Two Truths And A Lie: Why Runners Love/Hate Hot Weather Workouts

5krunners

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5krunners

The polar vortex may have offered a brief respite for much of the country recently, but the dog days of summer drag on, with two months still to go before Fall officially arrives. And for those who enjoy the outdoors, this means another eight weeks of warm workouts. But a runner's relationship with hot weather has long been a complicated one. Indeed, this love-hate dichotomy has struggled to find compromise between beautiful days and oppressive humidity. Here now are some of the most prevalent examples of Why Runners Love/Hate Hot-Weather Workouts, presented in everyone's favorite icebreaker game, Two Truths and a Lie.

Ryan Hudson is a contributing writer and avid runner who works as a social media manager in Washington, DC. If he's not tweeting, that probably means Ryan is either training for a triathlon or eating a PB&J.

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Pacing Is Key

  • Running in warmer temperatures slows your overall pace.
  • During the summer months, your body produces more blood during workouts.
  • Increased humidity means increased air resistance when you’re running.

While humidity is certainly terrible, West Coast runners; we East Coasters already know you live in paradise -- it doesn’t actually make the air thick enough to slow your progress during runs. So then how are the first two statements true?

Running in the heat is a well-known pace prohibitor -- in fact, for every 10-degree increase over 55°F, your pace slows 1 ½ to three percent. It can also raise your heart rate some 20 beats-per-minute, meaning your typical effort will feel more difficult. Fortunately, Runners Connect has created a running-in-the-heat calculator to “help you plan and account for exceedingly hot temperatures,” and “adjust your goal pace accordingly.” If you typically run a 24-minute 5k when it’s 60°, expect a finishing time closer to 25:05 when the thermostat hits 90°.

But don’t be deterred just yet. Running in the heat has a major endurance advantage, too. During the warmer days, your body has to work harder to cool itself by pumping blood to the skin’s surface. More blood to the extremities means less blood -- and less oxygen -- for your muscles. The solution? Your body simply makes more blood, and that remains even as the cooler temperatures return. "You feel like you can fly," says Janet Hamilton, a Georgia-based running coach and exercise physiologist. "If you're on the cusp of a PR, heat training can be the factor that closes the gap."

Nike Free
Image via Nike.com

Pay Attention to the Sun 

  • Running outdoors enough during the summer will eventually lead to body adaptations that allow you to harvest the sun’s natural energy.
  • Hotter temperatures mean more sun-filled runs, which means increased chances of skin cancer.
  • The sun helps your body produce vitamin D, a hormone (of sorts) that is lacking in a majority of the population.

Unless you’re from Krypton, we can go ahead and discredit the first statement as the clear falsehood. These summer days are great for warm runs, tans and jogs on the beach. But all that may come with negative side effects, some of which aren’t noticeable until years later.

Runners are at a higher risk for malignant melanoma, according to JAMA Dermatology (formerly Archives of Dermatology), a medical journal from the American Medical Association. But it’s more than moles and age spots (of which marathon runners show an increased number) -- long-distance endurance training has been known to dampen one’s immune system, leading to an increased vulnerability to skin damage. “Overexposure to UV radiation can suppress your skin's ability to properly protect itself and heal," says Elizabeth K. Hale, M.D., a marathon runner and clinical associate professor of dermatology at the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology in New York. [LINK: http://www.runnersworld.com/health/a-bright-outlook-on-running-in-the-sun]

But don’t draw your curtains and become a hermit just yet. Running in the sun helps your body produce vitamin D, a natural byproduct from UVB rays, essential for bone health and immune system strength. Yet an estimated 75 percent of the U.S. population is deficient in the “sunshine vitamin.” Some suggest spending 5-15 minutes in the sun every day, without sunscreen and its UV-blocking protection. (This, of course, has been met with pushback from the Skin Cancer Foundation [LINK http://www.skincancer.org/healthy-lifestyle/vitamin-d/the-d-dilemma], “since all unprotected UV exposure contributes to cumulative skin damage, accelerating aging and increasing our lifetime risk of skin cancer.”)

So what’s the answer? Like in most aspects of life, it seems moderation is key: “We can produce only a limited amount of vitamin D from UVB. A few minutes at midday are sufficient for many Caucasians," says Roy Geronemus, MD, clinical professor of dermatology at New York University Medical Center [LINK http://www.skincancer.org/healthy-lifestyle/vitamin-d/make-vitamin-d-not-uv-a-priority]. There is certainly no reason to completely forego sunscreen, especially on long runs (and especially between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.), but it’s tough to deny the sun’s benefits: antidepressant, increased nitric oxide (helps lower risk of heart attacks and strokes) and an overall healthy physiology.

Image via Mizuno
Image via Mizuno

Outside = Free.99

  • Hot weather means less “dreadmill” and more fun in the parks.
  • Sweating, and sweating alone, is how the body cools itself.
  • Two words: less laundry.

One of the greatest things about hot-weather workouts is the simple fact they come in summer. It’s sunny and the days the brighter, meaning you don’t have to stumble (or worse, feel unsafe) during dark runs in the morning or after work. With the warmer days comes more opportunities for racing -- seemingly every weekend has at least a local 5k, perfect for breaking up training, or overindulging at that big weekend picnic. The monotony of the treadmill and stifling walls of the gym are replaced by an endless possibility of routes and wide-open parks (and their now functioning water fountains). Remember, Outside Is Free. But nothing is without its price …

… Humidity is, quite simply, one of the worst parts of hot-weather workouts. It’s the oppressive monster that can turn a tolerable 88° day into unbearable temperatures of 100°. And it’s humidity -- not just the thermometer -- to which runners should probably pay more attention. The body cools itself not through just sweating -- it’s actually the evaporation of said sweat that does the cooling. Which is why humidity -- literally the amount of water vapor in the air -- can be so prohibitive. When it’s humid -- when the air is already saturated -- sweat has nowhere to evaporate to, meaning the body can’t effectively cool itself. This can lead to difficulty breathing, heat exhaustion and even heat stroke.

If you’re checking the weather before a run, don’t just look at the temperature -- pay attention to humidity and the subsequent heat index, too. (And if you’re really advanced, you’ll watch the dew point -- anything over 65° and it’s generally uncomfortable; 70° and above is downright disgusting.)

But perhaps the greatest reason why runners love hot-weather workouts: less laundry. Sure, that humidity means sweatier runs. But they’re still runs done in only shorts and a t-shirt (and sometimes even less). Compare that to your average cold-weather run, which can include tights or pants, a longsleeved shirt, a jacket, gloves, a hat, double socks, hand-warmers, etc.

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