Forums >General Running>Some Like It Hot
...or at least they have thoughts on training in hot weather, e.g., Alan Culpepper.
"If you have the fire, run..." -John Climacus
Interval Junkie --Nobby
So by getting up at 5am to run in 70F instead of 98F in the afternoon, I'm doing it wrong?
2021 Goals: 50mpw 'cause there's nothing else to do
Prince of Fatness
Feel the heat pushing you to decideFeel the heat burning you up, ready or not
Some like it hot and some sweat when the heat is onSome feel the heat and decide that they can't go onSome like it hot, but you can't tell how hot 'til you trySome like it hot, so let's turn up the heat 'til we fry
Not at it at all.
Why is it sideways?
Yep. I prefer 90ish in the evening to 75ish in the morning.
rectumdamnnearkilledem
Feel the heat pushing you to decideFeel the heat burning you up, ready or not Some like it hot and some sweat when the heat is onSome feel the heat and decide that they can't go onSome like it hot, but you can't tell how hot 'til you trySome like it hot, so let's turn up the heat 'til we fry
Said the heavy smoker who died from a heart-attack.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
You prefer it... because you prefer to run in the evening or some other reason?
The older I get the more wimpy I become about running in warm temps. Or the more I feel like it impacts me. That makes for some rather depressing summer races.
Oh roo roooo!
This is what I have always done also (and usually way earlier than 5 AM, even). However, this summer finds me working as a baker and starting work anywhere from 2AM to 4 AM, so I am being forced to run after work, and I DO NOT LIKE IT, SAM I AM! Not one little bit...
Feeling the growl again
Depends what conditions will be when you race.
Personally, I simply cannot train in the heat anymore. Period. If I go out on an 85F day and try to do a real workout, I WILL get heatstroke/heat exhaustion and end up not running or running little for a couple days after. I remember that running when it was hot used to be simply uncomfortable and my times would slow down a bit...but somehow it has gotten downright dangerous for me. This has made maintaining volume and workouts in the summer hard, and caused me to switch my former emphasis on fall races to spring races (since I can still train hard all winter). I also do most workouts on the treadmill now.
I've tried the whole heat acclimatization thing. I agree with it, it used to work well for me. It no longer helps with my current situation however. I dunno why.
MTA: I'm not sure I'd totally agree that you're going to be better in cool weather by deliberately over-heating yourself consistently. It's a trade-off as most people can put in a lot more work and a lot harder workouts when temps are reasonable, which will offset the positive effects (higher blood volume etc) of heat acclimatization. Like most things, one must find their personal sweet spot.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
My theory is this. When i was young and living at home, we didn't have air conditioning and I was always outside doing stuff on the farm regardless of the temperature -- no choice in the matter. I never got an artificial break from the heat.
Now, i sit in air conditioning all day long. And, when I come home I'm in and sleep in comfortable temperatures all the time. The only time I'm in the heat is when I run or the times when I need to be outside mowing grass or easy yard work. It's never for a very long stretch. I have to believe acclimation involves more than just an hour or two/day.
Last week running in the heat began to have a residual fatiguing affect on me. After a couple days of cooler temps I all of a sudden feel much better. But, I know starting tomorrow it will go back to being unbearable and not very enjoyable.
You prefer it... because you prefer to run in the evening or some other reason? The older I get the more wimpy I become about running in warm temps. Or the more I feel like it impacts me. That makes for some rather depressing summer races.
I prefer it because I run better, probably because my sweat actually evaporates.
Lazy idiot
Ditto. Well... when I run anymore, that's true for me, too.
Tick tock
Depending on the humidity, of course. At 97%--which is where it's been here in central FL--evaporation is merely a dream.
It should be mathematical, but it's not.
The feeling of humidity and ability of sweat to cool actually depends more on the dewpoint, which is usually much closer to the air temperature in the morning than in the evening.
But yeah, Florida, yikes.
At 10mi I look like I just got out of a pond.
Yep. You know it's a bad day when you get the squishy feet early in the run.
Here's a pretty good explanation of dewpoint and relative humidity which may point to why it's sometimes more comfortable to run at night, even if the temperature of the air is warmer.