rillbodgers
Running and Air Conditioning 5/24/2012 4:38PM Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
With the summer coming up I was wondering, is there some kind of adaptation that runners in the developed world miss out on by using air conditioning? Training in the heat prepares you for racing in the heat so would living in the heat 24/7 just help you that much more?
off the leash
RE: Running and Air Conditioning 5/24/2012 6:36PM - in reply to rillbodgers Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
Maybe but I feel that air conditioning helps with recovery on those days that are close to 100*.
mightymo
RE: Running and Air Conditioning 5/24/2012 6:54PM - in reply to rillbodgers Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
I tell myself that when I'm too cheap to turn on the A/C, but not sure if it is true. Probably helps some with adaption to heat, but doesn't help with staying hydrated.
verità
RE: Running and Air Conditioning 5/24/2012 7:54PM - in reply to rillbodgers Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
it is one thing to acclimate, it is another thing to be worn down from it.

i spent hs and college training near new orleans, summers were brutal - hot and humid, never dipping below 70 degrees from may - september. by the end of the summer i often found myself beaten down by the conditions. after college, i moved away to places with normal summers and they were relatively mild by comparison.

hard runs make you better, if you recover, hard runs all of the time break you down.
dadsfads
RE: Running and Air Conditioning 5/24/2012 7:57PM - in reply to rillbodgers Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
I live in the upper Midwest so heat isn't much of a concern for me. However, I would think that being out in the heat doing yardwork, running, etc. would drain you. And if your house is so warm at night that you don't get good sleep, or you get restless sleep, I would guess that your recovery would be less than optimal.
Night Runner
RE: Running and Air Conditioning 5/24/2012 8:07PM - in reply to rillbodgers Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
rillbodgers - come on, you can do better, much better. Juvenile.
The MonBRO Doctrine
RE: Running and Air Conditioning 5/24/2012 8:18PM - in reply to rillbodgers Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
Both of my parents grew up in the South before the invention of air-conditioning and don't deal with heat any better than I do.
gasdfgfsdasd
RE: Running and Air Conditioning 5/24/2012 8:33PM - in reply to The MonBRO Doctrine Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
It may lead to a heat adaptation effect, allowing you to run better in hot weather. One study found that heat adapted runners actually ran better in cool weather too. So possibly, yeah.

Also, whoever said the upper midwest doesn't get hot must live on a great lake—it regularly gets over 100 in minnesota!
dadsfads
RE: Running and Air Conditioning 5/24/2012 8:51PM - in reply to gasdfgfsdasd Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
You're right on: I literally live on the shoreline of Lake Superior. So, it almost never gets hot where I live.