Heat & Hydration: a tough lesson learned

It's hot out there, it's no secret. But how is the heat affecting the body of runners?

I had my own little run-in with heat issues yesterday after my long run. I did a 4-mile run at 7am, thinking it was early enough. I hadn't increased my water intake the night before or morning of in preparation, I didn't think it would be so hot! I headed out with my hand-held water bottle (8oz) and a GU (I was trying it out for the first time! More to come on that experience in a later post). I wanted to GU at 2 miles and rarely drink fluids during a short run (2-3 miles) so I didn't drink anything yesterday until mile 2 after taking my GU. I drank about 3-4oz and kept going. Over the next mile I finished the other 4oz and dropped my bottle off at the house. I ran the last mile and then headed home. The entire run lasted about 50 minutes and I drank a full glass of water immediately after the run.

After about an hour my stomach started feeling sour and my muscles were cramping in my lower abdomen. It felt like the onset of a stomach flu. I ate some carbs, thinking they would settle my stomach - nope. I started feeling weak and shaky within the next hour, and my nausea increased to the point I was pacing the floor waiting for the retching to come. I never did vomit, but I felt very weak and out of it for the rest of the day. I kept consuming fluids, ate mild foods, and by evening I was almost fully recovered.

Hubster said I had looked very red and sweaty when I returned home from the run, more than usual, and he thought it was heat exhaustion and dehydration, so I looked up the symptoms and they were dead on. It was exactly what I was feeling.

So the lesson is: BE CAREFUL!! I never felt overheated or under-hydrated during my run, I actually felt great! It was overcast and a little breeze was blowing, but none of that matters if it's 90' out!

Favorite Running Song of the Week: Nothing...I ran without music yesterday and it was awesome!