Hey friends! Did you all have a great weekend? I hope so! I don’t know how it was where you live, but it was SO SO hot here this week and weekend….I even have the sunburns to prove it (and that is WITH sunscreen)! I don’t know why, but once September hits, 90 degree temps and humidity so thick you feel like you are choking just doesn’t seem right. It was far too hot for me to go outside and run this weekend (plus I couldn’t breath out of my nose and my throat was scratch–damn allergies!!), so I kept my workout indoors. This left me thinking about my training. Like many of you, I have been doing a lot of outdoor running throughout the summer and it’s been HOT. There is nothing quite like running at 6 am and it’s already in the high 80’s and it is so humid that it’s tough to breath. I ran by my boss one morning early as she was walking to work and afterwards she asked, why do you put yourself through that torture? Well, because I’m a runner and I love to run. Do I love running in the heat? Well, not really, but I want to run, so I run in the heat, the rain, the snow…you get the picture. You do what you love no matter the obstacles.
I started thinking more deeply about this and did some research and found some interesting articles. The first one discusses how when we train throughout the heat of the summer, we simulate he effects of running at higher altitudes. “Running “at altitude,” or at elevations generally higher than 5,000 feet above sea level, is much harder because there’s not as much oxygen in the air.” It goes on to say that when you are training at altitudes higher than 5,000 feet, our cardiovascular system has to work harder to run the same pace that would normally have been easier at sea level. This is because there is less O2 in the air so our heart has to work harder to pump blood to our muscles while we are running. This made complete sense to me.
After a few weeks, I know that running in heat felt a bit easier (it’s never easy!!) That meant I was adapting to the temperatures and my body was able to produce more red blood cells that in turn would help transport more O2 to my muscles, making me more efficient at running under these conditions. Our body is pretty amazing at adapting and finding ways to be more efficient under all kinds of conditions.
While reading online, I found this info graphic from the Washington Post that was interesting that discusses acclimatization and how long it takes!
So, what does this REALLY mean for us runners? After a summer of slogging through hot and humid runs, we are more efficient as runners than at other times during the year. Pretty awesome if you ask me! Our bodies can cool ourselves more efficiently while using less energy right now, so when the weather starts to cool, we will be at our fastest and most efficient. While we will lose these benefits in 4-6 weeks of cooler running, we have until at least late October to take advantage of all our hard work in the summer . So, get out there and race and set some new PR’s!
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Question of the day
Do you run in the heat of the summer? Do you feel your body acclimatizing? Are you signing up for a Fall race to see if you can realize the benefits of your summer training?
