posted Jun-22-2005 08:41 PM            

Workers exposed to hot humid conditions should be acclimitized over a period of one to two weeks before working a full shift. (8 hrs) This is usually accomplished through increasing the time exposure to hot work. As with any physiological parameter the ability to handle heat varies from person to person. Some of the variables are age, physical condition, sweatability & general health. Older obese people are high risk for heat related illnesses. A web bulb temperature of around 28C is generally considered acceptable for light work without causing symptioms of heat illness.

There is normally about a 2 degree C difference between core & skin temperature. Elevating core temperature by more than about a degree can cause heat stroke in some people, but most people can tolerate about 2 degrees before experiencing heat illness symptoms. Some can tolerate even more & these would be prime candidates for hot weather running.

The amount of heat generated by body metabolism is roughly equal to the heat load from solar radiation. Protection from solar radiation will therefore cut your heat load in half. Therefore wearing a loose fitting nylon jacket (to keep sun rays from direct contact with skin) can actually be beneficial if the sun is shining. Hats should be ventilated to prevent excessive heat buildup on your head.

Sweat evaporation is the major body mechanism for eliminating heat during heavy exercise. It's most efficient at lower tempertures and relative humidity levels. As air temperature approaches normal body temperature and relative humidity approaches 100% it becomes more and more difficult to eliminate heat through sweating. Under these conditions running or other heavy work should be curtailed. On the other end of the spectrom (running naked in the middle of a cold night) one will lose too much heat through sweat and you could become hypothermic.

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posted Jun-22-2005 10:57 PM               

I could expand on what leon has said about my heat training, but he has stated what I did accurately. I feel it was and remains an important part of my training, but if you choose to believe I'm wrong, fine. (Kim Jones and I were probably flukes anyway.)

As for heat training only being useful for hot races, that wasn't my experience. I raced better when I heat trained no matter how warm or cool the weather. Again, believe what you will.

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posted Jun-23-2005 12:01 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Benji Durden:

As for heat training only being useful for hot races, that wasn't my experience. I raced better when I heat trained no matter how warm or cool the weather.

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And thanks for shedding light on some of the additional benefits of heat training, such as improving performance even in cooler weather.

You mentioned one of my all time favorite runners - Kim Jones. I'd like to learn more about how she heat trained. And could you go into a bit more detail about how you heat trained? Did you wear additional layers all the time when you trained in warm weather? Etc? Thanks.

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posted Jun-23-2005 06:34 AM            

I'd like to know what kind of temperatures you trained in when you were wearing extra layers, too. I get these mental pictures of people coming down to the track when the temp is 90F degrees, and wearing sweats.

I also think some of the heat tolerance has got to be individual. We have 2 people in our club who train together - both decent runners, one was a 2:20 marathoner, still a very fast age grouper. Anyway, one of them loves the heat, raced when it was 88F and loved it, but hates racing in the cold and doesn't do so well relatively speaking in cold races. The other is just the oppposite - has his best times in the cold, and has problems with heat-related issues.

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posted Jun-23-2005 07:41 AM               

Okay. I believe Benji Durden knows what works and what doesn't.

I do most of my training in Atlanta and am convinced of the benefit of heat training. I don't take it to the extremes that Benji did prior to the '80 Olympic Trials, but do follow a very scaled back plan that makes allowances for age (52) and a much lower talent level.

I am on track to get my first 100 mile week this very week. Thanks in large part to the examples of leon2 and Fredurie and some training ideas Benji recently posted about his current training. Thanks all.

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posted Jun-23-2005 09:38 AM               

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posted Jun-23-2005 09:57 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Benji Durden:
As for heat training only being useful for hot races, that wasn't my experience. I raced better when I heat trained no matter how warm or cool the weather.

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Thanks for the clarification Benji. I am curious why do you think this happened? I am not looking for any scientific explaination or anything, but just wondering why you think that heat training helped in cooler races?

Like I posted before I run in the heat all the time, it gets to like 112 here in Sacramento, the looks I get are funny. I do good in hot races, but road 5K PR is when it was 90 a couple of summers back. Just curious about the benefits for cooler races. Thanks.

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posted Jun-23-2005 09:59 AM            

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Originally posted by AndyHass:
If you are acclimatized for a race in 90 degree weather and it's only 55, you will FLY.

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That's what Benji referred to as well. I'm already sold on the benefits of heat training. Hopefully others will apply this knowledge towards improving their performances this year.

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posted Jun-23-2005 10:46 AM            

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posted Jun-23-2005 10:51 AM               

As far as the heat goes in Iowa it has been 95 with heat index over 100 for the last week with another one to come. It is muggy and wet out. I have noticed obviously I can not run as fast but have been losing weight and now easy runs are getting easier and faster without any trying.

The heat makes me lose weight as I don't eat as much cause it is too hot to do so. I mentally feel like I would have a hard time wearing any more clothes than shorts to help my progress.

I have been running twice a day lately and know most local runners are not running as much or at the times I do. A race two weeks out will tell the tale. Just my pennys worth.

Welcome Benji and please stick around.

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posted Jun-23-2005 11:45 AM               

I wore sweats year round. More layers in the winter, but still at least 1 layer even on the hottest days. I would do repeat 800's in full sweats and rain suit in the middle of the day. A typical run like this would be 45-60 minutes warmup fully bundled up to the track, 6x800/400 with the 800 being about 2:20 (I could run that pace for 15K without the sweats) and then 45-60 minutes warmdown.

On the hottest days in Atlanta, I would often run at night in my sweats. Not because of the heat so much as the thermal inversions causing more pollution than I wanted to deal with.

Why did/does this work? It is just another stress on the body that it adapts to. Heat stress causes a higher heart rate (this is observed fact not theory). So at a slow running pace (and therefore less pounding) you can get a better cardio workout than you could not heat training. There are other factors at work here as well. more clothes means more weight to carry. Like a weight vest or hand weights, this adds to the workload for the muscles and strengthens even at an easy running pace.

This is not for everyone. And on days of 90 and above it may be for only a very few. i didn't come up with the idea. I got it from Ron Daws (1968 Olympic Marathoner) who got it from Buddy Edelen (last American male to hold the world record for the marathon). I'm sure there were others who did this as well. The Japanese and Kenyans here in Boulder all train this way on their easy runs.

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posted Jun-23-2005 11:54 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by fredurie:
http://www.runningtimes.com/issues/80/sandoval1980.htm

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Thanks for the link. What I have absorbed from the story:

1. Gary Fanelli is crazy. I know this first hand since I hung out with him in Hawaii for about 13 hours. Great guy and funny.

2. The last place finisher from 76 (Heath) was in the mix in the 80 trials after halfway. Hopefully the last place finisher from the 2004 trials will be in the mix after halfway in 2008.

3. Something about running in the heat or something.

Sorry to drift off topic, but it was good stuff in the story.

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posted Jun-23-2005 01:58 PM            

Most of those are incredible...but,

Lori Bowden, 2:59:16 marathon (after swimming 2.4 miles and cycling 112 miles) at the 1999 Ironman Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii.

I just read about Lori Bowden today in an old Runner's World. According to the the magazine, in 1999 the temperature during the Hawaii Ironman only climbed into the mid-70's. Not crisp by any means. (Frigid by Kona Ironman standards). But not really hot weather as we've been reading about.

Just a timely clarification since I just happened to read that this morning.

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posted Jun-23-2005 03:11 PM            

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Originally posted by 4426:

Welcome Benji and please stick around.

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Benji, thanks for the details on your heat training. I'm curious to know what you did about hydration. Did you carry a bottle, pass by fountains, ...?

Also, what kind of sport drink were you using? Or was it just plain water and getting your electrolytes through foods?

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posted Jun-23-2005 03:34 PM               

One other thing to add, maybe there is a psychological component in addition to the physiological component in heat training. At some point, the ability to withstand suffering must play a role in racing your best, and perhaps heat training is one of the tools available to runners to train this ability.

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posted Jun-23-2005 03:57 PM               

I did use a similar approach under cooler conditions in 2004 before Boston. Forecasts were calling for a hot one 10 days out, so I wore some extra clothes since it was in the 40s and 50s where I was training. I was still miserable on race day (87), my time stunk, but relative to most other people (judging by my finishing place) I lost less time to the heat.

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posted Jun-23-2005 04:13 PM               

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posted Jun-23-2005 04:41 PM            

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posted Jun-23-2005 06:47 PM               

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posted Jun-23-2005 11:00 PM            

His format for pre-marathon carbo-loading had been set in stone for years. After all, he is thoroughly familiar with the science behind it, understands its nuances. It called for a normal run on Sunday, an easy Monday, followed by a two hour "depletion" run—wearing sweats and a stocking hat—on the Tuesday before Boston.

Hal Goforth

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posted Jun-24-2005 09:54 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by milkbaby:
One other thing to add, maybe there is a psychological component in addition to the physiological component in heat training. At some point, the ability to withstand suffering must play a role in racing your best, and perhaps heat training is one of the tools available to runners to train this ability.

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Excellent observation and one I hadn't thought of, but I agree with it now that you've pointed it out. After you've done hard workouts in dire conditions and survived you'll certainly have a confidence level about running (and racing) in the heat. Others may be trying to convince themselves that, "I can do this, I just have to have faith", but there's no better teacher than experience.

The battles we have with that little voice inside our heads is something I'm sure we're all familiar with. No better way to shut that little guy (or gal) up than to say to yourself, "this is nothing - I've trained in and survived much worse conditions than this". And during a race, when that little voice says, "it's really hot out here, maybe you should take it easy", you can tell that voice to piss off, you've got some a*@ to kick.

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posted Jun-24-2005 02:47 PM               

I never have used electrolyte drinks much. I usually have stomach problems when I have tried them.

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posted Jun-24-2005 03:14 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by maryt:
[B]If you are going to race in the heat, you need to train in the heat, but if you're not going to be racing in the heat, I don't see any benefit to running in the heat if you can avoid it.

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This is a rare occurrance but Ms. Mary is right on the button with this one. Heat training helps only for hot weather racing.

You can train better, more efficiently and recover more easily in more temperate climates.

[This message has been edited by Jeff Dutra (edited Jun-24-2005).]

[This message has been edited by Jeff Dutra (edited Jun-24-2005).]

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posted Jun-24-2005 03:20 PM               

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Originally posted by leon2:
Here is an interesting paper on heat training -- A model for heat training-the Davies heat model. It's almost a must-read document for anyone interested in heat training.

"The purpose of this paper is to present a model for heat training, together with strategies to help reduce the heat's potential depleting effects on performance.
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A key concept of the Davies Heat Model is the notion that, especially for events that are both strenuous and extensive, a far greater time span is needed for full heat acclimatisation for optimum athletic performance than the textbook 7-14 days (Wilmore and Costill, 1999). Indeed, the very observance of this two-week acclimatisation period has probably been the underlying cause of numerous failures of high profile athletes when confronted by warm to hot conditions.
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the three medal winners had all been [b]training for three months in conditions similar to those experienced in Los Angeles, and that this may just have had something to do with their subsequent success."

I also want to share an article that explains the sauna method that I use. There are also links to other articles about heat training.

Heat Training in the Sauna

Edited to add that I modify the regimen described in the article. And that's one of the good things about this kind of training -- you can set the temperature to whatever you want.

[This message has been edited by leon2 (edited Jun-22-2005).][/B]

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When I moved to Florida which was at the end of a humid Northern summer I went through the fall, winter and early spring with no trouble because the temperature didn't really drop that much. When the Florida heat and humidity really started to kick into gear in Mid May it took basically the entire late spring and summer to acclimate myself. I now can train in the middle of a hot summer day if that's where the run fits into my schedule.

Again there is no way you can get the quality training in the middle of the Summer down here that you can in more temperate climates - either north of here or during another time of year in Florida. There is no acclimating to that.

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posted Jun-24-2005 03:25 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by maryt:
[B] I still think Leon is overdoing it with that running with extra clothing when the temp is already over 80 - 80 should be plenty hot enough without risking heatstroke, even if he is preparing for a race - in the 70s, not the 80s, by the way. The Davies model posted by both fredurie and Leon says to train at the temp of your race OR BELOW if your race temp will be 80 or over.

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I tend to wear sweats even in temperatures in the low '80's for my easier runs - up to 8 miles or so and I think it's a good way to acclimate. The reason I do this is I guess i've become so used to being warm that I'm more comfortable that way. I also believe in training to prepare for the worst likely conditions you'll face. So in the north that might mean keeping the sweats off for a longer period of time.

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