Which cooling strategies have you guys used during races?
Im personally considering making a neck cooling bandana like these:
http://salihan.com/2009/cooling-neck-wraps/
Who have tried the commercials versions and have anyone of you tried making one yourself?
Do you have experience with using a neck-cooler ??
just bought one. haven’t tried it yet. but i am expecting good things in race applications.
I couldn’t stand having a sausage wrapped around my neck.
So I sowed mesh on the outside of my hat and just kept dumping ice in it. As it melted, it dripped down my back.
Could you post a picture of this hat and where the mesh went exactly? Sounds like a good idea
I use a bandana that I just put ice in or soak in cold at water stops the rest it on the back of my neck… For me, that works great. Check out some motorcycle sites or stores. They have different things like this.
when do you put the ice into the bandana?
Dont you have to leave your T2 racebag before the race starts?
I’ve seen people with latex? gloves on with ice stuffed in them. Supposed to cool the blood returning to the heart. It would only work on the run though. I think one of the big swedes was doing this Tor?. Maybe a camelback with ice for the ride. For long bike rides we’d stuff a camelback with ice only in the am. By the time it got warm in the day, the water was really cold to drink and it stayed cold for a long time. Helped keep me cool too. Drinking the cold water cooled my core and the cool on my back also helped. Did this while in FL for a while.
good luck, racing in the heat sux. I feel your pain though, I have to train mid-day
throwing ice/ cold water down crotch of tri shorts during race, immediately cools the pedendal nerve in the groin area causing body temps to drop quickly… This has been the best solution for me during those hot runs!
I have access to first-aid ice packs (the kind that contain chemicals that react together once you squeeze the pack and pop the inside chamber)
I used one last year at a really hot race, popped one and shoved it down the front of my tri shorts during the run, yeah i know TMI. You could use the same for the back of the neck, the pack should last long enough to get your mind off the heat…Just make sure you do the neck before you stick it in your shorts.
It works wonders, trust me.
On the bike I use ice socks - 8" segments of pantyhose filled with ice. Put a couple of ice socks around the shoulder/neck area and let it melt. The leftovers weigh nothing and fall to the ground when you remove your jersey. Easy to make, and cheap. This is an Allen Lim incarnation.
throwing ice/ cold water down crotch of tri shorts during race, immediately cools the pedendal nerve in the groin area causing body temps to drop quickly… This has been the best solution for me during those hot runs!
Finally somebody explains this. I was manning a water aide station and saw several people do this, men and women, but nobody could explain why.
when do you put the ice into the bandana?
Dont you have to leave your T2 racebag before the race starts?
along the run course. there are usually ice or very cold water and I just take off the bandana. soak it in the cold water for a moment or grab some ice with it and then retie it around my neck
I carry an empty ziploc bag onto the run course. Fill with ice at aid station, stuff into the top of my jersey at the neck or move it to the back pockets. Bonus: Drink the water when it melts.
I dump water on the head first. Dump i down shirt and shorts, and then carry a cup full of ice away and take handfuls and rub then on my head and neck. Sponges on neck and head if they have them. You might also try cold iced towel on your neck before the swim starts. If you can start the race with a lower body temp then you have a better chance of it not getting so high by the end.
I disagree with this explanation… i’m an engineer / business development guy for a defense contractor and for the last 7yrs have worked with the US Army on cooling systems for soldiers. We’ve had systems fielded in Iraq / Afghanistan for 10yrs and I’ve had the benefit of working with some of the top government researchers in human cooling and human factors. We use vapor compression as a cooling medium which is not feasible for a triathlon since no one wants to carry around 10lbs. But our system uses a vest that targets the core body of the wearer. The rationale behind this is that you cool the heart and it pumps out cool blood to the extremities. Again this solution isn’t feasible in a tri because no one wants to wear a vest!
However, the Army has done many studies that examined cooling targeted areas such as pressure points or major blood vessels and ateries. The reality is that there isn’t enough mass flow of blood through that one small location to even make a dent in your core body temperature. It might feel like you’re cooler but thats all in your head. Additionally, pouring water or putting ice next to it is only going to provide a momentary fix. It’s not at all addressing your core body on a larger scale and never ever would you see a quick reduction in body temp. Furthermore, you’re talking about cooling a nerve which doesn’t have any effect on your core body temperature other than making your brain think you’re cold. That in itself might be more dangerous then helpful because you won’t notice the signs of heat stress.
My advice??? if you’re dealing with some real nasty temps then i’d go with something like the skin coolers from Desoto. They use ice packs which is something of a simpler version of what we provide with to the Army but designed for tri use. Ice packs don’t last terribly long but long enough for all but the longest tri races (plus you could switch them out). I’d also dump as much water over those garments at an aide station as you can. Evaporative cooling is very beneficial and is definitely your friend here… this may not be as effective in high humidity environments but it will still help. Above all else… hydrate hydrate hydrate!
Lastly, acclimate yourself to the temperature. We sell our stuff to US troops because they’re dying when the temps are 130 degrees outside. When I try to sell it to the Saudis or Kuwaitis they only laugh and say we’re used to this heat. We don’t have heat issues. Why else do you see top athletes do workouts in a sauna??
I The rationale behind this is that you cool the heart and it pumps out cool blood to the extremities. Again this solution isn’t feasible in a tri because no one wants to wear a vest!
Interesting that I found a similar effect this summer when we were constantly in the 100s here in the midwest. For our Tuesday evening bike intervals I would buy a bag of ice and bring with me to the road we loop on. At the start of each interval I would take a handful of ice and place it in my tri jersey (which is tight) and the ice would sit right on my heart. It would usually melt after an out and back and I would just reload for the next interval. The ice kept me “cool” in the 100+ heat and it’s the first time I found anything that worked that well. Unfortunately the jersey would not hold the ice for the run afterwards and I ended up just filling the side pockets full of ice and that seemed to help some.
exactly… if you think of cooling in just certain spots it’s not very effective (it’s more mental than anything)… the reason is that if you cool blood at say your femoral artery or your armpit or your neck, that cold blood has to recirculate through your whole body and it has very minimal effect aside from the local place where you’re cooling it. However, if you cool blood at your core, that blood will circulate out to your extremities much more efficiently. Hence my reasoning for suggesting something like the skin coolers from DeSoto with the ice pack holders. It’s not perfect but it should work. Combine that with evaporative cooling (dumping water on yourself or a garment) and you get a system that could work pretty well.
It’s also important to note that when I work with the Army we’re not providing them a comfort system. Cooling systems like this aren’t designed to keep you comfortable, they’re designed to keep you from having a heat stroke or heat induced illness. So we don’t lower the core body temperature, we seek to maintain it at a safe level (about 2.5 degrees F above nominal). The same thing applies when using any cooling system in a triathlon. And as always, hydration and proper acclimatization are your first line of defense.
It’s also important to note that when I work with the Army we’re not providing them a comfort system. Cooling systems like this aren’t designed to keep you comfortable, they’re designed to keep you from having a heat stroke or heat induced illness. So we don’t lower the core body temperature, we seek to maintain it at a safe level (about 2.5 degrees F above nominal). The same thing applies when using any cooling system in a triathlon. And as always, hydration and proper acclimatization are your first line of defense.
I would love to see what this thing looks like, is there some info online? I’m really curious now.
This is a system we put onto Army helicopters and tanks… it’s a tube lined vest that gets chilled water pumped through it (think of a wearable radiator). you think it’s hot running outside in florida or even Kona… those poor soldiers inside a tank sitting in Iraq see internal cabin temperatures of almost 160F and they’re sitting in there for 4-8hrs on a mission and they’re wearing full body armor, helmets, etc… It’s hot enough inside the vehicle that you can’t touch anything without gloves on or you’re be leaving your skin on whatever you’ve touched… trust me i know from experience during testing!
Soldier Cooling System
You can see why it’s not applicable for a tri 
but the premise is the same… cool your core and keep your body temp maintained at a safe level so you can continue to function…
precisely… cooling strategies have a lot to do with perception…
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21606877
Conclusion: Cooling the surface of the neck improves time trial performance in a hot environment without altering physiological or neuroendocrinological responses. Maintenance of a lower neck temperature via the replacement of a CC has no additional benefit to an acute coolingintervention.
others shows no effect on cooling:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22862563
Independent of OR, pouring cold water on the body benefited skin temperature, thermal sensation, and RPE during low-intensity exercise in hot, dry conditions but failed to influence high-intensity performance.
In my opinion and to my knowledge, i use the cooling strategies to keep my RPE (rated percieved exertion) as low as possible… and when looking at thermoregulation in general, we are able to exert an effect on your thermoregulation… Even though the cooling effect on the neck, near arteries etc. is very small, using ice/water will transfer heat from the skin/blood to the cooling medium. …