Not sure this has been discussed much but Kiera is preparing for Berlin in the city she lives which is Richmond Va. Interesting that she isn't training at altitude but having been to VA in July the heat was insane. Her performance at New Haven isn't too surprising considering where she lives.
Is heat and humidity the same as altitude training? Thoughts? I think she runs 2:18:10 at Berlin.
I don’t think heat and humidity are the same thing as altitude. After all, altitude means less oxygen. Heat and humidity just cause your body to work extra hard to maintain temperature equilibrium. Nothing to do with training with less oxygen.
No they are not the same. Both can provide physiological benefits but they do it in different ways. If a race is going to be hot then training in the heat makes sense. If a race will be at altitude then training at altitude makes sense.
From experience, it is very hard to run in hot temps with dew points over 70F (this is typical in the southeastern US). Also from experience, it gets pretty hard to run over about 8000 feet or so.
Not sure if either will drastically affect your marathon time when it is significantly cooler and lower.
Training in heat/humidity might be better imo. Once you’re acclimated favorable conditions will feel much easier. Recovery is also better. I’m sure each athlete is different. You also almost always race at sea level.
Majority of my runs here in the Midwest summer this year has been in 85-100 degrees and 70-90% humidity. Even the mornings the past few weeks it's usually 80-90% humidity even with temp around 70 it's miserable.
Majority of my runs here in the Midwest summer this year has been in 85-100 degrees and 70-90% humidity. Even the mornings the past few weeks it's usually 80-90% humidity even with temp around 70 it's miserable.
Ever try running in the morning? 100% humid at 60-85 is much better than slightly less humid, sun, and 85-100.
What this conversation is totally missing is the fact that altitude typically means natural surfaces and hills as. well. It’s not just the oxygen situation that makes it a generally unique scenario.
All this works to slow your pace, less mileage for the same stimulus. Fewer injuries.
No. Not even close. it’s a struggle to run at 90°F and 90% humidity, but at least you can breath unlike at 7,000ft elevation.
Uh, no. First, you’ve never run in 90 degree weather with 90% humidity. That almost never happens, anywhere. But even if we substitute some bad yet plausible weather (80 degree dew point in S. Florida with 90 degree heat), that will slow you down far, far more than 7000 ft of altitude. You can just use the calculators. Personally, I don’t really notice altitude under 9000 feet or so, unless I’m racing or doing a workout. At a steady long run pace, 7000 feet is hardly perceptible.
Heat training has some very solid research to back it up. I’m the short term, it seems to produce much better results than altitude training, which can require years for athletes to really adapt.
No. Not even close. it’s a struggle to run at 90°F and 90% humidity, but at least you can breath unlike at 7,000ft elevation.
Not that it ever reaches 90F and 90% humidity simultaneously, that sounds a lot worse to me than nice weather at altitude
If one is training for Berlin, it's smart to prepare for smth like that. We have high humidity almost all the time, but maybe just a handful of really scorching hot days every summer. The race is on the very edge of summer season though.
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