The Distance
Blog
Running in Warmer Temperatures
Running in hot temperatures can be really uncomfortable. You often dread it because it's simply just, "too hot." Running in warmer temperatures can not only affect you physically and mentally.
You can often expect a slow down in your times when temperatures exceed fifty-five degrees. You slow down "because heat impacts runners at a physiological level through various means, including dehydration, increased heart rate and reduced blood flow (and subsequently oxygen) to the muscles used for running."
One of the most important things to do when the temperatures get high is to stay hydrated. The warmer it gets, the more you sweat, the more fluid your body loses. It's important that you're giving yourself enough fluid so you don't become dehydrated. Even if you think you're hydrated, you're not.
PERSONAL STORY:
My junior year of high school in cross country, I collapsed about forty to fifty yards from the finish line due to dehydration and heat exhaustion at our second league meet of the season. I had been drinking my water throughout the day and was making sure I was eating my normal meet day foods. It was ninety-two degrees out and the course was all in the sun with shade for only about twenty meters.
When I went down, I tried to get back up a few times, but just kept falling back down. It was all gravel from where I fell to the finish. Without even thinking, I started to crawl. I crawled all the way to the finish, and I don't remember any of it. I remember starting to crawl, but not actually crawling or crossing the finish line. The next thing I knew, I was laying on the grass and the boys were finishing their race.
I was eventually convinced to be taken into the ambulance so I could be taken to the hospital. As soon as I was in the ambulance, they hooked me up to an IV and put ice packs and a cool towel on me so they could try and get my temperature and heart rate down.
Once we got to the hospital, they started running a bunch of tests. I went through three bags of fluids and was hooked up to an EKG the entire time. After five hours of being kept at the hospital, they finally determined that it was just heat exhaustion and dehydration and not a heat stroke.
Lesson learned, I made sure to hydrate like crazy from that night on.
CITATIONS:
Barry, K. (2011, July 19). Training in the Heat. Retrieved
January 12, 2018, from https://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/training-in-the-heat
5 Ways Heat Affects Running Performance. (2016, January 18). Retrieved January 12, 2018, from http://running.competitor.com/2014/06/training/5-reasons-heat-affects-performance_11671