Extreme cold vs hot weather running: which is better?

Unpopular opinion. I love running in hot weather, extremely hot weather. It feels amazing.

 I know I’m the minority, but maybe just, maybe there is some science and merit to training in the heat, the extreme heat versus the extreme cold. Or maybe I’m just crazy

 and this episode, my goal is to slightly convince you of whatever you believe in. So the opposite of where your stance is, so that you can try it in your own life and make yourself a better running human. And so that you can learn these things,  

 the advantages of running in very cold weather.   

 The benefits of running an extreme hot weather. 

 The mental toughness developed from running in each of those polar opposite extreme temperatures. How to dress for both. The downsides of each one and more.   

 I’m de lake runs. And I’ve been running since 1994, I’ve done a sub three hour marathon and I’ve finished an Ironman triathlon in 10 hours. 

 And since 2012, I’ve been researching, experimenting on myself and talking to experts on how to get 1% better. Each day and my training, racing and life all so that you don’t have to do all that crazy mess and make it as easy as possible for you. 

 I’ll be joined by my content brother from another mother. Remy. Be real. And special guests, Instagram comedic runner, Laura Green, AK Laura, Mick Greene and Instagram guru, a running coach guru, Mike trees, AKA rundown energy to help us decide which one’s the best hot or cold, extreme, hot or cold. 

 Sound’s not mid, like a gen Z Tik TOK or something like that.  Or let’s go.

Good people of the internet. Welcome back to this or that the show where we discuss polarizing topics in the endurance sports space. I’m here with my cohost of the D lake podcast and newsletter. You know him, Darren, how are you feeling brother? I’m doing, doing very well. And we are recording and we got a time crunch because you know, ain’t nobody got time for that.

So we need to get through this, this one, this episode is on. Would you rather extreme, uh, sorry, would you rather train in extreme cold or extreme heat defined as like very, very, very, very cold, very uncomfortable and very, very hot. So it’s not like slightly cold and slightly hot and let’s get exact numbers.

This is like below zero degrees Fahrenheit or, you know, in the negatives. for Celsius, negative 10, negative 20 Celsius, uh, or as you get into, I’d say 85 90 degrees, uh, probably in the 90 degree point plus Fahrenheit for heat. And that would be about 35 degrees 30 35 37 degrees Celsius because we do have people from all over the world.

And don’t forget to factor in your dew points and your humidities because that’s all important too. Now, this is a, a packed topic, and it’s extremely subjective, right? Because we’re not all built for heat. We’re not all built for cold. So we had to, one more time, get Judge Laura Green in here to help adjudicate this matter.

But first, Darren,  Well, before I get to where I stand, I always want to tell everyone, the whole point of this This or That series isn’t to just be like, oh, I’m right and you’re wrong, this is black and white, it’s actually to show the grey area in the middle. Because how you’ve been doing something may not be The best thing for you because the other side and the wise of the other side, which comes from our community and the people’s responses might be of interest for you to try it.

And, uh, everyone’s, you know, especially with hot and cold is very much like,  I’m putting my foot in my putting my stake in the ground. And this is what I do because of my body, blah, blah, blah, blah. So I’m going to get to why I do what I do.  All right. So the two reasons why, and, uh, they’re very silly, they’re very subjective, but, um, yeah.

I’m just a a warm blooded creature like these people out here that like this cold weather this and i’m gonna be in celsius to fahrenheit So i’ll be bouncing between but you know if we’re out here in minus 10 degrees celsius, which is like 20 degrees fahrenheit. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no any day Uh 80 80 90 degree fahrenheit 30 to 35 degrees celsius day.

I’m out here. I can do a 60 90 minute run I wouldn’t push it to two hours in that heat middle of the day Um that does get dangerous. I’d probably take a bit of a break Make sure I fuel up make sure I hydrate up have the proper electrolytes, but I just I just love the Feeling of being outside, not having any clothes on, um, or minimal clothes on.

And I’m just sweating. Like I like when I step outside and I sweat a bit and yes, you can layer up, et cetera, et cetera. But when you sweat, cause I always sweat, I sweat under the layer. So now I’ve got this layer of moisture  and it’s cold. So don’t let me stop running to go to the store or get something to drink or, you know, stop to have a coffee or chat with someone five minutes.

I’m freezing cold now and I got to start running with sweat. No, no, no, no, no. And if I’m cycling. Oh boy. Yeah. Swimming. No, no, no. Cold weather. No go. But the, the other reason is I think I perform better in, in the warm weather up to, up to a limit. Basically you want to go, all right, my pace is going to slow down based on this heat.

I don’t really do that. But I run short. I’m not out here running five hours in the heat. Uh, I run short and yes, yes, I can even hurt myself and my performance does degrade if I’m out there doing 30 40 minutes on the track. It just feels good. I’m just gonna keep it as it is. I like it. I’m gonna keep doing it.

That’s how I am.  You can always put more on, but we live in a society, y’all, there’s only so much that we can actually take off. So, extreme heat, extreme cold, gimme the cold. Cause there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear and preparation. So as those temperatures drop, you’ve got so many options to layer up.

Starting with a hat, maybe some gloves, uh, tights if you get down like that, wool socks, throw on a vest if you need to, a jacket, a scarf, so many options to bundle up and stay warm. Uh, even down to, like, foot warmers, hand warmers, the list goes on and on. We have so many things available to make the cold weather more bearable.

But once it gets so hot, you know, I already took my shirt off and I’m wearing two inch shorts. There’s not a whole lot else to go from there. You mean? And that’s not to say I love the cold weather anyway. Look, I’m a Caribbean dude. I don’t like anything. anything about the cold, snow, or being cold. But when it comes to endurance sports, you’re generating heat anyway, right?

You’re running, you’re cycling, or just generally moving and working up that core temperature, so it’s only really cold either if you’re Not prepared or you stop moving.  Don’t stop moving and it shouldn’t be a problem.  Okay. So let’s take a look at some poll responses from our community members. What do we got, my dude?

All right. So I polled a lot of people, uh,  79 percent said very cold. I knew it’d be like this. 21 percent said very warm. So y’all going against me, which is all good. And, uh,  you know, I’ll talk about, I’ll talk about that in a bit. Uh, why I might be, uh, taking the other side. Um, but let’s go to some of the actual, uh, reasons why other people.

So there was a lot of responses here. You can from rise, Bob one, you can rug up for the cold, but you can’t escape the heat. Uh, that’s true. Easy to work harder. I don’t know what She said, I think she said cold, less hassle of all the clothes are put on. That’s for heat. Yes, yes, yes. Uh, enjoy the snow. Oh, this is the person cold because one of you start doing sports is easier to continue.

Um, cold is less sweaty and I can keep my heart rate lower and perform better. Fair.  Another one. I’m a heavy sweater. The cold is just easier. I’ve done minus 20 degrees Celsius and I prefer that to 30 plus. So that’s like zero degrees Fahrenheit. And then 30 degrees Celsius is, uh,  85, 90. All right. So a lot of those responses, honestly, I knew they would be how they are.

I’m choosing the cold because I love attention. I post about literally every run I do every day and the heat is hard to portray accurately.  On film, with a camera. It’s extremely cold. Usually there’s snow. There’s a bunch of wind because there’s no leaves on the trees. So it’s all like  And I’m like, yo, look what I’m doing.

You’re not doing anything It feels better to post about running in the cold. Running in the cold kind of keeps me in motion. Kind of makes me want to stay moving. Of course, that’s always good, right? That’s the goal. So, for that, as well as, you know, when I do work up a sweat, get that heart rate up. Get my, you know, body temperature up.

I feel like I have that instant kind of cooling from the temperature of the air. And then lastly, like, I feel like running in extreme heat would just lead to overexhaustion and  heat stroke. I’ll pick the heat.  Uh, cause you can always cool down afterwards. I just don’t like getting super cold when I’m running in the cold.

Uh, making sure I stay warm is the issue, but, uh,  yeah, it’s a tough one. I do like them both, but we’re going to pick running in the heat. So long as you stay hydrated, that’s the main thing.  Put on a woolen layer, put on some little gloves, put on a hat and go out. You’re probably not going to die of hypothermia, but you will faint outside if it’s really hot and you get heatstroke in like 10 minutes.

Safety first, people. Can’t take off a layer of skin, can’t bring a portable little mister with you, just put on a hat and go running in the cold.  The cold, every time, um, reason being, you can always do something about the cold. You can always layer up or de layer, um, for the heat. Can’t really do much. You can, you know, you, if you watch Western States, you see people wear  handkerchiefs.

You know, wet their shirt as much as I can. People say they have to do a lot of sauna time or running in the heat just to heat adapt. I never hear people say that about the cold. So we’re back with our judge this time.  Cold versus hot. You’ve heard what Darren had to say. You’ve heard what I’ve had to say.

Laura, lay it down. Extreme cold or extreme hot? Extreme cold. Extreme cold 100%. I, I don’t know if it’s just my inability to run in peace.  Do you melt like butter? Is it my genetic makeup? Is it my ethical background? I’m like, ethical. Ethnic background. But it’s like, my body just doesn’t, it just doesn’t Starts dying  the second I head outside.

So I fully cover myself up and I do my best, but man, the second that my temp, my core temperature rises a certain, like I can not run. I’m miserable the whole time I’m thinking about how miserable I am. I can’t possibly keep up with the hydration. So 1000 percent cold. I mean, I will say the last few winters in Boston have been pretty mild.

We’ve been pretty lucky. Sure. Yeah. But when it gets cold, it is.  So what are we talking about? Extreme here? Like that weekend we had in February, that was like negative. 10, 20, are we getting it’s the negatives or are we still above there? Um, but the I feel like with cold you’ve got two extremes Where it can just be the the winds and  the air temperatures Yeah, or in my mind immediately goes to snow slush and ice right and when it comes to those extremes You know, you can still do it.

You can wear the, what do they call them with the little, uh, cleats? Yeah, tracks. There you go. You can run in those. I’ve tried it. I don’t love it. Yeah. I’ve been once upon a time known to shovel out the track to do a workout, but like,  you know, that, that’s a lot. Right. Versus Now, extreme heat, there are the temperatures, and then there’s a humidity, you know, is a factor.

That dew point. Yeah. Yeah. It’s too real. It’s too real. Because you can’t even escape it. You can wake up at 3 a. m. and it doesn’t even matter. It’s still  terrible. Um, yeah, I mean, when it comes, okay, when it comes to environmental, like, Slipping around on the ice and snow that becomes very difficult because you’re just not even getting a good quality workout in so that’s that is true.

That is true. And that’s super annoying. Um, but if it just comes to temperature, I mean, wind sucks, but  you can always put more, you can always put more layers on. Well, and I feel like  at the end of the day with either one of these. You have to temper expectations and modify greatly. And that always comes back down to, am I run walking?

Am I jogging? Like, what’s the effort actually look like to do this? So, then you gotta really ask yourself, would you rather do that? With your shirt off and two inch shorts or with a beanie on and you know, yeah.  That’s a good question. I don’t know. I don’t know. But if you asked me what my favorite running season is, I’d pick winter over summer, at least here in Boston. 

For sure. And I guess that’s just another factor. The location definitely matters. Um, while.  I, for one, as an island boy, uh, hate everything about being cold and these winters, but the sound of either crunching on the light snow and the way that it transforms all your trails, like there is something to it.

Besides just the going out and putting in the effort. Like there’s the scenery that changes things. I can’t enjoy anything when I’m just fucking tired. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t,  there’s no joy.  Yeah.  So there it is. But you tell us in the comments, where do you land cold, hot,  Do you melt the freeze? What’s it gonna be?

I mean, so there it is, man. Uh, the judge has decided, but, but I will say there are times where, uh, the cold really does start to grade on me. And, uh, depending on the effort, uh, specifically now. You know, we’ve mentioned this is endurance sports, but, uh, beyond just running, uh, I would much rather go for a swim in, you know, a warm swim than arctic temperatures.

And if I’m on a bike, my dude,  that way I would, yeah, boy, that, that will rip your skin off. So I can always drink more, get some more electrolytes in me. Uh, on a hot day on the bike, and you can definitely slow down and, you know, walk on a hot day out running. But, uh, when it’s just like, you know, sometimes it’s you cold and you can’t even get your words out and your eyebrows are frosted and, you know, it’s like that sometimes.

But what about you, man? Have you been swayed to the dark side? Uh, you know, as you, it’s funny. Um,  I like doing everything in the heat that, you know, that was one of the big reasons why I moved to Australia. I mean, amongst others, but I was like, Oh, I get to train all year long because I definitely don’t like the cold.

I don’t like the winter when I was in New York City and even Baltimore. Um, I didn’t like those cold winters, but as I dive more into science and see my performance. Um, and you know, as I want to run faster, are, you know, you got to be in that between 48 and 52 degrees Fahrenheit, which is about 8 to 10 degrees Celsius temperature to run your best times, anything colder, anything hotter or warmer.

Sorry. Um, your body is spending more energy trying to warm yourself up and more energy trying to cool yourself down. So, uh, race day. I want it to be cool. Like, I 10 degrees, aka 48, 50 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s cold. That’s cold. A cloudy, a cloudy 50 degree day. You know, for me, I’m like, you know, standing outside for 30 minutes without, you know, with, with shorts and a, and a, and a t shirt on and 50 degree weather, cloudy with wind.

That’s cold. Like that is cold for most people, you know, like, I’m just, I’m going to leave that to be subjective because the, the Boston winters, I mean, but hey, we’ll be here all day arguing about what is cold and what is hot, right? Fair, fair, fair, fair, fair. So, so look, I. I get it. I get it. But I just like the way I feel, you know, like I said, a million times, um, in heat.

Yeah. And that’s where we need y’all to go ahead and continue the conversation. Cause like we said, it is highly subjective. Let us know in the comments what region you’re in and what temperatures are more favorable there, what you’re training for, what your optimal temperatures are. Cause It is polarizing.

It is subjective. Let us know down in the comments. We’ll keep the party happening down there till next time y’all.  It’s been real.