Summer arrived in Austin, Tx this weekend. My bike themometer was reading 98F on the roads at 8:30am. Humidity was in the high 90% range to boot.
I suck in the heat - especially if it’s combined with humidity. This weekend confirmed it for me. I’m in the best shape of my life…yet I could only manage a 3 hour ride (instead of the planned 6) yesterday. I drink a lot and take electrolyte supplements.
I’ve lived here for 8 years and I’m not getting any better at it.
I’m convinced this is mostly a genetic trait. Hawaii would never be good for me, so I’m glad I’m not fast enough to qualify!
Adaptation…it takes some up to two weeks of “training in it” to become acclimatized. With that said - when it is that hot & humid it is gonna be a mother-trucker of a ride/run no matter what!!
But, some do better in heat (like me) - some prefer 50-60 degrees F. (which I freeze in!)
“I’m convinced this is mostly a genetic trait. Hawaii would never be good for me, so I’m glad I’m not fast enough to qualify!”
Interesting comment. I was talking to a very well known coach last year who had similar thoughts. Ever notice that more or less, it is the same people doing well at IMH in the pro and age-group divisons year after year at. I think that there is only so much adaptation that you can do, after that you are either good/great in the heat or you are not. This coach had in interesting proposition - that the WTC move it’s “World Championship”, to other courses, with different( some would say, more reasonable weather)conditions and it was his feeling that the results may be quite different.
I thought that I did “well” in the heat until I did IMH in 1993. I experienced a memorable melt-down at mile 10 of the marathon while enroute to a personal best performance. The PB quickly went by the wayside and suddenly I was in survival mode.
In Iron Will, Mike Plant mentions some studies done on this. It does seem to be a genetic trait at least in the number and density of sweat glands. Unfortunately there were no details as to how much of an effect this actually has on performance.
Brings to mind the quote: If you think you can or think you can’t you are probably right. Not to say that heat, like altitude and other external factors cant impact performance but, IMO, in addition to acclimatization, another very important element is mental. I too dislike the heat. A lot. But this is what my training partner (roughly) said to me: “I love racing in the heat. The hotter, the more humid, the better. Why? Because I excel at mental toughness. I get a rush knowing that others are complaining and suffering. To me it levels the playing field and maybe will let me beat superior athletes…”
Anyways, that resonated a lot with me. It ties in with other key mental aspects of training such as knowing the purpose of each workout. (i.e., mindless accumulation of junk training hours vs. nailing key workouts every week).
So, my comment is: If you start a workout or race with a sense of dread and foreboding (its too hot, i’m not ready), chances are very good that the workout/race will suck. Of course even if you start “psyched” and mentally strong it may suck anyways, but less likely IMO.
***Even if we could figure out the genetic component to ability to train/race in heat, better to not dwell on it - we can’t change it!!! Far better I think to either avoid the adverse condition or, better, focus on the mental challengeof meeting and beating the adversity!!!
I moved away from Austin right about the time you moved there. It’s certainly hot, hot, hot, especially in the summer.
Around here (Indy), we top out in the low to mid 90’s a bunch, humidity is generally high. Not near so bad as Austin. In 2000, when I was in the best shape of my life, I spent the whole summer trying to get acclimitized (sp?) to the heat. It worked REALLY well for me. Here is what I did. First, I lived without air conditioning. Turn that mother off! I had a small 1 bedroom apartment that got afternoon sun…it would be well over 90 degrees in there, most of the day. At night, I left my windows closed so it stayed hot (also because my upstairs neighbors air conditioner – running non-stop – was a right next to my window). I only used a small oscillating fan. I also never used the AC in my car. Work, I could do nothing about, the AC is on, but I did wear wool dress pants, long sleeved shirt, with t-shirt under it every day at work. So, I spent 8 out of 24 hours in the AC, the rest in the heat. I did ALL my running at the hottest time of the day. I did not run mornings, I ran immediately after work around 4:00 pm when it was really hot out.
I got really used to it being hot, such that it really didn’t bother me. I had some wicked fast times in sprint and olympic distance tris, and I also set running pr’s from the 800 up to the 5k, all in the heat. I like the heat…I’m sort of a sado-masochistic person, I kind of enjoy being miserable.
TxDude, I’m with you. I definitely think there are some folks who just naturally do better than others in the heat. No matter what your training and acclimation you have. I hate the heat and never have done nearly as well versus the field when its hot. On the other hand, if its cool and damp/rainy, I have a marked improvement over the field of other racers.
I’m also in Austin, and was sorry to see the heat (and unusually high humidity) come a bit early this year. Went for a 10:00 run today and about died. Supposed to reach 100 today.
I like this approach. I believe I am pretty mentally tough and will use that to my advantage. Having faith in my ability to suck it up and not give into the misery and discomfort of heat/humidty/wind/cold/rain/fatigue/blahblahblah allows me to overcome a general lack of speed and be relatively successful in races where other, more physically talented folks quit.
It seems that the tougher the conditions, the more a race becomes a mental game…a game of body and mind management…and that’s a game I like to think I’m better prepared to “win”.
Back when I was in high school running track, I always seemed to handle the heat much better than others. Of course, I was about 5’9" and 130lbs - i.e. high surface area to mass ratio. Now I’m 25 years older, 5’9" and ~150lbs and I don’t do so well in the heat anymore.
CVILLATRI can back me up on this. We live in California’s San Joaquin Valley, the nation’s agbelt. It literally is a valley between Sacramento to the north and Los Angeles to the south that traps all the smog, pesticides, and as we’re inland (not all Californians surf) it gets hot. This was all desert before the farmers irrigated. We don’t have humidity but we have the nation’s (depending on the study) 1st, 2nd or 3rd most heinous air quality which is only made worse in the summer with all the heat. When certain crops are in season the heat and pesticides combine for air so bad that radio and tv stations announce “Spare the Air Days” when it’s unhealthy to go outside and breathe!
Last year that we had 32 days of consecutive 100+ temperatures. You either train before 8:00am (all of you in AZ can relate) or you wait until the sun goes down. I agree with TxDude, some people are better equipped than others. Call it mental tenacity, genetics or both but some people are just lizards who thrive in heat and others (most) wilt.
One guy is transplanted from NY and he regularly crushes our training group in the winter/spring. However, once Wildflower comes and goes, so does his ability to administer a beatdown. I’ve been on rides with him where it looks like someone threw salt on him because he’s lost so much sodium due to his profuse sweating. Once it gets hot, he cracks on the bike and run. No matter how much he drinks, he doesn’t seem to rehydrate. I’ve grown up here and I like heat so I’ve either adapted to it or my grandfather game me some great fieldworker genes. Heat may affect us all, but it definitely does not affect us all equally.
I know everyone on my father’s side love cold gloomy weather. The only person on my mother’s side of the family that likes the heat is my mother. Maybe I got it from her. I love the heat, give me a triple digit day and an open road and I will be happy. My father thinks I am sick. LOL
The other side of it is, the misery that others are in when it is hot. I am a sicko and love to see others display there suffering. It is raining or there is a strong headwind, I love it.
I grew up in Sacramento, so it gets warm here. Looking at retiring to AZ in the next few years, that is wear the nice weather is at.
I have A/C in my van, don’t use it though. Roll the windows down, feel the nice breeze. A/C has to be used at home though, to many things melted when I tried to leave it off.
Question about acclimatizing: Do you find that working in an A/C environment nullifies any adjusting to the temperature? I ask because only in the last few years that I started life as an office-drone, have I been unable to sleep at night without an A/C. Maybe its global warming but really, I can’t stand it sometimes.
Mind you, right now, I wish it were hot here. We have a ride planned for tonight and its about 10C (50F) and raining.
I sweat like a dog. I’ve been living in Montreal forever yet I still can’t stand the heat & humidity.
I’m convinced this is mostly a genetic trait. Hawaii would never be good for me, so I’m glad I’m not fast enough to qualify!
Check it out: Oct 18, 2003 Max Temperature 84F w/67% humidity in Keahole Point, Hawaii. Sounds like paradise compared to the weather I train in.
deechee, I’m no research scientist (I just play one on tv) so all I have is my own experience but I definitely think living as a 9 to 5 office-drone in an A/C controlled environment impedes your bodies ability to adapt.
One summer I cleaned swimming pools. Not skimming leaves mind you but what you saw in Caddyshack: water completely drained and scrubbing the surface with pumice. Work was quite tolerable as long as I had a wide brim hat, long sleeve shirt, and thermos of ice water. My father worked outdoors as a lineman for PG&E (California utility Co.) for over 30 years and believed the key to working outside is making your own shade and staying hydrated.
By contrast, a ladyfriend of mine who also does triathlons is a physician who rarely leaves her office between 9 and 5. She can’t get comfortable unless she is cool and I’m convinced it’s partly because she is in a building that’s permanently set at 64 degrees. During training she overheats instantly.
Besides, doesn’t an artificially cool environment hinder our bodies ability to detect thirst and therefore lend itself to chronic, albeit mild, dehyrdration?
I am in my office from 8-12 and from 1-5. It is 67-71 at my desk (depends on our screwy AC system) and I love going outside afterwork for my training rides. Or at lunchtime to run (when I am not broke).
I’m convinced this is mostly a genetic trait. Hawaii would never be good for me, so I’m glad I’m not fast enough to qualify!
Check it out: Oct 18, 2003 Max Temperature 84F w/67% humidity in Keahole Point, Hawaii. Sounds like paradise compared to the weather I train in.
Guess it’s all relative. When you hear people talk about Kona you hear about heat and humidity. I agree, those conditions are pretty nice.
