I cannot run fast above 70 degrees! HELP!

Do your workouts in hot weather.

You acclimate to the warm weather over time but will never be as fast as when the weather is optimal .

I think Film Rep has got it. Other than training in hot humid weather, often, I don't know how else to improve you warm weather race pace. Either that or pray for cooler weather (which is what I've been doing the past 3 months).

Also, keep in mind it's not only a matter of hydration. Our body temperatures rise and it affects the energy producing enzymes in our muscles, even when fully hydrated. If yours are more heat sensitive, or your body temp rises more than others (due to inefficient cooling) then you're going to slow down, no matter how hard you push.

Where I live it's sometimes 82°F and 100% humidity at 5 am, when I run in the summer. It farking sucks, but it sure a hell makes it easier to run when it's 72°. after 4 months of that torture-training.

I've had the same problem all my life and I have a BMI below 19 (female). I never did find a solution. I don't acclimate to the heat--the more I run in too-warm weather, the more quickly I overheat the next time. I do all my training runs very early in the morning in the summer months (I live in a climate that is hot but dry and cools off at night) and I don't run races in the summer unless they start really early. I can't help you, but you're not alone.

I have one today, so that's good I guess.

amkelley wrote:

I've had the same problem all my life and I have a BMI below 19 (female). I never did find a solution. I don't acclimate to the heat--the more I run in too-warm weather, the more quickly I overheat the next time. I do all my training runs very early in the morning in the summer months (I live in a climate that is hot but dry and cools off at night) and I don't run races in the summer unless they start really early. I can't help you, but you're not alone.

Yeah my face always turns bright bright red and I feel terrible instantly. I try to run early. I've lived in New England and now northern midwest so it's not even that warm there generally, but still, I've never been able to adjust to heat. Glad I'm not alone! Sometimes it seems like everyone else has less struggles running in heat or even PRs.

GettingFasterDude wrote:

I think Film Rep has got it. Other than training in hot humid weather, often, I don't know how else to improve you warm weather race pace. Either that or pray for cooler weather (which is what I've been doing the past 3 months).

Also, keep in mind it's not only a matter of hydration. Our body temperatures rise and it affects the energy producing enzymes in our muscles, even when fully hydrated. If yours are more heat sensitive, or your body temp rises more than others (due to inefficient cooling) then you're going to slow down, no matter how hard you push.

Where I live it's sometimes 82°F and 100% humidity at 5 am, when I run in the summer. It farking sucks, but it sure a hell makes it easier to run when it's 72°. after 4 months of that torture-training.

Yeah I'm from New England and now in Northern midwest so when it's hot here, I'm not used to it. I'm definitely praying for cold weather and have lucked out a few times but not lucked out others. It statistically should be 15 degrees lower than it is now which is unfortunate. That's a good point - I think my body temperature must always run higher. Whenever I had a fever as a kid I always burnt up.

xcrunner56 wrote:

I've noticed every 5k race that's above 70-75 degrees is about 2:30-3 mins off my PR (that's usually set in 55 degree weather) and no I'm not exaggerating. I feel like this is a little extreme but I feel TERRIBLE running in the heat. My muscles always fatigue and I hit the walll early. I'm drinking so much water throughout the day that I'm peeing every 45 mins, so I know I'm hydrating. I have a BMI of 22.7 which I'm aware isn't light for a female distance runner so that could be it too. I just had the best race of my life in 50 degrees and the worst race of my life in 75 degrees in the same month. Anything I can do to feel and race faster?

I doubt “70” is a like a threshold temperature of particular interest, rather it probably progressively gets worse with every degree after 60. Still, 3 mins is pretty high if your 5K PR is say 18’ but only ~10% if it’s more like 27’+. Even elite distance runners are slower in hot weather, e.g., Kipchoge’s PR went from 2:01:49 to 2:08:38, nearly 7 mins or ~5.8% slower.

Hydration is not your problem. The problem is that the body’s thermoregulation system needs to spend extra energy to produce sweat and keep you cool under hotter temperatures. The only way to be faster when hotter is to be faster (or more economical) overall, so you get less hot in the first place. I don’t think you can improve your hot weather performance in isolation.

amkelley wrote:

I've had the same problem all my life and I have a BMI below 19 (female). I never did find a solution. I don't acclimate to the heat--the more I run in too-warm weather, the more quickly I overheat the next time. I do all my training runs very early in the morning in the summer months (I live in a climate that is hot but dry and cools off at night) and I don't run races in the summer unless they start really early. I can't help you, but you're not alone.

Yes me too! October and November are often my favorite months to train because it's cool (40's-50's) but not yet cold (20's-30's). I can wear a t-shirt, shorts, and gloves and my workouts go perfectly because I don't overheat at all.

Lucky for me I was a middle distance runner where warm temperatures are not a detriment to racing, but I would definitely notice my tempo runs and long intervals would get slower in the spring as the temperature increased. And my workouts would be garbage in the summer so eventually I stopped trying to run hard or race over the summer and that worked better for me. Fall racing and training could be hit and miss until things cool off.

I don't know the solution but if this were really holding me back in races I guess I would try to train in the warmest part of the day so that morning races would feel more comfortable.

Maybe I missed it if you are in HS or college but I experienced the same issue in my 42 years of racing. Sure, I still run early in the summer months but I don't race. I totally changed my racing season to when it is below 60, usually in late November where I live until maybe March. So, if you aren't in school, you may want to consider a change in your racing window. The colder the better for me. Maybe for you, too. Good luck.

I have the same exact issue! I am not trying to complain, but I think I may have it even worse then you do. I have the most inefficient thermoreglution of any person I know. I am 5'6.5" and ~125lbs but overheat and sweat like a big dude. I generate an abnormally high amount of heat when I exercise to such an extent that I can run wearing shorts and a sports bra in 40°F weather and not feel cold one bit. At the gym, I create a huge puddle of sweat on the floor. If I am cross training workouts on the elliptical or bike, you would get wet exercising on the equipment next to me because the sweat justs flies off my body.

The leg fatigue you are experiencing is largely due to reduce muscle blood flow. In effort to prevent rising in core temperature, there is increased blood flow to the skin, providing a cooling mechanism known as vasodilation. Consequently, there becomes reduced blood flow to the muscles, resulting in fatigue.

To better manage your overheating struggles, I suggest trying precooling methods such as wetting your hair before running, using a cooling rag to wipe off sweat. Getting a sweat analysis test done could also be helpful to develop a hydration and cooling strategy custom to your individual needs. This test would not only tell you how much water you are losing but how much electrolytes you are also losing through your sweat.

This is a completely normal problem minus the amount of time you seem to be losing. Are you trying to pace a 70-75 degree (& possibly humid) race the same way you would a clear 50 degree day? If so, that'll cause you to go backwards faster. Use the calculator or chart in these two links (

https://runnersconnect.net/training/tools/temperature-calculator/

) (

https://runnersconnect.net/dew-point-effect-running/

). Calculate the amount you should scale back in a race.

Ex- Say your usual pace is 6:00-flat (round number). If it's 75 degrees with a 65 dew point and you're racing a 5k, your adjusted pace should be 6:14/mile. 75 with a 70 dew point & it's 6:18.

Now say you open a race in weather like that in 6:00 or even faster as a lot of people do (5:50-5:55). Well that effort is more like 3k pace in those conditions. You're going to go backwards very quickly when you could have held 6:15s. Instead you'll go 5:55-6:30-7:00. Ideal conditions- 18-flat 3 miles. Adjusted for the weather in the example- 18:45. Actual because of bad pacing in tough conditions- 19:30ish (losing 90 seconds but really 45 from what you were supposed to run on the day).

2:30-3:00 is even more time than what I ran through. As others have said, do your workouts in bad conditions if you have to race in them. Adjust workout paces too instead of thinking you have to hit certain splits.

Run races of a mile or shorter in late spring/summer/fall

Race longer distances in winter to early spring.

You will get more training advantage and better fitness and success doing this.

jazzytherunner wrote:

I suggest trying precooling methods such as wetting your hair before running, using a cooling rag to wipe off sweat.

This is a good point. I live in the Southeast and used to run in the afternoons when it would get up into the 90's. One thing I found helpful was to soak my running hat, shirt and ever shorts, prior to running. It only helped a little, but to go out there and feel like I already had a layer of water on me, cooling me even before my body had a chance to sweat, helped. I now run at 5-6 am, because the torture of running in the heat, became much greater than the annoyance of waking up early. I've grown to love running in the am, when I have the whole world to myself (almost).