Climate change can be hell on
running.
But this summer I’m sticking to
a plan: unless it’s raining cats and dogs, I’m going to be running outside.
It’s hot out there. And it’s not
even July. By the look of Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on the most swelter-y days,
runners are nowhere to be seen. I
imagine them, suited up in their apartments, standing in front of the A-C,
looking out the window …
My advice: Get out there in your
lightest weight civvies, and … GO SLOW.
Decide on your own degree of
slowness. It’s 10 degrees hotter than say, 70 F, then double your degree of
slowness, run 20 percent slower. It’s 20 degrees hotter, then crank down your
normal running rate by 40 percent. Hotter, again. Well then walk, don’t run.
You’ll get the sweat benefits,
from going slow in the heat. In fact, as a workout, a hot summer day will whip
a 40-degree fall classic any day. It may not make your heart sing like a beautiful day in October, but your body will thank you.
Next: Running for Your Life: Delving Into Age of Anger
