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Running in hot temps with high humidity
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I'm interested in people's thoughts on good strategies running in warm temps with high humidity.
I did the Galveston 70.3 this weekend which had 80 degree temps but 97% humidity. Started the run well but quickly overheated and slowed quite a bit, suffered through the rest. I carried a bottle that I kept filled with ice water and was dumping ice in my hat and down my shorts.
I'm a bigger guy (6' 175lbs) and so far have not handled humid races well. Looking back I could have started much slower and tried to avoid overheating in the first place.
Any other strategies that people have used successfully? Any success stories of adapting to hot and humid conditions?
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [Gjadams] [ In reply to ]
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You have to adjust your run pace, you have to run slower.

You have to adjust your bike power pace too, if you pace by power.



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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [jackmott] [ In reply to ]
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+1 to Jackmott

Screwed myself at Florida 70.3 thinking I could take off like normal not even thinking about the heat and humidity. Death march was not fun..lesson learned.
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [cobragolf79] [ In reply to ]
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I set a really huge PW (personal worst) on the Galveston run course.

Analyzing the results, there were a large number of other people who also had terrible runs.
Here are some explanations:
1) Too early in the year to be adapted to heat.
2) Lowish temperatures and high humidity- is a very deceptive heat. It did not feel hot before or after the race. There were cool breezes in much of Galveston. Who was prepared for the furnace that the course turned into?

What I do find surprising is that not everyone had a melt down.
I am from Tucson and am not especially heavy for triathlete.
It seems like body builders from Minnesota often hold up better in the heat than me. I am not sure why that would be?
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [Gjadams] [ In reply to ]
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I race mostly in south Louisiana, so I know from heat and humidity. First thing is acclimation -- when I'm not training in the heat (i.e., if it's been cool but is expected to be hot on race day), I will run with two long-sleeve shirts. Run in the middle of the day instead of morning or evening, to get your sweat response working. Turn the a/c or heat up in your house -- acclimation is not just about the hour or two when you're training.

I run in long sleeves if it is sunny -- the sun will take as much out of me as the heat, and long white sleeves will keep the sun off of me. Just pour water on the arms at every station. I also dump cups of water on my head and back at every aid station and drink only the sports drink. I wear a visor instead of a hat, to let the heat out. And ice is welcome anywhere you can stuff it.

Consciously hydrate starting a few days before, and consider salt tablets or salt drinks if your health permits it. Pre-race super-salty drink concoctions like those from Skratch and Osmo work for me, and sometimes I'll fire down a salt tablet near the end of the bike. No sense peeing out what hydration I've got. Or eat salty food on the bike instead of sweet.

And yeah, you've also got to go slower in the heat. It's just physics.


<The Dew Abides>
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [Gjadams] [ In reply to ]
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I raced yesterday as well. My bike split was super quick, but right on target with my HR and Power I wanted for the bike, like you I had a semi melt down on the run. I live in Houston and routinely ride down on the west side the island as well. Yesterday was a sweat slinger. I drank 4 bottles on the bike and I am still not sure it was enough. I was clipping along good for the first 5 miles... then the sun showed up and I suffered for the next 8. It took everything I had not to walk but my pace suffered significantly. It was a tough day on the run. I kept looking at my average speed on the bike thinking "oh crap, the run is going to hurt". Like I said though I biked very conservatively and it was just a good day for the bike. Overall I think it was PR day for a lot of people. The run was brutal but the bike made up for it.

---------------------------------------------------------------

"You just gotta keep livin' man, L-I-V-I-N." - Wooderson

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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [dewman] [ In reply to ]
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dewman wrote:
I wear a visor instead of a hat, to let the heat out.

I think a white hat is better. Two reasons:

1: Keeps reflects more sun than dark hair. (Same argument as you make for the long-sleeved shirt, which I also agree with).
2: You can put ice/sponges into a hat and on your head, not so much with a visor.

White headsweats is my go-to hat.

-Jot
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [Gjadams] [ In reply to ]
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Obviously this is only my own experience and there will be rules to the exception. I have lived in one of the most humid sticky climates in the country for the last 25 years in South Florida and I went through a real learning curve when I moved down here. I simply had to pull my foot off the throttle there's nothing I didn't try. It was almost an out of body experience to travel north to a race or doing early-season race where the humidity and heat weren't so oppressive and feel like a turbo booster kicked in!
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [jackmott] [ In reply to ]
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jackmott wrote:
You have to adjust your run pace, you have to run slower.

You have to adjust your bike power pace too, if you pace by power.

^^^ This ^^^


Rodney
TrainingPeaks | Altra Running | RAD Roller
http://www.goinglong.ca
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [Gjadams] [ In reply to ]
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I calculated the heat index for yesterday and it was 96 degrees. That is truly something to consider.

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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [texafornia] [ In reply to ]
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I live and train in Taiwan; run and ride regularly in the heat. The hottest run I have done in a race was this past November when temperatures hit 38C on the run (100F) with shimmering waves of 96% humidity. Jack Mott is right...you have to slow the pace, but that doesn't mean a melt down! I was 10 minutes slower than my target pace and felt mostly good throughout the run.

Some suggestions:
i) Heat acclimatization takes 3 weeks of living and training in heat. Need to adjust hydration, electrolyte intake, etc to balance out the sweat rate that will begin to increase after 1 week in heat.
ii) Zoot "Icefill" arm warmers are just awesome! Protection from the sun and they cool the arms longer after dousing oneself with water than if you do not have fabric on the body. That said, I think the guys who literally pour litres of ice water over themselves are getting too much of a good thing...that kind of shock to the system is probably not that helpful. During my training long runs, I don't have the luxury of ice water stations and do fine...so I avoid indulging in too much ice water...though it looks sooooooo refreshing! (Save it for the finish line!)
iii) Big fan of the head sweats hat too...wet sponge inside helps a lot. Coming into an aid station squeeze out the last bit of water and grab new sponges. Keeping a sponge in my hand also helps me stay relaxed if I tighten up as I grind out a hot run.
iiii) I put ice if available and cold sponges if not in the back pockets of my trisuit. I find that cools me more efficiently than even under the shoulder straps.
iv) Nutrition. More emphasis on sports drink during the bike. Also salt tablets.
v)MENTAL PREPARATION. The physiological effects of high heat and humidity are very very real. The work your body does to dissipate heat makes that much less energy available to the muscles to move you forward. However, to me it is SUPER important to have a very positive attitude to the heat, otherwise, the slower pace and increased perceived exertion will crush my spirit and lead to a meltdown. During Ironman Taiwan the run was about 34,(93) sunny and humid. I reminded myself that I had done everything I know to do to mitigate the heat and that everyone was suffering at least as much and many are suffering more. I stayed strong, embraced the suck, put on a big smile, thanked the volunteers, and stuck to my "heat" pace...paid off when I could run down 2nd and 3rd place to grab my Kona slot in the last 7km whilst they literally fell apart in the heat. I was tempted to attempt my faster target pace I knew I could hold in cooler conditions because I was side by side with my competitor from 18-30km of the run. Looks like he sped up his pace to match mine, and he paid the price for that after 32km. Really learned what people mean when they say the run doesn't start until 32km (20miles) in.

The only way to accurately know your pace targets is to train in the heat. (I found hard brick rides followed by 21km race pace runs to really help on this in terms of what my body feels like when I start a run already depleted of fluid and electrolytes from the ride.) If that is not possible and you are travelling to a hot race, adjust your pacing expectations, be conservative for the early portion of the run; if you feel good you can pick it up, but if you over exert at the beginning, it will cost you so much more in time and suffering by the end.

Yes, there are many things you can do to try to deal with the heat, but if your head and your heart do not buy in, you are not going to make it no matter how physically strong you are. So in my book, strong head winds, crushing heat, and suffering humidity are my allies making things tough for me, and tougher for others.
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [Gjadams] [ In reply to ]
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Gjadams wrote:
I'm interested in people's thoughts on good strategies running in warm temps with high humidity.
I did the Galveston 70.3 this weekend which had 80 degree temps but 97% humidity. Started the run well but quickly overheated and slowed quite a bit, suffered through the rest. I carried a bottle that I kept filled with ice water and was dumping ice in my hat and down my shorts.
I'm a bigger guy (6' 175lbs) and so far have not handled humid races well. Looking back I could have started much slower and tried to avoid overheating in the first place.
Any other strategies that people have used successfully? Any success stories of adapting to hot and humid conditions?

You have a lot of good advice on this thread but Jackmott's is the best...adjust pace downwards.

Also it was not mentioned, but probably the single most effective thing you can do is get as lean as possible. Drop as much body fat as you can...the built in "wetsuit" known as body fat is a distaster in the heat. Imagine running with a wetsuit on the heat and that is really what extra body fat is doing to you. It''s the number one heat acclimatization thing you can do.

Dev
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [Gjadams] [ In reply to ]
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1) salt load day before;
2) electrolytes in your water at least every other bottle;
3) do not skip any aid station hydration;
4) keep food on bike simple;
5) white hat;
6) train in mid day heat 1-2x week;
7) consistent early pace, build to negative splits; and
8) pain is temporary.
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [sharknado] [ In reply to ]
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I'll reiterate what other tropical runners have said.

It takes a solid 2-3 weeks to adjust to the heat. So if you travel in to do a hot race don't expect to perform. Even though I train year round in Miami the heat in Haines City crushed me on the run. The heat just ramped up in Miami and my runs this past weekend was a total challenge because I'm not yet adjusted.

It takes days of hydration to be ready for a long hot run or race. People are frequently shocked at how much fluid we take in down here before, during and after runs in the hot months.

It is very mental but I think it's challenging to know whether I can push more in the heat or whether I'm in danger of overheating.
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [Gjadams] [ In reply to ]
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Acclimation is the key. The early season hot days are a lot worse than those in August. You can try to adapt by overdressing and such, but nothing replaces living in the heat and humidity.

Keep in mind that heat can be a killer. Most people tend to make too big a deal of cold and not a big enough deal of heat.
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [Gjadams] [ In reply to ]
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Heat index chart from NOAA:

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/heat/heatindex.shtml

"Just don’t abandon everything you’ve ever learned because of something someone said on the internet." - Eric McGinnis
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [ScottWrigleyFit] [ In reply to ]
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That heat index chart is an eye opener. I hadn't seen the actual chart before. I knew the temp was only going to be in the low 80s, but with the 97% humidity that's the equivalent of 96, only with no evaporative cooling.
Thanks for all the good responses.
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [Gjadams] [ In reply to ]
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I' m a big guy too, your weight but 2 inches taller, and to make things worse I live at sea level where it's 80 tops in the summer and not humid.

Hot humid races kill me dead.

If you want to kick ass in those races then there's only one thing to do. Move. Train in hot humid conditions to acclimate.

Obviously for AGs that's not realistic advice. So you do what you can. Slow down your pace somewhat. Keep up with hydration. How much you'll just need to discover. Don't carry a water bottle. In hot sucky slow runs that bottle feels like an anvil! Live off the course. Which brings me to the last bit of advice. Walk through aid stations. Walk maybe 20 seconds, pick up everything they give, dump ice in your clothes, and an ice sponge over your head. Grab everything. Those 20 seconds aren't "lost". First of all you are walking not stopping so you are down maybe 10 seconds, but then you'll have better pace running to next aid station, and odds are good you'll come out ahead.

I've done much better since adopting walking through aid stations in hot races. Remember to grab everything they got.
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [Gjadams] [ In reply to ]
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Gjadams wrote:
That heat index chart is an eye opener. I hadn't seen the actual chart before. I knew the temp was only going to be in the low 80s, but with the 97% humidity that's the equivalent of 96, only with no evaporative cooling.
Thanks for all the good responses.

I am a bit skeptical about the "equivalent to 96 degree thing."
Don't get me wrong- my body reacted similar to how it would have reacted if it had been 96.

But sitting around before or after the event- it felt much much cooler than 96.

It was this deceptiveness that was probably the problem.
The heat issues were totally unforeseen.
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [Gjadams] [ In reply to ]
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i live and train here in florida. this is just my opinion.

acclimatization is king this is hands down the only really effective thing you can do.
that said.
never wear a hat or sweat band! your head gives off a lot of heat, let it out. keep your hair short. shave exposed skin if you dare.
don't wear arm coolers in high humidity, wear as little as possible.

pouring water and ice on you does almost nothing to cool you when running. in high humidity you're not being cooled by evaporation so putting more water on doesn't help. it feels kinda good but does nothing to cool the body - unless you jump in a pool. you're heating up inside, not outside.

get cold stuff in you. ice, ice water, slurpy, snow cone any thing cold. the Ausie olympic team brought their own snow cone machine to china. it helps.

sunglasses only make you feel less hot, that can be good - or not.

keeping cool on the bike isn't too hard if you are moving. have a well ventilated helmet. slowing down doesn't really help you're gonna fry on the run anyway.

drink plenty of water but don't go crazy on the electrolytes. i see way more people getting upset stomachs from overdoing it than anything else. if you've trained right the body knows how to balance those things.

good luck

______________________________________
"Competetive sport begins where healthy sport ends"
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [timeforacompact] [ In reply to ]
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I ran on a relay. Relays were the last wave to go off in the morning. We had a strong swimmer, so I think i was the 5th or so to leave the transition area, and that was still around 12 PM... TO START RUNNING. The sun was out by then, and there were no periods of cloud cover for the entire run. It was actually a little depressing to be there that long without doing anything. I felt like a missed the dang race by the time I started. Probably won't do relays again like that.

Anyways, it was a really humbling experience....slow and kind of painful. The temperature of my last 13.1 was about 38 deg F, and i ran something like 17 minutes faster. I'm a bigger guy at 6'4" and around 200 lbs, whose only ever done sprint distances where I can race really well and finish strong before the heat kicks in. Planning to step up the distance this year, and as of Sunday I've resolved to lose 20 pounds before the OLY race in September. It just has to be the number 1 or 2 factor to staying cool in the heat.

I can remember being totally invisible to the heat when younger..soccer, football, whatever... here's an idea. Any Houston folks want to play some ultimate Frisbee at 1pm on Sundays over the summer? That will get you in shape for the heat pretty quick!
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [Jbxrdyt12] [ In reply to ]
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Another note of observation - this has probably been hit on here many times already, but this was my first IM race to attend of any kind, and what really surprised me is how many folks are out there who are really out of physical condition for the given event. I'm immune to seeing it at sprint distances for first timers and such, but largely, it just wasn't what I expected to see fom a participant standpoint at a 70.3 distance. So many people walking and stopping and talking, sitting down etc. Maybe the heat was the given factor here, but poor fitness and really heavy weights in general was an obvious issue for many many many people. There has to be some significantly increased percentage of medical/cardiac risk of some kind for those folks.

I can't imagine seeing people of similar condition do a full IM in a couple weeks in the woodlands. Serious cause for concern with the heat.
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [Jbxrdyt12] [ In reply to ]
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As has been said, adjust speeds and times for the heat/humidity. I have done a lot of training and racing in Singapore and it is as humid as anywhere in the world 365 days a year. Here are some quick and dirty stats on humidity and going slower. At the 2014 Singapore Marathon the winner was Kenneth Mungara in 2:17. This month he won Milan in 2:08 (master's record) and has run 2:07. Second place in Singapore was David Kiptui in 2:19. He has a PB of 2:09.

Andrew Inkpen
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [gamebofh] [ In reply to ]
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gamebofh wrote:
dewman wrote:
I wear a visor instead of a hat, to let the heat out.


I think a white hat is better. Two reasons:

1: Keeps reflects more sun than dark hair. (Same argument as you make for the long-sleeved shirt, which I also agree with).
2: You can put ice/sponges into a hat and on your head, not so much with a visor.

White headsweats is my go-to hat.

-Jot

I use a Headsweats legionnaire's cap which feels cool and also protects your neck, ears and back of your head from the sun. Not cheap but worthwhile.
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Re: Running in hot temps with high humidity [Jbxrdyt12] [ In reply to ]
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Jbxrdyt12 wrote:
Another note of observation - this has probably been hit on here many times already, but this was my first IM race to attend of any kind, and what really surprised me is how many folks are out there who are really out of physical condition for the given event. I'm immune to seeing it at sprint distances for first timers and such, but largely, it just wasn't what I expected to see fom a participant standpoint at a 70.3 distance. So many people walking and stopping and talking, sitting down etc. Maybe the heat was the given factor here, but poor fitness and really heavy weights in general was an obvious issue for many many many people. There has to be some significantly increased percentage of medical/cardiac risk of some kind for those folks.

I can't imagine seeing people of similar condition do a full IM in a couple weeks in the woodlands. Serious cause for concern with the heat.

You are soooooo right on this! I am always surprised by the range of body types that complete 70.3s and Ironman. Overall, I admire their courage..not just for the distance, but for wrapping themselves in lycra and going after their dreams regardless of what others think. Personally, I think they have put the cart before the horse and that being fit is an essential component of ironman. But if signing up is what gets them there, all the power to them. At the 70.3 WC last year, if you didn't get to the store by Thursday, the S and M sizes of triathlon gear were all snapped up....lots of XXL, XXXL available....talking to the store manager they had failed to consider the differences in body shapes at the WC compared to a typical 70.3. I have noticed that at the Iron distance, you see fewer out of shape people, but still a surprising number, and they really really suffer in the heat. So yeah...nutrition, slow down, and get lean!

It was both heartbreaking and inspiring to see some very large people walk out of T2 to start their walk while I was soaking up the finish line endorphins. In Ironman, however, stats show that if the heart makes it through the stress of the swim, they are highly likely to be alright. Out of shape athletes will not have the fitness to push the heart rate on the run portion of the event. (this is very different from marathons in which many of the serious heart issues happen near the finish line as athletes try to push it to the finish.)
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