I found leon2's thread on heat training started last year very informative. I had never really thought of running in the heat as a training stimulus, but am now a believer that it is. I have always struggled in hot temperatures, but last summer made a concerted effort over a 1 month period to become acclimated to the heat. This consisted of doing all my easy runs of 5-8 miles in long sleeved T's, hat, sweats, and going slow. I would do some inside on the treadmill and wear gloves and ski hat. This, in addition to overall improved training, led to major time drops in my fall marathon and that has now carried over to shorter races as well.

In Leon's thread he did quote a lot of things about Benji Durden using heat training to make a breakthrough in his marathon times. There were some other people as well but I can't recall who they were.

Here is how I look at it. You can get a quality cardiovascular work-out in with heat training while recovering your legs (because your HR will be much higher even when running much slower), allowing you to do more overall cardiovascular conditioning work-outs without getting overuse injuries. I don't think you need to do more than easy runs in heat to get the stimulus, if you stick with it for a few weeks, and do your hard work-outs in the early AM.

Now on the stupid side of "heat training"-- I did a run in Phoenix, starting out at 7 AM with temp of 88 degrees. By I was feeling really good at around 70 minutes and really pushed it (tempo pace) for 2 miles across a hilly desert path to the water stop. By then the temp had climbed to 102 and I knew I was getting hot but I thought I could "push" through it. The breeze from my pace fooled me and I had no idea how hot I was getting. I got to the trailhead and water stop with great effort at that pace. Within about 2 min. of stopping, I was stumbling around, delirious, and so hot I felt like I was on fire. I couldn't cool down even dumping water all over myself. Some guy found me and insisted he drive me home. I asked him to drop me at a gas station down the hill to call. No one was home so I started out to finish the last 5 miles. The guy in the truck circled around and found me and really insisted, and took me home. I must have looked bad. I just dove in the pool and soaked for about 20 min., drank about 1.5 L of water, and an hour later felt great and did 10 miles on the treadmill and felt fine.

Point is, dehydration is a big issue. But radiant sun and core body temperature cannot be ignored. You have to be judicious about training in the heat because in the right circumstances if you're not careful, you can really start to raise your core temperature and get into trouble with heat stroke. I saw plenty of people in Phoenix come through the ER with dural venous thrombosis in the summers (the major large veins draining your brain clot off because of dehydration basically, often associated with very hot, dry climates and long hikes/runs-- along with pregnancy and underlying hereditary clotting disorders).

Heat can really be a great training stimulus when done judiciously.

But, in June the heat really stinks because it just makes running misery and you're so far from fall marathons that it's de-motivating. June and early July are the real dog days of summer for runners. By August you embrace the heat knowing it will make you faster in late Sept/Oct!

In the climate where I live we can get days were it reaches 203/4 C by 6 or 7 am. I usualy drink 2 to 4 litres of water 4-6 hrs prior to a long run. I usually will run on a loop course on trails with shade cover and keep a 2 litre bottle strength of
some sort of sports drink on the loop- Every 15-20 mins I have 3-4 ounces of fluid. You can expect to run a little slower in the heat until you acclimatize. Make sure that you drink enough fluids to keep hydrated. it usually takers 2 weeks to get used to running in the heat. You will probably find it's hard to sleep at night as well and you'll feel pretty bagged for a while. Adjust your training by about 20% and you'll find that you're body will adapt to the heat. Stay cool

quote:<HR>Originally posted by 92heelgrad:
Running in the heat does NOT make you faster than running the same miles in a cooler clime. You may be able to get a decent cardio workout in at a slower pace, but you won't get fast that way. I did all my speed work inside last year and dropped my 5k time by a minute to 19:25. It is simply impossible to get a decent leg turnover in 90+ degree temperatures. The only thing working out in the heat gets you is some adaption to running in hot weather. If your race is in the Fall in Minneapolis or Chicago, what do you need that adaptation for?

Is there anybody here that is able to run 8 reps of 800's at 3K pace when it is 95 degrees outside? How do you plan to do a 7 mile tempo run at 10K + 20 sec in 90% humidity? When I start doing MP runs in a few weeks, there is no way I am going to try to do that in the 100+ heat index days of southeastern North Carolina. I suggest we all find a big fan, a good treadmill and head inside for the hard stuff.<HR>

I know it was hard to follow my post because of the lengthy, rambling nature of it. But if you had read it closely you would realize I never claimed that doing faster work-outs in the heat such as intervals would be beneficial, or suggested.

I suggested your easy general aerobic and recovery runs in the heat, with tempo runs and intervals in the morning if it is cool. Getting "faster" is multi-factorial, heat training is just an additional stressor that can be utilized to strengthen your running.

I also improved my 5k from 18:32 to 17:34, with heat training, and very few intervals. Okay, so heat training wasn't the only thing, but part of it... so in a study with an n of 1, this proves heat training works.

Seriously though, before you outright dismiss heat training, you might want to review this extensive thread that was posted about it here a year ago. It can serve a purpose in the appropriate setting.

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