HI everyone! First time post.
I'm hoping some of you can give me some good advice on coping and running in the heat. A quick background on me. I spent my childhood and college years as a competitive swimmer and turned to open water racing in my 20's and 30's. I got into triathlon at the age of 40 and I'm 46 today. I'm 5'10" and 156 lbs. with about 8% body fat. So I'm not carrying any excess weight.
Here's my issue, and it seems to be getting worse as I age. I live in Southern California where it can get really hot in the summer and I can run when it's cool with no issues but once it starts to creep up into the low to mid 80's, I really begin feeling the heat. I can feel my core heating up and can't seem to cool down no matter what I do. I shoot to take in 1200 mg of sodium per hour which is based on my high salt loss rate and always keep hydrated. I've tried many of the common suggestions like running in the heat and over time you become acclimated. But when I run in the heat (anything over 85 I'd say), I completely fall apart and end up having to walk when I can feel my body start to completely heat up. When I get home I look like a wreck with a beat red face and what feels like the onset of heat exhaustion. The "acclimation" process doesn't seem to work in may case, or maybe I'm doing it wrong. I do mostly 70.3 and full ironman races so my runs can be long and while I try to run in the early mornings, I'm sometimes forced to run later in the day or early evening.
Does anything have any idea why I react like this when my fellow training friends don't have this same reaction? Anything new you can suggest that might help me?
Thank you in advance for any advice.
Gregg
I'm hoping some of you can give me some good advice on coping and running in the heat. A quick background on me. I spent my childhood and college years as a competitive swimmer and turned to open water racing in my 20's and 30's. I got into triathlon at the age of 40 and I'm 46 today. I'm 5'10" and 156 lbs. with about 8% body fat. So I'm not carrying any excess weight.
Here's my issue, and it seems to be getting worse as I age. I live in Southern California where it can get really hot in the summer and I can run when it's cool with no issues but once it starts to creep up into the low to mid 80's, I really begin feeling the heat. I can feel my core heating up and can't seem to cool down no matter what I do. I shoot to take in 1200 mg of sodium per hour which is based on my high salt loss rate and always keep hydrated. I've tried many of the common suggestions like running in the heat and over time you become acclimated. But when I run in the heat (anything over 85 I'd say), I completely fall apart and end up having to walk when I can feel my body start to completely heat up. When I get home I look like a wreck with a beat red face and what feels like the onset of heat exhaustion. The "acclimation" process doesn't seem to work in may case, or maybe I'm doing it wrong. I do mostly 70.3 and full ironman races so my runs can be long and while I try to run in the early mornings, I'm sometimes forced to run later in the day or early evening.
Does anything have any idea why I react like this when my fellow training friends don't have this same reaction? Anything new you can suggest that might help me?
Thank you in advance for any advice.
Gregg