Acclimating to the heat?

[Harold Buck]

Does anyone have any good information about acclimating oneself to the heat for Ironman racing? I'm
doing IM Wisconsin on Sept. 7, and last Sept. 7 was blazing hot (92 and humid; I did a local half-IM
that day).

So, I'm trying to do more hot-weather training this year. I did 14 miles yesterday in the
low-to-mid-80's, and it wasn't much fun. Anyway, I guess the main question is: Do I have to do my
*long* runs and bikes in the heat to get acclimated, or is it enough to do hour workouts in those
conditions and do the long runs and bikes when the temperatures are a little more reasonable?

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day. Then it was every other day. . . ."

- Homer J. Simpson

 

[Pmcdc]

well, i've done what you have done and it's gone well. which is to say, train in the heat when i
can. i've done this for IMH 3x (working toward my 4th at the moment) as well as for oly. races
which are in really hot places. my take on it is that the humidity is the biggest factor involved.
for hawaii, i've arrived fridays, for the race a week + day away and it's gone very well. by that
time the environment's no shock when i go outside and my perspiration production has come around.
so, i guess when i do the race it isn't such a factor in the front of my mind as it would be
otherwise. that said, i'd say a huge amount of the adjustment is mental. just slogging along in the
heat, constantly drinking and feeding yourself, and getting used to that, is worth a lot. then race
day is just more of the same. big, big helps are wearing a hat in which you can put ice when you go
by the aid station. it cools very well. my order goes something like this: running in i call out
for ice and head for that person. get the ice in the outstretched cap, put it on my head, and doing
so yell for what else i want (water or gatorade or coke), then get that with my now-free hands. if
it's water, i might take 2 cups and pour 1 over my arms. i hope your race goes really well and you
enjoy it. peggy

 

[Mark Hickey]

Harold Buck <[email protected]> wrote:

>Does anyone have any good information about acclimating oneself to the heat for Ironman racing? I'm
>doing IM Wisconsin on Sept. 7, and last Sept. 7 was blazing hot (92 and humid; I did a local
>half-IM that day).

92 isn't "heat"... ;-) (I'm in Arizona, I know about heat!).

>So, I'm trying to do more hot-weather training this year. I did 14 miles yesterday in the
>low-to-mid-80's, and it wasn't much fun. Anyway, I guess the main question is: Do I have to do my
>*long* runs and bikes in the heat to get acclimated, or is it enough to do hour workouts in those
>conditions and do the long runs and bikes when the temperatures are a little more reasonable?

The more time you spend in the heat, the less of an issue it will be. The important thing is to NOT
get caught unprepared. Drink plenty of water (and some sports drink), start slow, and don't up your
mileage in the heat all at once. Find out where your limits are carefully, and expand them slowly.

Start every workout slowly, bringing your body up to temperature and developing a healthy sweat
before upping the pace. Pay close attention to any signs of heat problems (dizziness, nausea,
lack of sweat, etc.) and have a bailout plan (don't do a 15 mile out and back run into the middle
of nowhere).

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com Home of the $695 ti frame

 

[Rtk]

Try googling or somehow finding a research paper by RuthAnn Anderson. It was fifteen years ago that
I was part of her study on acclimation to heat. Soon after the study was completed I did my first
IMH and never even noticed the heat. The study involved women 50+ who were matched for VO2 max with
young women and was concerned with age or fitness as the more important determinant for adaptation
to the heat. It involved exercising 2 hours at a time at 70% max in temperatures above 100 and very
high humidity. The least fit among us required 8 sessions over a period of 3 weeks. I was adapted in
4 sessions. Our temperatures were monitored during the exercis session. That was the icky part.

Ruth Kazez

 

[Jeff Bryant]

"Harold Buck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Does anyone have any good information about acclimating oneself to the heat for Ironman racing?
> I'm doing IM Wisconsin on Sept. 7, and last Sept. 7 was blazing hot (92 and humid; I did a local
> half-IM that day).
>
> So, I'm trying to do more hot-weather training this year. I did 14 miles yesterday in the
> low-to-mid-80's, and it wasn't much fun. Anyway, I guess the main question is: Do I have to do my
> *long* runs and bikes in the heat to get acclimated, or is it enough to do hour workouts in those
> conditions and do the long runs and bikes when the temperatures are a little more reasonable?

In Tim Noakes' Lore Of Running he concludes from a couple of studies that if you acclimate/train for
7-10 days the benefits will last about 2 weeks. If you can't train in the same climate, then study
subjects were successul by adding layers (up to five layers!) of clothes.

I will be running a marathon in Aug in hotter weather than what I will likely be training. I plan
to add a couple of layers of clothes the two weeks prior. I imaginethat the longer you acclimate
the better, but Noakes found that 7-10 days was the point of diminishing returns. And I would
rather not spend all summer running around in a couple of layers of tights, long-sleeved tops, wool
socks, etc.