3650 Miles in the Hurtlocker

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Race strategy for heat (temp) (Read 54 times)


an amazing likeness

    So...in general...for a race in temps well above my acclimation and comfort...I know I'm going to get to a point where I have to dial back the effort in order to finish.  My tolerance of the temp is setting pace I'll achieve rather than my fitness for the distance / speed.


    In these conditions, I'm generally starting off pretty cooled...core temp is low due to cold water, that kind of thing.

     

    Is it better to go out hard and get overheated sooner...but have banked all the time I can, or better to start easier than normal for the distance and try to "delay" the onset of the overheating?

     

    Start hard and fade vs start easy and try to delay the onset of cooking from my innards out?

    Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.


    #artbydmcbride

      For me in a dry heat, the go as hard as you can for as long as you can and let your body dial you back ...has been my plan.

       

      However, in the humid heat, my heart rate goes way up at a certain effort level and I hit a wall early and hard if I push too much.  So I keep the effort just under that and try to maintain and later inch my pace higher.    Cool

       

      Runners run


      Walk-Jogger

        I have no experience with the actual racing in the heat part so I can't offer anything there. But we're in the midst of a week-long heat wave here and I'm making a point of going outside and running in the heat, either later in the mornings and going long, or as today, I'll go out after work when the sun gets low enough not to contribute to my slight sunburn, and run very easy for 2-4 miles in the 90+ temps, in order to acclimate to it. According to the research I read, 10 days of heat training may improve performance up to 6%. That was for bikers, but I assume it works that way for runners as well.

         

        Too bad we aren't in for 10 days of heat - weatherman says we're back to our usual 70's for highs in a couple more days.

        Retired &  Loving It

        kcam


          Both times when I've raced in extreme heat I tried to run my normal pace from the beginning.  Not good in either race, nowadays if I had to do race in extreme heat I'd start off a good bit slower than what I'd run under normal conditions and hope to hold on or maybe pick it up or if it's a marathon I'd probably DNS.

           

          5K in 92 deg sunny weather:  ran 6:11, 6:17, 6:43 for 19:43 (a week later ran 18:31 in normal weather)

           

          Marathon (07 Chicago), 90's temps:  started out <7:30 pace, last 5K at >10:00 pace for 3:44 (ran 3:15 two weeks later on a much more difficult course).

          TeaOlive


          old woman w/hobby

            I tend to start hard and fade as conditions force me to.  This is high humidity not dry heat.

            steph  

             

             

              "I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."

              -- Dick LeBeau


              an amazing likeness

                Two thumbs up at mile 5.5!

                 

                 

                87F wins at mile 11!  (not certain if this is before or after heaving up gallons of water...)

                 

                 

                 

                I'll take any advice...trying to avoid this again.  In this fiasco, I tried the 'start easy and stay cool longer' approach, including walking onto someone's lawn and asking to borrow the hose they were using on their garden to take a shower.

                Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

                kcam


                  That is hurtlocker, right there!


                  Feeling the growl again

                    I don't handle heat well. I vote start reserved and don't overheatas soon. skip the warm-up.  I find the fastest my body will let me handle and hold even misery throughout the race.

                    "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                     

                    I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

                     

                    C-R


                      I tried to take it easy at Boston the heat wave two years ago and crashed at 16. No mAtter how much you think you've eased it off the throtmore ease up more. That one was 95 and I should have run 8:30 to 8:45 and see how thing went instead of 8s and a crunch. Just my thought.


                      "He conquers who endures" - Persius
                      "Every workout should have a purpose. Every purpose should link back to achieving a training objective." - Spaniel

                      http://ncstake.blogspot.com/


                      Feeling the growl again

                        Did pretty much the same race there in 2004.  Went out near plan the first three miles, then read the situation and just did what I thought I could hold until the end. for me it worked out, 37 OA.  while I felt more miserable the aerobic effort was by far my easiest marathon.

                         

                        I tried to take it easy at Boston the heat wave two years ago and crashed at 16. No mAtter how much you think you've eased it off the throtmore ease up more. That one was 95 and I should have run 8:30 to 8:45 and see how thing went instead of 8s and a crunch. Just my thought.

                        "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                         

                        I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

                         

                          If I had bleeding nipples like that, I'd be walking and feeling like crap too... Smile

                          I did Ironman Texas in May, and the run started at 2pm at 95+ degrees.  I just factored in a slower speed, and pushed through as consistent of miles as I could run.  Yes, I was slow, and yes, I had quite a few steps that might have looked similar to your mile 11 photo, but I was well hydrated and never felt overheated.

                           

                          I wore arm coolers and a visor that I wore upside down.  At every water station, I put about 3 or 4 ice cubes in my visor to keep my head cool.  In Ironman races, they give you ice sponges, and I'd put the sponges between the elastic of my visor and my head to also help me stay cool.

                          I also placed sponges in my shirt and would gather 10 - 15 sponges over a few miles before I threw them aside.

                           

                          I avoided all sprinklers and "free water" for the fear of chafing.

                           

                           

                          87F wins at mile 11!  (not certain if this is before or after heaving up gallons of water...)

                           

                           

                           

                          Life Goals:

                          #1: Do what I can do

                          #2: Enjoy life

                           

                           

                            Is it better to go out hard and get overheated sooner...but have banked all the time I can, or better to start easier than normal for the distance and try to "delay" the onset of the overheating?

                             

                            Start hard and fade vs start easy and try to delay the onset of cooking from my innards out?

                             

                            All the answers are in the posts above.

                             

                            #1 - CliveF is right, don't listen to him.

                            #2 - what kencamet and spaniel said - start slower.

                            #3 - throw time goals out the window.  If it's not a race that you have to do, even consider a DNS and try again another day.

                             

                            It sounds like we have all had our fair share of meltdown races.  I've had a couple as well.  Like others, I don't handle heat and humidity well and frankly, I just sweat too damn much.  I can try and stay hydrated but for longer races, I just can't keep up with the water loss.  Out of the five marathons I've run, I've had two marathons at around 3:41 and two marathons at around a 2:42.  The two at 3:41 were because I was not only stupid but also because it was damn hot.  Both were Chicago and both ended in disaster at about the same spot - mile 17.  Walked it in both times from there.

                             

                            Someday I'll learn my lesson.  Heck even this January, I did a half in Miami.  Still didn't learn my lesson.  70 deg and humid at the start.  Not bad for a summer day but for a Midwesterner that is in the middle of winter running, that's a disaster waiting to happen.  I went out like I was going to run a sub-1:15.  Well the humidity and sweating took care of that.  My half split at Boston was faster.  Just goes to show how much heat and humidity affect performances.


                            Feeling the growl again

                               

                              All the answers are in the posts above.

                               

                              #1 - CliveF is right, don't listen to him.

                              #2 - what kencamet and spaniel said - start slower.

                              #3 - throw time goals out the window.  If it's not a race that you have to do, even consider a DNS and try again another day.

                               

                              It sounds like we have all had our fair share of meltdown races.  I've had a couple as well.  Like others, I don't handle heat and humidity well and frankly, I just sweat too damn much.  I can try and stay hydrated but for longer races, I just can't keep up with the water loss.  Out of the five marathons I've run, I've had two marathons at around 3:41 and two marathons at around a 2:42.  The two at 3:41 were because I was not only stupid but also because it was damn hot.  Both were Chicago and both ended in disaster at about the same spot - mile 17.  Walked it in both times from there.

                               

                              Someday I'll learn my lesson.  Heck even this January, I did a half in Miami.  Still didn't learn my lesson.  70 deg and humid at the start.  Not bad for a summer day but for a Midwesterner that is in the middle of winter running, that's a disaster waiting to happen.  I went out like I was going to run a sub-1:15.  Well the humidity and sweating took care of that.  My half split at Boston was faster.  Just goes to show how much heat and humidity affect performances.

                              +1 on throwing out goal times.  Me and a pacer showed up at Boston 2004 ready to run each other to 2:26.  We both ditched that early and ran to finish.  I ran 2:38 for 37th and IIRC he ran 2:33 and was the first non-elite finisher with that time.  Plenty of road kill in the medical tents who tried to go out hard.

                              "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                               

                              I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

                               


                              Ostrich runner

                                A couple years back in an 8 hour race, it got over 90. I ended up doing alright for my fitness level, but I did make some mistakes. I didn't apply any sunscreen until pretty late in the race. I think the exposure really got to me as time wore on, but I didn't realize that's what it was. I did have some bandanas sitting in a cooler of ice water that I'd apply after each lap for a few minutes, and I think that helped greatly.

                                http://www.runningahead.com/groups/Indy/forum

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