If you haven’t noticed, it’s hotter than moms pushing strollers out there. I’m writing this on the first day of summer, though living in Florida summer has been here for months. The heat makes training for any distance almost unbearable; before you know it you’re dragging your feet like a zombie on the prowl for brains, or in our case water.
It’s Tuesday, so that means track work with my local running club. A quick look at www.wunderground.com, my go to weather website, tells me to expect it to be 91 degrees when we get started at 6pm. I think I’ll suggest a rain dance instead of our usual stretching routine. I’m sure after the first mile of intervals delirium will set in, we’ll form a conga line, and make our way around the track. I keep Buster Poindexter’s “Hot Hot Hot” on my Ipod for such occasions.
All joking aside, heat is serious business. Crazy stuff starts happening to your body as the mercury rises. At 90 plus degrees you can expect your heart rate to jump 10 beats per minute and if the humidity is high it increases even more. Now that your heart is working overtime, guess what? As you sweat your blood volume decreases. That means less blood returns to your heart, less oxygen reaches your muscles, which equals: zombie running.
I’ll close with just a few suggestions. First, lower your expectations as far as times are concerned. On a hot day you’re going to run slower, even if you’re well hydrated. Second, you need more than water. When the heat has you soaked in sweat it helps to add a sports drink to your hydration routine. Studies have shown the sodium in these drinks helps with fluid retention. Finally, the silver lining, the more you train in the heat the easier it gets (sweaty fist bump).
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