how hot is too hot?

If you core temp is reaching triple digits, thats the danger zone.  Look up signs and symptoms of heat illness on google.  You should find info on heat cramps/heat exhaustion/heat stroke.

How hot is too hot? Today hot!

130F...

http://www.badwater.com/


Okay, a bit extreme

*Butts her nose in*

You left off the part that you run in the heat... 90f to be exact... without drinking a drop of water the whole time.

Drinking WHILE you run, is important.

I just don't think it's a safe idea for you to run without drinking... even if you drink before you leave the house.

*Girlfriends butts her nose out*

Point taken, though I do hydrate before the run and I'm looking at changing my run day so I can run in the mornings on my days off so it's not quite so hot outside.

No, BAD idea!!! Cold showers and drinks can send your body into shock and kill you just as sure as the heat. Cool water sipped slowly is the best, unless it is an emergency situation, and if it is, chances are you're not able to help yourself much anyways.

I don't know in terms of temperature, but I do know well the signs and symptoms of heat injuries.

Cramps, headache, naseau, vomitting, red skin, dizziness, profuse sweating.

Generally, your body will telly uo when things are getting bad. If you start getting dizzy, STOP IMMEDIATELY. If you stop sweating, you are in HUGE trouble. That's the surest sign your body is shutting down. There are three stages: Heat exhaustion, heat cramps, and heat stroke. You'll probably see the first two most often, especially in athletes. The key is to consume proper levels of water and electrolytes. Even if you sweat alot, more often than not, the salt you take in with the food you eat is usually plenty for moderate work. Water is really the key.

Actually, it is you that are mistaken, Scout.

Getting out of the sun immediately, lying down, and cooling off with external cooling is THE RECOMMENDED TREATMENT. Granted, hydration is likewise very important, but the hallmark of heat exhaustion, and eventually heat stroke, is that your body becomes unable to cool itself adequately by itself. Thus, external cooling can be vitally important and lifesaving. The point where we both agree is to STOP, and get out of the heat IMMEDIATELY. Drink water, lie down, and cool yourself with water, ice packs, tepid bath (not ice cold), air conditioning, etc.

I would also advise those people who choose to take "metabolic agents" (ephedra, bitter orange, etc.) to be especially cautious with training on hot days. Not only from a heat exhaustion standpoint, but also the vasoconstrictive (blood pressure) properties of those compounds, coupled with dehydration, have led to deaths in young, healthy athletes. I personally would recommend against them, but I find most type-A personalties (i.e. 99% of triathletes) don't seem to think that it could happen to THEM. Believe me, it can and HAS. So please be careful.

Edited by RJSuperfreaky 2006-05-30 10:12 AM

That is what I said. My issue was with the temperature. If you use ice or very cold methods, you can cause a person's body to go into shock. People have died from that (remeber those runners who went into shock from dumping ice water on their heads?).

Ice is generally used to treat extreme heat cramps and heat stroke.