Give the Cady Way trail in Orlando a go. You can hop on it in the Baldwin/Winter Park area and take it on out. There is tree coverage and shade most of the way. There's also a few water fountains on the route. I used to knock out the bulk of my 50-50 miles a week on it. You can also hop off it in the Baldwin Park area and there is a nice two mile loop around the lake there. It get's overly hot on the loop past 9:30 a.m. though
I'm in southeast NC. Running in the summer is much much better before the sun comes up. That's the coolest part of the day (right around sunrise). If I can't run early, I slow down and usually cap my runs at 45-50 minutes if it's over 80 degrees.
If its over 90-92 I hit the treadmill for anything longer than 5 miles.
There’s no trails in Orlando worth traveling for. If you’re close, then go for it. Otherwise not worth the drive because of the surface(sandy, muddy and roots). Most are single track. There’s some parks where you can get a mile or so on their well travelled trails. Be ready for multiple loops. There’s a park in altamonte with beautiful clay trails all shaded. But you’ll be lucky to get a mile from every loop.
Personally your best bet is Little Big Econ State Park. There’s multiple trailheads and plenty of people in case anything happens. Bring your own water. The bugs are nasty and the trail turns into a muddy River if it rains.
Driving to clermont for the clay loop is a hassle unless you’re doing a long training run with hills. Plus there is zero shade or facilities so you’re on your own. Highly advise not running there during the day in summer. If a storm hits (it will) you’ll be stranded in a field with massive lightning and no cover. But you should hit the park run up Saturday and then head over to the loop as a post race workout. Actually, when people say they’re staying in Orlando, it’s anything between Lakeland and Daytona so you might actually be close.
TrailGuide21 wrote:
Give the Cady Way trail in Orlando a go. You can hop on it in the Baldwin/Winter Park area and take it on out. There is tree coverage and shade most of the way. There's also a few water fountains on the route. I used to knock out the bulk of my 50-50 miles a week on it. You can also hop off it in the Baldwin Park area and there is a nice two mile loop around the lake there. It get's overly hot on the loop past 9:30 a.m. though
That’s not a trail. It’s a sidewalk with shade for 2 miles. Baldwin park is a widely used sidewalk also. OP is looking for trails. Real trails. Not asphalt through a leveled oak forest. But if you’re looking for milfs or $30k millionaires, give Baldwin a spin.
Heat is crazy. I try to not look at my watch. Lately, though, here in Hanoi it has been about 115 with the heat index. I go slow, get halfway on an eight mike run and then the return is a death march. A few months ago in cool weather I could do 15 without even thinking (in 75 degrees and humid). I think if you are super skinny and super fit you get used to it a little. But then...damn...you have a day where you feel like you are unfit and something is wrong and then you look at the temperature and say...oh. I have lived and trained in Hanoi, Laos, Thailand, India. I can look at my times inraces and tell you what the temperature was. No matter how relatively fit I am, temperature/humidity, I think, is the biggest factor in race times. Not super shoes. We should always look at the temps at races first before looking at what’s on the feet.
I feel like 80 degrees isn't completely terrible, especially when the sun is down. So if it is 80 degrees at 6am or 9pm isn't that plenty cool enough? And even if it's 90 degrees you could go for a small or medium length run.
I live in the Midwest and we're currently seeing 90-100 degrees every day plus some humidity, lows around 70 degrees. So mornings are perfectly fine.
I ran in the heat at 3PM in VA growing up, since then I've moved further south in spurts. I don't remember it bothering me in high school at XC practice the way it does now. We used to run every day in July and August in the peak afternoon heat. Now, I prefer the mornings, but the tradeoff is higher humidity in return for lower air temps. I'm currently in Texas and it's like running with a blanket on. I was in South Carolina most of last summer/fall and after about 8am it wasn't worth going out for a run at all.
[quote]not bartholomew maxwell wrote:
From Daytona south March-October, it’s pretty unbearable. You can get away with some morning runs through June in the top half of the state.
OP specifically said he couldn't run mornings.
If you must be outside: trails/shade plus carry a bottle like an ultra runner (time to swallow your pride). High quality white drifit shirt stored in the freezer beforehand. Avoiding the direct sun is priority number 1 if you must run in the afternoon. If you can't find trails or lots of shade, run on the treadmill. Get a nice ipad and a smart treadmill that changes elevation for you and it ain't so bad.
I'm someone who doesn't handle the heat well. Don't ignore that fact if you're the same. As much as training in the heat helps you adapt, some people are more susceptible to heat stress, etc.
4 days on the Treadmill during the week and early morning runs on the weekend could be a recipe to keep you sane if you hate the hamster wheel.
Florida old guy wrote:
I live in Orlando and run around 3:00 pm everyday except a long run Saturday morning. Most of my runs around 60 min. with a fartlek mid week. You adapt to the heat and humidity over time. Try running on a trail where there is some shade. You may have to drive to a trailhead.
^^^This is it. I run at 4:30 - 5:30 almost daily except Saturday in the a.m. I'm not embarrassed to carry water. I don't push it and hopefully I'll get an hour in. I'm an old guy (62) and know when things aren't right.
Bigfoot wrote:
Florida old guy wrote:
I live in Orlando and run around 3:00 pm everyday except a long run Saturday morning. Most of my runs around 60 min. with a fartlek mid week. You adapt to the heat and humidity over time. Try running on a trail where there is some shade. You may have to drive to a trailhead.
^^^This is it. I run at 4:30 - 5:30 almost daily except Saturday in the a.m. I'm not embarrassed to carry water. I don't push it and hopefully I'll get an hour in. I'm an old guy (62) and know when things aren't right.
why is your username Bigfoot?
You answered your title within your post. The only way to get miles in is in the morning, maybe around 6am, as temp dips down just a bit. Trails help, realistic distances and pacing help. Proper hydration helps. But unless you can get out early or are willing to slowly acclimate to a hotter time of the day, treadmills are your answer. Funny observation, back in the day, I use to see staff and coaches of a DI university always jogging, midday, midsummer, with plastic sweat tops on. Always expected I’d see their name in the paper for heat stroke but they always survived.
For me, the key is to stay out of the direct beating down sun. So run early in the morning or later in the evening or find a trail through the woods with shade. And carry a bottle of water.
Florida running wrote:
I have family obligations that prevent me from running at the crack of dawn or in the evening. Any ideas on how to deal with the heat? I know l can get away with 30 or maybe 45 minutes in the heat, but after 45 it gets bad.
Used to live in Northern Mississippi (near Tennessee border) for about six years and got through Ok, although I seem to be much more heat tolerant than cold. Managed to successfully train for a couple of USATF Masters track championships through summer down there. I'm a terrible very early morning runner, but could get away with a long run (say 90 min) starting at 7:30am. I did lose a ton of water weight on a run, and I remember the shoes and socks squelching with sweat that had dripped there, but I didn't have to do anything particularly special, like have planned water breaks.
Track sessions I could generally do OK.
I did manage to win a 5k in low 18:00 when I was 55 or so as everyone died in the heat (evening race, 95f and humid).
I'm English, so either it's a case of "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" or genetically, I tend to tolerate heat quite well.
kmaclam wrote:
[quote]not bartholomew maxwell wrote:
From Daytona south March-October, it’s pretty unbearable. You can get away with some morning runs through June in the top half of the state.
OP specifically said he couldn't run mornings.
Typical LR... "I cant run in the AM due to family obligations"
LRer "Man You definitely need to run in the morning!!!"
I'm down south and it's always horrible. June>Aug and into Sept it's just a sufferfest.
Most of us all want to hit X miles per week, and do our workouts at Y pace... the heat forces you to move off those marks. It forces you to go against all your runner OCD instincts and intuitions about training- it forces you to back it off and adjust on the fly. Most of us are not geared that way.
Some days you will have to come waaaayy down off that pace, and some days you will turn that 12 miler into an 8 just to get through the run. Very hard to do as a competitive runner.
I used to suck it up and run outdoors straight through the summer, but as I got older it seemed to wear me down more and more. Now I just set the AC to 68 and run on the treadmill. I get what people are saying about being heat adapted but to me the misery involved isn't worth it.
If you complain even once about Florida, try running through a Midwest winter.
This is Jim Kiler wrote:
If you complain even once about Florida, try running through a Midwest winter.
Always that guy on here. Always.
Houston, TX. If you cannot get out and run before the sun comes up, late afternoon really isn't that bad once the sun starts going down. Humidity is at its lowest at that time of day even though it is 90+ degrees.
It take a couple of years to acclimate to summer running in the south. The biggest challenge is making sure you fully rehydrate after dropping a big sweat during a workout or long run. It would take me two 32 oz bottles of Gatorade to get fully rehydrated on days when I dropped a huge sweat. I would get so hot that I would still be sweating after taking a shower.
Run the sun up. It'll be humid AF but it's only going to get warmer once that giant ball of fire gets overhead.
Take water on every run, even if to just dump some one your head, shoulders/chest and arms every 10 mins or so to keep a cooling effect on the skin.
Back off the intensity so your body isn't generating as much heat so quickly...run with somebody else to keep the "conversation pace" in check or try to sing along with a verse or two to whatever music you're listening to and see if you're keeping it easy enough to do so.
Shorter workouts with hill sprints, fartlek ladders, and things you can get done in 30-45 minutes rather than trying to do a 40-minute tempo in the middle of a 90-minute run...this is base training for the fall season so the only stuff you need to be doing is laying groundwork and prepping the system, not priming it.