Heat Training

The thing that scares me the most about racing in Hawaii is the heat. You see it every year on NBC’s coverage of the Ironman, where an athlete suffers greatly on the marathon and succumbs to the heat. Usually this comes in the form of a the athlete pulling to the side of the road, wobbling and usually falling over. When this happens the athlete is in a world of danger. That athlete has pushed their body past it's limit. They have missed something in their nutrition and their body has said no more. This scares me! However, what terrifies me the most, is knowing the difficulty my goals and knowing how much I will have to suffer in order for me to achieve my goals. So what do I do?

I train my body the best I can to handle the heat.

This past weekend we had 30 plus degree heat. Just being outside made you sweat. It was as close to Hawaii conditions as one could get. Therefore, to get my body ready for the lava fields, I went up to the Muskoka 70.3 Ironman bike course and road 145 km. I rode in the heat, trying to get my body ready to suffer. I also tried to figure out my nutrition. How many bottles I would need in order to stay hydrated. In the 4.5 hours I was biking I went through 5, 710ml bottles of Gatorade. Gatorade will be on course in Hawaii so I have chosen to stick with that for my training. I also went through a couple of bottles of water during that time as well. At the end of the ride, I was pretty tired but not completely exhausted like my last long ride. Which means that my body is responding to my training and that my body managed the heat very well. These were all positives, however the true test was to come the next day on my long run.

I woke up the day following my long ride feeling pretty good. It was Father's Day and I did have a few family commitments which meant that my long run would have to wait until the afternoon. Perfect, just like in Hawaii, I will be running in the early afternoon heat. Actually as the day went on and on I began procrastinating doing my run. I knew how hot it was and how much it was going to hurt running for 2 hours in that heat. But finally I got ready put on my shoes and grabbed my fuel belt and headed out the door. As I made my way through my run I realized that my body was doing a good job of keeping me cool. I was sweating, but I was not overheating. I ran through my first 10 km in just over 46 minutes. I was fine with this since I was carrying a few extra pounds on my fuel belt. Through 21.1 km (1:38) I was still feeling strong. I had gone through 2.5 bottles and one gel and only had 22 minutes left of running. As I ran those last 22 minutes, I thought about finishing this week strong. I hit the 2 hour mark and I felt good. I was thirsty, but I was in a good spot. I had stayed strong throughout my entire long run in the heat. This is a promising sign going forward.

A key part of the Hawaii Ironman is the Natural Energy Lab. From what I understand, this section of the course makes or breaks competitors. In the Natural Energy Lab the heat increases and there is no breeze. Moreover, I have been warned that in this section you have to back off and bring your heart rate down. If you don’t, you will be in for a very painful and long 15km back to the finish. Yesterday, on my run I found a newly paved road that could mimic this part of the race. The black pavement was radiating the heat and it had a long incline. Therefore in preparation for the Big Island I will now incorporate this road into my training. I will do my best to run this road at about 20-25 km in my long run. What’s even better about this section is that I can run 3 km down and then turn around and run 3 km back out. Similar to the Natural Energy Lab.

I am preparing to the best of my abilities for the Kona heat. I am trying to replicate the race so that on race day my body is prepared and ready to rock. However, as much as I prepare, I am still afraid of what the Big Island will throw my way on race day. And if the Island gives lots of heat, hopefully I have taught my body to suffer well.

#Training #Nutrition