Heat

Heat is my worst nightmare. If I wake up on a meet day to discover that it is anywhere around 80 degrees, I am not too happy. I know a lot of sprinters and spectators are delighted to hear of the nice weather, but I would prefer 40 degree weather to 85 degree weather any day that I have to compete. I think for distance kids this is usually the case, given that our bodies will warm up a lot more during our races because of their length. 

The heat seems to slightly suffocate me, and I feel substantially weaker on these warmer days. I am not sure why this is, but for me, the heat is a great inhibitor. Thus I decided to look up why this may be; I found this chart from http://runneracademy.com/running-in-hot-weather-impact-on-pace/ 

This chart is interesting to me because though I knew that the heat had an effect on my physical state and performance to an extent, I didn’t know that it was this dramatic. During the summer, I can go out and run my long runs at about an 8:15 pace for a 7 mile run or so. According to this chart, my teammates and I would actually be able to put in the same amount of effort in cooler weather and be going at a pace that is at least a minute or so faster. This doesn't seem to quite correlate to my experience though. On days with the perfect weather conditions, I certainly do not run a 7:15 pace for 7 miles, though I may run an 8:00 or 7:45 pace. I wonder if we as runners just learn how to adjust to the heat and fight through it because we feel if we are not close to the pace where we normally run, then we are not getting as good of a work out in and our failing. I feel as if this could be true to an extent

. The website above does include a reasoning behind why the heat inhibits performance, and it is all stuff that not only makes sense, but we have all probably heard before: "In hot weather, this translates to feeling fatigued early as your body is actively adjusting your pace when it starts to overheat or the threat of overheating presents itself. Your muscles are actually nowhere near their true point of fatigue, but you are given the sensation as if they are to slow your pace."

It certainly makes sense that we would not feel as strong and ready to run on 80 degree days - I know that I certainly feel that way. This is why it is so important that runners and athletes make sure to drink enough water and stay hydrated all year around, but especially in the summer so that we can counteract the effects of the humidity by providing more liquid to sweat out. Enjoy the warmer temperatures this summer, and stay healthy and hydrated!