Question about walking in hot weather

mjn · Post by **mjn** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 12:04 pm

I live in the country and have set a goal to walk 5 miles a day. I also live in a state that has every kind of weather and extreme at both ends. I love walking when it is nice and I have found that I even like walking when it's 20 degrees out and snowing. The thing that I don't like is when it is 80-100 and humid. I don't want to give up my goal this summer, but I am worried that the heat and humidity will get me down. I hate the treadmill and know I won't be faithful to it. Any ideas. I have had heat stroke 2 times in my life and it is scary! I live about 8 miles from town. I am jealous of all the urban rangers!! I would love to walk in the city and use the urban ranger skills!!!

ou812 · Post by **ou812** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 3:47 pm

Try walking early morning or early evening if you can manage. The heat index is generally much lower at this time. I would sometimes run at 5:30 or 6 am to beat the heat in August. I would trade some days of being an Urban Ranger to being a country Ranger. Good Luck.

fkwan · Post by **fkwan** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 4:12 pm

I would trade some days of being an Urban Ranger to being a country Ranger.

Have you ever been a country ranger?

I have and I hate it so much I now only walk around my perimeter. I'm a born urban ranger (from New Jersey), then moved to Texas (Austin) and now am an exile in the middle of nowhere (lots of cows) about 45 miles east of there. Might as well be another galaxy. I was astonished to find that no one walks anywhere and there's nowhere to walk to (I think my neighborhood got 18/100 on the walk score test

). Worse, when I did try walking (no sidewalks, of course), people in gigantic SUVs and trucks would stop, look at me really weird, and ask if I needed help or a ride. It really made me feel uncomfortable. Now I walk like a fiend five days a week at work (in the city, plus there's a gym where I work) and every other Saturday I have a "treat" day when my husband drives me (I don't drive, another way to become a good urban ranger in a hurry) to the city and ironically I walk all over the place doing my errands!!!! Then on Sunday it's back to my hour plod along the perimeter of our property, round and round and round, like a hamster on a wheel.

Henry David Thoreau would be appalled. Wanna trade?

f

mjn · Post by **mjn** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 11:02 pm

I can see the advantages both ways. I love my country life and the wildlife I see on my walks. It is very relaxing and enjoyable. It also can be lonely and a little boring. I think it would be fun to be a country ranger and an urban ranger. Thanks for the tips on walking in the heat of summer. I will get up early and walk in the mornings and try that.

Post by **reinhard** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:42 pm

mjn,

Some ideas for ranging in hot weather:

1. time your walks to take place mornings or evenings when it's cooler

2. carry a water bottle

3. Don't range too far from home so you can get back quickly if you start to overheat

4. Adjust your ambitions with the thermostat. If it's sweltering, make it a really short walk. It's good to do something, to keep the habit going, but you don't have to kill yourself.

5. give yourself massive kudos for such moderate walks under extreme circumstances.

Reinhard

mjn · Post by **mjn** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 10:09 pm

Thanks for the tips. Overheating is really scary!! I really liked your suggestion for giving myself extra kudos for the shorter walks!!!! Thanks

ou812 · Post by **ou812** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 9:02 pm

Overheating is scary. I was training for a race on a bike trail that I had never been on before. I ran about 7 miles out, ran out of water, realized that it was much hotter than I thought and there was no shade. My legs cramped something terrible. I could barely walk the last couple of miles let alone finish the run. ( I was in good shape and this should have been a comfortable run.)
Won't do that again.

mjn · Post by **mjn** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 9:19 pm

I have heard that once you have an episode of overheating, it is easier for it to happen again. I have had it happen twice and almost happened on an evening walk in really humid and hot weather.

sgtrock · Post by **sgtrock** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 4:10 pm

In my experience most people are not really aware of just how dehydrated they are on a daily basis. I had no idea until I lived in a desert for a while that I spent almost all of my time very dehydrated. Our culture tells us to drink sodas and alcohol, and caffeine and alcohol both are diuretics and will dehydrate you. I read through a great book a while back that explained how important water intake is. Our body recycles tons of water into and out of cells every second of every day. Lack of proper water intake will reduce your body's ability to function.

Hydration rules of thumb:

Drink enough water to not feel thirsty. 6-8 glasses a day? Depends on you and your activity level, but the key is to not feel thirsty. Just carry a water bottle with you when you walk and you should be okay, unless you drank 4 sodas an hour earlier and haven't had any water all day. That's a recipe for trouble...

Sip water throughout the day, don't guzzle a few times a day. This keeps your body's water level from spiking up and down, like your blood sugar can.

If you feel thirsty, generally speaking you waited too long to take a drink.

This may sound gross, but become very familiar with your urine color. Clear or mostly clear is ideal. Vitamins and supplements can alter this, but on the whole you want to stay "clear" as much as possible. This is a big focus for hikers and the like. Here's a color chart.

These "rules" suffice for 99% of people who do mild-to-moderate exercise. Serious athletes need to know a lot more, but for the rest of us this works. Remember though that being an Urban Ranger is similar to being a hiker, so if you are in danger of overheating the same precautions apply.

There is a flip-side to drinking lots of water. If you aren't used to it you will feel bloated at first, and you may even get heartburn if you drink too much too fast. Ease into upping your water intake until your urine is clear. Remember, drink throughout the day, not just at meals!

Also, be aware that there is a serious medical condition that can come from drinking far too much water, called hyponatremia or water intoxication. Basically your body needs a certain balance of water and salts/electrolytes in order to function properly. TOO MUCH water can be as bad or worse than too little! Overdosing on water can and will kill you --- people have had seizures from too much cellular water pressure on the brain stem, and people have died.

SO, screwed either way? Not really, just ease into drinking more water and you will find a point where you feel like you are craving salt or gatorade or similar. Cravings exist for a reason, listen to them! Just take it SLOW and pay attention to what your body is craving and you will be fine.

Hope this helps somebody...

mjn · Post by **mjn** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 12:30 pm

Thanks for the help. Lots of good, sound advice. I feel so much better when I am out there walking everday.

3aday · Post by **3aday** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 3:18 pm

I live in FL so I deal with the hot weather by walking indoors.
I do the Leslie Sansone 4 Really Big Miles. (I used to have alot more of her dvd's but I gave them away since that one, her Walk Slim 3 fast miles, and her 4 mile Super Challenge are the only ones I do consistently).
The 4 Really Big Miles is chaptered so many times, I do the first mile, then hit back and do the first mile over again. And again. And again.
It depends.
Sometimes I just do one mile, sometimes I will do the first mile 4 times in a row. sometimes I will do miles 2 and 3 which has 3 90 second jogging intervals (only if I feel like it). Mile 4 is with a stretchie band and I usually just just skip that mile and cool down.
I love it.
I do it in my living room and it's my no excuse workout.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 3:38 pm

I'm a Virginian (though transplanted to New England these days) and lived in an area noted for its appallingly humid summers. I learned about dealing with heat from Renfaires, if you can believe it.

The one time I got heat stroke (and yeah, that's scary) I was at a Renaissance Faire wearing my usual black Dread Pirate Noel garb.

When I go out in really hot weather now, I wear loose cotton skirts and loose cotton t-shirts. I find that they're even cooler than shorts. I'm also really careful about hydration and might move a bit slower than I would in 20 degree weather!

CharlieAngel · Post by **CharlieAngel** » Sat May 17, 2008 5:41 am

Summers? I'd get a water bottle or two and keep re-using them daily. Stay hydrated. Walk in the early mornings and evenings. Maybe bring a camera to encourage you to stop and take some pictures of some flowers or something to give your body a rest when needed. I carry a man-bag (Timbuk2 messenger bag, actually.. a tad (ha!) larger than a man-bag) and keep in it a book, sunglasses, and 2 of those standard bottled water bottles that I try and keep rotated in and out of the freezer. Also, portable music player and occasionally my Holga (a 120mm old-school toy camera). When I'm not working, I typically do the "urban" thing of walking around Los Angeles: up to Hollywood/Vine, or over to Koreatown. I plan to walk to Santa Monica Pier or Venice Beach soon (I live near Crenshaw & I-10). Since I'm a fat kid, slow and steady is the rule, enjoy the walk, there's no prize for fast.

In fact, I might do that tomorrow...

mjn · Post by **mjn** » Tue May 20, 2008 11:41 am

Great advice for hot weather walking. I think I don't stay hydrated enough. That is good advice.

chiangmaiboss · Post by **chiangmaiboss** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 4:04 am

It is very hot in Thailand and I also walk every day. I try to do it in morning or evening but when I have to go out in mid-day these things help.
1-Drink lots of water first.
2-When possible, I soak long sleeve shirt and hat in cool water.
3-wear sunblock
4-try to take a route with shade.

ams09 · Post by **ams09** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 9:42 pm

I wanted to start walking outdoors but you can't do it in Texas in the summer. Especially in the city. With the heat index over 100 for most of the summer and it doesn't even drop below 90 until after 9:00 or 10:00 pm combined with the air pollution of a big city when they warn you to stay indoors, it's no fun at all. Heck, it stays in the 90's for most of September. I walk at other times of the year. I suppose I could get up in the morning before work and walk, it's only about 80 at that point but it's kind of dark at that time.

I haven't tried shovelglove yet but I do have a stationary bike plus Walk Away The Pounds dvd's so I'm good there.

Bushranger · Post by **Bushranger** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 1:56 am

We have the same kind of heat problems where I live in Australia. It's just too hot to go outside for exercise most of the day. I notice most people will get their training done either early in the morning or late in the afternoon just before dusk. Also a LOT of water is in order. I find myself drinking 3-4 litres a day during summer. The experts that suggest 8 glasses (2 litres) are not talking about the kind of places we live and are referring to more temperate cities and sedentary individuals.

Exercise + heat = huge water requirements. The army finally realised this in the last decade or so and will water soldiers at a rate around 1 litre/hour when doing heavy training and military games.

Mounted Ranger! · Post by **Mounted Ranger!** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 6:08 pm

Back in the long ago I ran and as it happened, I discovered I could rearrange my runs to correspond with the watering schedule of a local football field. I dont' like track running but in the very hot, it was nice. The track, of course, wasnt' watered but the mist reaching the track was so comfortable.

Glad you asked, maybe I can look around for something like that here/now.