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Ironman Canada is quickly approaching and with it, blast furnace like temperatures.  Many of my friends and teammates are starting to get those nervous jitters as they watch the extended forecast continue to go up.  While I won’t be racing this year, I have had the pleasure of racing in many blistering races from sprints up to Ironman distance.  I was initially crushed every time the temp would climb.  From being scraped off the road at mile 15 at Ironman Canada in my first ever DNF, to the most severe dehydration I’ve ever experienced at Troika half Ironman, I eventually decided that I needed to figure out hot weather racing if I wanted any chance of success.  I went from being terrified when I saw hot weather to actually embracing it and having some of my best races in those same conditions.  Everyone needs to figure out what works best for them but the following is what has helped me over the years.

The most important aspect when the temp goes up is to keep the core cool!  If you can manage to keep you core body temperature under control, your chances of success goes WAY up.  There are many little ways to help and one major change I made, so first the little things.

Reassess your goals:  You may go into a race with specific time goals or splits.  Hot weather changes everything and you have to let it go.  Remember everyone is in the same conditions and all the times will reflect that.  While you may give up some time you won’t be giving up places and if you pace it correctly, you’ll even be picking up places on those not as wise and scrupulously disciplined as yourself.

White mesh vented cap or visor:  Light color reflects the sun rather than absorbing it as well as keeping the sun out of your eyes.  This also provides an additional benefit as squinting causes wrinkles…yuck!

Ice:  When going through the aid stations on the run take ice and put it in your cap or singlet.  Provides slow release cooling not to mention shocks the bejeezus out of the system.  I will, however, let you make your own decisions about ice down the shorts…for more on this specific aspect I defer to my more learned colleague Brian (aka friggin’ Brian).

Stay on your nutrition plan:  By the time you get to the run and the stomach is starting to get queasy from all the syrupy sugary stuff you’ve been throwing at it, it’s real easy to get away from your plan as you just don’t feel like eating/drinking anything sweet.  It is important that you maintain your calories going in.  You might want to switch it up and have something other than the gel you have been using.  Try coke, try eating pretzels or even the soup they have.  Mix it up but keep it coming as you are loosing salt and electrolytes at a rapid rate and just replacing with water is a recipe for disaster.  

And now for the one factor that literally “changed everything” for me.  

Carry a Water Bottle!  I know, boring huh?  Doesn’t seem like such a earth shattering “secret” but I’m here to tell you once you try it, it will change everything.  Bottom line is that having water every mile just isn’t enough in hot weather.  Even if you do get enough, you have 20 yards of transition space to drink out of a sloshing cup, grab some fuel, grab sponges and cool yourself down.  Too much to do and you end up either spending WAY too much time in the aid station or doing a poor job of everything.  Not to mention it’s much harder on your stomach to try and throw everything you need down the hatch in about 15 seconds and then ask an overtaxed system to try and absorb and digest it in time to repeat in another mile.  If you have your own bottle, you can casually sip it as you need it (while feeling smugly superior to all those poor schlubs running next to you desperately waiting for the next aid station to appear).  When you do get to the aid station you will know exactly what nutrition you want and all the rest of your energy goes to keeping your core cool.  My specific approach was to grab two sponges and squeeze them over my head/shoulders.  Grab every water cup that is held out to you and throw it over your head.  When you see the gel, pretzels, Coke or whatever grab it and either eat it or in the case of the gel, hold it for later.  Then a little more water and finally two sponges for the road.  Slip the sponges into the straps on your singlet and you can squeeze more water out of them midway between stations.  You can then eat your gel at your leisure.  When you are ready for a water refill, open it up in advance and when you get to the station you won’t believe how fast you can fill it up and the people at the aid stations will be falling over themselves to help when they see what you’re doing.  

Contrast that to the progressive slowing at the aid stations of the average competitor as the fatigue sets in and you are gaining MINUTES over the course of the run.  Give it a try and if you don’t like it, you can always pitch it but I guarantee you’ll feel like you have a major advantage of those around you.

Hope it helps and if it doesn’t, just go with the default plan…suck it up buttercup!

Phil