PUBLISHED 08/04/2003
I don't have the best track record when it comes to running in the heat. My career as a distance runner was bookended by two unfortunate heat-related incidents. The first came my freshman year in college while trying to become an All-American. The last came 16 years later while trying to become a three-time Olympian. In both instances, I was beat by the heat. Fortunately, both occasions offer some excellent summer racing strategies. Don't let it take you 16 years to figure out how to race safely in the heat. Just keep these factors in mind.
Location
Austin, Tex., served as the site for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 1980. Atlanta was the location of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in 1996. Both of these southerly locations have something in common besides a twang in the local dialect. Think: high humidity.
When you exercise, you sweat. And as that sweat evaporates from your skin, you're cooled, which keeps your core body temperature in check. But when it's humid, the moisture in the air doesn't allow the sweat to evaporate. Without this cooling evaporative effect, sweat accumulates, and your core body temperature rises. A whole host of heat-related ailments can soon follow.
Smarter strategy: Clearly, I had no say in where they decided to hold the '96 Olympic Trials. But most of us have more control over where we race. When possible, choose a race in a less humid climate. Or at the very least, steer clear of humid climes during months when the humidity is typically at its peak.
Date
Both races occurred early in June, so my body wasn't yet prepared for the summertime extremes in heat and humidity. Had the races been in August, my body would have been better acclimated. Acclimatization occurs when you train in warm conditions, which enables your body to gradually develop the ability to keep both your body temperature and heart rate in check.
Smarter strategy: Cool spring mornings are wonderful for running, but they won't prepare your body for hot summer racing. Instead, run once or twice a week during the warmer hours of the day. Or run on a treadmill with the room temperature at 72º.
Distance
Both races were track 10-Ks, which meant I was running long enough, hard enough, and under extreme enough conditions for my core body temperature to rise. Studies suggest that it is core temperature increase, and not dehydration, that gets people in trouble during warm weather exercise. Sprints are hardly affected by heat and humidity.
Smarter strategy: Save your longer races for the cooler months. There's a reason why most marathons are in the fall. Your summer race card should be filled mostly with 5-Ks and other short races.
Competition
In both cases, my competition was strong and my desire to win was intense. No real problem here, right? Not usually. But under extreme weather conditions, it doesn't pay to try to push yourself beyond your means.
As a freshman in Austin, I tried to match pace with the "big boys," which was faster than I should have run. With a lap to go, I was weaving so badly, officials pulled me from the track, hosed me off, and packed me in ice. In Atlanta, 16 years later, I tried to keep pace with the "young boys" until the last lap, when...let's just say it wasn't pretty.
Smarter strategy: On race day, take weather conditions into account. Brutal heat and humidity mean you should scale back your performance goals. Don't try to beat the heat. It won't work. Trust me on this one.
Ed Eyestone, a two-time Olympic marathoner and men's cross-country coach at Brigham Young University, has a master's degree in exercise physiology.
