if it was me, i wouldn't do it in that heat. days like this need to be run in the dark hours.

on a side note, over 50% of weekly mileage in one run is brutal enough without the weather adding to the stress.

You could do the run/walk technique or you could split the run into 7 miles in the morning and 7 at night. or just flip the days of the bike/run.

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2019 T-Rex Tri Series

Why 14 miles... the 70.3 run is only 13.1.


Seriously... I would maybe run 10 miles and be done with it. There's not much upside to that extra 4 miles with less than two weeks to go plus the 100 degree heat. But there's the potential for a lot of downside.

Do the 4 hour ride as planned but take it easy and maybe ease back 10% or so.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

If the constraints are that riding and running has to happen over the next two days, in your situation I would do a 45 minute run today with the last 20 minutes at HIM race pace as soon as possible before it gets any hotter (4 hours ago would have been better) and then tomorrow I would ride ~2.5 hours with a 3 x 30'@a little faster than race pace followed by a 20' run.

If you do a 4 hr ride today in 97F, you are going to be zapped tomorrow and even if you get up before it heats up, trying to do a long run that is 50% of your weekly mileage on zapped legs is going to wipe you out.

2 weeks out from your race is not the time to be noodling around on long rides/runs just to "get them in". Err on the side of shorter but with more race pace or slightly faster than race pace efforts, and when you are done with them focus on re-hydrating right away.

Good luck.

Your 12 mile long run is all you need for a HIM. I live in TN and the heat we have been having has pushed all of my running to before daylight. Even then the humidity just drains you!

The pool was so hot this morning, it zapped the life out of me - just swimming. I'm sure it was over 90 deg.

I appreciate the advice, fellas. Let me ask this......I'm assuming the 14 mi. is "more" psychological than anything. I have a treadmill. As much of a boring PITA it seems.....what if I split that run up some between indoors and outdoors? Maybe 6 mi. indoors and 8 outside......waiting as late in the day as I can?

Or, is it better to just dial everything back (shorten the distance and keep some intensity)? I'd planned on doing that on my shorter runs, later in the week (I do that, every week).

Thanks.

Lake Logan, perchance? If so, I will be there too for my 2nd 70.3 distance race. I am in the same age group.

I cannot answer your mileage and suffer questions with great authority. But I can offer some encouragement-- I live in Georgia, and it has been similarly freakishly hot for a couple months. My running mojo has hit rick bottom. I flamed out of two of my recent four long runs due to heat and humidity. And those I survived were very slow. Yesterday I did a baby brick (2 hours indoor on a trainer followed by 2 miles outside) in 91° and very high humidity. It was brutal, but I survived

If I were in your shoes, I would switch up the run and ride. And, do the run early AM when maybe the temperature is in the high 70s with humidity in the high 80s. Way better than the other way around. If you have been doing 25 mpw and got in a long run a week ago, then you have the fitness. The key to this long run is confidence.

Yes (Logan). Never having gone the distance, I'll be conservative. I'm looking forward to it, though.

Thanks for your input.

Do a run/walk 10-12 miler in the early morning or early evening. Remember to start well-hydrated and stay hydrated. I never worry about tossing in some walking on the longer runs as I'm not going win anything in a tri so I always walk through the aid stations. Better to get hydration and nutrition and lose a little time than the opposite. More than anything else, remember that heat and humidity are our friends! Embrace them!

I've been in the same boat. I have one run that makes me feel like I've gotten it back, then I get demoralized. I took almost 3 weeks off after my last race due to a mild concussion, work, and life in general. In that time, temps went solidly into the mid to upper 90's everyday (Houston). Since I've gotten back into training about a month and a half ago, I've never been able to consistently build mileage. I can run 6-10 miles one day (early a.m. or after dark) and feel fine, then the next day, I can't schedule my day to get the run in at any other time than at lunch or right after work and 2 miles in I feel like I'll die.

The advice above is smart. Then on race day be conservative with your pace if it is hot. And drink lots.

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Simplify, Train, Live

Well, the only constraint I have is a looming HIM in 12 days. I don't have the luxury of putting off a long(ish) run......very long (wouldn't seem to make sense, to me).

I guess a follow Q (to the above point....which I appreciate) is......how long can I wait and still get in the long run.....and have it NOT adversely affect my race? Is a 14 mi. run at this point in my training going to help or hurt me? I'm certainly not married to the idea I HAVE to get this in....IF there's a good reason not to do it. I'm not hard-headed. :)

I probably spoke a little quickly about the long ride stuff. I'll likely ride with my tri group on Saturday......probably 65 mi. or so. That will be my last long(ish) ride, before my race.

Would a 7 indoor (treadmill) and 7 outdoor be better? Do all 14 in the AM (start in the dark)? Again......is there anything magical about a run of that length.....with 12 days 'til my race?

I really appreciate everyone's input.

Do a 10 mile run in the morning and call it good.

You can probably do the 14 with 12 days left and it would help you psychologically and a little bit physically. i think what most people are trying to tell you is that pushing it in the heat could be disastrous and ruin your whole race. The chance of injury increases with the heat. Is it worth the risk for the gain? only you can answer this for yourself.

I would recommend looking at minimizing the risk by either running it all on the treadmill, splitting it up (morning and afternoon) or something so you're not doing 14 miles outside in the heat.

I understand that your nerves are in play here also. When you look back at this, you'll probably laugh at how stressed you were over this. There are always more days to train, more races to do, etc... Enjoy the journey and have fun!

I'm north of you in VA and training in similar temps/humidity. Long runs you can shorten and paces will be slower... make sure you have a plan to hydrate before, during and after. Otherwise time of day become super important... although the other day it wasn't super hot but humidity was in the 90s. Brutal!

I think the ride today run tomorrow morning sounds like a good plan. Maybe shorten your run a bit.. temp/humidity dependent.

Here's a link to a calculator where you can plug in some info to get a heat equivalent pace, which has been helpful for me. Trying to hit my temp paces on blazing hot days can be frustrating and honestly dangerous.

http://www.runworks.com/calculator.html

I decided to split it up (treadmill and outside). 7 inside - 7 outside. There's no way I could have done that entire run, outside. Outside - 20 bpm increase and a little over 1 min/mi. delta (pace). I went as slow as I could (RPE....watching my HR).

In my head, I needed to do it. We'll see how I feel, tomorrow. Right now, I feel fine.

I really appreciate everyone's input. Even though I went a slightly different route, that doesn't mean you guys weren't right. The inside run wasn't taxing, at all. Outside, it was constant management (pace).

FTR....the LS Desoto skin cooler shirt is absolutely wonderful in hot/humid conditions. I've worn it for the last two long runs (12 & 14). Really good garment.

Thanks again.

I will be at Logan 1/2 too. Did it last year, and 70.3 Chatty. Logan's bike was so much harder that it hurt my run. IMHO, focus on bike for Logan, and the run is relatively easy. Get it wrong and no amount of run shape will help if the bike is not equally or stronger than run.

Great race though! You will enjoy it I think.

In FL we haven't seen a day where the feels like temp has been below 100 in weeks. I've been running on the treadmill as much as possible. Not saying it's the right thing to do, but it's what i'm trying.

Running in the heat is brutal to me. My heart rate climbs MUCH faster than when it's a bit cooler out. I'm in my first year of the sport, but I was running at a decent pace right at 150 bpm and now that the temps are up around 110 I shoot straight to 170+.

How did the race go? I thought the venue was fantastic; it met all of my expectations. The bike and run courses were pretty tough. And the run was 81°, so it was probably a bit hotter than the norm.

I had a great race. Nothing bad happened, although I thought my back was going to seize up on the final 5K (which is odd). I had a great swim....and the bike.....is what it is (brutal).

I'll be back, but it'll probably be to run the International in lieu of the 70.3