Metro

Defiant Big Apple athletes: Gimme swelter!

Defiant New Yorkers dead-set on a workout turned a blind eye to the oppressive heat and spent the day biking, running and playing sports as if it were 20 degrees cooler.

“It’s all about perception — the heat is only in your head,” said Chris Phelps, who played four sweltering hours of basketball yesterday at “The Cage” on West 4th Street in Greenwich Village.

“I’m an Aries. It’s a fire sign, so I adapt to the heat,” the Brooklyn med student said. “Don’t try to beat the heat, love it!”

Krisstina Hawks, 32, was so determined to get her regular lunch-hour workout in, she went for a 60-minute jog in Central Park just as temps were rising toward a record. “I drank a bunch of water before I left,” the music-industry worker said.

In Chelsea, former stockbroker Chris Cohen went rollerblading even as the National Weather Service put out an excessive-heat warning.

“I’ll do two hours today. I’ve done 10 in one day,” he said. “People think it’s crazy, but I’ve got tattoo that says ‘Mad Man’ in Japanese kanji.”

In The Bronx, the heat didn’t stop golfers at the Pelham/Split Rock Golf Course.

“This weather will kill you, that’s for sure,” said Drew Tracey, 21, who took nearly four hours to play a round. “But I love this sport. I’ll play it rain or shine.”