Will jogging at noon in the dead heat of summer help attune someone to harsher jogging conditions than jogging in the cooler evening hours?
I know about the risks of dehydration and sunburns. Let’s say that the noon jogger wears long sleeves, pants, and sunscreen and chugs a bottle of Gatorade every block.
Well, sure - you get used to what you do. A few years ago it was like 86 degrees at the Chicago Marathon and they were closing the race down and people were dropping like flies, which is HILARIOUS to me. (I run in Columbia Motherfucking South Carolina.) On the other hand, heat can definitely sneak up on a runner and safety is incredibly important.
Would you recommend that I jog in the afternoon as to build my endurance? I’ll be taking the proper precautions, of course.
Just to clarify, are you looking to improve your jogging ability in general or do you want to increase your tolerance for hot weather jogging? There isn’t any real fitness reason to jog when it is hot if you have other choices except to improve your tolerance for jogging in hot weather.
Yes, running in harsh conditions will train your body to run in those conditions.
They run marathons in Death Valley, so it’s possible to train your body to run in very extreme heat. You can lookup training guides for that to see what they go through.
I used to run at noon in the middle of Texas summer, but that was when I ran at noon year-round. My body was able to gradually adapt to the heat as the temperature gradually went up from spring to summer. But if I went out suddenly at noon now, my body would really struggle initially. I’d have to run slower and shorter for a while until I adapted.
I don’t know if hot weather jogging would be the best thing to increase overall endurance. You will increase your body’s cooling ability which will help when you run at other times, but I would expect it to be a minor benefit.
Just jogging ability in general.
Then there’s no need to beat yourself up in the heat.
ETA: You’ll get a higher quality workout under less oppressive conditions.
Yeah, remember you’ll be running a lot worse at noon than early or late. You’ll essentially be practicing that instead of the faster work you’d be doing at another time.
I live in south Texas. When I walk to the supermarket (30 minutes each way), I always go around noon or the early afternoon, it is a cooler walk. In the highest heat of the day, the relative humidity is the lowest, so I get the maximum evaporative cooling. Also, in the early-to-mid afternoon, there is the highest chance of an occasional cloud or some breeze. And, at mid-day, when the sun is over head, only the top of your head gets direct sun, and you can cover that.
I think that is setting yourself up for heatstroke; clothes will restrict airflow, especially when they become sweaty. I should know, because I go out every morning and while not as hot as at noon, lately it is already in the mid-90s and warming fast when I go out (8-10 am for 30-45 minutes, residential neighborhood with moderate treecover, so not constantly in the sun). I also go out shirtless and still get covered with sweat (I don’t carry any drink but drink plenty before going out and don’t feel dehydrated when I am done; if I have to pee, I figure that my body hasn’t sweated out all of the fluid I drank, about two cups, including a glass of milk for the energy, which also has electrolytes in it).
There are long sleeve shirts made of very light and well ventilated materials for hot weather running. Example.
I find those long sleeve wicking shirts work really well when it’s hot and dry. I find them to be suffocating when it’s really humid. In general I find that really humid days (the 80+% stuff) is just rough to run in no matter what I have on (or off – as a male I run sometimes run shirtless).
Heat acclimation can be a big advantage if you plan on racing in the heat. If you live in a warm climate you’ll probably just acclimate on your own to some degree (unless you run inside on a treadmill all the time). I wouldn’t go out of my way to run in the hottest part of the day unless I was specifically training to race in similar conditions. Stay on top of hydration and heat exhaustion/stroke symptoms if you plan on being out there a while. Training on shorter loop courses can help (pass by your car and have options for cool drinks).
Mad dogs, Englishmen, and IceQube.
I daresay old chap I should think with a name like that you’d be bloody more careful.
If you’re in an area that has ozone pollution (i.e. smog) issues (pretty much most large cities in the U.S.), you’re better off running earlier in the day on bad air days. Morning is better than noon is much better than late afternoon and early evening.
Exercising in mild smog is still probably better than no exercise at all, but smog only hurts your lungs – it won’t even toughen them up for dealing with smog better; it just hurts them.