What I've learned -- lesson 9: Running in the heat / staying hydrated

What a bunch of cyclical predictable whiners we are. It seems like just yesterday we were all complaining about the bitter cold and snow and wondering if spring was ever going to show it’s warm, beautiful face (me, not so much. TN living, y’all). But because the South has a sucky reputation for going straight from winter to summer and skipping God’s gift that is Spring running altogether, I figured it was about time for some ‘how-to-run-in-heat-and-not-die’ talk. 

(Hottest 11 mile beach run in which we thought we were dying. I drank water from a strangers’ garden hose).

Pro-tip: if you ever even think about training for a fall marathon, be very, very aware that you will (most likely) spend most of your training runs in the hot heat bargaining off your first born for even a slight breeze during your 20 miler so you can avoid passing out and retiring as a runner before even toeing the start line of your race.

Fall marathons are great. Training for fall marathons is not.

But if you’re stubborn and forget just how much running in the heat sucks until you after you gleefully sign up for another fall race and then quickly remember the nightmare that is a summer training run once the heat rears its ugly head, here are some things I’ve learned that might help you survive.

I dislike running in heat so much that I even gave it the finger once in a race.

Oops.

Tip #1: Become friendly with the early A.M.

Morning sucks. It’s just plain silly to wake up at 4:15am to go run miles just so you can melt slowly in the icy 75 degree heat rather than the soul-scorching 95 degree heat. (That’s always a fun one to explain to non-runner friends…). But it’s incredibly worth it to get up early and get it done before the sun rises and it gets dangerously hot.

Tip #2: Strip down. Wear as little amounts of clothing as you can without getting arrested. Do the opposite of what I do and wear light colors. Stick to sweat wicking fabrics. I prefer clothing that fits a little closer to the body so I don’t have 10 pounds of extra sweaty fabric weighing me down, but some prefer looser clothing in the heat.

This is as bare as I usually go. Also, summer gives you some awesome tan lines.

Tip #3: Slow your roll. Heat can DRAMATICALLY affect your pace, and that’s okay. Ideal running temperatures (for me) are between 45-55 degrees. You will always want to dress as if it will be 20 degrees warmer. For every 5% warmer than your ideal running weather, you can expect about a 2% drop in running performance.

Here is a cool temperature calculator to let you know how much your pace will decrease in the heat.

Tip #4: Hydrate like a boss. Because I’m nearly certain that no human sweats as much as I do, I drink A LOT on my runs. (I also eat super salty foods when prepping for summer long runs to keep my electrolytes balanced). Even if it’s just a short run, I’ll always take a handheld with me with some water or Nuun. If it’s anything longer, I’ll wear my Camelbak or FuelBelt.

Weigh yourself pre-run and post-run to see how much fluid you’ve lost. This is a good gauge to see if you’re hydrating enough during your run. If it’s more than a pound, that’s a red flag you’re already experiencing some dehydration. For every pound you lose, you’re about 16 oz of fluid behind. 

My routine? Drink up before you head out, about 16oz. for a really hot day. Drink early and often, about 6-12oz. every 20 minutes or so. When you’re finished, keep hydrating! I personally like to go by the pee color rule, the easiest way to gauge hydration levels.

Tip #5: Get acclimated! Fear not, summer runners, for not all good-time-having–run-fun is not lost. There’s a little thing called heat acclimation. When you exercise, you produce heat. To release the heat, we sweat. (Profound, right?) In order to do this, your body sends blood to the skin, therefore causing a lack of blood to deliver oxygen to your muscles. So basically, the process of releasing heat is hogging all of the blood that your muscles need to function properly while running. This causes a decrease in performance, meaning slower paces.

Acclimating to the heat, however, isn’t as terrible a process as you might think, and actually doesn’t take very long at all. If you’re like me, you may feel like you never get used to it, but I think it’s mostly mental in my brain. According to this table, your body will start reaping the benefits of heat acclimation in about 7-10 days. If you’re not consistent with running in the heat, though, you can lose your acclimation efforts in about 1-3 weeks. Therefore, it’s important to mimic training in whatever conditions your race will be in (if you’re training for one).

Consistently ONLY training on a treadmill when you know that your race day is going to be warm may not quite set you up for success. My favorite benefit, though, of sticking it out through the summer, is how much EASIER running in cooler temps is once fall comes.

To get serious for a sec, there are some REAL dangers to running in the heat that you should be aware of and not take lightly:

Heat cramps: stabby feeling in your side, calves, quads, hamstrings, etc. This happens when you’ve lost too many minerals through sweating and are dehydrated. Once this occurs, you probably will need to call it quits if it’s a training run since it’s really hard to replace those fluids quickly enough.

Heat exhaustion: dizzininess, cold-feeling goosebumps with a chill (*tell tale sign*), feeling weak and nauseous, muscle cramping, clammy sweating or no sweating at all. If you start to feel any of these symptoms, stop running immediately, lie down out of the sun and elevate your feet, and start hydrating. Heat exhaustion can very quickly lead to a heatstroke if you’re not careful.

Heatstroke: this is a more common scenario in distance races when a runner may be too stubborn to quit, despite showing all the signs of heat exhaustion. A runner at this point may feel disoriented, stop sweating altogether, have a rapid pulse, or even lose consciousness.

Hyponatremia: this is a scenario when your body becomes dangerously low in sodium, or when you have taken in too much water. It’s hard to recognize symptoms because they’re similar to symptoms of dehydration. However, by drinking more water, hyponatremia only becomes worse and can even be a fatal threat. This is one reason why I don’t drink exclusively water, but also Nuun, to keep my sodium balance in check.

Long story short: drink up, get electrolytes, and balance your sodium, and maybe check in with yourself every few miles to assess how you’re feeling. 

Tip #6: DON’T FORGET SUNSCREEN. Self explanatory.

Happy summer running!