Wilting in the heat like a sad flower (Read 1266 times)

So, is there anything I can do?

Yes! HTFU and GETM!

haha, I'm trying! Sadly I have blacked out from heat before and would rather not have a repeat, so there is a limit to my HTFU-ing.

Hot weather - hydrate a lot, ease your pace if need be. That's pretty much all you can do. Wake up earlier when it's cooler.

I think it's due to reading folks' posts on RA that I've stuck to running this time. What I've learned is that conditions for running are almost NEVER great - there's always some obstacle to overcome. In Maine, we're dealing with cold, snow, wind, and ice (the worst part) a good bit of the year. Then when the weather finally warms up, there are black flies, mosquitos, and humidity! Not to mention hoardes of tourists, but you can avoid them since they stick to the coast, usually. Today, my left quad hurt some, but I ran, anyway. And I'm like you, Squeaky, Not Meant For Athletic Activity (slowest of 200 kids in 8th grade, for example!). It sounds like you might need to get up even earlier if you really want to progress in your running. Good luck!

Yeah, I know that my excuses are excuses, though it's frustrating that as soon as it's light past 5pm here, it's immediately too hot too run! In the winter I don't like to run in the early morning because I don't live in the best neighborhood, and when it's dark and deserted at 6am I don't really feel comfortable. I was probably also the slowest kid in 8th grade. The first time I ran a full mile without stopping was during C25K at age 22.

75 isn't too hot to run, don't psych yourself out. As someone said earlier, just get out there and run - mabye slower, maybe shorter and maybe earlier and maybe all three - but get out and run. I do feel your pain about being a little scared in a not-so-good neighborhood but feel reassured that scumbags generally aren't out at 6AM. It's the hardworking, honest people in the neighborhood and other runners up and about at 6AM.

Wicking fabric can only do so much, wake up really early and run nekkid.

Alex, I can totally sympathize. I don't handle heat well. At all. Add humidity and I am really a wuss...but humid air also wreaks havoc with my asthma, so that's a pretty danged good excuse...hard to run well when one can't breathe. Honestly, I would rather run when it's 10º out than 80º. When it gets much above 70 or so I really have to slow things down. I am astounded by folks who can run outdoors when it's 90 and above. I would be physically ill. In the Summer my 2 hour runs are usually pretty rough for the last half hour...chills, goosebumps, nausea are all common feelings during my long Summer runs, even with plenty of fluids (I sweat a lot, so I think I tend to lose fluids faster than I can replace them). Not sure how I'm gonna do marathon training--right now the plan is to be home by lunch time, to avoid the worst heat and sun of the day.