tips for the heat

Comments

• md6 Posts: 969

  July 2010

  I took a camelbak on my ride this weekend - it was only 31/32 not quite as hot as your ride. I also started at 7:45 befor it got warm, i find the evening is warmer than the morning. Plenty of electrolytes is good too. and I put a few ice cubes in one bottle to try and keep it cooler for longer which i think helped. I also looped round past my house after 3 hours and grabbed a replacement bottle from the fridge and topped off the camelbak for good measure. I still suffered come midday and the heat, but i had a good 4 hours under the belt by then so just had to struggle home.
  
  Good luck with the 70.3

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• Zacnici Posts: 1,385

  July 2010

  I believe that 750cc to 1lL an hour of fluid is needed depending on body weight. The problem is that if you up the fluid intake you dilute your body chemistry an important factor being salt - so you either need to add salt or more likely sodium tabs 1000mg/hr or similar. If you use flat coke it needs to be diluted and I also understand it is a case of once started on a race do not stop or the sugar levels plummet
  
  High 5 do some useful guides which you may find useful:
  http://www.highfive.co.uk/min_leaflets/guides.html

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• Britspin Posts: 1,655

  July 2010

  Are we sure that we are not confusing the effects of heat with the effects of hydration or dare I say over hydration?
  We are programmed by the drinks manufacturers to dink, drink & drink some more..well they would say that wouldn't they? You cannot hope to replace (nor should you) all of your fluid or/and calorie needs during races or training, some deficit is inevitable. Science seems to be coming down on the drink to thirst side of things, yet again listen to your body, not the drinks manufacturers, so I would say your bottles will be enough to cover your needs, but it may have been the cooling that is an issue, not the drinking. See www.sportsscientists.com for some really good research & discussion.

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• Morg007 Posts: 54

  July 2010

  I may be completely wrong but I have heard somewhere (may be an old wives tale) that warmer liquid in hot temps is better than cold liquid due to warmer liquid matching your body temp ( I think this was used as a reason by a tea drinker when they said tea is refreshing in hot weather!). I say this because at Blenheim this year it was very warm and on the run I relied purely on the bike stage and the drinks stations for fluid intake on the run which wasn't enough for me and I struggled. So on Sat at Upton I put a bottle of water ready to run with but due to sitting in the heat it had warmed up but just sipping at it every few minutes or when i felt I needed it made me feel a lot more hydrated and lost that "thirst feeling" but when drinking the cold drinks at the drinks stations it didn't have that much affect.

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• Zacnici Posts: 1,385

  July 2010

  You may also want to look here:
  http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/envi ... e_Heat.htm

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• blaze1235 Posts: 64

  July 2010

  It is true about fluid temperature.
  
  the Human body operates at 36.5 - 37 degrees if you drink water much colder the body has to heat this up before it can use it. room temperature is best but not as nice

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• HarryD Posts: 425

  July 2010

  okenny
  
  Britspin is right, agree fully.
  
  Sounds more like overheating. As you exercise about 75% of the energy consumed by your muscles is turned into heat, the rest into movement. As we know sweating, radiation & convection cool the body. In high temperatures the body may easily reach the limit of its cooling systems & the body's core temperature will rise. Once the rise in core temperature approaches 2C (to 39C) the body's metabolic system slows down to reduce the amount of heat produced by work. You will feel tired (no energy?) and slow down. It is a natural defence mechanism of the body.
  
  You are going to have to live with the fact that in high temperatures you cannot exercise at the same intensity. What you can do is acclimatise gradually to exercising in high temperatures by building up your distance at slower speeds so that your body's cooling systems adapt & develop. Also do you need to put something light under your helmet, the vents are there for a reason. This is bound to constrict airflow & cooling (25% of heat loss is through the head). Avoid dark coloured kit (even red) as this soaks up the sunlight.
  
  You will acclimatise reasonably quickly to exercising in high temperatures if you go at it progressively. I've often raced (foot) at 35C & done long bike rides (8hours plus) at around 40C & experienced what you have but have adapted quite well over as little as a week.
  
  If you look at your hydration levels consider the following. 2% body weight loss = approx 3litres + you drank 1.5 litres. To go through 4.5 litres in 50km in what should be a sun 2hour ride seems excessive & not really credible. 2% body weight loss would result in a 10% loss of aerobic capacity. Who rides at their aerobic capacity on long rides? And it sound like your experience was of a greater loss of get up & go.
  
  Hope this helps
  
  HarryD

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• okenny Posts: 231

  July 2010

  wow, great post! thanks HarryD.
  
  I will work on improving my endurance on the heat.
  I did a 20km run at 30°C last night, went fine - but those couple of degrees cooler make a bifference.
  
  Thanks for the tips!

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