With summer in full swing and the weather being hotter for longer than we’ve experienced in years training is becoming harder and for those of you beginning Autumn Marathon training you are only going to be doing more miles in the heat so we want to give you some tips to keep going in a safe and effective way.
Over the past week temperatures have hit highs of 30.1 degrees in parts of the UK and theres no sign of them dropping just yet. Don’t get us wrong we are not complaining!
With heat comes humidity and sun exposure. All three making training and running a lot harder.
The human body has the ability to cool itself in hot conditions by sweating and to sweat the body must increase blood flow to the surface of the skin. So when we sweat we’re actually losing blood volume and electrolyte stores which is why hydration is is so important!
Did you know? At 102 degrees, your body can no longer effectively cool itself and your body begins to divert blood to the skin to help keep it cool. This decreases the amount of blood available to carry oxygen to your working muscles. As a result your ability to run fast is diminished considerably.
Our 5 top tips:
1. Forget pace – Take each run as it comes and although you may have a target time in mind judge your runs by effort and understand that your desired pace is not as easy to reach or maintain (especially not safely) in hotter weather.
2. Get up and go – Try to schedule your runs earlier, the morning, first thing is prime time to run over the summer as it’s lighter earlier but the sun has not broken through enough to bring the heat keeping temperatures lower.
3. Be prepared – put away the leggings and bring out the shorts and vest tops, summer is the time to get colourful so try to avoid black as this will only make you hotter. Perhaps invest in some running sunglasses and a hat or even a camelback for the long runs and always layer on the suncream.
4. Hydrate – not only do you need to take on enough water during and after a run to keep your body hydrated you need to be taking on plenty of water during the day before a run and if running first thing drink a glass of water as soon as you wake.
5.Listen to your body – you may find you get tired quicker and take longer to recover from runs and training, that’s ok and that’s normal. Always listen to your body and take the recovery it needs, it’s not always what is set so if you need an extra day or an easier run on what should be a hard run day take it!
We are very lucky to be getting this summer so make the most of it in a safe and responsible way because the most important thing is to enjoy yourself!
