Beginners and Beyond

Advice on adjusting for heat in my next marathon (Read 89 times)

happylily


     

    I'll bet you Negril was more humid than the others.  That would explain your feelings and slower performance. Humidity (dewpoint, actually) affects us more than heat (once you're acclimated to heat) because the body does not cool off itself better even after acclimating.

     

    Very true. It was very humid, even at 5 a.m..

    PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013

            Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013

    18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010

    fourouta5


    Healed Hammy

      One thing that no one has mentioned  (at least I don't think so) is how body size affects thermoregulation (your ability to keep yourself from overheating when running hard in heat).

       

      Put that in the next spelling bee!!!!

      happylily


         

        Put that in the next spelling bee!!!!

         

        Or say it 10 times very fast. 

        PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013

                Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013

        18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010

        Love the Half


          There are a bunch of things that affect your ability to run in the heat.  Among them:

           

          1.  Body size.  A shorter person has a greater percentage of his/her body mass exposed as skin and is thus better able to cool when exercising.

           

          2.  Acclimation.  If you have trained in the heat, your body is better able to cool itself.  Acclimation takes 2-3 weeks and you need 2-3 weeks of continuously warm weather before your body fully adapts.

           

          3.  Discipline.  I keep coming back to this theme but that's because I saw the blow ups at Wrightsville Beach and it felt reasonably cool at 61 degrees.

           

          4.  Humidity.  Your body cools itself by evaporative cooling and evaporative cooling is less effective on a humid day.

           

          5.  Sunlight.  Of course, a cloudless day is frequently less humid so there is some trade off here.

           

          6.  Wind.  A breeze will aid in cooling.  If it is a light enough wind, say less than 10 mph, the cooling effects of the wind will more than offset the negative resistance effects.

           

          7.  Individual variability.  Just as individuals vary in their ability to store glycogen, they vary in their ability to cool themselves.

           

          There is no formula that will work for everyone in every instance.  As I have noted, 61 degrees and low humidity is different from 61 degrees and high humidity.  That high humidity at Wrightsville Beach caused me to back off by about 10-15 seconds per mile from my goal pace when it would have been more like 5-10 seconds per mile in low humidity.  What I would note though is that an error in the wrong direction carries enormous consequences from which you cannot recover.  Once you overheat, you're done.

          Short term goal: 17:59 5K

          Mid term goal:  2:54:59 marathon

          Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life.  (I started running at age 45).