Thinking about Relocating/spending a lot of time in the Scottsdale area. I’ve seen a few people on bikes riding through the desert when it’s 115 degrees outside and I think “how do they do that?”
Forgive my naivete but I’m a fair weather triathlete (SoCal) and it gets hot here once in awhile, but nothing like AZ. People I know here say you would be out of your mind to train in the mid-day AZ heat. Friends in AZ say they know people who train every day during the hottest hours and it’s just something you get used to.
So, regarding training in the heat;
Do you do it? How do you do it? When do you train?
riding i can do in hotter weather since the movement through the air takes some of the bite off the heat. of course, i also bring plenty of water–i.e. a camelbak.
running–for me, it’s early or nothing. i’ve done some group runs in late afternoon/early evening during the summer and it ain’t the most comfortable. doable, but not recommended.
swimming is usually early for me as well, but that’s based more on pool availability than anything else.
more than anything else, though, you acclimatize. after the 20th day in a row at 103+, you get a bit numb to it.
oh another tip for running–fuel belts chalk full of gatorade and water. that’s fairly effective.
I either run/bike a)early in the morning, or b) after the sun goes down. It still may be 100 at 8:30pm, but it’s not as oppressive as when the sun is still up. I do go mtn. bike during the day sometimes, just fill the camelback all the way up and clear full of ice. As long as you stay hydrated, you should be ok. I see people all the time riding/running at all hours of the day throughout the summer.
Swim pretty much any time of day year round, no big deal inside or out.
It takes a while, but you do get used to the heat (well, anything below 110). And, at the risk of sounding like the bumper sticker, I’d rather train in the dry heat than 70%+ humidity any day. Actually what I hate the worst is cycling early in the morning in Jan when its only 55-60 degrees. Talk about freezing!!
Me, too. I’ve had it with SoCal…ridiculous home prices/rents and traffic. As soon as I find a job in the Valley of the Sun, I packing up the wife and dog (maybe not in that order) and heading east. Don’t care how hot it gets. If the people already there can deal with it, so can I. Hopefully, I’ll see everyone soon, save me a place in the pace line.
I find that moutnain biking during the day no matter what the temperature is can be ok. I usually hit the treadmill if I have to run during the day even though it hurts my knees late into the night. When it comes ot swimming I wouldn’t see why it would matter what time you are in the pool at since at least every pool that i’ve been too in the valley is temperature controlled. Road biking duri9ng the morning or in th elate aftrernoon is the only way. Consider training in this heat the same way that cold weather people do it. I usually train on my road bike inside on my trainer. It stinks, but it works.
You do get used to the heat. I usually try to do most stuff in the morning but I still commute to and from work a couple of times a week. I work 12 hour night shifts so I am riding in to work (18 miles) around 5pm and then in the morning I try to ride 30-50 miles on the way home before it gets too hot. I do run and bike in the afternoons as well.
Gimme 100+ any day compared to 30’s or less. Az is a great place to live, it would take some huge incentives to get me to move away.
better get up early. I usually run or ride in the morning. if i’m running in the evening it’s around 6;30 or 7pm start. I’ll ride the computrainer in the evenings. It’s the opposite of winter, here in the july aug months it’s off to the gym for the treamill and into the living room for the computrainer often.
wednesday I’ll willing to trade jobs and homes staright up, you for it? we have about 3-4yrs left in the desert before we’re outta here! So. cal here we come!
If your set on moving to AZ think tucson first. a bit cooler, better riding and running. much better climbing on the bike. After training in both cities, phx doesn’t come close for training.
On the other hand, Tucson is run by a bunch of 80 year olds who refuse to build a frikken freeway through the town so it takes forever to get around in a car, not that there is anyplace to go anyway. Although I agree with Desert Dude on the rest…pick your poison. Or move to Sedona or Flagstaff instead of either one.
Like others, I find ridding in the mid-day heat to be doable but to be avoided if possible. Running is tougher. But you are really only talking 4 months of the year when it is a problem, the rest of the time you have nearly the best weather in the US. As a former San Diegan, I probably miss the hills and scenery more than the weather. Seems like they had more good roads too. Here you mostly have a choice between a bike lane but a stoplight every half mile, or no bike lane and too much traffic whipping by at 65mph. There are exceptions but they are few, just like the hills.
I’m in Tucson and I can’t possibly imagine training for triathlon in those crazy places with snow and rain - how do those triathletes do it???
Anyway, during May - October, I mostly run/bike in the mornings before work. I’ll swim after work. Weekends we all get up and start early, nap during the heat of the day and go out again later.
October through May I’ll mostly go into work earlier and train in the beautiful afternoons after work. The heat is really only bad between about June 15 - September 1- the rest of the time it’s terrific. It does get pretty chilly during the winter though - in January I actually have to put on my arm and leg warmers when cycling - brrrr!
There are a million training groups here, all sorts of organized cycling rides, running groups, and plenty of scenic runs. The city puts on weekly duathlons and aquathlons that only cost $5. And the cost of living is phenomenal! Tucson has a different feel than Phoenix - both are good, just very different. I wouldn’t live anywhere else!