5 Ways To Stay Safe In The Heat

Happy Friday!!! Today I'm linking up with Courtney from Eat Pray Run DC, Mar from Mar on the Run and Cynthia from You Signed Up For What for the Friday Five link up.

 

Summer is in full swing here in Houston and it is heating up... with our humidity, that makes it super steamy.  Other parts of the country are experiencing heat records.  While I would prefer being warm to being cold... the summertime heat is no joke!



The heat can really be harmful to you... dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat stroke are not things to take lightly.  What would happen if you were out on a solo run and were overcome with heat?



Several precautions can be taken to minimize any impact the heat may cause to you.  I feel that my body becomes acclimated to working out in the heat, but it does take time.  These are a few things that I do to help .

1. Run when it is cooler out... this means getting up at the @ss crack of dawn or running in the evenings.  I'm not a morning person, so I'm getting out for my runs around 7:00 or 7:30 in the evening.


2. Start slow... as the temperature outside increases, refrain from adding mileage or time to your outside workouts too quickly.  Take it back a notch and do some easy runs or low mileage runs until you get used to running in the heat.


3. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! I hydrate all through the day... drinking between 80-100 oz of water and keep it up until an hour before I run, and then start the process again when I am done with my run.  In the fall/winter/spring I usually don't bring water on my run unless I'm going over 6 miles, but in the summer I bring it on every run.


4. Shade is your friend... in the shade it doesn't seem as hot, try to pick routes that are heavily shaded.


5. Keep your body temperature low before you run.  I hang out in the a/c with  my running clothes on an hour before I run... I'm freezing by the time I get out to run, it seems to keep me cooler at least on the shorter easy runs.

When in doubt, use common sense and stay safe!