It Was 107 In Dallas Today How the Hell Do You Do It?

Sluggie,

I did the Beach to Bay Relay one year. It was really tough. Yes, Corpus is worse than Dallas. I just don't like going outside to take the trash out at 10:30pm and it's 100 degrees. I grew up here and just can't get used to it.

Summers - BAAAD.

Winters - BAAADDD. Windy. Very windy. Colder than you would expect.

Corpus is only place I've been where the morning runs are worse than the late afternoon runs. The morning humidity is terrible. In the afternoon at least there is the ocean breeze. It is much worse than Dallas.

I wonder that about Austin, too. It's a lot more humid in Austin than Dallas. And it's been hotter here temperature-wise on top of that. I think we've had 44 days over 100 so far. Last year it rained all summer and maybe never topped 100 once.

Wejo,

I have now lived in Texas for 8 years after growing up in Spokane (hence the username) and running in Michigan during college and living for 2 years in Colorado Springs. I lived for 6 years in Houston and have now spent nearly 2 in Dallas. I find Dallas to be every bit as bad as Houston as the weather is much more extreme (much warmer in the summer and much much colder in the winter). The humidity in Houston is bad but the temperatures are much more mild.

I usually run first thing in the morning (5:30-6:00) to beat the heat. My long runs start by 5AM (often around 4:30) on Sat/Sun. I usually run 1-2 times/week in the heat. I ran 13 two weeks ago at 2PM in the middle of a 100 degree day. You just have to slow down and not expect to feel great. I think this training is great for endurance training but is not what you want to run fast. During the summer my pace slows considerably but when the fall and winter roll around I tend to see a huge improvement in my pace.

All in all, the weather here sucks and we have to contend with some pretty nasty winter weather here year round (ice and strong wind in the winter).

I have run in every weather condition imaginable and can honestly say that running down here takes more guts than running up north. You can (almost) always bundle up in the cold to stay warm (except for that minus 20 degree day in Michigan where I could not feel my feet after two miles).

You just run in whatever weather God gives you and deal with it. Most days I dream about moving back home or back to Colorado though. The NW has the best running in the country and I miss is A LOT.

I live in Austin. Corpus is death compared to Austin. I moved to Austin from up north 4 years ago. Thought Austin was as bad as it could possibly get. Well, i was way wrong. Corpus and all of the south Texas coast are just insane. I ran mid day in Corpus last summer for 40 minutes and was nearly puking afterward. Thats pretty crazy because I can run on the greenbelt in Austin when its 95 to 100 for 50 or 60 minutes and not struggle to bad.

Oh well, here in a couple months we'll be set for another 6 or 7 months before it gets ridiculous again!

Come on October.......

This time of year I find myself thinking, "Being homeless in San Francisco might not be a bad gig...."

Time: 12:18P

Temp: 73.3F

Humidity: 49F

Dew Point: 53F

*Humidity: 49%

monkey man wrote:

99.9% of the time, people who let the weather keep them from doing something are just looking for an excuse.

I disagree. Sure, I can get out the door on a hot and humid day in Miami. I'm not looking for an excuse. But the oppressive weather truly PREVENTS me from getting a decent workout. It doesn't matter my shape or how hard I try, I just can't run as fast (and therefore get as good a workout) in the heat as I could up north on a nice day. If you don't understand this, then you've probably never tried real training in Miami or Houston or anywhere with opressive heat & humidity.

notsohotmyself wrote:

This is quite hot:

http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/OEDR/2003/7/8/DailyHistory.html

From Wikipedia:

Climate

Dhahran’s climate is characterized by extremely hot, humid summers, and cool winters. Temperatures can rise to more than 50 °C (120 °F) in the summer, coupled with extreme humidity (85-100 per cent), given the city’s proximity to the Persian Gulf. Dhahran holds the record for the highest dew point ever recorded in the world. On July 8th, 2003 the dew point was 95 °F (35 °C). The air temperature at the time was 108 °F (42 °C) giving a heat index of 172 °F (78 °C).[1] It also holds the record for the highest temperature recorded in the country - 124 °F (51 °C)[3] In winter, the temperature rarely falls below 2 °C (36 °F) or 3 °C (37 °F), with rain falling mostly between the months of November and May. The Shamal winds usually blow across the city in the early months of the summer, bringing dust storms that can reduce visibility to a few metres. These winds can last for up to three months

When I run at lunch, I put ice chips in my cap, put ice in a bandana tied to my neck, run at a comfortable pace for only 40-45 minutes, and then dive in my pool when I get home.

Even so, today's run in the heat was brutal!

I ran at lunch last Monday, here in Dallas, I hurt so bad that night that I had to take a couple of days off. Early mornings only for me until it cools off and that early morning stuff gets old.

Dew point or wet bulb temperature are both good measures of heat, as they takes into account both temperature and humidity. When you exercise, your body has an increased reliance on evaporation to cool itself (while exercising, 75% or more of the heat your body gets rid of is through evaporation, the rest is via conduction, convection or radiation). From an engineering view point, the surface of your skin can never be below the wet bulb temperature of the air, which is why it sucks to run in places like Texas during the summer: because the wet bulb temperature of the air doesn't change much during the day or night unless it rains (once the air sensibly cools to the wet bulb temperature after the sun goes down, it won't cool much more due to the large amount of energy required to condense water vapor).

As such, the ideal time of day to run in a place like Texas during the summer would be any time after the sun goes down (preferably on dirt trails so that you aren't getting radiative heat transfer from black top that has been warming all day) as that way you avoid radiative heat transfer from the sun (Try to avoid getting the nice tan that some have suggested). I would say that evenings would probably be better than mornings, as the air can still evaporate sweat (even though the dry bulb temperature of the morning air is cooler than during the evening, the air at this time of day is fully saturated, which means your body cannot cool itself through evaporation, which is your bodies primary method of cooling itself while exercising).

All this being said, and having travelled all over the country, having lived a few years of my life in Texas and Oklahoma, and the remainder of my life in Colorado. It is hard to beat the year round running conditions we have along the front range of Colorado. Between the altitude, mild winters, beautiful summers (wet bulb temperature of the air is such that we can run in relative comfort at any time of the day as long as it is shady), strong running community and easy access to well maintained dirt trails and roads, there are few places that offer such prime running conditions (although I do acknowledge that the pacific northwest and parts of California are right up there).

joedirt wrote:

It is hard to beat the year round running conditions we have along the front range of Colorado.

What city would that be? I am about ready to move but I can't afford CA or the Northwest?

Move to the Pacific Northwest.

Anywhere from Colorado Springs in the south to Fort Collins in the north is a good place to train. The Springs and the Fort are pretty affordable, followed by the stuff on the suburbs of Denver (ie. Littleton and Golden). Boulder is pretty, but expensive and an unusually liberal environment. Design wet bulb temperature from 57 to 60 degrees (compared to 77-80 for parts of the southeast and Texas) ensures you won't get too hot during the summer.

I lived in Atlanta for years and not nearly as bad as these Texas cities. While there's some exceptions (like last year), the thing about Atlanta is while it's in the 90s all summer, it rarely gets above 95-97. For a huge chunk of it, it's between 87-92. You can get used to that. First year was tough, but by 2nd year, I acclimated pretty well.

skinny runner dude wrote:

I know in the Atlanta Georgia area it's not quit as hot as Texas but still plenty hot and humid. In all honesty I would rather run in the cold than the humidity. That's what makes it so bad is the humidity, you basically boil alive in your own sweet.

I live in houston. I have for 7 of the past 14 years, and before that I was in College Station for 5 years. I have two little kids, and I have to get to work at a reasonably early hour. The only time I have to run is lunch time. I see twenty or so brave souls out there everyday in the summer. You just take of your shirt, wear a wet hat, and don't worry about pace, heart rate or anything else. And then you think of "Once a Runner" and know that you are better then all the fat as--s who wouldn't run outside because it was too hot.

C-Stat is where it's at!