Much of the US is expecting record high temperatures. Adjust your running accordingly.
A heat wave is gripping much of continental United States. Many areas are expecting record high temperatures. This heat presents special risks for runners and others exerting themselves outdoors.
Hot weather running is harder on the body than cold weather. It is basic physics. Human muscles, like any machine, are less than 100% efficient and generate waste heat. Therefore, running and other strenuous activity warms our bodies.
This warming can make running in a heat wave dangerous. Know the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke and get treatment when you begin to feel them.
To keep running safely, get up early to beat the heat and be flexible with your training schedule. If the heat wave lasts, your body will adapt to the heat, but it takes a while. Until you are heat adapted, don't try to run your usual distance.
Replace your lost fluids. Experts quote formulas for how many ounces of fluid to drink for a certain amount of time running in heat. I find these formulas pretty useless because they do not account for differences in individuals, in temperatures, or in the level of exertion. Are we talking about a stroll when it is 80 degrees or a hard run in triple digit temperatures?
To keep track of fluids lost in hot weather runs, I weigh myself before and after running. Every two pounds of weight lost is about a quart of fluid to replace. That accounts for the specific conditions of each individual run. Drink enough to regain the fluid weight lost and to have a normal amount and color of urine.
Having done more than enough running in triple digit temperatures, I do not like it. I have even been dehydrated enough to begin desperately licking the sweat off my arms. When it started tasting good, I knew I was really having problems and stopped running right away. Don't let yourself get that far.
I would much rather run in a snowstorm than a heat wave, but I continue to run outdoors year round in both. With reasonable precautions, one can keep running in either weather extreme.
