Friday Finds – 6th July

Friday Finds is a regular feature in which I collate and share interesting articles and posts on running/health/fitness which I’ve read recently. Some might be inspiring, some might be scientific, some might provoke debate. All are things I’ve found in some way thought-provoking.

Happy Friday everyone! This week I’m coming to you from the Sunshine State of Florida with a few articles to share.

Since I’m in the heat and the UK is still experiencing a heatwave, I’ll start with this rundown from Outside about how the warmer weather can affect our bodies, as well as some reminders about the most sensible things we can do to beat the heat. I’ll still run while I’m here in Florida but the distance will be less and I fully expect my pace to be slower, which is fine with me. The most important thing for me is to make sure I head out for my run early while it’s still comparatively cool and the humidity hasn’t built up to full strength. I’d love to know any other warm weather tips you have.

• Your Body in Extreme Heat

While I’m enjoying the downtime there’s a pretty high chance I’ll also enjoy a few naps as I recharge my batteries (regular readers of the blog might remember that my last couple of weeks of the school year were largely fuelled by naps!). I therefore read with interest Alex Hutchinson’s take on some recent studies into the impact of naps on athletic performance.

• Putting Napping to the Test

For those who have been watching the football (soccer) World Cup, it may have crossed your mind to wonder just how far those players are running during the course of a match. According to Runner’s World, a whopping 7 miles! Check out the article to see how some other sports compare.

• The Distance Run Per Game in Various Sports

I also enjoyed this Strava blog which, with its focus on consistency rather than focusing on the end result, really resonated with me as I have been focusing on process over outcome this year. It’s worth a read for anyone who has been finding themselves overly fixated on recent performances.

• Excellence: Not an Act but a Habit

And finally, if your running nutrition relies on carefully measured sports drinks and a schedule of gels, remember it wasn’t always that way. If we go far enough back in time then athletes were often fuelled by alcohol! It perhaps sounds tempting, but I don’t think I fancy dealing with the dehydration!

• Remembering When Runners Drank Champagne as an Energy Drink

Happy reading,
The Running Princess

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