Summer Training in the South

Sucks for you, I'm in Oregon and the cool and wonderful weather on the west coast is AWESOME! You can go run anytime.

I run at 7 in the morning and 7 at night. The night run is extremly nice cool, usually my harder run of the day. The run in the morning is tougher because it gets hot pretty quick in Florida. Just get used to the humidity and you will be fine.

I live in OK after living in MI, OR, and CA (bay area)...so I feel your pain. Two things that seems to work are shorter more frequent runs. I do more doubles in the summer. What you can do is instead of making one run longer or shorter is break it up evenly. Like I will go 6/6 or 8/8 instead of like 4/12 which I will do a lot of in the spring/winter/fall.

Also, try doing longer distances on trails or loop courses. I am fortunate to have a trail right by my house and do a lot of runs there. It gets you out of the sun. I am also fortunate to have a lake that is 10 miles around w/in 1 mile from me and it has drinking fountains there...so that helps as well. But if you want to go 14 or longer maybe find a 7 miler from the house and do two loops. That way you can have water out and get it at half way. Good luck.

Mike

I live in the south, and I can say that during the summer I must average about a minute per mile slower on all of my runs. I lived in the south all of my life, too. I just lose so much water by sweating that I suffer pretty much after about mile 5 or 6.

I was born in KY and raised mostly in FL with trips back 'home' every now and a bit. I've delt with it pretty well, though have only been traning real seriously for the last 3 years over the summer (going into Sr HS, FR university, SO university, and this one).

The first year I wasn't running over 50-60mpw, so it's not too bad. The next year I would meet wtih some of the HS kids to run, and mainly did single for most of the summer (up to about 70-75 mpw), and we would usually run between 6 and 7 PM, which is when we'ed start to get some storms and/or the breeze would pick up, cool things down, and blow off some of the humidity. Last summer i was up at school, which one would think Tally would have a lower temp. than central, fl, but it was actually worse as the high was higher and the low really wasn't but a degree or two lower...and actually kinda lacked a breeze later in the day. This summer i've been mostly at home and working my way into the Mcmillan/Lydiard schedule (mileage wise) going 60, 80-90, 60, 80-90, 65, 65-75, and 100-110 minutes, respectively, per day--and begining to work into the workouts coach has us do--which are pretty much th same as the Mcmillan plan.

Anyway, the point is that it isn't that hard to run a lot, even in pretty shitty conditions--you just gotta find the right time for you, realize that it is just gonna be HOT most days for most of the run, and that if you're feeling off a few days that it could just be chronic dehydration catching up to you. Also, I found that if I'm stuck down here the whole summer w/o going out to Co, or back 'home' to Ky that I can get kinda burned on traning simply from th heat...so be carefull with that. Keep it relaxed or you get F***ed by the end of the summer.

I should probably add that doubles KILL me in the summer if I go much over 20-25 mins SLOW and before 9AM during the summer... idk, singles are rough too, but it's just easier for me (right now) to say I only have to do it once, and not have done 30 or 35 minutes in death heat and still have 60-70 to do later...still manageing 75-80 mpw, which isn't bad for me, plus you still got time ti crank it up a bit once things start to cool down in the panhandle before the big meets start.

Find a way out, move to Colorado. ;-)

I grew up south of Mobile, AL ... summers were brutal.

Went to Colorado Springs to the OTC in mid summer; it wasn't oppressively humid, then set out to find a way to get out of the south in the summer. Found a job in Yellowstone, worked there for 2 summers.

That aside, we often did runs that went by golf courses which had both water sprinklers and water fountains. I worked at night till 9:00, then members of my XC team who were in town would meet at 10:00PM to put in our miles.

Stay cool during the day, and cool off after your run ... at some point, I think that training in the heat and humidity is detrimental for say an entire summer, and really don't buy into the idea of just toughing it out. Drink plenty of fluids during the day, and during your run, etc. If you can get into a pool after a run, go for it ... or if you can take a dip in the pool during ... go for that as well.

I tended to avoid eating a lot of meat during the summer and think that I may have lived on spaghetti, watermelon and other fruit.

From my experience with the southeast during the summer, I don't think that there is any problem with doing your quality runs on a treadmill in front of a fan or a.c.

I would suggest that you double up on a multivitamin, and think that you lose a lot by sweating so much ...

Wear a hat, and put some ice cubes under the hat ... stash some cold water along your routes, or carry cash to buy something to drink at 7-11, etc.

P.S.

During the summer, I prayed for nearby hurricanes and tropical depressions ... a week of soaking rain and wind was much better than stewing in my own juices.

I cringe just thinking about 3+ months of the temperature never dropping below 70 degrees ... rotten stinky shoes and rotten stinky shorts. ;-)

You have got to hydrate all the time. Your morning run should begin by 6, then you can go 2 hours on a long day without melting.

Wow thanks for all the great advice everyone. I heard some of you mention taking water during the run? Im by no means a marathoner nor do I have any interest in the marathon at this point (mainly focusing on 5k-10k) and ideally I would like to build up and hold 60-70 miles per week starting around early-mid July. But my question is i've always kind of chuckled about these ultra guys taking gels and fluids every 3-4 miles over the years while i've gone on my way just finishing my 7-10 mile easy run and then just refueling afterwards. How beneficial do you guys think it would be to take fluids regularly as possible during easy runs? It wouldn't be completely practical for me since most of my runs are out and back and I dont know how I would feel setting out water stops for myself every 2-3 miles. Your thoughts?

Keep it coming this is great stuff.

Georgia.

I run 70 mpw right now by running at 6am and anytime between 9pm and midnight.

I live in Nashville, TN and it gets pretty warm and humid here - tomorrow's high is 93 and Thursday and Friday the highs are 95 degrees and 96 degrees. I avoid running during mid-morning or in the afternoon because those hours are the hottest and the sun will sap all your energy. Right now I do all of my runs after 8 PM and it's not bade at all. Sometimes the temps are still high but the humidity is lower and the humidity is what usually gets me (that and the sun). I have found that I am able to run my normal paces in my workouts by waiting until the evenings to head out. If you are doing doubles, the earlier in the AM you can do your morning run the better. It tends to be more humid here in the AM than in the PM provided we haven't had any afternoon or early evening storms.

Also re: hydration and fueling, I don't bother bringing anything with me if I am going to be out there less than about an hour and a half. So for a 6-10 mile run I really don't think you need water unless you are running in the heat of the day.

One more thing, make sure to drink lots of liquids throughout the day. I drink enough so that I have to pee every couple of hours or so. I try to drink lots of water but sometimes I will have Gatorade or a soda instead. If you let yourself get dehydrated over the course of the day or several days you will feel like you have no energy and your runs will all suck. I also make sure I drink or eat something that has at least 450 mg of potassium in it every day because I have really tight lower legs and they tend to cramp in extremely warm weather.

1. Run in the early morning, or at night

2. Run in an area surrounded by trees for shade, makes a huge difference

3. Drink a ton of water and other fluids during the day. I got a ton of muscle cramps last summer because I wasn't drinking enough fluids. Even wake up 60-90 minutes before your run and chug a Gatorade, it helps!

4. Hose off with cold water after your run, then shower.

5. Try to to see if there is an area with a hose or public fountain nearby, for drinking

6. Get plenty of sleep, too little sleep=bad workouts. If you are waking up early, NAPS AFTERWARDS WON'T HELP YOU FOR EARLY MORNING WORKOUTS, YOU NEED ALL OF YOUR SLEEP IN ONE NIGHT IF YOU ARE WAKING UP EARLY.

7. Good diet, take multivitamins.

8. Since you are new to the south, try to enjoy the weather. As silly as it sounds, just remember there are few places where it can be 70-80 degrees at night and you can just chill outside and enjoy the weather. Even in Colorado, where the summers are famously known for having the best running weather, it can get chilly at night, even down to the 40's in the mountains. That never happens in a southern summer. Have a good attitude throughout the summer, and you'll make it through and see how great the winters are down here (if you are staying in the south year round, that is).

Good Luck!

SouthernRunner wrote:

Would this be a case where higher quality beats quantity or where you would do LSD runs?

Thanks!

Long easy easy runs in the summer worked great for me. Start speed work in the fall & you'll run great times off the nice base when the temp drops.

Also I planned routes from park to park to get water during the run & for other routes I had gallons of water stashed in brush. Don't worry about pace & about stopping to drink. Think more about the EFFORT. Maybe use a heartrate monitor.

After a month it does get a little easier. Your shoes will stink.

Here is what you do.

It depends on when you work so adjust your schedule accordingly.

Basically, do a small morning run of only like 3-4 miles. Treat this as your shakeout/recovery run of the day.

After work, in the evening, go home and eat a small snack(gatorade and like 2 powerbars) wait until like 9 pm and get your longer run/quality run in. In the evenings it can be decent. Thought it still may be like 85-90 degrees, there will be no direct sun on you.

In the summer, I can get up to 90-110mpw on that sort of schedule while working manual labor (I mow lawns).

Try to get 10ish hours of sleep a night too. That helps.

Don't let running be a choice. Like make it mandatory so that way when you are dead tired after work you know you have to do it. Then when school rolls around training will be easy and you'll feel fresh.

get tough. everyone. get tough. this thread is hilarious.

been there, done that has it right

I can't emphasize enough the need to hydrate throughout the day. Drink twice as much as you think you need. Also, rest! Naps are great. Stay cool when you are not running. Typically it is not one long run that gets people, it is the wearing down day after day. I have athletes that work outside all day and still get their mileage in each week during the evenings. Temps will hit 100 with super high humidity later this week and this weekend. It is vital to do all the little things right under these conditions. You will adjust some after a while here in the south. Your reward will be near perfect conditions this November and December.

I've been living and training in Oxford, MS since 2003, after moving from NYC.

It's not that bad in the summer, but it certainly requires adjustments. I wear a HR monitor. The key points are:

1) SLOW DOWN. In order to maintain the same HR as during the rest of the year, you simply need to slow down. The moment things moderate--early September, usually, although some heat continues into October--you'll feel reborn.

2) HYDRATE. I drink nothing during easy/recovery runs of 3-4 miles, but midweek 8-10 milers require hydration starting at 30-45. Long runs of 2 hours require the same. I drink AT LEAST two pints of water on a two-hour run and still lose 3-4 pounds. I stash bottles along the side of the road on my long run route; midweek runs I often relocate to a local park and put a bottle on a bench that I pass

3) USE WEATHER UNDERGROUND.COM TO SEE WHAT THE WEATHER IS REALLY ABOUT. Most of my longer runs take place in 70-73 degree weather and high humidity.

4) REMEMBER: IT'S NOT THE HEAT AND HUMIDITY THAT KILL YOU, BUT THOSE TWO THINGS plus RADIANT SUN. I.e., run early! If you start a long run too late, you're in trouble, and I mean actual trouble. Start summer long runs by 6:30 at the latest. Earlier is better.

5) SLOW YOUR TEMPO RUNS; FORGET ABOUT INTERVAL MILES (DO 800S INSTEAD); DO STRIDES TO MAINTAIN SPEED. I save my interval (CV) miles for cooler weather. I do a lot of 4-5 mile tempo runs at 7:40-7:30 pace, where in cooler weather I'll run them 15-20 seconds a mile faster. It's all about heart rate.

And yes: dehydration WILL tell towards the end of longer runs. The HR monitor is your friend. Stay out of trouble. I always bonk at least once and toddle home at 10:15 pace.