As I jogged up an arroyo at high-noon on a local trail near my home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, I felt the sun beating down on my head and shoulders. I glanced at my phone’s weather app, which informed me that it was 78 degrees Fahrenheit, but the “real feel” was 87 degrees. My shirt was drenched in sweat and my fingers had started to swell. I reached for the last sip of water from my running vest as I hit mile three.
In my late-twenties and early-thirties, I ran ultramarathons, and sports drinks filled with electrolytes were part of my training kit. Powders to dump into my water sat alongside my collection of GUs and energy bars. But I haven’t run an ultra in years, and my electrolytes stash has dwindled along with my average weekly mileage. These days, when I head out for a run, I grab my phone, a hat, and maybe a water bottle, depending on how long I’m planning to be out.
I squeezed the last drops from my water bottle and checked the map. Just one mile to go. As my shoes pounded the sandy trail, I began to wonder if I was hydrated enough for my quick lunch run. I’d definitely underestimated how hot 78…
