Suppose you intend to travel on foot from Point A to Point B (both nicely air conditioned), in hot weather. Your goal is to minimize the amount of heat related discomfort on your end, whether feeling hot, or sweating. The question is what speed minimizes this.
The conundrum is that there are two sources of heat which work in opposite directions, i.e. body heat and ambient heat. The more you exert yourself in traveling faster, the less ambient heat you get, since you’re out there for less time, but the more heat is produced by your body. The less you exert yourself the less body heat you produce, but you get more ambient heat since you’re out there longer.
At the extremes, if you run as fast as you can, you would overheat from body heat, and if you walk extremely slowly, you would overheat from being out there too long. So I assume the optimal speed is somewhere in between. The question is what that is.
I imagine there’s no one precise answer, and that the answer will depend on the distance between Point A and Point B, the outside temperature and humidity, and likely the nature and physiology of the individual. But I’m wondering if there’s some sort of rule of thumb, or a range of speed which would typically apply, such that someone applying such a guideline would be better informed than guessing at random.
I have wondered that too, and just last week I was thinking about reposting a similar question I asked awhile back but didn’t receive a satisfying response.
Given the extremes, I suspect that running from one building to another less than a couple hundred feet away during the depths of a Death Valley summer would build up less heat than strolling would. At the opposite extreme, at any temperature below 75F most people would not build up a sweat if you walked slow enough regardless of how long as long as you wore light clothing.
Probably need to take in to consideration a few other factors such as shade, fitness of the person in question, humidity, and clothing/head coverings.
I’m assuming that points A and B are fairly close together, as well? Like across the street, or a block away?
I would guess, in most circumstances, a normal walk would be optimal. A reasonably fit person (that is, one fit enough that normal exertion isn’t taxing) won’t ‘overheat’ walking for any period of time in any but the most extreme heat/humidity. A very light jog may also work, but for some people (like me) it would result in a sweat in as little as a tenth of a mile or so.
Let your heart rate be your guide. Something which you should be monitoring on a regular basis during your hot weather journey.
It helps if you know your personal aerobic threshold. 90 beats per minute? 130 bpm? 150 bpm? Or at what rate of speed are you still able to carry on a conversation? Traveling near, but below, your personal aerobic threshold (heart rate) should allow you to complete your journey as quickly as possible without suffering from heat stroke.
When you heart rate goes up, you slow down. When your heart rate drops, you speed up. This takes into consideration uphills, downhills, hot city streets, cool tree-lined boulevards, headwinds, tailwinds, etc…
Your heart rate will also increase in order to pump more blood to lower your body temperature.
I strike a balance between how difficult it is to walk fast, and how quickly I want to get it over with. Walking is not on the list of thins I do for fun.
A bit warm up there in Haggis land yesterday… 33.2C degrees in Motherwell. I have no idea what the answer to the OP’s question is, but staying in the shade with a cold beer is probably the best advice.
It’s been lovely. I’m a bit further north and it’s been in the low to mid 20s. Just pleasantly warm. But I went to America last year in August and the heat was dreadful.