat helps... though strangely winter runners make faster spring ones too, so the opposite logic also applies. My thinking is that training away from the perfect distance running temperature (45F I read) helps!

[Roxdog Graduate in reply to UnfitNoMore]

Yes, 45 degrees is about right! I remember well, loved my runs in February!

[MontyMooDog Graduate in reply to UnfitNoMore]

What a great post. Very informative 👍😁♨️

[Roxdog Graduate]

Everyone is different. I'm lucky that I love running first thing and don't mind the heat, but it is quite humid out there too! Take care and drink plenty? Not a fail, perhaps re-try when it cools down a bit.

[Maz1103 Graduate]

I did W9r2 yesterday at 6.30am and struggled with the heat. Finished it but closest I have ever been to stopping and walking!! Looking at the weather app to plan R3!!