When you exercise strenuously in even moderate heat (above 60 °F [14 °C]), you raise core body temperature. Most beginning runners will feel the internal temperature rise above 55 °F (12 °C). This triggers a release of blood into the capillaries of your skin to help cool you down. But this diversion reduces the blood supply available to your exercising muscles, meaning that you will have less blood and less oxygen delivered to the power source that moves you forward and less blood to move out the waste products. As the waste builds up in the muscle, you will slow down.
The bad news is that in warm weather you are going to feel worse and run slower. The worse news is that working too hard on a hot day could result in a very serious condition called heat disease. Make sure that you read the section on this health problem at the end of this chapter. The good news is that you can adapt to these conditions to some extent, as you learn the best time of the day, clothing, and other tricks to keep you cool. But it is always better to back off or stop running at the first sign that you or one of your teammates may be coming into this condition. The following are proven ways of avoiding heat adversity.
1. Run before the sun gets above the horizon. Get up early during the warm months and you will avoid most of the dramatic stress from the sun. This is particularly a problem in humid areas. Also, early morning is usually the coolest time of the day. Without having to deal with the sun, most runners can gradually adapt to heat. At the very least, your runs will be more enjoyable than later in the day. Note: Be sure to take care of safety issues. You may have to wait until there is adequate light to see trail challenges. In southern areas, there are more snakes in the early morning hours, for example.
2. If you must run when the sun is up, pick a shady course. Shade provides a significant relief in areas of low humidity, as well as some relief in humid environments.
3. In areas of low humidity, it’s usually cool during the evening and night. In humid environments there may not be much relief. The coolest time of the day when it’s humid is just before dawn.
4. Use a pool for some short runs. Water running can be a replacement for a short and easy run.
5. Use treadmills during preseason short run days. Some runners alternate segments on hot days: 5-10 minutes outdoors and 5-10 minutes indoors.
6. Don’t wear a hat! You lose most of your body heat through the top of your head. Covering the head will cause a quicker internal build-up of heat.
7. Wear light clothing, but not cotton. Many of the new, technical fibers (polypro, coolmax, drifit) will move moisture away from your skin, producing a cooling effect. Cotton soaks up the sweat, making the garment heavier as it sticks to your skin. This means that you won’t receive as much of a cooling effect as that provided by the high-tech products.
8. Pour water over your head. Evaporation not only helps the cooling process, it makes you feel cooler. This psychological boost can be huge. If you can bring along ice water with you, you will feel a lot cooler as you squirt some regularly over the top of your head, using a pop-top water bottle.
9. Do your runs in installments.
Short runs: It is fine on a hot day that is scheduled for an easy run to put in your 30 minutes by doing 10 in the morning, 10 at noon, and 10 at night. Speed sessions: More rest can be taken between speed reps, and you may break up the distance when it’s hot (running twice as many 400s if you were scheduled for 800-meter repeats).
Long runs: You can take a 5-minute cold shower break every 20-30 minutes during a long run. Some runners take a 5-minute soak in the pool. Ultra marathon long weekends: You can take four hours between segments.
10. Sun screen: a mixed review. Some runners will need to protect themselves. Some products, however, produce a coating on the skin, reducing the cooling effect of perspiration and resulting in a body temperature buildup. If you are only in the sun for 30-50 minutes at a time, you may not need to put on sunscreen for cancer protection. Consult with your doctor about your specific needs or find a product that doesn’t block the pores.
11. Drink six to eight ounces of a sports drink, such as Accelerade, or water at least every two hours or when thirsty throughout the day during hot weather (not when running) and on the four-hour rest between running segments on long run weekend.
12. Look at the clothing thermometer in this book and at www.JeffGalloway.com. Wear loose-fitting garments that have some texture in the fabric. Texture will limit or prevent the perspiration from clinging and sticking to the skin.
13. When the temperature is above 90 °F, you have my permission to rearrange your running shoes, preferably in an air-conditioned environment.
Hot weather slowdown for long runs
As the temperature rises above 55 °F (12 °C), your body starts to build up heat, but most runners aren’t significantly slowed until 60 °F (14 °C). If you make the adjustments early, you won’t have to suffer later and slow down a lot more at that time. The baseline for this table is 60°F or 14 °C.
• Between 60 °F and 64 °F:
Slow down 30 seconds per mile slower than you would run at 60 °F.
• Between 14 °C and 16.5 °C:
Slow down 20 seconds per kilometer than you would run at 14 °C.
• Between 65 °F and 69 °F:
Slow down 1 minute per mile slower than you would run at 60 °F.
• Between 17 °C and 19.5 °C:
Slow down 40 seconds per kilometer slower than you would run at 14 °C.
• Between 70 °F and 74 °F:
Slow down 1:30 per mile slower than you would run at 60 °F.
• Between 20 °C and 22 °C:
Slow down 1 minute per kilometer slower than you would run at 14 °C.
• Between 75 °F and 79 °F:
Slow down 2 minutes per mile slower than you would run at 60 °F.
• Between 22.5 °C and 25 °C:
Slow down 1:20 per kilometer slower than you would run at 14 °C.
• Above 80 °F and 25 °C:
Be careful; take extra precautions to avoid heat disease.
• Or exercise indoors.
Or arrange your shoes next to the air conditioner.
While it is unlikely that you will push yourself into heat disease, the longer you are exercising in hot (or humid) conditions, the more you increase the likelihood of this dangerous medical situation. That’s why I recommend breaking up your short maintenance runs into short segments when it’s hot, if you must run outdoors for your short runs. Be sensitive to your reactions to the heat and those of the runners around you. When one of the symptoms is present, this is normally not a major problem unless there is significant distress. But when several are experienced, take action because heat disease can lead to death. I’m against death. It’s always better to be conservative: Stop the workout and cool off.
Symptoms:
• Intense heat build-up in the head
• General overheating of the body
• Significant headache
• Significant nausea
• General confusion and loss of concentration
• Loss of muscle control
• Excessive sweating and then cessation of sweating
• Clammy skin
• Excessively rapid breathing
• Muscle cramps
• Feeling faint
• Unusual heart beat or rhythm
• Balance issues increase
• Viral or bacterial infection
• Taking medication: especially cold medicines, diuretics, medicines for diarrhea, antihistamines, atropine, scopolamine, tranquilizers, even cholesterol and blood pressure medications. Check with your doctor on medication issues, especially when running in hot weather.
• Dehydration (especially due to alcohol)
• Severe sunburn
• Overweight
• Lack of heat training
• Exercising more than one is used to
• Occurrence of heat disease in the past
• Two or more nights of extreme sleep deprivation
• Certain medical conditions including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, extreme stress, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, cardiovascular disease, smoking, or a general lack of fitness
• Drug use, including alcohol, over-the-counter medications, and prescription drugs (Consult with your doctor about using drugs when you are exercising hard in hot weather.)
Take action! Call 911
Use your best judgment, but in most cases anyone who exhibits two or more of the symptoms should get into a cool environment and get medical attention immediately. An extremely effective cool-off method is to soak towels, sheets, or clothing in cool or cold water and wrap them around the individual. If ice is available, sprinkle some ice over the wet cloth.
