Hot Weather Racing

At the Race Start at the Cozumel 70.3, there are dolphins in the background.

2 weekends ago I raced in the Cozumel 70.3 and it was really hot. I knew it was going to be hot, but I thought that I could finish before the heat exhaustion really set in. I was wrong. The swim was great, the bike was good until about 70kms in when I felt the heat was really taking its toll on me. I slowed down a bit, but by the time I got to the run I knew that I would not be able to survive the 40 C (with the humid X) so I decided to cut my losses and walk every water station. I made sure to stuff ice down my shirt (a tip I got from Leslie, thanks Leslie), drink lots of Gatorade and douse myself with water. While my run time was not great I did manage to stave off heat exhaustion and finish the race relatively unscathed. I consider myself lucky as I had a friend who needed an I.V. after the race. Though I wasn’t prepared well for the heat of this race there are ways that you can prepare for an race where hot weather is expected, if you live and train in a cool climate like in TO.
To heat acclimatize you can overdress for your workouts or do them in warmer temperatures inside. When you go out for a run overdress or better yet do it inside on the treadmill. For bike training, you can bike inside with no fan, this really makes you sweat due to the lack of wind, but simulates hot humid conditions. Well this won’t make for the most enjoyable training, it’ll certainly prepare you the next time you have a race in a hot place like Cozumel, Mexico.
Mike M.

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