⚠️ Disclaimer: What I'm sharing is something that has worked well for me, and may or may not work well for you. This article is not medical or health advice. Everyone's body is different, and you should consult with a medical professional about concerns you might have regarding exercising in extreme heat. You should also educate yourself about how to avoid and recognize the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Always listen to your body and don't take unnecessary risks.

A few years ago I was looking for cooling materials and stumbled upon MISSION's cooling apparel. I bought one of their hats and gaiters. The hat performed well while walking, hiking, and doing yard work outside. The gaiter also did well doing the same activities, but it didn't help much when I ran.

In an attempt to have the gaiter perform better, I wet it, wrung it out, and then froze it. That kept the gaiter cooler for a little longer, but not long enough. But it gave me an idea that has worked out very well. Instead of wetting and freezing it, I started putting ice cubes around the bottom and then rolling it up. I found when I put it on my neck, it would slowly melt during the run and my body would heat up slower and I could run further.

I think this life hack works well for a few reasons:

1. Some of the ice sits over my carotid arteries and is likely helping to cool my blood.
2. The circle of ice significantly cools the area around my neck and helps make my head noticeably cooler.
3. The ice melts down the front and back of my shirt and it has a constant cooling effect on my torso.

How to add ice to the cooling gaiter

Step 1: Fill a bowl up with ice cubes and turn the gaiter inside out.

Step 2: Fill the inside of the end of the gaiter with ice.

Step 3: Wrap and roll the ice up about halfway up the gaiter.

Step 4: Take the other end of the gaiter and wrap it around the bottom part that has the ice. Flip it over and pull the end without ice up.

Step 5: Pull it over your head and put it around your neck.

After I put it on, I like to shift most of the ice around to the back of my neck, but I leave a few cubes resting over both of my carotid arteries. As I run and the ice over my carotid arteries melts, I will usually move some of the ice on the back of my neck forward over my arteries.

Additional tips for running in the heat

Make sure your body is cool before running. If you've been doing things that would make you even a little warm, your body will likely heat up faster. I prepare for running in the heat by doing the following:

• Drink plenty of water during the hours leading up to the run. Being well hydrated before you run is very important. Drinking a lot of water right before a run is not being well hydrated. That's not how the body works.
• Find a cool spot in your home. I work remotely and my small home office has a mini-split air conditioner. Before I run in the heat, I will usually turn the unit on and set it to 68 degrees until I feel cold. My setup isn't typical, but the important thing is to find a place in your home that isn't warm and where your body can feel cool.
• Reduce movement. As you hydrate and remain in a cool spot, don't do much with your body. I typically use my computer, but you could also use the time to read, meditate, or lay down (without falling asleep).

Once you hit your mid-to-late-thirties, things start to slow down. It’s an interesting time because it coincides with you feeling fairly confident about yourself and the world around you. As in, you don’t give as much of a shit about things, because you’ve realized how insignificant those things actually are.

If you’re like me, 🍺, 🥃 and 🍸 also start to taste better and you find yourself consuming them more often than not. That has been my case for several years now. I’ve fought off the unpleasant effects of alcohol (making me fatter) by 🏋️, 🚵 and 🏃‍♂️. However, an unexpected thing happened to me as soon as I hit 40-years-old. I started to develop chronic insertional achilles tendinitis (IAT).

IAT would make it impossible to walk for weeks at a time, which also kept me from 🏋️, 🚵 and 🏃‍♂️. Without exercise, I found myself drinking more often, especially when I felt more stressed out. I also started to notice that I was becoming more physically depressed. I felt more tired and my brain felt slower. It became a vicious cycle, similar to how overweight people (myself included) relieve themselves emotionally with unhealthy food over and over again.

🏃‍♂️ is my zen and 🏋️ makes me feel strong, but with IAT I was stuck. So after three years of off-and-on-again IAT, I finally sought out a specialist and got an MRI. I found out that absolutely nothing was wrong with me. There were no signs of arthritis or problems with my achilles. Everything looked completely healthy. After ruling out all of the other possibilities, my doctor diagnosed me with gout.

This was shocking to me, because I’ve always imagined gout as being an old person’s disease where they have this giant swelled up foot and ankle. After learning more about gout and how it first usually presents itself with a swelled up big toe knuckle, I immediately remembered the two times that happened to me in my right foot and I couldn’t walk very well for a week each time. Holy crap! I’ve been fighting gout all this time!

I learned that gout is caused by purines (which sounds completely made up to me) which are found in high quantities in 🍺, 🥃, 🍸, 🐮, 🐔, 🐷, 🐟 and 🦐. That’s basically my entire diet. Consuming any of those on a regular basis and in high volume can cause gout. In addition, not staying well hydrated can cause gout.

In most cases, gout is hereditary. It wasn’t until after I was diagnosed that my Dad said, “Oh yeah, your Mom and I have had gout several times.” That would have been good to know a long time ago 😕.

Bottom line, the cure for gout for me was to give up 🍺, 🥃, 🍸, 🐮, 🐔, 🐷, 🐟 and 🦐, and to stay💧. So that’s what I did, 🥶🦃.

Since I’ve stopped drinking alcohol and have only been eating a vegetarian diet, my symptoms have completely gone away. I’ve been exercising regularly again, and I have yet to experience any of the old symptoms. The other thing that’s changed significantly is what I call my brainergy. I feel more alert and energetic. I had no idea just how much alcohol was physically depressing my body and my mind. I’m sure it’s also because I’m eating healthier now, but not drinking alcohol has made my mind significantly more sharp and intellectually motivated. So in a weird way, gout has been a blessing.