If you're training or racing overseas or even during the UK summer, you may have to consider adapting your training for the heat.
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So here are a few quick points on how to approach it:
Adapting training for the heat
When it’s hot your body’s main job is to stop you overheating (which at its extreme can result in death) rather than to do your session at goal pace/power. There’s less blood to go around (it’s being diverted to the skin to cool you and as you get dehydrated blood plasma volume is reduced) which makes exercise harder.
Therefore back off the pace and go on feel. If your easy run feels hard then slow down until it feels easy. If you’ve got a hard session on your plan either switch it to a cooler day/ earlier on, do what you can do to cool down (fans, cold drinks, ice vests etc) or do it at a lower intensity. If it's too hot to do the session justice and you’re not going to get the intended training benefits you deserve from it then I would do a heat adaptation session instead.
How to add heat adaptation training
If you have a race/ lots of training coming up in (predicted) heat then consider a heat adaptation protocol, done well this means you'll be far more adapted and able to put out your goal power on race day. Even if it turns out not to be so hot on race day you’ll actually still get some great benefits, so its worth it either way.
This is a whole subject in itself, but in summary you need 2-3 weeks to adapt and you want to add sessions where you try and elevate core body temperature (within safe ranges) for 60-100 minutes. Whilst in theory you are meant to do this every/ every other day, in my experience, even doing a few sessions really helps.
The 'easiest' ways are to either do a Z1 turbo session layered up, with the windows shut, heating on, no cold drinks etc etc, or add a sauna routine post training (when your body temp is already higher). When training in the heat you should massively reduce intensity, make sure you are safe, and focus on rehydration before, during and after (and take precautions to avoid getting saddle sores or athletes foot!)
Dehydration
Dehydration is a key risk – both in terms of performance and health. Make sure you keep hydrating (including electrolytes), and don’t just focus on during the workout, think before, during and after. And aim for little and often, not just a few big glugs.
Nutrition
Your body will process nutrition differently when you’re hot (in most cases you can cope with less carbs than usual) and obviously you’ll be taking on more liquids. If you’re training for a race then experiment with what works and doesn’t in the heat, and make notes.
Thunder and rain
Don’t go out if it’s not safe! But if you’re confident it’s ok to be outside then this might be valuable practice for a potentially wet race day.
In terms of the bike – wait until after the first rain, dusty dry roads + rain = roads like an ice rink. Once that’s washed off then this could be a great option to get some wet weather training in. Remember stay off the road markings (slippery when wet) and avoid puddles (you’re not being a wuss, you don’t know if there’s a pothole under there). Check through kit options, especially glasses.
Run – less important but good to think through kit choices (although it may be cooler on race day), find which socks rub the least when wet, try out trail shoes if your race is off road etc.
Swim – again, don’t risk it with lightning, but if it’s just windy then again this is great practice for those conditions on race day, especially if you’ve got a sea swim coming up that you haven’t practiced much for. Outdoor swim venues will have protocols that mean they need to stay shut for a certain time period around lightning so think about re-jigging your training if it's forecast.
Kit - This is a great opportunity to test what will work in adverse conditions. Take a spare layer, you can get a lot colder when wet, a pair of latex/ petrol station gloves in your back pocket is a really light weight option for keeping hands warmer and dry.
Would you like support on your training?
As well as a training plan to get you ready for race day, all my personalised plans include coaching calls where we can discuss things such as heat adaptation and what to consider in terms of kit, nutrition etc for race day when the weather is less than predictable!
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