Heat Stroke

One of the hardest things in running is stopping when you know you should even though you really don't want to.

But that's the precisely the position I found myself in this morning on our 5 mile run.

It was a hot Central Texas morning, temperature about 90 and humidity at least that high. It felt more like Southeast Asia than Texas.

I was running well, enjoying talking with the folks in my new group with Austin Fit. We were ticking off the miles pretty good, slightly sub-8 for the first couple miles, and I was happy.

But about halfway through the run, I started heating up, and I knew I was in trouble. Now, what I'm talking about is different than being hot. Being hot I can handle. The onset of heat stroke feels very different, and I think I'm getting good at spotting the difference.

It's happened to me a few times over the past few years. I feel my head start getting hot, like a furnace, and if I don't back off, or even walk, I know what's going to happen. My entire core will get heat soaked, and I'll go into heat stroke. That happened to me last year. I decided I was going to run through it, which was a big mistake. The gains you think you'll make by pushing yourself are completely outweighed by the damage you do by letting yourself get too hot, not to mention the risks you run. People drop dead from heat stroke. It's no laughing matter.

So today I was smart. When I felt it coming on, I walked. And I walked until I cooled off. And then I ran again. I did it twice, and it worked.

And it sucked, too, because I was running great. I had plenty of muscle power and plenty of wind. Had it been ten degrees cooler, it probably would have been an awesome run.

But it wasn't, though I'm proud of making the hard choice of backing off when I knew I should. Right now I'm feeling fine, and that makes me happy, especially when I consider the alternatives, like suffering from the effects of full blown heat stroke (which can last for days) or worse, much worse.

Back at the group's meeting place, I was talking to my running buddies about the episode, and they seemed completely unaware of what I was saying. There clearly needs to be some more education on this issue.

And one of the most frightening things about it is, those who are starting to get heat stroke often deny to themselves and others that its' happening. Here's a great piece from the New York Times that discusses the medical issue.