It’s been hot. It’s been humid. It’s been sunny. Hopefully, you are still getting outside for some much needed vitamin D. *
Recently, I was out on a trail biking and saw a lot of runners looking fatigued and without sunglasses. Gasp! We were all outside. Good, but I wanted to help the runners. So, here are:
8 Tips for Running in the Sun and Heat
1. Dress for the weather and wear sunglasses and or a hat to protect your eyes!!! Take it from my eye doctor and me (now in my 50s) -it matters greatly to your future eye health. Come on, there are so many stylin’ sunglasses, why not? 😎 Also, consider running/walking in tree shaded areas.
2. Have great posture. So you are not hunched over and compromising your lungs or knees.
3. Breathe. Inhale through your nose and exhale out of your mouth to calm your brain.
4. Â Engage your core. See #1. As you get into posture, engage lower abs. It also protects your back and knees.
5. Fall forward. Allow your center of mass to fall slightly forward. Imagine you are on a Segway. Or, consider the physics of it. If your center falls forward, so will you!
6. Relax your shoulder and arms. Unglue your arms from your chest.* Allow your shoulders to drop and relax. Then let your arms drop to your waist and glide back like buttah at a 90 degree angle. You can swing them to a waltzing cadence (right 2, 3, left 2, 3…).
7. Carry water. Stop, drink, and refill that water.
8. Cross train. If the air quality stinks, or it’s super hot and humid, why not cross train? Or shorten that run and add other cardio options. You can still get a heart pumping, sweat inducing cardio workout while biking, swimming, rowing, and doing HIIT classes.
There you have it. LMK if you have more ideas. Let’s #Getoutside and be wise.
* Importance of Vitamin D. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14985208/
**Ladies. If you have your arms glued to your chest because of bounce potential, invest in a better sports bra so you don’t have to be self conscious. Your bosom will also appreciate the support! 🙂
