Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Summer Runnin' had me a Blast....Not.

Like that title spoof? lol

So summer weather is finally upon us here in mid-coast Maine. We reached 86 degrees Thursday and we hit mid 90s Friday. The weatherman showed that the ozone around the mid-coast specifically was bad Thursday through Sunday. On top of all this Maine summer weather = 80-90% humidity!



This got me to thinking about how running in this type of weather can be dangerous. We all have heard about runners unfortunately dying stinger becoming extremely ill  because of heat exhaustion, dehydration, hyponatremia etc.

This post isn't to educate on every detail of proper care during heat, but but just a few pointers I abide by:

  • Hydrate all day
  • Apply sunscreen that is made for sports 30 minutes prior to run
  • If going more than 3-4 miles bring along some fluids
  • Make sure to eat balanced so you get enough electrolytes, vitamins, protein, carbs to sustain your activity
  • Tone down the pace a little
Favorite sport sunblock:





My Friday run I did not properly hydrate. I had @ breakfast a12oz cup of green tea, 24 oz of water over the lunch hour, and a 24 oz can of Arizona raspberry tea (too much caffeine). I then proceeded to run with Steph and Mariah at a pace I don't normally run and by the end of the second mile was getting cramps in my abdominal muscles. I cut my run short at 3.35 miles and walked another third of a mile back to cool off. I also had worn a non-sport sunblock and was more sweaty than usual.



I won't be doing that to myself again. Maybe it was just an off day, but I don't think so....

However, we are all bound to have bad runs.

What do you think caused your last bad run?

                                                            xoxo,

16 comments:

  1. I didn't hydrate properly a few weeks ago and I could tell immediately! I should've just stopped and said we'll try again later, but I pushed through for awhile and I won't make that mistake again!

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    1. It's awful. With it that hot I should have carried water with me. Stay safe on your hot runs!

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  2. Getting used to the heat is always hard...it takes a good couple of weeks. Honestly, I don't think you were truly dehydrated based on what you had or how long you went; just not acclimated.

    I love that sunscreen!

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    1. Very true. And we had a 30-40 degree temp change. So I definitely wasn't used to it! Neutrogena is great right!

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  3. I have to get some sunblock ASAP!
    I live in NY and it was hot Sunday! 80 degrees at 8:30 AM!! I wanted to run 6 miles but ended up doing 4.73. I think it was due to lack of water. I probably walked a mile of my run. It was so hard, plus I did some hill work, so that may have not helped me out!
    I have to start being smart about the heat!!!

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    1. It's hard when the temperature changes like that! I ran at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning to get it out of the way before the heat really picked up.

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  4. This post made me reach for my water and start drinking. I very easily will drink my huge coffee and forget about my water in the mornings, even though i try to drink both simultaneously. And yup, sunblock sunblock sunblock!

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    1. I do the same thing. I just don't look at water as my morning drink. I need to change that!

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  5. I use same sunblock! :) I got the spray one. I am just too lazy to put on sunblock so the spray worked best for a lazy girl like me. :) I've had same experience last weekend. Plus, I felt like I was going to faint. I figured it was the heat. It makes me more tired. From then on, I make sure I do my runs early in the morning when it's cooler and hydrate the whole day.

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    1. I need to start earlier too. I did on Sunday with Stephen when we did our 6 miler, thank God! It was really hot that day too.

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  6. Good tips... running in the summer can be brutal (hence why I took it indoors this year). My last bad run was probably due to me wanting to be fast, and I'm not fast yet so I just felt worn out after 1/4 mile. :p

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    1. Yeah it's hard to push it especially in the heat. On really hot days I will usually run on the treadmill too, but I have a 1/2 marathon I need to acclimate for on 7/14/13.

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  7. I'm so sorry you weren't feeling well on your run! I feel like I often perform worse than I should because I'm dehydrated, but part of my problem is that I run within half an hour or so after I wake up in the morning. I keep water on my nightstand and try to chug some of that when I first wake up, which helps a little. I am a HUGE fan of the Neutrogena Sport Face sunblock--it's all I ever use on my face!

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    1. Thanks. I think my complaining about the weather jinxed us :( We are back to cool and overcast. I love neutrogena products, especially their sunblock! I should start keeping water on my nightstand too. Good idea!

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  8. I swear I commented but now I don't see it. :( Anyhow, I definitely loved the spoof. :) And be careful with your hydrating! Most of my bad runs are because I don't always hydrate properly and others are just because I'm having an off day or are tired.

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    1. I have trouble with hot days because they don't happen often here. Maybe you commented but didn't hit post.... hmmmm

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