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Home » Fitness » Running

July 28, 2016 (Updated December 28, 2023)

Running in Heat vs. Humidity: which is worse?

by Anne Mauney, MPH, RD

12 comments
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The humidity continues! More crazy hot, sweaty runs this week – oof! The first one was a fun run date on Tuesday morning with my high school BFF Jenny. She’s in town visiting and Tuesday was her birthday – fun way to start the day. 🙂

IMG_0943

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I didn’t want to make her get up too early on her birthday so we started a little after 8 a.m. The extra sleep was awesome but the extra heat was not. It was blazing out there!

custis trail running

I read an interesting article in the New York Times the other day about changes in performance when running in heat and humidity – it made me feel better about my runs being much slower in the heat! I’ve heard people comparing heat training to altitude training – hoping all these hot runs pay off come October for the Marine Corps Marathon. 🙂

We kept it short and sweet and had fun chatting away. It was so hot we ended up walking the last half mile – fine with me!

IMG_0950

Yesterday morning I fled to the air conditioning and met up with Chelsea and Kathleen for our weekly boot camp – this week we hit up Urban Athletic Club via ClassPass (<—only one more day to get $30 off your first month with this affiliate link).

As for today, it was back to the humidity! I met up with my track group bright and early. I was at happy hour last night so I wasn’t feeling amazingly energized when I got out there, but a couple laps in once I warmed up I actually ended up feeling relatively decent. It was a tough one, though – here’s what we did:

  • Warm up
  • 1 mile at threshold pace (10 miler or half marathon pace)
  • rest 1 to 2 minutes
  • 400m (one lap) at 5k pace
  • rest 3 minutes
  • 1 mile at threshold pace
  • rest 1 to 2 minutes
  • 400m at 5k pace
  • rest 3 minutes
  • Five 200m (half lap) sprints – all out effort with a short walking break in between each
  • Cool down
    P7280006

That was a speedy one! As my coaches said, the goal of speedwork is to learn to run quickly in a controlled way – basically understanding how to go faster while still maintaining proper form, and not completely falling apart because you go out too fast/don’t pace yourself properly. Having track coaches has made such a difference for me in terms of all of this!

I have 14 miles on the docket this weekend as my long run, and lucky for me my track buddy Diane has a step down week (she’s training for the Chicago Marathon, which is a few weeks earlier than MCM so she’s already higher in mileage) so she’s also supposed to do 14 miles! Perfect. Yay for company!

When I got home this morning I refueled with my flour free breakfast pancake but in microwave form because I didn’t feel like dirtying a pan. Topped with plain Greek yogurt, berries, and a sprinkling of slivered almonds and walnuts. It was super filling and I didn’t need all of it so I saved some to enjoy as a mid morning snack. Thinking of breaking into it now!

grain free breakfast bowl

Back to work! Enjoy your days, my friends!

Which do you think is worse: running in the heat (aka hot temperatures) or running in humidity? According to the NYTimes article, hot temperatures are harder – they said it’s better to do a run in the early morning when the temperature is lower but the humidity is higher, rather than the evening when the temperature is high but the humidity is a bit lower. Interesting! I find both hard, but I agree with their heat assessment – especially if the sun is blazing. Having the hot sun on me makes such a difference in my performance – I get so drained!

- anne
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12 comments
  • Danielle @ Wild Coast Tales
    July 28, 2016 · 11:08AM:
    I love that tip about speedwork! I have definitely noticed that as I have become a better running - being able to run more controlled (versus all out flailing! haha) when running fast.
    Reply
  • [email protected]
    July 28, 2016 · 11:40AM:
    I think humidity is way worse--I feel like I'm running through peanut butter and can't deal! But both combined are the worst!
    Reply
  • Meagan @ My Life as Mrs
    July 28, 2016 · 12:23PM:
    Humidity isn't a big deal if it isn't hot but my, oh my, it's killer when it is. I ran in like 80% humidity this morning in the sun when it was hot and I was zapped out real quick.
    Reply
  • Nicole
    July 28, 2016 · 1:25PM:
    i think humidity is worse. more sweat and harder to breathe!
    Reply
    • Beth July 28, 2016 · 2:14PM:
      Completely agree! Makes me feel as if there is a brick or elephant on my chest.
      Reply
  • Ash Diamond
    July 28, 2016 · 1:56PM:
    Thanks for sharing this article - super interesting!
    Reply
  • Kate
    July 28, 2016 · 6:14PM:
    I live in South Carolina so I don't really know heat without humidity! Thanks for the article. I always think of the cardiac drift chart I learned about in sports nutrition.
    Reply
  • Sarah @ BucketListTummy
    July 29, 2016 · 9:02PM:
    Humidity is the worst for us here in Charlotte. We had a random wind bout the other day and I went for my run after around 7pm. It was hot but there was NO HUMIDITY and I felt great. I'm not a morning runner, but to get my marathon training runs in, I typically have to do my runs in the morning.
    Reply
    • Anne
      August 1, 2016 · 10:09AM:
      Yeah it's wayyyy too hot in the evening!
      Reply
  • Roadrunner July 29, 2016 · 10:17PM:
    It is all about the humidity! That is far and away the worst!
    Reply
  • Joseph Volk December 29, 2018 · 11:54AM:
    Given the same temperature - let's say 88 degrees, I much prefer high humidity and overcast than low humidity and blazing sun. I'm willing to bet most runners' times would reflect my supposition.
    Reply
    • Anne
      December 30, 2018 · 12:21PM:
      Either condition sounds rough, ha!
      Reply
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anne mauney fannetastic food
Hi, I’m Anne! I'm a Washington D.C. based Registered Dietitian, mother, runner, and lover of travel, adventure, and the great outdoors. I've been blogging since 2009, sharing a mix of lifestyle content, recipes, and fitness tips. Come for the recipes – stay for the fun!
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I’m Anne, a Registered Dietitian and mother. I've been blogging since 2009 and love showing others that eating nutritious foods and staying active can actually be fun rather than overwhelming!

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