Saturday, July 23, 2011

Running in the heat.

It's been all kinds of hot this week, which is to be expected given that it is July.

But heat like this (high, high-90s) doesn't always make for great runs. And yet, I've had a few. Wednesday evening tempo run, Friday late-afternoon easy run.

My Friday run rocked, even though it was probably 94 degrees when I headed out.

Why?

Because I did a few things right (at least in my opinion, I'm no doctor or sports expert):

  • I hydrated early and often throughout the day
  • I had a little extra salt with my meals and snacks
  • I embraced the heat
  • I ran easy

That third one? About embracing the heat? Yeah. It's key. You can't expect to run well in the heat if you start your run cursing it. And, frankly, that goes for just about any run. Start out cursing and, well, your run will pay you back with something to curse about.

For Friday's 94 degree run, I started out thinking that my muscles would be loose and warmed-up in no time. I also thought about how much of a treat every patch of shade was going to be. And then I thought that these high-heat runs are going to make my lower temperature runs feel easy peasy! I can go for that.

It all worked because I ran a nice easy, easy run; just over 4 miles at a comfy 9:10/mile pace. Not speedy but not draggy, either. 

Just right. And it felt great.

It probably didn't hurt that I was wearing these bad boys for the first time:


So, hydrate, salt-up, and embrace the heat! 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone!

~ Felice

12 comments:

Zoë said...

Way to go with your hot run! LOVE the new kicks, too! Hotness!

Tina @GottaRunNow said...

Yay for new shoes and a good summertime run!

Anonymous said...

I could not agree more!! Salt, water and just go easy! Don't fear the heat!

Christina said...

Embrace the heat, huh? I'm going to have to try that.

But seriously, I think it's the kicks! Those looked like serious, speedster shoes that make you go zoom zoom zoom!

KT80 said...

Awesome! Those shoes are wicked cool!

5 Miles Past Empty said...

Great job!! Maybe I should go embrace the heat right now? But I don't have totally Bad A shoes to wear though. Humph. =)

Quix said...

For the first summer ever, I'm not retreating to the gym and training outside most days. My tips are - 1) get up early - 80 and humid is bad enough at 7:30, no need to belabor the inevitable 2) adjust expectations - my normal hard run is about 9 min/miles, these days, it's 10:30. 3) lots of bike x-train (I can tolerate much higher temps with more wind).
4) Fueling - during the winter I don't need it much but I'm making sure I have the calories and nutrients.

Love the new kicks!!!

J said...

The heat is tough but honestly i love it so much better than the cold. I just love racing in the cold because its easier. Great job embracing the heat! Eating more salt is key!

Suzy said...

Sa-weet shoes!

Barbara Chrisensen said...

OMG... those shoes are adorable!! What are they?? You know - I just left Utah to move to WA, and left the heat. I know you say embrace it, but I am feeling blessed that I don't have to anymore. ;) That being said, great way to look at it.

Lauren @ mostly i run said...

Wow, those shoes are wild. Awesome! I hope we'll see a review of them soon :)

Felice Devine said...

Oh, you will! I just want to take them out on a few more runs so I can give them an honest review.

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