Football players take one of 11 water breaks during their first practice of the season yesterday morning at North Stafford High School. In 98-degree heat, coaches gave players frequent breaks to be sure they stayed hydrated. Photos by View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

Summer is sizzling Extreme heat through Thursday

Yeah yeah yeah yeah, it's like a heat wave

By LAURA MOYER

Date published: 8/1/2006

The tennis courts at Memorial Park in Fredericksburg looked and felt like a giant green griddle at 2:30 yesterday afternoon.

That would make George Hill, Barry Halton, Larry Crowley and Charlotte Dieujuste four sizzling strips of bacon as they played doubles in the hottest part of the day.

It hit a high of 96 at the weather station at Fredericksburg's wastewater treatment plant yesterday, and that was just a warm-up. An extreme heat warning is in effect from today through Thursday, with an expected high temperature of 100 or above each day. Wednesday's AccuWeather forecast of 105 degrees would break the record of 102 degrees, set in 1980.

That's hot enough to kill, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

The CDC's Web site warns that those who overexert themselves outdoors or simply stay too hot too long indoors can face an escalating series of symptoms--heat rash, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and finally heat stroke, which can be fatal.

The heat didn't deter Hill, Halton, Crowley or Dieujuste from their Monday afternoon tennis game.

"We're regulars, so if it's not raining, we're here," said Hill.

They did make a few concessions. They played doubles instead of more strenuous singles. They drank from big jugs of water and lemonade. And they took plenty of rest breaks in one tiny strip of shade beside a fence.

The CDC is big on air conditioning as a way to help keep body temperatures normal.

But Hill, 75, doesn't care for it. Before playing tennis yesterday, he said, he'd already cut grass and gone for a Rappahannock River swim.

"It's better than sitting in the air conditioning," he said. "That'll ruin you."

Some people don't even have that option, like construction workers and laborers whose jobs are outside-only.

But even those who work indoors can find sedentary, climate-controlled environments oppressive. All the heat warnings in the world aren't enough to keep them inside with the shades drawn.

Many Fredericksburg-area runners are working toward fall marathons, and for them July and August are crucial training times. They may not love running on the hottest days, but they'll grit it out.

"I don't tell people to stop running if they're truly runners," said Dr. Tom Ryan, a Fredericksburg family physician and veteran marathoner.

But Ryan urges those in serious training to run smart. That means going early in the day, before the worst of the sun and heat; drinking enough water before, during and after a run; and consuming sports drinks with electrolytes for any run longer than an hour.

Some runners wear water-filled fanny packs or hydration belts so they can always have fluid available, Ryan said.

Most important, he said, is that runners be willing to put their health ahead of their training schedules. Dizziness and nausea are warning signs of heat illness, and goosebumpy skin means the illness has progressed.

Runners who feel those things need to stop immediately, sit in the shade and rehydrate. And then they need to go home, period.

"If you feel that badly, you just need to say 'I'm going to pack it in,'" Ryan said.

To reach LAURA MOYER: 540/374-5417
Email: lmoyer@freelancestar.com

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Date published: 8/1/2006