Running in the Heat: Is there REALLY a benefit?

if the workout was a recovery run and you felt exausted, you didnt slow down enough. Running in that kind of heat is dumb though. Best to run early mornings or evenings whenever you can.

I realize if a coach is organizing the runs, you don't have control of this. If worksouts aren't mandatory yet, it would be better to skip the practice and run on your own during the coolest part of the day.

Running in the heat makes you more able to run in the heat. That's it. Other than that, there's no benefit vs. running in better conditions. It will say it does make 50F weather feel extra glorious, though, after several months of torture.

Just keep the pace slow, take rest, and hydrate, for your safety. It's doesn't matter how fit you are. Heat stroke can still be serious.

Running in the heat can be very beneficial or completely screw you.

At 90+ degrees as I’m sure your noticed your avg HR will be 10-20 bpm higher than the average for the given pace. That means your aerobic system is working much harder and if done correctly you can use that to your advantage.

Don’t push paces in the heat, and if you find yourself struggling, stop and sit under a tree for a bit or end the run. I personally won’t do tempo sessions or long intervals in the heat because they tend to crash and burn (literally haha) so do mostly just easy mileage and shorter intervals with plenty to drink. You’ll feel very good once it starts to cool down.

A better question is why are you doing 400m repeats in august.

You are right that training in the heat helps to improve performance in the heat. However, there is plenty of emerging research showing that the cardiovascular adaptations associated with heat acclimation can improve running performance at cooler temperatures as well.

jocko johnson wrote:

A better question is why are you doing 400m repeats in august.

400 repeats doesn't automatically mean a tough workout.

Heat is a stress, and training is a stress. Training in heat is an additional stress over just training.

Very generally, what can you put out in heat/high humidity, you'll find you can better in cooler temps. You just need to be conscious that the line comes in when it's hot, so don't go stupid

There is emerging evidence that heat training might help in cooler conditions, but we still don't know for sure.

Here are some interesting papers for you to consider. I'm sure there are more if you browse pubmed.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33977674/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31749712/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28343570/

I have trained through miserable heat and humidity in Houston. The first races when the temps got down into the 50s always felt like PR time. Humidity does mimic altitude in that the water displaces O2 in the air.

The problem with heat training is that the shift to decent temps in the fall is very gradual. So, by the time temps get down to the 50s and 40s in the mornings for races, any acclimation you had to the heat had gone away because it had been weeks since it was really hot.

So, in the end, training in the heat isn't much of an advantage and if you are training for marathons or longer track/road races, it can be a disadvantage because long runs and long tempos/intervals really take a lot out of you.

slow joe wrote:

You are right that training in the heat helps to improve performance in the heat. However, there is plenty of emerging research showing that the cardiovascular adaptations associated with heat acclimation can improve running performance at cooler temperatures as well.

Absolutely. Just a bit of searching will yield plenty of research that has shown increases in blood plasma volume when training in heat/humidity. You'll be an 'expert' in less than 30 minutes.

Precious Roy wrote:

I have trained through miserable heat and humidity in Houston. The first races when the temps got down into the 50s always felt like PR time. Humidity does mimic altitude in that the water displaces O2 in the air.

The problem with heat training is that the shift to decent temps in the fall is very gradual. So, by the time temps get down to the 50s and 40s in the mornings for races, any acclimation you had to the heat had gone away because it had been weeks since it was really hot.

So, in the end, training in the heat isn't much of an advantage and if you are training for marathons or longer track/road races, it can be a disadvantage because long runs and long tempos/intervals really take a lot out of you.

I agree. I’ve trained through many FL summers. It helps you run in the heat after a while. My HR has dropped about 10BPM from a month ago for the same effort. Maybe there is a fitness improvement and acclimation aspect to it.

I will say, there is a huge mental advantage when you train through a humid summer and travel north for a fall marathon. Some of my best races have been done like this. Long runs with few points in the mid 70s, maybe down to high 60s at the end of the training cylcle. Then go fly for a race with temps in the 40s/50s. It feels effortless when you get in those conditions.

*Dew Points*

GrapeSon wrote:

jocko johnson wrote:

A better question is why are you doing 400m repeats in august.

400 repeats doesn't automatically mean a tough workout.

Why would you ever jog 400 repeats?

If you aren’t jogging them, then I’d also ask why are you doing 400 repeats in August.

kmaclam wrote:

slow joe wrote:

You are right that training in the heat helps to improve performance in the heat. However, there is plenty of emerging research showing that the cardiovascular adaptations associated with heat acclimation can improve running performance at cooler temperatures as well.

Absolutely. Just a bit of searching will yield plenty of research that has shown increases in blood plasma volume when training in heat/humidity. You'll be an 'expert' in less than 30 minutes.

XC championships are generally in November. Will the adaptations that result from heat training in August have any impact on performance months later when it actually matters?

The idea of heat training seems pointless to me unless you are going to continue heat training all season long. Raising your plasma volume by training in the heat this month only to have it immediately go back to normal once the temperature drops in September won't provide any tangible benefit.

jocko johnson wrote:

A better question is why are you doing 400m repeats in august.

Why not? Too late for races in the fall? When are you allowed to do short intervals?

Star wrote:

GrapeSon wrote:

400 repeats doesn't automatically mean a tough workout.

Why would you ever jog 400 repeats?

If you aren’t jogging them, then I’d also ask why are you doing 400 repeats in August.

Lol. But 90s on/90s off would be a great August fartlek, right?

Uh oh. We have to take it to the track. It's 400 on/400 float now. Uh oh. Guess we're peaking for the Season Opener this year.

Star wrote:

GrapeSon wrote:

400 repeats doesn't automatically mean a tough workout.

Why would you ever jog 400 repeats?

If you aren’t jogging them, then I’d also ask why are you doing 400 repeats in August.

That is a pretty good question.

Does an "equivalent effort" in the heat induce the same running adaptations/improvements as an "equivalent effort" at regular temperatures?

Say you run a one hour tempo run at 6:00 minute mile pace at regular temperatures, and your heart rate is 170 throughout, would that cause the same cardiovascular, muscular, and metabolic adaptations as running a one hour tempo run at 6:15 minute mile pace at hot temperatures with a heart rate of 170 throughout?

Or would the fact that you're running slower mean that you'd get less muscular adaptations (i.e. running efficiency adaptations) but since your heart rate and perceived effort are the same you'd be getting the same cardiovascular/respiratory adaptations (i.e. energy supply adaptations)?

Perhaps heat running would be good for injury prone people. You get to stress out and improve your cardio-respiratory system just the same as if you ran in cooler weather, but you put less stress on your muscles, bones, and tendons, meaning less chance of injury.