Now that we’re all bike training inside, are we losing some capacity to race in the heat of summer? Trainerroad had a useful podcast on this topic a week or three ago, but here’s my n = 1. Last weekend, I did a cyclorun at the Music City Triathlon (Nashville, TN). The Olympic distance cycling leg started at 8.30-ish. The temperature + humidity at that time must have made the heat index 90F or so. My bike leg was fine - I was aware of the heat and throttled back, hoping for a reasonable run. So, we’re now starting the run at, what, maybe 9.45? WAY hot. I ran the first mile at a reasonable (for me) pace - not too different than the 1st mile off the bike under cooler conditions. Then, boom. I must have walked 1/3 of the 10k. LOTS of folks walking. There were aid stations less than every mile and most had ice (and powerade and water and cold towels). Ice in each hand REALLY helped. Still, my overall 10k was easily 4:00/mi off what I could do under cooler conditions.
90+% of my bike training is indoors, in air conditioning and with a big-ass fan blowing on me. Now, most of my running is outside, but usually earlier in the day when temperatures are noticeably cooler.
So…more training in the heat? Bike even more conservatively? Just press on as best as possible in July and August?
What do YOU do to cope with racing in mid-summer when the heat index is 90+F?
I wouldn’t reach too far based on your result on Sunday. these last 8-10 days have been awful in comparison to the rest of the summer. I’m outdoors here in Franklin every single day, but this weekend it went up a notch compared to the rest of the summer. I did not race.
I ran the first mile at a reasonable (for me) pace - not too different than the 1st mile off the bike under cooler conditions.
You should not run in a race according to pace but rather according to perceived effort or heart rate. This is also true for training. You’ll see the resulting pace is clearly lower when it is hot.
You also should’nt bike in a race only according to power. Better is perceived effort or heart rate.
So…more training in the heat?
Well, that’s an interesting question. I heard once that indeed you can accustome your body to heat. This year I will do a hot race. I therefore try to train in the middle of the day if the circumstances let me.
You also should’nt bike in a race only according to power. Better is perceived effort or heart rate.
Seriously? So you think it’s good to ride the first 10 minutes of a race at 1.3X FTP and the last 10 at .7X ? Because that’s what most people tend to when they’re pacing by heart rate. PE is only a little better.
We get into an offtopic discussion which has nothing to do with the very interesting question whether training in the heat makes you a better racer in the heat.
(To answer your question anyway we come to a very wide field which is constantly and controversely discussed. I only add here that power is not indicative for temperature or shape of the day. HR and PE are. And indeed my assumption seems to be true, that with the introduction of the PM in biking, the baby is thrown out with the bathwater in the sense that with running only the pace remains, and HR and PE is not used anymore also in running.)
I live in the deep South (US). Very hot and humid in the Summer.
It’s about the run. Running in the afternoon heat here is something to be avoided, but cycling in that heat is not too bad as long as you put down lots of fluids, I mean really a lot. So much so that it can’t be just water because you also go thru a lot of electrolytes. So if you’re concerned about being reasonably adapted to the heat, I wouldn’t worry about the indoor cycling, I’d just make sure that you’re running in the heat before the race.
In years of Summer triathlons here, Olympic and Sprint, I’ve never felt over-heated in the ride. But I’ve gone into the red, due to heat, many times during the run.
Adaptation doesn’t take long. From what I’ve read, heat adaptation is relatively fast, call it significant adaptation in <2wks. Can’t say I’ve ever noticed myself. I’ve never transitioned to a hot climate and then tried to adapt fast.