Hot weather running! Is this an opportunity or a hindrance?
Hot weather running! Is this an opportunity or a hindrance?
It's becoming more common in the UK to have a random REALLY hot week, how should you adapt your running. This can also be used on holiday or similar!
Firstly, you'll see a lot of fake algorithms on the socials about exactly how much XX degrees slows you down. Take this ALL with a pinch of salt - some people are hugely affected by the heat, others aren't! Where you do most of your running will affect things most: if you're a midday runner in a hot country, you'll weather this heatwave a lot more than if you're usually a midnight runner in Iceland. However, a few stats...
The average human body takes up to 3 weeks to acclimatise. It actually makes physiological changes to sustained heat: it becomes more efficient at sweating through practice, effectively! Your body will then also develop slightly more blood volume (plasma expands), and the salt content of your blood will alter too. You'll be able to maintain a lower HR. Your body is a smart thing! Also, good news for us runners: these processes tend to happen quicker for fitter people.
But these changes happen after approx 100 min per day for 2-3 weeks under a hotter stimulus (hot enough to raise your core body temp - usually quoted as 35 degrees or more). A lot of people simply don't get this exposure especially if you live in the UK. We might get one or two days on the trot... then we're back down to hail and snow. Sigh.
I say sigh because I personally LOVE running in the heat! But there are a few precautions you can take to help.
Consider the purpose of your running at the moment. If you have a summer race, this hot weather is an opportunity! If you can't train hot, you can't race hot.
If you have no summer races you're concerned about your time in, you don't have to prioritise it, but instead you may want to enter a maintenance phase via feel: taking the edge off your paces so they FEEL like your pace zones in your more normal temperatures.
Pace is the first adjustment to make. This calculator will give you some guides, but everyone is different. https://apps.runningwritings.com/heat-adjusted-pace/ However, I recommend you have a look anyway as the results may surprise you! Basically, be generous. Your training effect comes from your effort, NOT the seconds.
All the logistical tips: light clothing can hold UP TO TEN DEGREES CELSIUS less heat! Massive. Wear a cap (light coloured!). Loose layers may be better than a vest - protests from the sun! Wear your factor 50. Run early, run late, run by bodies of water. Shades. Run shady, run trail, run loops so you can get back to your water bottle! All will make a difference and may mean you can still train!
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate - you probably already know this! Ice cubes in your water bottles. Dehydration will slow you down less than carrying water will!
Eat, eat, eat. This gets more difficult in the heat! You will need more electrolytes (found in food as well as sports drinks etc) and it's SO easy to underfuel when it's hot.
Long runs raise your core body temperature the most. In more extreme circumstances, you can break these in two or even substitute for cycling sparingly (this is a back up B goal, ok occasionally, can't be used as your main engine builder if you have summer marathons coming up!).
Hate the treadmill? Learn to not. It's a mindset thing. Boring? Yes, can be. But guess what? Marathons can be too... treadmills are the best runner's tools when used right, yes this is a hill I will die on!
Cold sponges are your friend! There is a nerve right at the top of your spine which if you cool will give you an all over feeling of being cooler (helps to regulate body temperature). Similar with pulse points - cool the blood with a water soaked buff!
Listen to your body. BUT also your head. Make sure that temperature is a reason you've factored in intelligently - not an excuse you're relying on!
Ice cream after every run. This is important.
And just remember if you have any summer races, this is an opportunity. And if you feel like you can adjust and run safely, even if you're not running, this is also an opportunity: flexible trainers often make the best, consistent athletes who problem solve efficiently and relish the opportunity to be challenged in multiple ways.
