5 Reasons to Love Running in the Heat

Hot enough for you? Everyone is talking about this summer's heat. Mother Nature has turned on the blast furnace in regions of the US that are usually more temperate. The media are out in force, reporting on the heat and giving advice. I'm sure there will be the requisite attempts to fry an egg on the sidewalk, bake cookies on the car dashboard, and videos of kids opening hydrants in the city.

Instead of complaining about the summer heat, I invite you to embrace the warmth. Because 6 months from now, we will be heading into the depths of winter.

If you are looking for advice on how to run in the heat, this is not that post.


Gentle reminder: If you do run outside in the heat, be smart and take all the proper precautions. In the spirit of the Friday Five, I've got five links from some of my favorite and most knowledgeable bloggers with some great advice for running in the heat:

Run With No Regrets
Marcias Healthy Slice
Eat Pray Run DC
Suzlyfe
Shut Up and Run

And remember, Christmas is only 156 days away.

This was a warm Underground Polar Express Run last December!

The goal of this post is to make you LOVE running in this hot weather. Ok maybe not LOVE, but at least to get you to TOLERATE running outside in the dog days of summer. We've got the sun, blue skies, green grass, flowers. Old guys in speedos. If that visualization doesn't entice you out the door, what better way to remind ourselves of all that is good about summer running than by looking back at pictures of winter running? Remember guys, summer is the time of year we long for after the cold, dark months of winter.

If you love running in the winter, this is not the post for you. In fact, I don't even think I know you. Full disclosure: I run outdoors all year round. But it doesn't mean I love running in the winter. Like running in the heat of summer, I try to find the silver lining when I'm out there in the bitter cold and snow.

Yes, I know. Running in the heat is hard. Looking at the Garmin is not rewarding. Our paces are slow, our runs feel so tough. I get it. But it's summer! There's beer at the finish line. I don't want to think about running on the treadmill. Instead of complaining about the heat, let's embrace the benefits that these warm days can bring to our running.

What is there to love about running in the summer heat?

1. Sweat. You sweat like an olympian no matter how fast or slow, or how long or short you are running. I don't know about you, but when I sweat I feel like I worked really hard. Yesterday after my workout with Becky, I went to the park where I run to collect more Pokeballs (don't judge me). This park has 4 Pokestops, all near the parking lot. I walked around for about a half hour, collecting more Pokeballs. It must have been hard work, because I was sweating like a pig. Maybe it was the 80% humidity. Regardless, I'm pretty sure I earned that shower. It was actually my second shower of the morning. My first was earlier, after my run.

I'm pretty sure I earned my shower this day too. I just wasn't very sweaty.

2. You don't have to wear layers of clothes. Which means less laundry. I love the idea of just heading outside in shorts or a skirt and a singlet. In the winter, I have to dress appropriately. And I look like this:

I think it was about -12F this day.

3. The water fountains in all the parks are on. In the winter (and spring and fall as well) the water fountains are turned off in all the parks around where I run. On occasion, we get those warm teaser days and while I love running on those warm days in the off season, there is not water readily available. Those runs remind me of how grateful I am to have drinking fountains in the summer. I plan my routes accordingly. And along with the access to water, the bathrooms are open. Another plus.

No water fountains on this run. Just lots of frozen water.

4. Running in the summer heat conditions you for fast running in the cooler fall temps. You Florida folks know what I'm talking about here. Heat training is a thing. It's all about the red blood cells. There are probably easier ways to increase your hematocrit than running in hot weather. You can ask Lance all about that. But I can guarantee you that smart running in warm conditions will benefit you when you line up for your fall marathon.

A half marathon almost PR on a cold fall day last November! Heat training...

5. You get badass points for running outside. Yesterday morning on my run around the neighborhood, I had more than one person tell me I was crazy, which I took as a compliment. Were those people glistening in badassery sweat? I don't think so. Non-runners don't get us. Knowing that you pushed yourself through a brutally hot run will boost your confidence and provide you with strength that you can draw on during a tough spot in a race. You can also talk about your runs in this heat in casual conversation. Nothing says badass like a runner taking it outside in "feels like 90F+" conditions.

Cold conditions at the retention pond.

Do you like running in the heat? Or do you loathe it? What do you do to get yourself through a hot run?

I'm linking up with the DC Trifecta of Courtney, Mar, and Cynthia for the Friday Five! 

I'm also really excited to tell you all that I have a guest post on Jill Conyers' blog today! It's all about running and yoga, my two favorite things!