How do you deep South runners deal with months of heat

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.

I personally think if you need to get a 75 minute run in on the treadmill once a week it’s ok as long as your getting a good amount of time on other surfaces outside on the shorter days

Just run 45 minutes then. That's at least what I do.

For these Summer months I just switch into survival mode.

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. South Florida is no man’s land regardless. St Augustine, Jax and the interior of the panhandle can still have decent days during the summer. But yeah. That 70+ dewpoint is killer. Once it hits august, the dewpoint will routinely be 76-78 in soflo. It doesn’t hit those numbers consistently in the northern parts. It’s hard to describe how disgusting that is. When you’re exercising, it’s like breathing through a straw. Sweat drips from your head by mile 1. You need to take multiple water breaks on a five mile run. Upon coming home, I always douse my head in the shower to cool off before I continue the remainder of the workout.

I cap my long runs at 10 here in Fl. during the summer, no marathon training until the Fall, only a few 5Ks if I feel like racing, I hit the track once/week for short reps (did 200s today for first time in a year) where you don't run long enough to raise core temp too much, do a lot more doubles (2 - 45 min. runs every other day?), treadmill with a/c?, try to find shade (humidity is actually higher for early morning runs, so if you have to run later in the morning, the sun has burnt off a lot of that humidity & if you can find even partial shade, it'll help). I don't dread it as much now that I know there is a training effect to running in oppressive conditions where blood plasma volume is raised.

I've been running in the afternoons every day. We hit the low 90s several times last week. Over the years I've realized when I need to be careful - if the mileage I am running plus the Real Feel temperature is 100+ I need to be careful (i.e., a 12-mile run in 88+ degrees or a 20-mile run in 80+ degrees). If the total is <100 then I can usually just hydrate very well prior and do my run with no issues. Once I get into the 100+ range then I always take a 16-oz bottle of Gatorade with me and I may need to take a short break in the shade on some runs. My last three weeks have been 72, 74, and 76 miles, all in singles in the afternoon. I am going to need to start doing some 20+ runs soon and it will really suck. I don't really have an option since I am scheduled for Boston in October.

Do you ever have heat problems, dizzyness and so on?

I've done some measurements over many years. Regardless of the time of year, I can lose 7 pounds in weight and then I'm done. I lose power and to continue beyond that would be foolish.

So with fluid and salt replacement, I can keep going. The total amount of sweat though can be enormous.

So my question is, how much should we sweat in one hour? One day? One week?

And I'm 165-175 pounds.

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.

I run in South Florida, Ft Lauderdale, and I have enough experience with it to be running a Marathon next week, build 12 weeks through the summer, then do another Marathon in September. It can be done but it requires several years of patient, persistent heat adapation and one has to realize the heat (well, the humidity) will slow them down at whatever level of fitness. I stop every 4 -6 miles, take on water, and cool down....as the high dew points prevent cooling, cause the body to overheat.

It’s not that bad here in March or April unless you are running at noon. June through September is brutal any time of day. That said, I’ve done marathon training through the summers. On a couple occasions I would run 2 10 mile loops with a cold shower and change of clothes in between. Proper hydration and electrolytes are key, along with adjusting your pace.

Can you run before dawn? I used to run daily at 5AM when my kids were very young, I’d be back home by 6AM. I typically don’t hydrate for anything less than an hour run until I get home. No shirt for me during the summer.

As much as I hate mid 70s dew points, it’s better than teens and 20s like northern winters.

Florida old guy, which are the best trails near Orlando? Will be visiting later in the month. Thank you.

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.

The 10 mile clay loop is pretty cool. Clay road with decent hills for FL. I’ve seen a few pros post runs from there. It’s in Clermont, which is 20-30 minutes from Orlando, depending on which part of Orlando you are staying. It’s open to car traffic, but I’ve done the whole loop a few times and rarely see more than 3 or 4 cars (usually pickup trucks).

I live in South Carolina. For years a had to run in the afternoons and simply put, you've just got to cut your mileage and pace way back. There's no getting in 70 mile weeks when you're running at 3 pm with a heat index of 100F. I'd have to cut back to survival mode 15-25 miles per week during June, July and August and pace about 1 minute slower per mile.

For a while I had a treadmill which allowed me to pump my mileage up, but after trying to transition back outside in Sept when it's still hot, I'd be so intolerant of the heat from running in a 73 degree windless AC environment, it almost wasn't worth it.

Now that I'm able to run at or before sunrise, that is allowing me to get 70 mile weeks in during summers. Today, was 75F and 97% humidity at 6 am. Farking sucks and it will more when it's 81 at sunrise in mid July. But it's better than 93.

Tolerate June-August. Run like hell Sept-May.

It definitely sucks. I was going to do 16 last Sunday in Atlanta, but I guess I wasn't hydrated enough. I ended up cutting the run in half. Best you can do is try to run early, do doubles, hydrate and cut the paces back.

Heat really isn't that bad as long as it isn't too hot and you play it smart. I would rather go out running in the afternoon when it is 90 than in the morning when it is 75 because of the humidity. Most summers I am putting out high quality 2-3 workouts a week and ~70-80 miles while running after work.

Make sure that you route has plenty of shade. If you are running in the sun, you are better off wearing a light shirt to keep it off your skin. If you can run near a creek that also keeps the temperature down. Know where water fountains are and plan your route around them. On an easy run, stop at every fountain and at the very least swish some water around your mouth and then spit it out. If you are doing a workout, make sure to bring both a bottle of water and some sort of electrolyte drink. Position these so that you can swish or drink in between reps. Don't do out and back routes on very hot days. You might make it halfway and then wish that you could call it, but now you have to run back. Instead plan on doing loops most days so that you can easily cut distance off the route even if you are past the halfway point.

Trails are better than pavement. Run early. Run with water. Switch to lap swimming.

Just curious, where do you live? I lived and trained in South GA for 4 years, definitely understand, running 70-80 mpw was really rough in the summer months. I usually tried to run at night but often didn't have an option. I ran plenty of 12 miles in 100+ at 4pm in August - when I first moved there I couldn't run more than 45 min in that without bonking. It's next level, I feel for you.

When I first moved to FL I did my summer long runs in the afternoon when it rained (happens almost every day in the summer if you’re in south FL). If you don’t mind being a soggy mess it works.

Now I’m adapted to it, but always plan a loop route and have a cooler of ice and electrolyte drink. Stick ice cubes in your hat when looping around to the cooler every 5 miles or so.

I also do speed and tempo work on the treadmill during the summer now. I was losing too much speed trying to do those workouts outdoors, but long runs and all others stay outdoors. Every now and then I’ll do partial outdoors and finish on the treadmill if it’s really bad.