Dealing With the Heat

[Kelly]

I moved from my home country to the USA about four years ago. I grew up in a far cooler country than it is here in the summer and consequently I am not used to dealing with this level of heat.

How do you cope, especially when on the track? There are days when I feel fit to pass out because of the heat, and yet I still have to run.

Are there particular clothes that help you feel more comfortable?

[grasshopper]

Its pretty standard to run in shorts and a sports top where I am if you are a girl. Its not the most modest choice though. There are plenty of fancy fibers that dry quickly and wick the sweat away from you and such to help keep you from feeling awful. I try to run early in the morning if its not at practice to help not overheat.

[Spikes]

Early morning running really does help but nothing really will help when you have a track meet in the afternoon. Middle of the summer here it doesn't matter what time you work out, you will hit the heat anyway.

My biggest tip is to drink lots and lots of water. If there is none where you are running, then freeze bottles of water, or fill them with as much ice as you can. That way as the ice thaws you have a good supply of cold water. Take a cooler if you need it.

Once you have run you could even pour some on yourself, but that won't help the sticky feeling of course.

[getsgoin]

I am lucky and live in the NorthWest. Very rarly are we not able to run at any time of day. It is such a calm environment. The only time that may be hard is in the middle of July or August in the afternoon.

[Kelly]

Part of the problem is a lack of appropriate shade for the athletes. The local stadium, where we train, has no stands. Just a mobile hut to change in, no shower facilities. It's a big place but facilities are really limited as this is a tiny little town.

The summer highs reach 104-110 on bad days, and under those circumstances we don't train. But if there is a competition coming up, we may not have a choice.

[wingedsandals]

You always have a choice even if its not a fun one. You could choose to not train and possibly not qualify to go to the meet, but if it is truly not safe that would be preferable to getting ill.

I know the only way I deal most times is practicing in the early morning or late evening when its really hot out. We tend to have high humidity which is sometimes worse than the actual temperature.