What Training in the Heat Teaches Us About Ourselves

Originally published in Fleet Feet Albany & Malta’s July Newsletter.

On summer mornings, I step out with more trepidation than any other season. It has become a reflex, from heat-ridden runs that took everything out of me: the sun beating down on my shoulders, humidity creating thick air leaving no room for sweat to let go of my skin. I was honestly dreading training for a fall race this year, knowing that it would be another season of hot runs. Last summer was a slog. Training for my first marathon, I logged countless miles in heat and humidity that my body never quite adjusted to, often feeling like I didn’t hydrate enough (I didn’t), as logic battled with ego while I struggled to accept how much I needed to slow down in the heat. I feared what was awaiting me this summer. Heat demands so much of our bodies, but lately I’ve been thinking more about what we actually can gain from putting in the work during some of the toughest conditions runners endure. Now, I’m taking the time to shift my mindset about summer training, with the hope that I’ll renew the joy I’ve found running in the fall and spring. I don’t think I’ve ever embraced the heat. I don’t think I’ve taken the time to learn what these hot, tough runs teach me about myself and my training. By running my way through the summer resenting the heat, I was doing myself a disservice; this summer, I’m optimistic that changing my mindset around hot, humid, sweat-soaked runs will change how I feel physically too.

Listen to Your Body—and Throw Pace Out the Window
As I prepare for a fall half marathon, I’m thinking more about effort than pace, knowing how much my body begs me to slow down when faced with hot temperatures and humid air. Using the Rate of Perceived Exertion, or RPE scale, I’ve assigned different numbers to different efforts, something I implement when coaching as well. For easy runs, I’m going for a 3-4/10; marathon-pace efforts are a 5-6/10; half marathon-pace efforts are 7/10; and shorter track interval sessions are 8-9/10. Any runner knows running in the heat is a different beast to any other element. Maintaining an easy effort on our day-to-day runs can feel impossible, as the combination of heat, humidity, and sunshine forces us to slow our paces down by minutes just to keep going. That can be a big ego hit: we think because we’re running slower, we’re losing fitness and getting more and more out of shape, causing a negative feedback loop of pushing ourselves more than we should in already demanding conditions, moving closer and closer to burnout or injury. Just because you’re running slower, it does not mean you’re not getting the benefits of your runs and workouts. In fact, ignoring how you feel just to hit a pace can be doing more harm than good. When we need to run slower, it’s our bodies telling us they’re overworked. Heat and humidity spike our body temperatures, increasing our effort in the process, while decreasing the amount of oxygen flowing to our muscles as blood volume decreases with dehydration. Heat can also make it impossible to thermoregulate our body temperatures as our bodies struggle to cool down. Our body temperatures rise when we exercise, but that is compounded when it is already hot outside. Throw high humidity in the mix—or a high presence of water vapor in the air—and our bodies cannot effectively evaporate sweat as the atmosphere will not accept more moisture. Sweat evaporation is another method of thermoregulation to cool our systems down, and without that, running feels even harder. Think of a hot car that can’t cool down. It stops functioning, the engine smokes, and you’re stuck. If we do not cool down our bodies or decrease the demand on them—AKA, slow down our pace, drink electrolytes, pour cold water on our skin—then we will break down, and that can be dangerous. Heat stroke and heat exhaustion, dehydration—these are deadly situations for runners. Once we learn how to properly and safely run in the heat, and even embrace it as a partner in our training, that brings the potential for some of our best races and training cycles. My colleague John wrote about this last year, describing how heat training almost replicates altitude training (a pillar of professional athletes’ training): increased blood volume and oxygen delivery to muscles, increased sweat rate, decreased heart rate, and improved running economy, when done consistently, safely, and the body is given time to adapt.

We Are Only as Strong as Our Minds
Arguably the most important part of embracing heat training is mentality. Choosing to face the heat head-on, knowing your body will benefit while suffering at times, works to strengthen your mind. Conquering a tough workout or long run in hot conditions (with electrolytes and carbohydrate-based fuel!) makes you feel resilient. Running in the heat proves you can do hard things despite the cards stacked against you. It helps you test your limits and see what you are capable of. It also helps you learn to trust yourself. If you keep showing up for your runs and workouts, knowing the discomfort awaiting you in the heat, you prove to yourself that not only are you a strong, committed runner, but that you are worth the effort you continue to put in. But we have to choose to show up. We have to find that intrinsic motivation to keep getting out the door. Running is already hard; add heat into the mix and it becomes harder to even start a run. Continue to answer: why am I running? What are my goals? Once you know what drives you, keep reminding yourself of that at the times running feels impossibly hard. A strong mind leads to a strong body, only through consistency and conviction in ourselves.

Tough Lessons in Fueling
We confront some of the hardest situations we’ll face as runners in the heat. Hot long runs, races, and workouts show us where we’ve slipped up. Didn’t eat enough before or during your run? Your tank will feel empty a lot quicker, as depleted glycogen smacks you into an insurmountable wall. Forgot to hydrate enough before or during your run? You might face cramping muscles and an upset stomach, as well as the deadly threats of dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. It teaches us what electrolyte mixes or gels taste the best when we’re struggling through a run and need a boost, what our stomach can handle on an unbearably hot day, or how much more water and electrolytes we might need to account for the increased sweat loss. But the heat can only offer us these lessons if we learn to listen to our bodies. If we continually work to understand how we feel instead of following general guidelines or online advice, we become smarter runners. Each of us will respond to the heat differently—in order to take advantage of how the heat can make us fitter, we need to be open-minded and in tune with ourselves. We have to be honest: is this effort too hard? Did that extra gel make me feel better during my long run? Should I have drank more water? It is the same lesson as learning to follow effort over pace; our bodies know what is best, we just have to pay attention.

Stay Smart, Stay Safe
June was an unwelcoming return to heat. The Northeast underwent an early heat wave that struck just as the summer solstice arrived, bringing record-breaking temperatures. Living in southern New Hampshire, I experienced some of the highest temperatures in this part of the country, with heat indices reaching well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in rising at the crack of dawn to squeeze in runs before the temperature became too unbearable. These are dangerous conditions. For everything I see heat can offer runners, I see the
threats it poses too. The real danger comes when runners ignore how heat impacts our bodies, convincing themselves they can stick to business as usual. Even professionals recognize heat changes everything in a race. You’ll hear Olympic marathoners like Des Linden speaking about the importance of adjusting racing strategy in hot temperatures, knowing that racing without consideration of heat is a fatal mistake. They increase their fueling, slow down their pace slightly, and constantly check in with their bodies mid-race to know when to push and when to take their foot off the gas to prevent something far worse than losing from happening. We can learn lessons from Olympians who cast their egos aside to be safe and run smart, whether we’re out for a regular run or racing.

This year, I’m drinking more water and electrolytes than I normally would, knowing what I’ve done in the past has never been enough. I’m fueling more before and during runs, knowing that the heat requires more carbohydrates than a cool fall run would. These decisions came from reevaluating my prior training and flashbacks to runs that felt like hot garbage and left me zombified the rest of the day. Year-round, running should be a game of checking in with yourself. In the summer, this is crucial, especially for those who are choosing to embrace the heat. If you find yourself getting cold sweats or not sweating at all during a hot run, stop immediately, hydrate, and try to cool down in the shade. If you feel dizzy and nauseous, stop and cool down. These can all be potential signs of heat exhaustion that can lead to much scarier outcomes.

Summer is About Joy
I’ve always associated the summer with carefree fun. It is a time that feels freer than any other, even as we continue showing up for work and everything life asks of us. I had a complicated relationship with summer last year. I didn’t feel free. I felt anxious about training in the heat, assuming that each run would not feel good. Reflecting now, I think that mindset is what made training difficult; yes, the heat tested me, but the negativity I poured into those runs only made everything harder as I already assumed I was not strong enough. This year, I’m excited to train. I’m excited to get out in the sunshine with no expectations. I’m excited that I get to run at all, after months of injury during the winter. I’m excited to see what I’m capable of in this heat, knowing the more I challenge myself, the stronger I will be when fall cools the air and I am uninhibited to run fast. I’m excited to prove to myself that my mind and body are stronger than the heat I once dismissed as unbearable. I think above all, I’m excited to see all of the other runners out there with me, proving the same.