Make Yourself Less Miserable Later by Making Yourself More Miserable Now

I received a running tip from Randy Step, employee of the fine running store Running Fit, in his weekly e-mail. Randy suggests you (or I) slightly overdress on runs now, while the weather is transitioning from Spring to Death-by-Heat Summer. So, although you could simply run in shorts and a short sleeve shirt, you should overdress a bit on cooler day. Such a trick will help acclimate your body to the looming warmer temperatures.

Alright, sounds crazy enough to try; but does it work? I decided to give Randy’s advice a shot last night. I wore a long sleeve Smartwool undershirt and a short sleeve running shirt over it, and my usual running shorts. Temps were in the high 60s despite rain all day…and I mean all day except for when I step out to run at 8:30pm. With the temp around 68 degrees I went out for my 5M run slightly overdressed. The result? It made my run significantly more difficult and uncomfortable. I could tell I was working harder than normal and that my body temperature was significantly elevated. My splits went: 6:40, 7:01, 7:03, 6:59, 6:52.

As for the ‘suffer now to suffer less later,’ check back this summer and I’ll let you know.