With summer coming up soon, it’s typical to see more people hitting the outdoors, running and exercising. However, it’s important that you stay safe and avoid overheating when running, especially when the weather is so hot.
When you run or exercise, you naturally sweat. Sweating helps cool your body down, helping avoid the risk of heat related illnesses. However, sometimes that is not enough and you may unknowingly be putting yourself at risk and that’s the last thing you want or need.
To avoid overheating while running you can take certain steps to ensure your run is fun, comfortable and safe. Here are some great tips…
Run When It’s Cooler
When summer hits and its 12pm, the heat can be crazy. It can be crazy hot even from much earlier in the day or late in the afternoons. Adjust your training based on the weather and try running in the mornings or early evenings – the cooler temperatures will help avoid you overheating. It takes your body two weeks of constant running to acclimate to warmer conditions.
As mentioned above, when you run you sweat. The faster your run or the bigger you are, the more likely you are to sweat more and faster. When your core temperature rises, blood flows to your skins surface, the sweat evaporates and this cools the surface of your skin and therefore your blood and that helps regulating your core temperature. If you are not hydrated enough, you won’t produce enough sweat, and that means you’ll overheat a lot quicker. Read this informative article on running and hydration and how to do it right.
Adjust Your Pace
When you’re out on your run and the weather is hotter and more humid than you expected or your temperature is rising to an uncomfortable level, pace down. As mentioned above, the faster you run the hotter you’ll get – that happens because muscular contractions produce heat. By pacing down you’ll give your body a better chance to regulate that heat and you’ll cool down to a manageable level. The right way to understand what pace you need to run at is to use your perceived exertion and heart rate, not actual running pace.
Choose a route that has various water-points along the way. Regularly stopping to splash water over yourself and having a few small sips will help. Don’t drinks too much because this could lead to other problems associated to over-hydration.
We recently ran a feature about running essentials you need. Read it. Essentially, what it suggests is that you should run with weather-specific clothing and in summer, that type of clothing will help avoid overheating. It also suggests running with a pack for longer runs – these packs can be used to carry hydration and many feature bladders to keep water.
See the Signs
If you start feeling dizzy, nauseas, cramping, fatigue sets in unnaturally, then stop. If something doesn’t feel right, then rather pull over, relax and let yourself come right. If you’re still not feeling good after a few minutes, then completely abort the run.