Advice needed for riding in very hot conditions

Jun 29, 15 19:14

Post #1 of 16 (3306 views)

Background
6'3" 250# and a prolific sweater
Preparing for Ironman Canada in 27 days

I was at Ironman Coeur d'Alene this weekend volunteering and i went for a ride Saturday morning on the hilly stretch on 95. (To the athletes that battled the heat yesterday you have my unending respect and absolutely earned the title of Ironman!)

The (admittedly inaccurate) temperature on my bike computer got as high as 108.4 (I think the real temperature was more like 100)

In my short ride, i drained my 35oz BTA bottle, 2 additional water bottles, and a bottle of Gatorade and still ended up a bit dehydrated and was rapidly losing power.

Since i was self-supported i didn't have cold refills

My black Profile Design FC 35 BTA water bottle turned cold water to very warm water quickly.

The other water and Gatorade were the temperature of hot tea.

I've come to the conclusion that i am NOT ready for an exceptionally hot day at Ironman Canada (mid 80s would be fine, low 90s would cause me to slow, mid 95s make me slow very significantly, 100 would make it extremely hard to finish, 104...anything that goes wrong puts me in real trouble)

I learned a lot watching yesterday:

I need to get cooling sleeves
I need to go from a hat (preferably with neck coverage) instead of a visor
I haven't bought an aero helmet (planning an a Giro Attack Shield) but it might be better to stick with my well ventilated road helmet
I should plan on having 2 frozen bottles in my bike special needs bag
Planning on a 6.5-7 hour ride, i can't count on bike aid stations to have ice, cold water, or even any water
Nutrition can melt (heard this from several people)
It is hard to eat solid food when you are that hot... but you need calories

What else can i do, as a bigger than average athlete to help mitigate a potentially very hot day?

I do the same thing as them, just slower

Re: Advice needed for riding in very hot conditions [skot123] [ In reply to ]

Jun 29, 15 19:20

Post #2 of 16 (3295 views)

I wonder whether you might just to have accept (and indeed target) a lower power?

Had this issue in Saskatoon over the weekend. I just couldn't hit my target power and it should have been a cinch, but the temperatures were much higher than I'd trained in.

Re: Advice needed for riding in very hot conditions [skot123] [ In reply to ]

Jun 29, 15 20:45

Post #3 of 16 (3226 views)

skot123 wrote:

Background
6'3" 250# and a prolific sweater
Preparing for Ironman Canada in 27 days

I need to get cooling sleeves
I need to go from a hat (preferably with neck coverage) instead of a visor
I haven't bought an aero helmet (planning an a Giro Attack Shield) but it might be better to stick with my well ventilated road helmet

What else can i do, as a bigger than average athlete to help mitigate a potentially very hot day?

from a bigger guy 100 kgs, who's done a lot of hot weather IMs, Australia, Malaysia, Kona

Cooling sleeves - yes, splash water on them regularly to help keep cool
Hat - yes, a coolmax or other sort of technical fabric hat is gold. also good to hold ice onto head if it's available
helmet - road helmet may be cooler, but I used Specialised Evade in Kona '14 no problems
Suncream - use a good layer of 50+Spf like Bananaboat, put it on first thing in the morning... 2 layers. don't wait till you're about to get in the water.... first thing in the morning.
eating - eat what you can, but if you can't, don't stress it. aim for gels for the bulk of your calories
drink - as much, preferably an electro drink as you can comfortably handle, even diluted is better then just buckets of water. but don't keep trying to pour 2-3 litres an hour down, the stomach can only handle so much. remember, it's not about how much you're using up, it's about how much you can take in.

there's great info available on the Hammer Nutrition website about the bodies requirements... if you follow those basic guidelines, you'll get to the end.

btw, just hold the percieved effort that you would have if it was cooler... if that means 2-3 km/h or 15 sec a km slower than you've anticipated, then so be it.

what is that saying.... to finish well, you first have to finish.

btw#2. my best ever, as in the most cherished IM experience I'me had was in 40'C+ heat doing IM Malaysia.... so hot, drinking only and salt tablets, other than some orange slices, no food... hung in there, passed dozens in the run... hung tough... got the medal, got the towel, got the memories, got the girl... ok, there was no girl... fastest IM? not by a long shot, but it did teach me a bit about myself.

Last edited by: Avago: Jun 29, 15 20:47

Re: Advice needed for riding in very hot conditions [skot123] [ In reply to ]

Jun 29, 15 20:53

Post #4 of 16 (3216 views)

Raced yesterday at IMCDA; 6'1", 185. Rode about a 20 minute PR for the course (6:20).

Know your power and HR goals; don't hammer up the hills like the rest of the ding dongs...you'll catch em on the down hills when their coasting and you're maintaining power, and they will cook themselves out...don't be one of those guys.

I wore a full bike jersey with cooling sleeves to combat the sun. I had PD aero bottle up front, one on down tube, and one on rear cage along with flat kit in keg. 1 Powergel every 30 minutes, Salt tab every 1.5 hours. Drank as much gatorade and water as I could; drink til you burp it back up. Any water not in me was on me, especially the sleeves. I don't think anything I drank on the bike was cold ~ everything was warm. Also wore an aero helmet with headband underneath to redirect sweat and sunglasses instead of visor. I personally was never overly hot on the bike or run, and I truly believe it was due to a proactive cooler plan that lasted from the beginning of the bike until the end of the run.

Hope this helps.

Mark

Re: Advice needed for riding in very hot conditions [Avago] [ In reply to ]

Jun 29, 15 22:00

Post #5 of 16 (3162 views)

skot123 wrote:

Cooling sleeves - yes, splash water on them regularly to help keep cool
Hat - yes, a coolmax or other sort of technical fabric hat is gold. also good to hold ice onto head if it's available
helmet - road helmet may be cooler, but I used Specialised Evade in Kona '14 no problems
Suncream - use a good layer of 50+Spf like Bananaboat, put it on first thing in the morning... 2 layers. don't wait till you're about to get in the water.... first thing in the morning.
eating - eat what you can, but if you can't, don't stress it. aim for gels for the bulk of your calories
drink - as much, preferably an electro drink as you can comfortably handle, even diluted is better then just buckets of water. but don't keep trying to pour 2-3 litres an hour down, the stomach can only handle so much. remember, it's not about how much you're using up, it's about how much you can take in.

Great advice here. Listen to it.

Only caveat I have is on the "sun-scream". Virtually all of your sun protection should come from clothes. Sunscreen will wear/sweat/swim off. Doing the 2 layers is good insurance, but don't count on it.

In particular, if you don't wear gloves on the bike, make sure you get your hands more than once. Make sure to sunscreen the "T" of your face (nose, under the eyes) at least once. Tops the ears with the excess (if you're male with a short haircut).

Go with white clothing. Wear long sleeves (multiple threads available on that). Recognize you're going to be slower.

Also, it's Canada, not Arizona, so how bad can it be? ;)

-Jot

Re: Advice needed for riding in very hot conditions [Avago] [ In reply to ]

Jun 29, 15 22:01

Post #6 of 16 (3161 views)

Amazing advice, thank you all for taking the time to post

Quote:

just hold the percieved effort that you would have if it was cooler... if that means 2-3 km/h or 15 sec a km slower than you've anticipated, then so be it.

This is exactly what i needed to hear. I was so worried about the hills on the course that I got the power meter to help with pacing. I just have to remember not to be a slave to a power goal and ignore perceived effort...that path leads to suffering, anger, and the dark side.

(Which is exactly inline with the comment from Drdan)

markwhickman, i think you also pointed out another flaw in my race prep (which is AMAZING to say when you are 27 days out, instead of commiserating the day after)

I have been coming up with a:

Pacing Plan
Nutrition Plan
Hydration Plan
Flat/Mechanical Response Plan

What i didn't have was a Cooling Plan. (I don't know what the weather will be like...but i have tons of cold/wet experience, but i don't have significant HOT weather experience)

I do the same thing as them, just slower

Re: Advice needed for riding in very hot conditions [skot123] [ In reply to ]

Jun 29, 15 23:39

Post #7 of 16 (3101 views)

Good article to win the heat.

https://kennettron.wordpress.com/...g-one-with-the-heat/

Re: Advice needed for riding in very hot conditions [skot123] [ In reply to ]

Jun 30, 15 0:25

Post #8 of 16 (3084 views)

the hyper hydration from skratch labs made a massive difference to me training for long stuff in Austin in the summer. It's basically a whole pile of salt made more palatable with some mango flavoring. But a bottle of that before a long day in the heat made the difference between dying & being only mostly dead (revivable with a chocolate covered olive) after a long ride.

Re: Advice needed for riding in very hot conditions [skot123] [ In reply to ]

Jun 30, 15 6:19

Post #9 of 16 (2947 views)

Few people have told me to use an alcohol based sunscreen, especially helpful in hot conditions as it does not affect sweating as much as normal sunscreen by blocking pores... Can't say I've noticed a massive difference but might be worth a try.
Jeremy

Re: Advice needed for riding in very hot conditions [skot123] [ In reply to ]

Jun 30, 15 6:44

Post #10 of 16 (2911 views)

This may not help you on race day given the amount of time you have from the time you leave home/hotel to the time you get on your bike. But, the night before I ride/race I fill one insulated water bottle up half way and put it in the freezer at about a 30-45 degree angle. I then put the rest of the liquid, whether it be water or Gatorade, in the fridge. When I'm ready to leave the next morning I take the water from the fridge and fill the frozen water bottle the rest of the way. All my other bottles are filled to the top and put in the freezer so that they're all frozen. By the time I get to the bike ride on race day the ice is melting but the liquid is still super cold.

But like I said, this may not help you given the duration of an Ironman as well as the longer amount of time it will take before you get to the bike ride. And even then, once those bottles are gone you're back to square one. But for shorter hometown races and on training days this works pretty well for me.

The best pace is a suicide pace, and today is a good day to die. -Steve Prefontaine

Re: Advice needed for riding in very hot conditions [skot123] [ In reply to ]

Jun 30, 15 7:14

Post #11 of 16 (2883 views)

. . . or it could be a rainy, and cool to cold day in Whistler! The coastal mountain weather can be fickle. However, I know the North West is under a large high pressure ridge right now which is leading to warmer than average temps, and full-on sunshine and no rain( which is starting to be a real problem!)

Keep in mind that there is an aid station on the bike approximately every 10 miles and every mile on the run. This means that on the bike you are roughly 20 min to 30 mins from aid station to aid station and on the run 10 or so minutes between aid stations. Everyone, first timers in particular, get into a panic about aid on the course at Ironman races, but you will NEVER find better support and selection, when you are out there on the bike and run courses!

You don't need some exceptional or crazy strategy, if it is hot, just plan on pacing your self appropriately and making good use of the frequent and abundant on-course aid!

Despite all the above, you'll see many $10,000 super light and super aero bikes in transition loaded down like pack-mules going off in to the desert for a week! :)

Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Re: Advice needed for riding in very hot conditions [Fleck] [ In reply to ]

Jun 30, 15 12:51

Post #12 of 16 (2758 views)

Couldn't agree more with Fleck...I must've saw 20 folks with full on camelbacks added to 2-3 bottles on the bike; maybe they were full of ice to keep their back cool, but nothing like a couple of extra kilos to add to the climbing weight ~ a few more who looked to be on a self supported century ride. There was another dude with 3 power bar looking things unwrapped and folded around his top tube...looked like someone had taken a dump on the front of his bike ~ ill. Not that I'm just carrying one bottle, but fun to check out other setups out there while chugging along.

Last edited by: markwhickman: Jun 30, 15 12:52

Re: Advice needed for riding in very hot conditions [skot123] [ In reply to ]

Jun 30, 15 13:04

Post #13 of 16 (2735 views)

I just have to remember not to be a slave to a power goal and ignore perceived effort...that path leads to suffering, anger, and the dark side.

...Being a slave to set power goals/limits, and recognizing RPE and HR are critical; others might be better informed, but I think you should be a slave to the trifecta of your power goals (realistic based on FTP/IF limits), RPE, and HR. They are interrelated and keep each other in check. Power targets keep easy RPE in check at the beginning of the bike, HR and RPE keep power targets in check later on. Personally, I try to be focused on all 3 so I don't overdo it some spots, and don't give up free speed in places where I could be exerting at touch more effort when power is reading low of where I should/could be. Finesse for sure...but managing all 3 sets up a positive experience on the run.

Re: Advice needed for riding in very hot conditions [skot123] [ In reply to ]

Jul 1, 15 7:52

Post #14 of 16 (2579 views)

I've been really happy with Osmo PreLoad Hydration. It's not the greatest tasting, but you only take one bottle the night before and one the morning of. Another fairly common issue is chronic dehydration. Make sure you don't come into the race slightly dehydrated. If there is any ice on the run course, a cup down the shorts seems to help.

Best of luck!!

imagine.believe.achieve

Re: Advice needed for riding in very hot conditions [skot123] [ In reply to ]

Jul 1, 15 8:03

Post #15 of 16 (2571 views)

If you can carry regular water bottles the insulated ones from Polar or Camelback work pretty well. They will not keep you fluids cold all day like a thermos but they will hold off the "hot tea" temps for 1.5-2 hours, especially if you do the freeze half a bottle trick.

If they have ice at the aid stations you can have cold drinks all day. If they don't, at least you should have non hot drinks all day.

Re: Advice needed for riding in very hot conditions [gardenvelo] [ In reply to ]

Jul 6, 15 19:08

Post #16 of 16 (2378 views)

Do you know this guy? Just curious as to his reputation. I could see Sauna training being effective but who knows as there is so much bad info in cyberspace.

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