104 Degrees, and I need to run how far?

Today has been a crazy day for us, however I managed to wake up this morning and get a quick 3miler in. Megan and I go to a church in a rural town just north of where we live here in Stillwater. A couple from our church is part of a missions group going to Uganda for a month and we had a send off party for them as well as prayer session. God is going to do amazing things through and in that group of four people. 

We are also very blessed to be friends with so many great people who motivate and influence our lives in more ways than they know. One of those is a lady who attends our young, growing, but powerful church. She has been on a quest for the last few years to lose weight and change her health. And she has done just that, losing over 100+ pounds, however her final goal is still just ten pounds away. So I mentioned running to her and said it would definitely take care of those final 10. So I put together a running plan for her and a few tips to get started. Well today she asked me a very good question and it really made me think, because I didn't want to give just a simple answer i really wanted to help her out. She asked me "What do I do now that it is so hot outside?". 

That is a great question, for those of us who see running not simply as exercise or a means to stay fit, we see running as part of our lifestyle, a way of coming down from stress, or just a way to cut loose on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Still though for those of you who maybe trying to start running because you want a new challenge in life or you are looking for a new hobby, or maybe you are trying to lose a few pounds and a gym membership is just not in the budget. I want to hopefully give you some encouragement and motivate you especially since it is getting hot outside and can become very frustrating. 

It is difficult to train during the Summer months because of the high temperatures and humidity, it can be very dangerous as well. So I first want to caution you, don't over exert yourself or push yourself more than you should. If you are just starting out, I recommend doing speed walking with short 1 minute runs intermittently. If you are able to get into a pool regularly I recommend doing some swimming during the summer. There are great water workouts online for runners as well as training for triathlons. I would also recommend while in the pool doing water running, which is just what it sounds like. Running while in the water, this is usually done for rehabilitation but is still a good workout and tremendously safer than running in the sun. I would also recommend looking to change up your schedule if you are able to, if you are able to wake up earlier and get your runs in before the high temperatures set it I would do that. Or even the opposite if you are able to do your runs at 10 or 11 at night I would do that too. 

Don't let the summer heat keep you from getting in your runs, just allow yourself to be a little more creative. Also if you have an old bicycle out in your garage you can dust that thing off, pump up those tires and do some biking, also a good way of training if you don't feel like pounding the pavement. Lastly I want to encourage you to look at what your motivation is why are you running, what do you want to accomplish and what are your small goals along the way. Running is an incredible lifestyle to adopt and it is open to any and all. I encourage you to push yourself this summer and find a good workout that fits you.