r/AdvancedRunning • u/pand4duck • Jul 31 '16
Training The Heat Thread
Okay, y'all. Up here in the Northern Hemisphere, we've got 1 more month of seemingly hot and humid before things start to cool down for the fall. For those of you down south, this will help you too as your summer is approaching.
I noticed today that many on ARTC prefer cold to heat. And, many find heat to be a barrier to training. So, I figured it would be beneficial to do 2 things:
Provide information regarding the benefits of heat training, and heat acclimatization.
Discuss ways to make running in the heat more bearable.
Through my quick glancing at some literature and online sites, I found the following:
Hyperthermic Conditioning - although not exactly what we are talking about; relevant to the issue at hand.
Some questions:
Why do you dislike heat and humidity?
Is there anything you've done to make heat and humidity easier to train in?
Have you ever seen a benefit to training in heat? Have your race times told you so?
In reference to the blog post above, do you prefer shirtless / sports bra over shirt on a hot day?
Happy trails, ARTC
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u/ProudPatriot07 Jul 31 '16 edited Jul 31 '16
1.) I live in Charleston, SC, and it's impossible to do hard, sustained, efforts here right now. Long runs are hot and humid, but doable (you just slow down). Intervals on a track are hot and humid, but doable (you get recovery, and you're never more than .25 miles from your water).
Tempo runs are next to impossible for me. I could tempo on effort, but I just cannot hit my goal paces in this weather. (I'm sure I could, but it would basically be racing and I could not recover... sorta defeats the point)
I started following the Hansons Half Marathon Training plan, which is a pace-based plan. So far, my tempo runs have been treadmilled. The tempo runs are at goal half marathon pace, which is 7:12-7:15 (I want to run a 1:35). My current half PR was set in February and was a 1:38:28 (about a 7:30 pace).
My most recent 5K (July 14) was a 7:20 pace. Only 10 seconds per mile faster than my half marathon PR... and slower than my goal pace for my next half.
2.) I joined Planet Fitness so I have a treadmill for my tempo runs. Besides that, just slow down a bit and accept that faster times will come in the Fall.
3.) What's frustrating is that I can tell I am fitter than I was 2-3 months ago, but cannot prove it in a race because we have 99% humidity all the time and there are no races in this area right now. I know that come September, it will feel like I have a third lung and I will fly.
It's also hard to find people to run with in this heat. It seems like people here just give up in the summer.
4.) I'm a female and I always wear a shirt/tank top. I don't have the guts (pun intended) to run or race in a sports bra. I don't care how sweat-soaked my shirt gets... I'll deal with it (also I kinda like using my shirt to wipe my face during the run/water breaks).
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u/flocculus Jul 31 '16
3 - YAS. So frustrating! I'm running higher mileage, faster and longer long and medium-long runs, killing most of my workouts, and my race times aren't reflecting any of that with the heat and humidity.
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u/thereelkanyewest Jul 31 '16
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I dislike the heat and humidity because it makes it difficult for me to train at consistent paces. In the fall I can set standard tempo run paces, for example, but in the summer (in FL) some days (particularly recently) it is around 90 degrees and I simply do not feel safe pushing myself to extremes as I begin to feel lightheaded and nauseous.
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Wake up early. Also I carry a small water bottle, eliminate non-shaded routes/paths, and run 3-4 mile loops back to a larger watter bottle to refill. This can all make running pretty tedious, as I end up running the same small loop 3-4 times per morning in the dark.
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It's hard for me to tease this apart, but my best time in the half was a race I ran in November after training in the summer (July-September, and September is still pretty freakin' hot here).
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Always shirtless, running with a shirt just really makes me feel like I am suffocating. I go through a large quantity of sunscreen but I think the bill is worth it.
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Aug 01 '16
extremes as I begin to feel lightheaded and nauseous.
I know that feeling too well. That's when I will just stop and walk. In the other 3 seasons, I can run through sore legs, and I can run (if slowly) though getting out of breath. But I can't run through a damn heat stroke and/or passing cold out and slamming on the road. Just not worth pushing it for me. Nope.
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Jul 31 '16 edited Jul 31 '16
1- The first few weeks are difficult for sure. But eventually you just deal with it I guess. Summer for us starts late March/April-ish and really doesn't let up until October or November. So. . . . it is what it is.
2- White hat. Constantly hydrating. Frequently forego the AC if possible. As little clothing as possible? :-D Sometimes you just need to slow down. Time of day makes a difference. If I run heat of the day - it's an easy run. Workouts despite humidity being highest in the morning are really the only practical time to get them in. I don't do treadmills. It just feels wrong to me if it's not like armageddon storming out or something. But I grew up running through winter too. . . so. . . IDK. Maybe I'm just a stubborn ass.
3- When it cools down - wohoo! You can FLY! My biggest breakthrough in the half it was in the low 40s that morning. It. Was. Awesome! Winter didn't give us quite the snap it did two years ago. . . fingers crossed for this winter. But I guess really heat training effects really only hold for a short while. Regardless though, you just don't have to work as hard since your core temp stays lower longer.
4- Shortest brightest shorts possible. Sports bra. I don't wear a shirt for a good 6mo with the exception of trail days that required the hydration pack. (Chafage on the back is cruel.)
As a side and general observation: I noticed especially today my acclimatization this summer is on par. But I've been doing considerably more mileage. Humidity in full force (we are rarely under 90% in the summer) and it was about 80 degrees at 6am this morning. Roughly 2L of water, a banana and a 180cal granola bar over 3hrs on the trail. I didn't need any endurolytes. In the past a run like that would have me nursing a headache all day even with scaps or endurolytes on the run. Just get out there. It's really not so bad.
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u/ProudPatriot07 Jul 31 '16
I agree with you. I just suck it up and run. I see fewer runners this time of year, and I'm not sure what they are doing nor do I care. If I had time to care about others, I would take that as a sign that I'm not doing all I can for my own training.
I am confident that in September, I will reap the benefits of running 45-50 mpw this summer. And you will reap the benefits too.
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u/jerrymiz Jul 31 '16
Your #3 is on point. Training in the heat can be rough, but come fall race weather is almost always better than what you trained in. The same isn't true in the spring, when a hot race day can be disastrous after training all winter in the cold.
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u/flocculus Jul 31 '16
Your last observation is interesting! I hadn't thought about it at all but I've needed fewer electrolytes on the run recently; I bought a bottle of Saltstick capsules at the beginning of the summer thinking I'd have to pop them like candy (well, maybe not THAT many) but I've used exactly one.
18 miles in a not-too-hot-but-very-soupy 72 with 70-71F dewpoint this morning and I sweated like a beast throughout the whole thing, but my fingers never swelled and I never got brain-foggy, which has happened on shorter long runs in less hot and humid conditions before when I need electrolytes. Took two gels but they didn't have extra salt or caffeine, and just had water in my handheld bottle.
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Jul 31 '16
sweated like a beast
No joking! I could wring out my socks today! Everything was completely drenched and dripping. I was so happy to see the bike wash!
Oh - and the salt-lick effect when the weather starts shifting and the body is all like 'What the heck?'!
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u/flocculus Jul 31 '16
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I get wildly nauseous putting forth any kind of effort when it's too hot and humid. Add sun to that mix and I want to die.
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Easy runs during the middle of the day/in full sunlight for a couple weeks seemed to do good things for me, so I'll probably stick with that when summer rolls around next year. After that I went back to my preferred early morning runs and they felt a lot better. I might consider dressing a little too warmly for a week or two prior to that, too, see if that speeds up the process any.
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I think this is the first year I've really been able to put in serious summer training and it's been unusually warm up here to boot, so I'll be curious to see what happens in the fall, but I don't know that I'll be able to attribute anything to training in the heat specifically versus just training consistently, period.
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I have NEVER felt cooler in a singlet vs. just a sports bra. One super hot day I started off in a singlet but popped it off mid-run, and my heart rate dropped several beats while in motion, like, immediately, so I have some actual numbers to back up my subjective preference. Workouts and long runs in hot weather are now sports bra only for me. It seems like when I wear a singlet and it gets wet, it just holds heat in and doesn't have any sort of cooling effect whatsoever. Maybe I'm not wearing the right kind of tech material or something?
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u/RedKryptonite Jul 31 '16
It seems like when I wear a singlet and it gets wet, it just holds heat in and doesn't have any sort of cooling effect whatsoever. Maybe I'm not wearing the right kind of tech material or something?
I don't know. I wear tech materials all the time, but sometimes I wonder about the whole "wicks sweat away from you where it evaporates" claim because, as a practical matter, once the temperature has reached a certain point, sweat evaporation isn't happening fast enough, and my shirt feels like wet plastic sticking to my back, and I look like I jumped in a pool.
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u/flocculus Jul 31 '16
Yeah when it gets to that point I'd rather just have the sweat roll off of me and land on the ground! Getting stuck in fabric is just unnecessary if it's not going to actually go anywhere after that.
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u/skragen Aug 01 '16
Agreed. When a synthetic fabric is fully drenched and saturated in a humid environment, it can't wick to any noticeable extent while I keep sweating on it during a run. Will it dry faster than cotton once I stop running? Yes. Is it better than closer to nekkid while running? No.
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u/jaylapeche Jul 31 '16
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Everything. The combination of sweat and sunscreen getting into your eyes and under contact lenses is the worst.
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Alex Hutchinson had a good article about whether you're better off dumping water on your head, or drinking it to cool off. Long story short, do a little bit of both.
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The heat can extend into the fall, so it definitely prepares you for the possibility of a hot & humid fall racing season. We can get 80 degree days into early October.
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Shirtless for long runs, otherwise singlet. I'm rocking a serious singlet tan right now.
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Jul 31 '16
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What I dislike the most is that running any kind of workout feels like death, and I'm no longer able to hit paces that were no problem in cooler weather. Even though I know it's weather related, sometimes seeing those numbers gets to me a bit.
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Consistency. The more you run in heat/humidity, the easier it gets (duh). The first couple of runs are full of suck, but heat adaptation is a real thing and it starts to feel better over time. I've found that the sun is the biggest problem for me (as opposed to the actual temperature or humidity), so running super early before the sun comes out helps a ton. I also run with a water bottle more often and on shorter runs in the summer, even if it's just to pour on my head to cool off. Oh and I'm a 27-year-old child and I memorize which houses in my neighborhood have sprinklers to run through.
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I have read that summer training leads to fall PRs, but honestly don't feel like I've ever done a solid enough training session in the summer to confirm that it's true.
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I've never run in only a sports bra. My self esteem, as well as my abs, are not good enough to pull it off. I have a few singlets that are so light they feel like wearing nothing, though.
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u/flocculus Jul 31 '16
Oh and I'm a 27-year-old child and I memorize which houses in my neighborhood have sprinklers to run through.
YES. I, too, am an adult child and love running through the sprinklers!
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u/ForwardBound Jul 31 '16
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It's not fun to train in heat and humidity. I absolutely love the benefits the heat provides, but I do not enjoy getting out for 12+ miles on a hot, muggy day. It just sucks not being able to enjoy my chosen hobby for several months out of the year. It's kind of like being on a hilly course: you don't make up the time speeding downhill that you lost going uphill, and I don't enjoy the cooler months quite enough to compensate for the hotter months. Except that time I BQ'd . . .
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I have a hat, which at least allays my fears about melanoma and keeps me a little cooler. I've definitely gotten over the idea that wearing more clothing is always a bad thing when it's hot. Sometimes it's worth it. I also have a great water bottle with a strap. It is my constant companion these days.
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Of course. It's extraordinary. I can even see it today on a 70-degree day vs. a 90-degree day like during this past week. 70 degrees would have been so tough in spring, but now it feels lovely.
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I always wear a shirt and I always put on sunscreen. I am very wary of the sun.
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Aug 01 '16
Central Texas here, high 80s at 5am, not suitable for running after 9am.
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Generally feeling slow and sluggish at paces that should feel easy. Long runs that i could cruise through in low December now feel like a death march going 2 min/mile slower.
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Get up early, getting up at 4:30 am to run midweek sucks but it makes running bearable.
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About to move to the UK, so I'll have to get back to you about that. Hopefully I should be able to crush it for a month or two.
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Haven't worn a shirt since the end of January. Even a singlet is noticeably warmer than shirtless.
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u/_Minty_Fresh_ Jul 31 '16
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I dont hate the heat and humidity so much for during the run but post run ends up being miserable. Like if I have a tempo or some type of hard run, I can hit the times or paces well for the first 80% before it starts to get really tough, but I end up paying for it that night. All I want to do is eat and sleep but 9 times out of 10, my stomach is messed up. So I'm in one of those crappy situations where you absolutely need to put down food and water but doing so makes you miserable.
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Sauna! I have nothing but Bro-science to back this up but using the sauna at the gym regularly has really taught my body how to cool itself down efficiently. Its a little annoying though that anytime it gets above like 75 degrees, I immediately start sweating in anticipation of hotter temps.
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I think heat training makes you a lot stronger at the base. I always felt like a stronger runner heading into XC season than track season for that reason.
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I think I have 2 settings. Shirtless or long sleeves. I dread having to put my shirt back on during the fall and will literally wait until its so cold I have to wear long sleeves and gloves.
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u/skragen Aug 01 '16
Ditto to everything you said in 1. So much. I've been trying to eat and drink anything and everything that crosses my mind post-run to try to get in whatever calories and hydration I can to preempt becoming a post-run zombie. So I'll end my run in a grocery store or at a fast food place even if I'm just 2 blocks from home if I know that's the difference b/w jumpstarting my recovery or not.
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u/skragen Aug 01 '16 edited Aug 01 '16
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I dislike running in heat/humidity bc I have so many more failed runs and, even when a run is good, recovery is so much tougher - hydration and eating, and timing of those, matter so much more for me. Not even mtg my race times from cold races months ago (w much training in between) can be really demoralizing even when I try to mentally prep for the possibility in advance. And, also, no matter what, someone else I know from here or runnit PRd that same day that I just couldn't move- so it's not easy to blame my shortcomings on heat/humidity. Harder to keep it all up and still be a human.
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I wear as little as possible. Merino wool buff on my wrist to wipe sweat from my face. Strategic route w fountains or take water w me. Walk as I need to in order to avoid any risk of heat exhaustion, heat stroke, or passing out. (I'm one of those who has had to sit on the floor if I take too long of a hot shower and I have to be eating fruit and drinking water in a hot tub, and gradually get out bit by bit before 20-30mins have passed). I drink much more water in summer (esp on runs), but I can't barely make myself eat anything during long summer runs, even when I know I need it. Being properly hydrated makes it so my sweat doesn't feel like a toxic substance in my eyes.
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I don't feel like I'm dying anymore when I run in heat/humidity. I guess that's a benefit ;) I have gotten some PRs and some that indicate better performance estimates (once the temps cool) than I'd been getting during my winter/spring running.
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As close to nekkid as possible. Sports bra and itty bitty inseam. Sometimes even wearing a flipbelt is too much in the heat and I've reverted to just storing stuff in my sports bra again (in tons of ziploc bags or just letting keys etc get drenched in sweat).
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u/RedKryptonite Jul 31 '16 edited Jul 31 '16
Up here in the Northern Hemisphere, we've got 1 more month of seemingly hot and humid before things start to cool down for the fall.
That's optimistic. :D
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I dislike heat and humidity because it is uncomfortable. When it's cold, you can just put on layers until you are comfortable, and once you get moving, that happens pretty quickly. You can only take off so much, and even if I could run nude in this weather, it's still too hot.
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I just slow down and try not to pay too much attention to pace. I also wear a hat, and if it's really hot, I'll wear a sweatband under the hat to keep the sweat from rolling into my eyes. As someone who does the bulk of my mileage on roads around my neighborhood, I've also made an effort to cast a wider net in search of shaded spots, which includes running on trails and rail trails. The rail trail that's near me is probably 75% shaded and I can still get out and put in some miles on the hottest days because of it.
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I've only been running since early 2015, and I didn't start my streak until mid-August 2015, so when it was really hot last summer, I'd just skip. Now, I force myself to go out. Whether or not running in this ridiculous heat will reflect in better times in the fall remains to be seen. I'm hoping that will be the case... my June and July races haven't resulted in the gains I'd hoped for.
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Shirtless is definitely more comfortable, but I'll generally start out with a singlet because I'm really pale and don't want to burn. If it gets too gross, I'll take it off.
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u/[deleted] Jul 31 '16