Get Fit: 4 Tips for Running in the Heat

We are excited to unveil the Jaunt t-shirt design for 2011. The design incorporates this year’s theme, “Make a Splash at Henderson Community Days.” The shirts will be blue with white and navy lettering. Register today to reserve your place in the race as well as your own Jaunt t-shirt. If you put in some running miles last week, you persevered through some hot days. You will feel better when you hit the road the latter part of this week, due to more moderate temperatures. Here are a few tips to enjoy your workout when it’s hot outside. 

• Run early in the morning. The benefit of June is that it is still cooling off in the evenings, so the most comfortable time of the day to run is in the morning.
• When it is warm, head out on your run with the wind at your back. Then, when you return, the wind will cool you off on the way home.
• Cross train. If you cannot complete your workout before the heat of the day, any form of exercise is better than nothing. When the pool is open, try aqua jogging. You can run in the deep end of the pool with a water belt even when it is hot. Aqua jogging is the next best workout to running on land and it takes all of the pressure off of your joints.

Biking is another good alternative because the airflow keeps you cooler. You should bike at least twice as far as you would have run. Time is a good tool to go by so you have a somewhat equivalent workout.

Maintaining similar time and effort you would have given on the run will also allow you to mimic workouts in your cross training. For example, my athletes mimic their track workouts in the deep end by relating each side of the deep end square to 100 meters. If you were supposed to run four, four-hundred repeats, in the pool you would do four, one-lap intervals.

• Look for water on your route. Plan your run to a water fountain for a refreshment break. If you see a sprinkler along the way, flashback to your childhood and run through the sprinkler’s mist. It will refresh and cool you, and the heat will dry you off before you return home.

A little planning will keep you safe in the heat and make your training more comfortable.

Finally, as you increase your mileage this week remember to listen to your body. You should be increasing your mileage by ten percent a week. If you haven’t been running a lot, your body will hurt a bit as you run. Don’t worry; the effort of running will improve with time.  There are aches you want to listen to that beyond the pains of running effort. Common places for such aches to occur are the shins, knees, or back. You can ease your discomfort by applying an ice pack for 20 minute periods, resting or cross training, and alternating Ibuprofen and Tylenol every four hours. These strategies will help prevent an injury that could hinder future training. It is better to back off for a day than to miss the race entirely.

Until next week, happy running! Coach Ohrt

Don’t forget to leave your comments below if you have any questions.