As many of you know, I've moved from Rhode Island to Atlanta. The heat here as been something completely new for my body. In Rhode Island, we would have hot days in the summer, but anything over 85º was rare. I could go out early in the a.m. and complete my run before the temps exceeded 70-72º. Occasionally, I would run in temps over 75º, but not often. Here in Georgia, I've been doing most of my runs around 80º, then the rest of the day has been over 90º for the past 5 weeks.

After my bout with overtraining last fall (due to not reducing training during a high stress period), I dedicated this year to an aerobic system rebuild. I've been making sure to reduce training when life stress became greater than usual. I cut training during the high stress time of  preparing to make the move down here. That worked. I  came out the other side having progressed in my MAF tests. That progression continued for a few weeks down here until the 90+ degrees arrived. Then week by week, my training runs and 1-mile MAF tests began to regress. I also finally stepped on a scale and saw 186 pounds. I had put on nearly ten pounds of fat since making the move. I always saw drastic regression and steep slowing in temps over 75º. I've always had a body fat of over 20%, and I'm sure that always added to heat dissipation problems. Add nine more pounds and it's not going to get better.

All this change culimated in paces exceeding 15:00 and a bout of heat exhaustion and dehydration last week. This came on after spending lots of time outside one day in 95º on a day when I ran and also did yoga in a hot room.

My MAF tests regressed. I'm not sure how much exactly, as my first tests this year were done inside on the TM in 65º with low humidity. My previous test her in Atlanta was done in 72º and overcast. My most current test was done in 80º with high humidity and sun. If you look at the first miles, and take into account the extra heat and humidity, I would say that there has been regression. Probably not as drastic as the average pace suggests, but regression.

I decided to shift my strategy for the summer. I'm cutting training time down from 6:00:00 to 4:30:00 (30%) and am going to run downhills 1-2 times a week for neurological stimulus. The rest intervals up the hill are kept to MAF -10, which means walking at this point. I'm keeping the rests at a lower HR to reduce stress. I created a schedule where I will be building time by 5 minutes per week, starting at 4:30:00, for the rest of the summer.

Good news is that I will have my treadmill back from moving storage in mid-July. I'll be able to train in much cooler temperatures, and take some more of the stress off.

Oh, and the second part of my strategy has been to drop some body fat. I've cut out the stress-snacking that I was doing late at night, and that has been doing the trick. I've been dropping about a pound per week.

And the third part is to bring back the rest intervals in my yoga practice and also the mental relaxation exercises. My yoga had become speedy, not resting between positions as I had been taught to by more than one teacher. And I can't believe I ever got away from the meditative parts, as now that I am doing them again--I'm feeling much more relaxed about things.

I am looking forward to the fall and winter. I'm visualizing racing again in late winter. My MAF tests will have to be back in the 9:00-10:00 range for that to happen.

--Jimmy

Jimmy,

this is a great case for folks to read. You're on the right track. For 20 years I practiced in the NY area, and by August a lot of local athletes showed signs and symptoms of overtraining when they maintained their schedules. When I saw them I would recommend a 50% drop in training quite often as part of the remedy.

Your downhill workouts are a great option too.The dreadmill works great in those environments.

You might look for a pool to get into so you can cool off after your runs, or hose down with cold water. A clean garbage can full of cold water works well too -- just stand in it for 10 minutes.

Stress kills. Sounds like you have a handle on it. Have you tried the 5-Minute Power Break? (don't mean to promote myself, but it's on my website). I use it daily, and it's one of the best ways to get the brain and body dealing with stress better.

The big question...Atlanta? From the beautiful State of Rhode Island? I have family in Atlanta and don't visit between April and October.

Phil Maffetone

Welcome to the forum, Phil. Good to see you posting.

If I see no change with 30% cut, I'll cut more. After my TM returns from storage,  I'll be able to do a greater part of my time in 70º or less and low humidity, with fans (I use the kind that come with the eunuchs that I rent to keep me cool).

That ought to help. At the very least, I'll be able to do my MAF tests properly.

Why Atlanta? My doctor wife got a job with the CDC. Me, the writer, musician and guitar teacher in the duo, can do my crafts anywhere. So here we are. Big stress reduction for her. I lived in Cumberland, RI (hometown of the Farelly Bros.) almost my whole life, and I'm welcoming a new location, explore the south a bit. I like my running courses here at Stone Mountain  and the Chattahoochie. I look forward to getting innto the race scene here as soon as nmy aerobic system is back to snuff.

Thanks for your suggestions.

--Jimmy