Why it's harder to run in the heat and how we can acclimate

Welcome to my version of misery: trying to sweat through five sets of mile repeats on a steep hill on a hot and humid day.

I hate summer running. My legs feel like lead, and my body aches. I never make it through an outdoor workout without sweating anywhere - even down my braid.

There's science behind this. Luke Humphrey, an exercise physiologist who is also head coach and owner of Hansons Running, shared that knowledge in a recent blog post on the Hansons Coaching Website.

He outlines that perfect storm — your heart working harder to keep up a slower pace, the body's inability to cool off because humidity prevents sweat evaporation, and your muscles burning through more carbohydrates to try to keep moving — that turns your body into a mess.

This doesn't mean you can't run in humidity, or get used to it. Humphrey says that 90 to 100 minutes of exercise daily over a period of 10 to 14 days in a hot environment should do the trick. He also shares a handy chart of how heat and humidity affect performance. For 85 degrees and up, he stresses "DON'T DO IT" (his caps, not mine).

I know that my tipping point is much lower, so I don't run in intense heat and humidity unless I can run on a cloudy day with no sun, like I did on those hill repeats. I also have a medical condition that's triggered by heat and humidity, so sticking it out for over an hour every day for two weeks could send me back to urgent care like it did in 2014. No thanks.

So this year I'm dedicating my summer to training for the New York Road Runners Fifth Avenue Mile in September, instead of training for a fall marathon. This still requires hard work, but more speedwork (400 meter repeats and hill repeats) and strength training (free weights) than long distances. Plus, I can do speedwork on the treadmill, which isn't as fun, but can still be done in much less humidity at my gym.

If you do run outside in this heat - and plenty of you will since fall marathon training programs have started - my best advice is to run early, and to carry water, cash, or both. Almost every Saturday last summer found me buying two bottles of water from the 7-11 on Haddon Avenue

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