Extraordinary Strides

Surviving the Dog Days: Your Ultimate Summer Running Guide

• Christine Hetzel • Season 3 • Episode 51

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Summer running presents unique challenges, but with Coach Christine's comprehensive survival guide, you can transform these obstacles into opportunities for growth and resilience.

• Protecting yourself from bugs with appropriate repellents and permethrin-treated clothing
• Conducting thorough tick checks post-run to prevent complications like Lyme disease
• Avoiding poisonous plants by staying centered on trails and wearing protective clothing
• Applying and reapplying broad-spectrum sunscreen to prevent painful sunburns
• Adjusting pace expectations during extreme heat, potentially running 60-180 seconds slower per mile
• Incorporating run-walk strategies to manage summer heat stress
• Creating personal aid stations with cold drinks, fruit, and electrolytes for long runs
• Protecting electronics during sudden rainstorms with waterproof pouches or improvised solutions
• Making noise on trails to avoid startling wildlife through bear bells or playing audio at conversation level
• Maintaining motivation with post-run rewards like stopping at ice cream shops or getting iced coffee

Need personalized running advice? Coach Christine is just a text or message away to help you navigate your summer running challenges.

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Speaker 1:

Hey, summer Warriors, and welcome back to Extraordinary Strides, a podcast empowering your every sweaty, sizzling stride. I'm Coach Christine and I can guarantee you that I have definitely battled, and I think I have slightly survived, maybe even thrived through humidity, mosquito, battle, tested and maybe even a wildlife encounter or two. And I'm here as your running companion to guide you through the legendary dog days of summer. Welcome, we are officially halfway through this part of summer, so just take a good deep breath. I've got some tips in store for you to help you succeed through the rest of this training season and this summer season. These are the sultry days that are infamous for heat waves, humidity spikes and well, let's be honest a whole lot of running challenges that make us wonder why in the world did we lace up or sign up for a fall marathon? So we're going to dive right deeply into everything you need to thrive, not just survive, during these intense weeks. So lace up, don't forget to hydrate. Let's explore the ultimate summer running survival guide. Let's first kick it off with why is it the dog days of summer? And does anyone else listen to Florence and the Machine immediately in their head, like, are you seeing that in the background right now. Well, if you've ever wondered why we call it the hottest days, the dog days, historically the phrase dates back to ancient Rome, named after Sirius, the dog star, the brightest star visible during the peak summer heat. The Romans believe that Sirius added to the sun's heat, intensifying temperatures. While we know a little better today, the dog days of summer remain synonymous with the hottest, most humid and, again, most challenging running conditions. In my opinion of the year and I'm curious if you think that I am correct on this, or do you find there's other more challenging conditions I think summer is it, though, my friend? Well, first and foremost, I think what makes summer really challenging is that we're dealing with a whole lot of bug battles. You're managing mosquitoes and deer flies and horse flies and gnats and goodness, we are just getting into it Like there's also ticks. There's just so many things.

Speaker 1:

So let's talk a little bit about how to really stay as safe as possible not as mosquito bitten as possible during your runs. It's really important that you protect yourself with repellent containing picardin or lemon, eucalyptus, or maybe even looking at brands like Sawyer Repel or Cutter. They're all excellent. You're going to likely want to wear clothing that's treated with permethrin and using insect repellent bracelets can further deter these tiny nuances. If bites do occur, you're going to want to make sure to have some hydrocortisone cream on standby. Now, this was actually a great conversation that was brought up by our fellow friend of the podcast, cheryl. She was asking what are folks using for those bug bites that happen this time of year over in the stride collective, and it was a really interesting conversation, no doubt about it. So, again, having hydrocortisone cream or aloe vera or antihistamines provide you some quick relief when, if you cannot avoid getting those bug bites which brings us to one of my biggest concerns is tick troubles.

Speaker 1:

Ticks have been on the rise this particular summer. My friend, you don't want to miss with you don't want to tick anyone off, but you definitely don't want to deal with any of those deer ticks or ticks that are hanging around, because they bring a whole host of problems anywhere, from potentially creating Lyme disease or carrying Rocky Mountain fever. We just don't want them by any stretch of imagination. So you're going to protect yourself, and this is where it gets tough. But, truly, if you're hitting the trails, you're going to want to wear long, light colored clothing. You're going to want to tuck your pants into your socks. You're going to maybe even that's where you're going to have that permethrin and make sure to apply that to your shoes. This is where having trail running shoes may be the better way of approaching it. And then, after your run, get ready. You're going to have to perform detailed tick checks post-run, especially around your waist, your knees and hairline, and then, if you do have, if you do manage to get a tick, remove any tick carefully with tweezers as close to the head as possible you want to make sure that you don't leave their little head behind and then just clean it thoroughly with soap and water, maybe even some rubbing alcohol, and monitor for symptoms. Just monitor, stay vigilant about those ticks.

Speaker 1:

This is where, if I could just give a quick shout out to yet another friend of the podcast, the amazing Jennifer Knackber. She is such a proud Vermontian Is that how you say? It Is Vermontian, the right way of that being said. Well, she's from Vermont and she's very proud of it, and she knows a thing or two about all of these things, and one of her favorite gears that she uses or she turns to is darn tough socks. Now, I first learned about darn tough socks when I got really into hiking. I had no idea they also make running socks. I definitely would suggest giving these socks a whirl. I've now used them on a few of my trail runs. That I've done and I think they're just as fantastic for trail running as they are for hiking.

Speaker 1:

And why I specifically like the Darn Tough Summer Socks is because they usually have a higher length, because they are meant for hiking. You can more easily tuck in your running pants into them so you can avoid those ticks at all costs. And the positive thing about that is it goes right into how to avoid the next thing or the next peril of summer running, which is those poisonous plants. You know what I'm talking about poison ivy, poison oak. If it has the word poison in it, I generally don't want to deal with it. I'm just saying I don't love that. And while maybe escaping the roads in favor for some of those more wooded, shady trails is very tempting this time of year. I love that and having a little bit more of that cooler air under the shade. Unfortunately, so does poison ivy and poison oak.

Speaker 1:

So if you're hitting those pitch rust trails, they can often hide those irritants like poison ivy, oak and sumac and you want to stick to the middle of the trail if at all possible to avoid the overgrowth of any of those plants and coming into contact with them. Now a really great tip is if you see leaves of three, let let it be. But I'm going to be honest with you I, when I'm going out for a run, I'm not paying attention to if it's got three leaves, 48 leaves, 622 leaves, I have no idea. So you are going to want to try to again. Having those socks and your pants or your running leggings tucked into those higher socks are going to likely help to minimize any of those issues that you would have with poison ivy, poison oak, anything that has that word poison. That's a plant nearby that is going to cause you all sorts of issues with itchiness and all of that jazz. But again, if you're exposed, if you do manage to come in contact with it, you're going to immediately want to wash that area, if you can with dish soap, and then utilize chamomile lotion, cold compresses, even oatmeal baths, can really help to reduce the itching and irritation that comes along with it, shielding ourselves from sunburn.

Speaker 1:

It is pretty much a marker of runners to kind of have a little bit of extra pride where we have our GPS watch. Suntan, those suntan lines, of course. However, we do know that suntans and sunburns can come with their own host of issues. So running under intense summer sun really does demand careful sunscreen application. So using a broad spectrum sunscreen, spf 30 or higher, and reapplying hourly. So make sure to tuck it into your running hydration vest or your running belt. And think of products like ThinkSport Blue Lizard, unicorn Goop these all work wonders. Like ThinkSport Blue Lizard, unicorn Goop these all work wonders.

Speaker 1:

Protect your head and eyes with maybe even ice runner cooling hats. Those are super groovy where you can basically put packs of ice inside of them to keep you nice and cool. But also helps to shield your skin and your face from any of that. Additional harmful rays You're gonna wanna protect your eyes with those UV protected glasses. Additional harmful rays You're going to want to protect your eyes with those UV protected glasses. So, again, gooder or whatever calls to your heart, as long as it's protecting your eyeballs as much as possible.

Speaker 1:

And if you cannot avoid a sunburn and I'm curious, I think everybody has that one a year where they kind of have a little bit, they didn't reapply. So if it happens, you're going to want to soothe that sunburned skin with aloe vera gel Again, those oatmeal based lotions, and ibuprofen for inflammation relief, because it does get inflamed, it does hurt and it can make things really uncomfortable for bedtime. Hopefully you haven't had any kind of sunburns like that in a very long time, my friend, but in case of these are all things that are good to know and have on hand. Now I have already alluded to it. Right, we're talking about the dog days of summer for a specific reason. So we know there are summer heat. It feels relentless, especially everywhere right now, my friend, like just realistically, especially everywhere right now, my friend, like just realistically.

Speaker 1:

While I'm in Florida, I can honestly say that it is hot in so many different places and I know that we've seen some incredible heat waves as far up as New England, the Pacific Northwest, I mean. Everyone has gotten their own fair dose and share of all of these incredibly hot, high temperatures and humidity. So it doesn't really matter where you're located. It's. What matters is to really stay vigilant and to pay attention to the heat, the dew point and keeping yourself as safe as possible during that hot weather. First and foremost, some of the things to take into consideration is scheduling your runs maybe earlier in the day or later at night. Now I find that earlier in the day definitely means that it's going to be a slightly higher dew point, a bit more humidity, so you're going to have to kind of weigh and counterweight what works for you. I prefer late evenings. It seems like the dew point's usually a little bit lower, while it still may be a little bit hotter. In terms of the actual temperature, I feel like I can deal with the heat much easier than I can deal with humidity personally. So a lot of this is getting to know what is best for you and your body. But what you do want to definitely play into is, or have on hand is, moisture wicking gear.

Speaker 1:

I'm a huge fan of CVG shorts. I love their pockets. You know I've mentioned them before. Now, if you followed me along on my journey last year, last summer during training cycle, I was looking for my ride or die running skirt, because I love running skirts and wear them frequently in fall and winter here in Florida. Not quite so easy to pull them off in summer because they have that extra fabric. Well, while I fell in love with Athleta's Ace Skorts, I did personally find it was still too much fabric for how much I sweat and I felt a little weighed down by it. So it depends on you and how much you sweat during your summer runs. But they are super comfortable. I love their pockets and they add a little bounce and a flare. I'm always going to love them and I do still wear them frequently when I'm running in other parts of the world.

Speaker 1:

But you're going to want to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate before your run, during your run, after your run, and get in those electrolytes, my friends. So, whether it's Noon or Element, tea or Element, however you prefer to say it or salt tabs, whatever it is that works for you, or maybe even coconut water smoothies. And I will tell you, those coconut water-based smoothies for me in summer are a staple, and the reason why is because generally, you may find that after going for a run in the summer heat, you may have a little bit of nausea, your appetite is suppressed and it can make it a little tougher to get in that post-run nutrition that is incredibly important. So that's where I turn to that coconut water-based smoothie. Because it makes it a little bit lighter than almond milk. You can still throw in tons of fruit, protein powder, spinach, whatever it takes, but it's just as really refreshing. You're going to want to monitor yourself for heat exhaustion symptoms, so watch for nausea, dizziness and chills. Stop immediately to cool down if any of those appear. If, by any reason, you quit sweating, danger, danger will Robinson, please, please, please, seek immediate help, because that is definitely a sign that you are getting into heat stroke territory. Now again, as I mentioned, hot weather can suppress your appetite and cause a bit of just not feeling your best. I personally combat this with candied ginger or ginger ale Again, making those coconut water based smoothies for my post run.

Speaker 1:

I also am a huge fan and now we've seen Strava has this entire like viral content of people stopping at convenience stores mid run and they're all sticking their phones and their head in the coolers. But yeah, that's a great way of breaking up your runs, getting a little bit of just cool air, getting in a really cold beverage always is great mid-run. However, I also love packing a cooler in my car If I'm going to go out for a long run, and I know that I will like to break up my long run into kind of quarters, so I'll run away from my car for a quarter of it. Come back to my car, use that as kind of a halfway point and that's generally where, in my cooler, I'll have some cold beverages, cold water, my electrolytes, I'll have watermelon or orange slices, watermelon or orange slices, any of those things. I can't tell you how many times in my run when I am just totally over it, the one thing that is keeping me going is knowing that I'm running towards a nice cold cooler full of delicious watermelon and any of those that can be just additionally hydrating. Also, those orange slices have a great amount of sugar boost If it settles well in your stomach.

Speaker 1:

Some people are sensitive with citric acid. So, again, knowing what works best for you. This particular year I am utilizing Huma chia-based gels for my fueling, more so than I have in years past. So again, knowing that you may have a little bit of palate fatigue, or what you use during a different time of year may not work as well during summer, when it gets a bit more intense with the heat, which brings us to the most important aspect. I mean, all of these tips are important. All of these things are mine.

Speaker 1:

You need to be mindful as we start to get towards the back half of our summer, but adjusting your pace slow and steady wins the summer running. So many folks just quit running because it's so hot in summer or they aren't consistent with their training because it's just so hot, they're so miserable. What you want to do is just lean into summer. Heat is naturally going to slow down your running pace. That is perfectly okay. Expect to see your typical pace drop by 30, 60, 90, even two to three minutes per mile during extreme heat, Truly knowing that this is something that's going to happen, just leaning into it being okay, practicing patience, managing this comfortably.

Speaker 1:

I want you to consider if you have not already using run-walk strategies. If you're already utilizing run-walk strategies, this is the time to consider using a more pulled back strategy. So if you're usually running 60-30s, this might be a great time to introduce 30-30s. Or if you're running straight through, this is a great time to really introduce run-walk strategies to keep you going, keep your heart rate in that zone too, or keep it nice and light, so you're not overtaxing your body, your system and finding yourself exhausted from every single run.

Speaker 1:

I also find again going back to those aid stations that I set up for myself with my car when I go on my long runs finding ways to break up your run with hydration breaks or stopping in at that convenience store. If you wanna use that Strava Viral TikTok Instagram reel, go for it, but whatever it does whatever you need to to kind of break it up, allow yourself to hydrate, recover, rest up a little bit, get back out. There Always a fantastic way of approaching it, including even potentially breaking up your long runs into two separate runs. If you want more information on that, feel free to let me know. Shoot me a message. I'm curious if you guys want to discuss what it looks like to break up your long runs into two, maybe even three runs to get in your mileage when you're training for fall races, and how that may impact your goal race.

Speaker 1:

Okay, let's keep this going, though, because right here and now we're talking all about summer. Okay, let's keep this going, though, because right here and now, we're talking all about summer, and that's surviving summer storms and lightning. Again. As a Florida gal, you know that we have our fair share of tropical storms and hurricanes. We are, I think, number one in hurricanes. We are number one in lightning. We're, you know, florida man, florida woman. We're in headlines for a reason, however everywhere is getting a lot of rain nowadays, and it is something to really learn how to manage it well days, and it is something to really learn how to manage it well Now.

Speaker 1:

For myself, I did have a training season where we had a Florida tropical storm that came in and it kind of just sat and hovered over us for an entire week. I was training for, I believe, maybe Berlin. At that time I didn't have treadable access and it was incredibly frustrating. So I learned how to time out and run cautiously for my shorter runs in between some of those squalls and, of course, learned how to plan out my route so I could find shelter with neighboring porches and on some other runs that I've gotten caught in some downpours. I've even improvised some waterproof protection for all of my electronics by using doggy bags. You know the ones I'm talking about right. So luckily, in my neighborhood they have some really great cleanup after your pet kind of stations, so I've had to grab one or two of those to safely put my phone and my electronics into.

Speaker 1:

But rain, wearing visors to protect your eyes from rain is fantastic. Waterproof pouches or ponchos are great, maybe even running if you know that your area is prone to some quick rainy weather out of nowhere, maybe even running with spare socks and shoes in your car. Likely You're not going to be running with actually spare shoes. But that does lead me to the next conversation, which is if you're a sweaty runner like me, set up in your aid station, run near your house, be prepared to make yourself comfortable on those runs, on those runs where you're either sweaty or you're soaked from a rainstorm, and be able to change out your gear quickly because your running shoes are so elemental, your socks are so important in preventing blisters. You really want to change into dry socks and dry shoes. Even if you change nothing else. That is going to be a priority for you, my friend. That is going to help us with the next thing on the list preventing chafing and blisters.

Speaker 1:

Humidity can cause so much sweating and that can cause so many painful taping and blisters, so you're going to want to apply anti-chafe products. My fave is mega babe, thigh rescue, or you can use body glide vaseline. There's so many different products out there. I'm just going to go with something that calls it mega babe because it puts a little bit of a smell on my face. But find what works for you.

Speaker 1:

Now for your feet, I'm going to highly go with Charlotte's suggestion. She suggested Desitin or Aquaphor to soothe and protect any of those really hot spots that you may have on your feet. Okay, we've already alluded to the fact that it's been rainier this summer, so heavy summer rains mean muddy, slippery trails or even slippery big puddles in your neighborhood. So you're going to reduce your stride length, which you should be doing anyway. You're going to want to slow your pace. You may even need to pull into a walk. You're going to want to choose, choose shoes that have excellent traction. So, while you may be tempted to wear your old, old, old pair of shoes because you don't want to get them muddy, if they don't have great traction, they're not going to keep you safe. So please do keep that in mind.

Speaker 1:

And one of the things that I love, love, love, is having my car seat towel protector. Big shout out to Sprintz. I love those. They're so fantastic. They just because I am so sweaty or because I've got an incandescent rainstorm. It's great to be able to have that to protect my seat and keep me going after I'm done with my run. So look into those if you don't have them already, which brings us to the next conversation laundry. If you've listened to me before, you know it's all about that laundry during summer.

Speaker 1:

So sweaty summer gear is going to require extra care. You're going to want to deodorize your gear using like I personally use for my shoes cedar bags to keep those nice and dry and trying to reduce the amount of funkiness that happens with them. You maybe, if you get your shoes wet, may want to use newspaper or really looking into specialized detergents like hex or wind sports detergent to soak your sweaty gear into. And then again, going back to keeping your feet nice and healthy and safe, rotating multiple pairs of running shoes at least two, in case they do get super sweaty or super wet from a rainstorm. Again, that's going to be super important during your summer training, during those dog days of summer.

Speaker 1:

Now we've gone over quite a few things, but shout out to Brittany, I feel like this is all about. Like you guys, I crowdsource. This episode is what it comes down to. Brittany Bergholm again fantastic athlete and part of the community mentioned. Hey, have you done a podcast on what to do about wildlife? Because I have been doing some training and some trail running and have been encountering a bit more wildlife recently and mentioning it to the Extraordinary League, the training group, and well, let's just talk a little bit about that, right? Because be it, snakes, they're on again. There's more snake bites than ever before right now this summer We've seen there's been more black bear activity everywhere in the southeast and it's really important, even if it's just having maybe not so friendly dog, to really be prepared.

Speaker 1:

Now, recently on a trail run I did have an encounter with a curious bear. But I have to be honest, I had a trail angel who alerted me to said bear and I had been watching all of the tips and advice as to how to deal with an encounter. Now, the bear is very used to people, specifically the black bear, so I knew that I had to just stay calm, not run away from it, not turn my back, and to just be firm in my voice and expressing that I didn't want it to come closer Again. It was really great coming across this person on the trail who stuck with me for the rest of that adventure. It was again just really heartening to see how great and fabulous people can be. But a couple of things to do to keep ourselves safe and one of the things that I have started to do since then.

Speaker 1:

This is where I'm going to suggest if you're on a trail, either you're wearing bear bells to make sure that you're making noise, you're not scaring them. That's where a lot of issues come into play. You don't want to scare the wildlife by approaching them stealthily I really don't approach anything stealthily, so that's not an issue but I am switching personally from my shocks to my Noxgear speaker to play an audio book when I'm running on the trails. While I don't want to interrupt anyone's experience in nature, it's at the same decibel as if you were walking or running or hiking with somebody, so it's a little bit of just allowing for the wildlife to hear you before they see you, so that you don't scare them.

Speaker 1:

However, a couple of different things that can come into mind Again. You may want to run with pepper spray or bear spray, depending on what's near you. You may want to also keep in mind if you've got certain dogs in your neighborhood that are not the nicest, you may need to plan your route accordingly. This is also a great opportunity to run with others so that you are a bit safer. There is safety in numbers, especially out on the trails, but you want to just be prepared is the name of the game. So again, carry some spray, make noise to avoid starting the wildlife. So again, carry some spray, make noise to avoid starting the wildlife.

Speaker 1:

Try not to run trails or those type of areas at dawn or dusk. So if you are trying to avoid the heat and you're heading to the trails, you need to make that more middle of the day. If you're running on the roads and you're avoiding the heat, that's where you're going to want to do maybe your dawn or dusk type of running. Again, if you do encounter wildlife, back away slowly, remain calm and avoid direct eye contact I don't know or maybe just sparkle them with your incredible personality. Does that work? Well, if you do have an electric personality, I'm sure that does help you with wildlife. However, we don't want you to have an electrifying personality because of lightning strikes. So while I mentioned that you may get run, you may run in some downpours. Please be mindful of the weather in your area and if you are having lightning or anything of that sort, if the conditions are dangerous, it might be a great time to get a gym membership.

Speaker 1:

Head inside to that treadmill or, at the very least try to plan your run so that it's not in those really intense lightning storms, and consider again that this is all about keeping yourself healthy, happy and safe, so that you can have as much comfort during your summer running and the dog days of summer as possible. I will say, though, that one of the best ways of keeping yourself motivated and inspired and coming back for your run is keeping yourself safe, making yourself as comfortable as possible, including your post-run comfort. So keep spare clothes, keep those towels, keep those shoes, keep those seat protectors, but also make your running fun. This time of year, this is a great time to maybe run to your favorite ice cream shop or stop at your favorite coffee store and get iced frappuccino. Whatever it takes to kind of get you out there running. Keeping you cool, keeping you excited to keep coming back is really the most important of all.

Speaker 1:

Now, the Ultimate Dog Days of Summer Running Survival Guide is officially coming to a close. However, I want to remind you to be prepared, stay positive. You can handle everything that summer throws your way. Stay safe, stay hydrated, keep your spirits high and, if you love today's tips, don't forget to subscribe, rate and share your favorite summer running stories with me. I really want to hear them. Need personalized running advice? Well, you know where to find me. I'm just a text or message away. Until next time, keep running strong, stay sparkly electrifying but not electrified and enjoy every single stride.

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Christine Hetzel

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