The great thing about living in the middle of nowhere country is that at 4am, traffic is non-existent and it’s just me and the coyotes open road. Since I am bouncing back from the torn tendon in my foot, I am slightly cautious about footing. This morning, I took the flattest/smoothest section and ran down the middle of the road with my Knuckle Lights shining a bright path in the darkness. Here is the road I ran this morning but in the light, at 5:45 am. Still not “too” busy.
I know all of you have been battling the heat and humidity for marathon training while I have been rehabbing my injury. Inside. In an air conditioned, zero humidity environment. Today was my first hot run and let’s just say, I need to adjust quickly. It was 83 degrees at 4:30 am with a feels like temp of 87. It was not only warm but very humid as the rainstorms were still miles away. I only ran 2 miles, at a very relaxed 9:19 pace but it was stifling.
Aby, my soon to be 11 year old, has been running in the heat all summer. She has raced several 5Ks, is running 2x a week at Cross Country Camp and basically suffering thru the miserable heat & humidity just like all of you. 
She may be young but has figured out a few great ways to stay cool while running.
1) She freezes her water bottles and takes them to Cross Country Camp frozen so that they will still be cold when she needs them. In fact, we just picked up this Nathan Thermal QuickShot Handheld for her at the Sports Authority booth of the Rock N Roll expo. We paid $11 but Running Warehouse looks about the cheapest online for $16.95. I hope she’ll let me borrow this sometime.
2) She also found a 180s Quantum Cooling headband ($15 online, $12 expo) that is activated by sweat and/or water to continuously cool her head. It also has a slot for ponytails, which made her squeal with delight.
3) She has also stolen borrowed my new Mission Athletecare EnduraCool Towel. The towel that Mission just sent me last week. The towel that I only have used one time. The towel that stayed cool for hours, even hanging on the chair to dry. The towel that I should have had on my run this morning. The towel that is hidden away in her Cross Country bag. I’m going to get this one back unlike my gps watch which she has commandeered. Is it over-the-top to give a gps watch as a birthday present to an 11 year old?
I hope all of you have also figured out a few unconventional ways to keep cool during these sweltering summer runs! In case you haven’t I’m going to do a fast giveaway to get one EnduraCool Towel into somebody’s hands in time for this weekend’s long run. So if you want an EnduraCool Towel, then put on your creative hat! This needs to stay PG because I’m going to let Aby pick the winner at 8pm tonight (winner to be announced tomorrow morning).
Please make a suggestion for Aby (age 11 – 6th grade) of a crazy/funny way to stay cool this summer. Ideas can relate to being “on the run”, cooling off post run, or dealing with the heat in “real life”. In order to respect the laws of creativity, it does not have to be something which is actually feasible or even something which we could implement. We just want to make her giggle. Think/Create an idea & comment below! Good luck!
Info on EnduraCool Towel from Mission’s Website:
Mission’s™ Enduracool™ is made from a proprietary performance fabric that instantly cools when wet with water or sweat, wrung out and snapped in the air to activate the sustained cooling properties. Use during or after competition to provide sustained cooling on your neck, head or other hot zones.
How It Works: A revolution in cooling, this performance fabric absorbs and retains sweat and water, circulating the molecules while regulating the rate of evaporation to ensure an instant cooling effect against the skin for hours, without feeling wet.
Towel Dimensions: 12.25″ x 33″
** Stay Cool ** Amanda – TooTallFritz ** amanda@tootallfritz.com
TooTallFritz 
Hydrate!
Take a quick dip in a local lake/river along the way! Run through a sprinkler or fire hose! Pour water over the back of her neck!
Pour icy cold water over you before you head out for your run — it’ll be freezing but you won’t notice it as soon as you step outside.
85 degrees at 4 a.m. sounds horrifying. I live in Oregon. I run at 4 a.m. If it was 85 degrees at 4 a.m. I would likely never run! My hat’s off to you. I’m inspired, but not inclined to run in heat and humidity. I ran one race in Ohio in August and thought I would die. I kept telling people (who were passing me) “I’m from Oregon . . why is the air wet?” Your daughter inspires me as well. Have a wonderful day!
I ran a race in Miami on MARCH 4th and had that same feeling….I thought I would die. Everyone was just racing around me like it was no big deal and I was at a crawl. The humidity is rough!
Like you, I am fed up with all this heat. As stated above the easiest thing to do is hydrate, plenty and before you get thirsty. This is going to sound weird although it is vitally important: Monitor the color of your urine and frequency. As runners and athletes we are always looking for more tools to help, well this is free and the best gauge you have for proper hydration.
I have tried this and it works for a 3 miler, take the small gel ice packs and tuck them in the back of the sports bra, that is where I sweat the most and having a frozen gel pack there is a nice cooling spot in a hot miserable day, I live on the Texas coast south of Houston where humidity and mosquitos are a constant battle.
My favorite is when running up at the lake, take shoes and Gps watch off and jump off end of pier!!!
I always dive off the pier post-run when I run at the lake. I run a route that goes around our lake. Every time I get to the bridge between our lake and the next, I look at the house and wonder if I leave my watch/shoes by the bridge to swim home if they would be there when I drove back to retrieve them! LOL!
Slurpees at 7-11! before, after, maybe even during… 🙂
You must be a 11 year old at heart. I’m pretty sure she will like this one a lot!
Since this is the PG version…Is there a better time/excuse to go to Ranch Frostie or the Creamery or Cold Stone or Oberweis for a nice cone or sundae than after a run? I mean come on, you’ve just burned a few hundred calories, you’ve earned a little treat that just so happens to cool you nicely! You’ve seen me out there sweating, you know I know what I’m talking about!
It’s all in your head…when you are really hot, imagine yourself on a cool, fall day, relaxing, eating a huge Klondike bar…(or two, or three) while your Mom is rubbing your sore, tired feet…and is telling you how awesome you are
Abby…feeling the heat huh! Wanna stay cool and be cool….make yourself an “ice-hat.” Take some baseball-like hat or whatever kind of hat that looks neat and you like to wear and soak it in the sink in water. Then put it in the freezer and freeze it solid. If you are real talented and want even more prolonged cooling, you freeze the hat, then get a ziploc quart bag and fill it with a little water then lay the ziploc flat and let the water level out, then form it in the inside of the hat so you end up with a little thin sheet of ice on the inside of the top of the hat. You can also take an old bandanna or paper towels and soak them fully wet then form them into the inside of the hat.
And…if you can find one of those baseball-like hats that are made to look like a penguin, better yet to keep your psyche cool when you soak it in water and freeze it. OK…it adds a little weight to your body, but being cool is a lot better than having your brain fried. You can adapt on the above concept, but you will be the coolest runner out there with your pack!
You can also adapt the freeze-concept to a necker-chief using a bandanna that you soak in water then freeze. Thaw it slightly to get it to bend enough to tie around your neck. Later when it thaws out completely, the water evaporates and cools those carotid arteries in the neck. If you got ice cubes out there on the practice field in the cooler, later you can roll a few of those up in the bandanna and tie it around your neck. Works nicely….that’s one of the tricks I used to get me through the “Hot Inferno” aka 2007 Chicago Marathon when it was 90+ degrees and runners were dropping like flies and sirens blaring everywhere in the city of Chicago that it sounded like London under air attack in the early 40’s.
You can also wrap ice cubes in a bandanna and stick it inside the top of that baseball style cap and let it melt as you run and that works really nice. They actually sell brimmed caps with zippered compartment inside to put ice cubes…not surprisingly…called ice hats. Ultra-marathoners that run in hot conditions use those.
Wanna be the coolest runner…go with ice-hats and ice-kerchiefs!
On the serious side…Planet Buff (that make those multi-use head/neck wear for Survivor) sells a product called a “Kool-Tie.” Looks like a narrow bandanna that you can tie around your neck and comes in colorful pattern(s) and has these little crystals sewn inside the band and when you soak the band in water for 30-40 minutes…it swells up and that extra water it holds provides evaporative cooling to the arteries in the neck. I own one and use it when running extended duration in hot conditions. A good product for runners that want to run, train or race for extended duration in hot weather. You can go to http://www.kooltie.com for more info.
Cold shower (well – stick your head under the shower) just before heading out for a run! & then coming back and soaking in an ice bath (ie kiddie pool filled with ice and hose water). 🙂
I think hitting the pool is the best way to stay cool in the summer. I am tempted to go to the pool in a few minutes.
You are running again!!!!!! 🙂 Really exciting news!!!
No ideas on staying cool because it doesn’t get too hot here.
Yay; I’m running again! So hard to restrain myself too but I’m trying to do it right, and go slow now so I can kick axx later. 🙂
Have you thought about freezing your undies? Imagine the look of shock that people would have when they opened your freezer and your underwear stash was in there! Let me know how this tip works, Aby! I haven’t yet tested it out.
This totally cracked me up!
Plan your run so you can pool hop! Every mile mark, take a dip in someone’s pool. Imagine their suprise when they stand at the kitchen window with coffee in hand as you trot/swim through their pool…….UNINVITED :o)
Oh gosh! Someone already used my “freeze your underwear” idea. Not quite as funny, but when I was a kid on super hot days, I would take my clothes out of the washer after the spin cycle and put them on still wet. It kept me cool until they dried! True story.
Here’s my suggestion, but not sure how well it will work in your neck of the woods. When I was in high school, our cross country team had camp in the mountains (of colorado) and they jumped in the mountain lakes (FREEZING WATER, let me tell you) So that’s my suggestion! During their camp, take a dip in a pool on the run or a lake (if there’s a clean one)!
Pingback: Mission Athletecare Giveaway | TooTallFritz
Pingback: Still Trying to Keep Cool…..180s Quantum Cool Giveaway | TooTallFritz