Where's a human-sized cool box when you need it? How to run in the heat and survive the experience

Hi everyone!

Summer is upon us, and with it comes all sorts of new challenges for running in the hot weather.

I will point out that I live in the UK, where we have only two seasons: an 11-month long wet season followed by four weeks of summer*. Any time the temperatures creep above 20°C, we spend the entire day sitting outside in the direct sun, commenting how hot it is, and wouldn't it be nice when we can have a proper barbecue again. 

To be fair, it is the hottest June day in nearly a year.

Anyway, running in the heat can be dangerous if we don't do it safely. The heat raises your body temperature. In turn, your body produces more sweat, which is a good thing because it helps to regulate your body temperature, but it does mean that you will lose water and electrolytes quicker than usual. Also, in the heat, your blood vessels dilate. Your heart has to work harder to pump your blood, so your heart rate will increase.

Even if you're running at a pace that normally feels comfortable, your Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) will increase. In other words, running will feel a lot harder than it normally does.

What can happen if you run in the heat?

Two years ago, I personally witnessed three runners collapsing in the same race on a boiling hot day. The distance was a half marathon, which isn't excessively long, but the distance is long enough to cause serious problems if you overheat and under-hydrate. The bizarre thing was that all three of the runners collapsed less than a mile before the finish line. 

It's probable that they were so caught up in the excitement of the race that they simply forgot to replenish their water and electrolytes, even in the baking heat.

It's an easy mistake to make.

If you lose an excessive amount of fluids and electrolytes in the hot weather, you can end up with heat exhaustion. It's crucial that you spot the warning signs early. If you experience headaches, intense thirst,  nausea, muscle cramps, dizziness or a racing heart, you should stop immediately, look for shade and drink some water.

Attempting to ignore heat exhaustion in order to chase that sweet PB is bad. Very bad. Terrible. Heat exhaustion can progress to heat stroke, which isn't very nice, to say the least. Your body's regulatory system completely shuts down at this point, you stop sweating, and your skin becomes hot and dry. Symptoms of heat stroke include extreme fatigue and weakness, disorientation, poor balance, odd behaviour (no comment!) and even unconsciousness. Heat stroke is a medical emergency. This is almost certainly what happened to the three unfortunate runners who were caught off-guard in the race on that hot day two years ago.

Mild dehydration in itself is not dangerous. Humans are well-adapted to being active in hot weather, up to a point. Losing up to 4% of fluid levels from exercise is safe, but it's a good idea to sip water at regular intervals in the hot weather.

Electrolyte loss is, in some ways, more dangerous than dehydration. You lose electrolytes through sweat. The more you sweat, the more electrolytes you lose. It makes sense. Drinking too much water without replacing your electrolytes can also cause an electrolyte imbalance. This is one reason why you should take sips, rather than huge gulps, of water when you're thirsty.

The symptoms of an electrolyte disorder are many and varied. Seriously, it's a long list: fatigue, lethargy, an irregular heartbeat or a racing heart, nausea or a stomach ache, muscle cramping, muscle weakness, headaches, numbness, tingling, irritability and confusion.

The insidious thing about electrolyte imbalances is that you might not feel hungry or thirsty. Running in the heat can suppress your appetite and thirst. But it's no joke. It's best to take all the steps you can to avoid severe dehydration and/or electrolyte imbalances. Prevention is far better than cure. If you do collapse, will anyone be around to pause your Garmin?

How do you safely run in the heat?

Well, I've probably scared you to death.

Running in the heat isn't all bad. With practice, you can get used to summer training, and you might even find that you've become a better runner when autumn comes around. 

It's also true that some people are naturally less sweaty than others and have a higher tolerance to the heat. For me, anything above 25°C feels unbearably hot. I'll be a sweaty, grimy puddle within five minutes of running, but I know some people who could go for miles and miles in that temperature without experiencing any ill effects.

There are some tips and tricks that will help you run more safely in the hot weather. All of them have helped me:

1) Run early. Yep, that's right. Set your alarm to an ungodly hour the night before, and enjoy the early morning sunshine before the heat builds up. Mornings are great, really. Alternatively, you could run late in the evening when the heat of the day has dissipated, but make sure you're carrying a head torch or another form of lighting if you're planning to run in the dark.

2) Hydrate before your run. Make sure you drink plenty of water the day before your run, and drink some water just before you start. You might need to pee at some point during your run, but that's only a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things.

3) Run by feel, not pace. Slow down! Remember what I said about your heart having to work harder in the heat? There's no shame in reducing your speed on a hot day. You're still putting in the same amount of effort.

4) Dress for the occasion. What were you thinking when you signed up for that charity race in August, which you're going to run as Mr Blobby in a heavy, poorly ventilated suit? Well, it's probably been cancelled because of Coronavirus, but if you are going to do a long distance run in the summer heat, you should wear loose-fitting, moisture-wicking clothes, preferably in a light colour. Wearing a hat might be helpful, too. Save that Mr Blobby suit for another occasion.

5) Water and electrolytes. Take both of these with you. I personally swear by electrolyte tablets, which I dissolve in a bottle of water before the run. During the run, I take a couple of sips from the water/electrolyte combo every kilometre or so. It's okay to feel mild thirst, but you should replenish water and electrolytes regularly, especially if you tend to sweat a lot.

6) Run off-road. Concrete and asphalt absorbs the heat and transfers it back to you. Depending on where you live, it's a good idea to leave the road and run on trails. A run through the woods provides some extra variety in your training, and you might even encounter some weird and wonderful wildlife while you're out there. You will also be forced to run slower, lest you trip on a tree root.

What are my goals?

With all of this in mind, I've got to be careful how I train over the summer. I love the hot weather, but my body doesn't handle running in the heat very well. What's been working for me up to now is getting up early, doing my run before the heat builds up, and trying to use routes that provide shade. I'm lucky in that I live near the coast, so I've always got the option of running by the sea. Also, I'm not doing my long runs on hot days - I'm only doing short-and-sweet-but-full-of-suffering speed workouts on hot days,  reserving my long runs for cooler days.

My target of breaking 20 minutes for the 5K still stands. 

This morning, it was boiling hot, so I did mile repeats at my current 5K pace. Yep, that was fun. And by fun, I mean horrific. But it's all part of the process. Trust the process.

Until next time, thanks for reading my blog and happy running!

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*Actually, that's not entirely true. The Weather Gods have been highly unpredictable this year. They very kindly gave us three months of unbroken warm, dry weather, which coincided with lockdown. Thanks. I've already written a strongly-worded letter of complaint to the Climate Deities, and if I don't get a reply within 24 hours, I will express my fury by signing off my next email with 'Regards', and not 'Kind Regards.'

Welcome to my blog!

What is this blog all about?

This blog is going to be centred mainly around running, with a few general posts on the subject of health and fitness.

I have just completed my first year of study as a Physiotherapy student. Now that I have a few months before I start my second year in October, I thought I'd devote some time to writing a blog in relation to one of my main hobbies - running.

It's fair to say that the last few months have been extremely challenging for many reasons. When I completed my first (and so far, only) marathon back in October 2019, I had no idea that a global pandemic would scupper any chances of taking part in another organised marathon in 2020.

Thanks, Coronavirus!

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, I was running 4-5 days a week. My running schedule was quite busy. I combined group training runs, Parkrun on a Saturday morning, long runs on a Sunday with a small group of friends and individual runs.

All of that changed on March 23rd. Boris Johnson announced the beginning of lockdown. Our duty was to stay at home, save lives and protect the NHS (remember that?) We were allowed to exercise outdoors once per day, and even then, only with other members of our household.

In the early days of lockdown, I lost all motivation to run. As it turns out, my experience was very common. I took a month off running but I didn't stop exercising entirely. I made the most of the unseasonable spring warmth and discovered some fantastic new walking routes in my local area.

Cherry blossom

By early May, I was running again. Slow and steady at first, then gradually I eased myself back into my pre-Coronavirus running routine.

The long, slow runs helped me to keep my pre-exam stress levels down. The faster runs and workouts, though difficult to do on my own, gave me something to aim for.

Once again, running was a big part of my life but things were far from normal.

There was still no Parkrun. We still couldn't meet up with more than one other person outside the household, and every single race that I'd signed up for was cancelled.

The situation today

Here in the UK, we're now allowed to exercise outdoors as many times as we like - provided we keep two metres apart from everyone else who isn't in our immediate household. We also have to limit ourselves to groups of six, which means that regular training sessions are out of the question.

Anyway, despite all of the uncertainty and disruption to normal life, I've set myself a goal:

I'm going to run 5K in 20 minutes.

That's 4 minutes per kilometre, times five, without slowing down or stopping.

How far off my target am I?

Well, I achieved a personal best of 20:24 on a solo run on 31st May. It can't be that difficult to shave another 25 seconds off my 5K PB, can it? All I have to do is run 5 seconds per kilometre faster than my previous attempt 12 days ago. Easy, right? We'll see.

I'm following an adapted training plan that allows me the freedom of doing my usual 1-2 long runs every week (because I love endurance runs), while doing some speed-specific workouts too.

I did a tempo run today. Tempo runs are the bread and butter of speed-endurance training, and they're supposed to be run at a 'comfortably hard' pace. The pace was mildly uncomfortable, but not so painful that I had to scrape myself off the floor at the end. That would have been embarrassing.

Ideally, I'd like to achieve my 20-minute 5k by the end of July. This gives me about six weeks of solid training to achieve my goal, and I think that's realistic. 

What next?

If you would like to hear about my running journey, please follow this blog! As well as documenting my own progress in training, I'm also going to write a few posts on the subject of running in general - and how to keep motivated during the times of social distancing - and I might sprinkle in a few posts about fitness in general.

These are challenging times for all of us, and I'd like to share my thoughts on how we can inspire each other to keep going and achieve our fitness goals.

Sometimes I feel heavy and lumbering like a buffalo, and sometimes I feel like a gazelle with trainers!