carleton

Ever since I was a high school athlete (baseball & tennis), I've had issues with heat fatigue. It seems to affect me much more than others around me. This weekend I raced a daytime event at the velodrome. The SRM thermometer showed values from the high 90s to 105 degrees.

Race day is always the lightest day in terms of volume. There was warmup and 3 short sprint events (maximal effort) which is maybe 1/4 the amount of work I'd do on a normal training day...yet I felt like I got hit by a bus at the end of the day. I even declined to race the last event.

I was wearing bib shorts and a short-sleeved compression top. I drank plenty of fluids (Gatorade and water) as well as Clif bars for snacks. I was under a tent the majority of the time. But they weren't enough to cool me down...much less allow me to recover.

Any suggestions on keeping cool between events?

dizzy101

From my personal experience, hydration BEFORE the event is as important as hydration during. If I don't drink enuf liquids the evening before or the morning of a strenuous ride, then all the Gatorade in the world won't fix the problem.

In other news, try the 'ice sock'. Put some ice cubes in a sock, put knot in it, drape around neck. Some people swear by it.

brian416

An ice vest might help get your core temp down faster, and fill your bottles full of ice to keep the water cooler.

brianappleby

what sort of race is it? feed zones?

If possible, dump water on your head, soak your baselayer in cold water then put it back on.. etc.

Ice vests are expensive, but any sort of improv-ed one sounds like a good idea too.

Filling your bottles with ice can be a bad idea if you find yourself gasping for water and it hasn't melted yet.

Could you race with that camelbak baselayer, and freeze half of it the night before?

carleton

Track racing at an outdoor velodrome.

Also, I forgot to mention. The velodrome somehow magnifies heat like one might experience in a football stadium.

brianappleby

ok.. then absolutely work on cooling yourself externally between races. Find shade, bring LOTS of ice in a cooler, soak your head in it after races.
The purpose of sweating is to suck heat out of your body. You can bypass the part where you have to process the water if you just soak yourself. The colder the water, the better. I bet if you brought a kiddie pool full of ice, people would be paying you for a dip...

chado445510

I was at my first track race this weekend at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center. It was hot!

I made sure I sat down as frequently as possible in the shade and drank a bottle in between events which were about 20-25 minutes apart. When I feel overheated I put something really cold, like an ice packet, on major veins in my body. Usually on the inside of the elbow or arm, and sometimes in the armpit or on the neck next to the carotid artery. This helps me cool down.

wanders

I kind of like the idea of the frozen racebak.

carleton

Thanks, Dizzy, Brian, and Brian for the tips. I'm sort of meticulous when it comes to gear preparation (Control what you can control, right?). It didn't occur to bring ice. The heat was a variable that I neglected to consider being that it was the first really hot training/race afternoon of the season for me. I'll be better prepared next time.

A kiddie pool would be awesome! If I had a spotter on site, I would have sojourned to the cool AC of the car between events. But, I wasn't so fortunate.

carleton

Yeah, that's the event I raced, too.

I was so blown that I couldn't recover in time to race the next day. I woke at 8AM feeling like about 70%. Then I read that it was gonna be warmer and I was like, "h*ll, no. I'm not racing today." and rolled over and slept till noon.

mike868y

insulated bottles

carleton

I wonder if the compression top unwittingly helped keep me warm. It was my impromptu skinsuit being that Voler apparently doesn't know how to make one that fits a normal human. It was aero but definitely wasn't a loose fitting garment that breathed well.

Like this:

ridethecliche

What about trying arm coolers and such?

carleton

I'm not familiar with them. Your thoughts on them?

Jancouver

How high is your heart rate?

I did couple of crits today at over 100F weather and my heart rate was going crazy. First race, my heart rate went immediately to over 180 bpm which is my red zone. During the second race, I took a flyer of the front with two laps to go and my heart rate went to 193 which is my highest since I started with cycling. Obviously I couldnt hold it there and got caught after about half a lap OTF.

ridethecliche

I've never used them but according to many (i think umd is a fan), they're counter intuitive, but the fabric is very good at wicking so it actually allows you to cool your arms even though it's an 'additional' layer. Might be worth a shot? You could also take a few zip lock bags with ice and throw them under your jersey/compression layer for when you're out there.

carleton

I didn't have my HR monitor on for this event. But, my Max HR is consistently around 200 BPM for max sprint efforts and 185-200 for other events that usually end in a maximal effort sprint.

I train to be a track sprinter, so just about everything I do is maximum except for road rides.

carleton

Those seem to be effective if you are on the bike for a long period of time by keeping the sun off the arms and wicking away sweat. But, for me, track racing is:
- Warmup
- Wait 30 minutes
- Sprint for a few seconds or a minute
- Wait 15-20 minutes
- Sprint for a few seconds or a minute
- Wait 15-20 minutes
- Sprint for a few seconds or a minute
- Wait 15-20 minutes
- etc..

So, there is lots of time just sitting around with no breeze from riding. When the breezes do come by and enter the velodrome there is a collective "Aaaaaaaah" from everyone.

Road rides in hot weather aren't as bad as standing/sitting around in hot weather.

Creakyknees

You can adapt to heat, just like altitude... and it takes time /exposure over time, just like altitude. If you have a desk job, try to spend more time outside in the heat... go for long rides during the hot part of the day etc.

Yes, your top was probably a mistake... those things do not breathe well at all. Between heats I would've got as close to naked as decorum permits and kept an ice cold bottle nearby for constant dribbling on my skin, dipped a towel or wash cloth in the icewater in my cooler and drape it over my head, etc. When it's time to race again, the jersey gets dipped before I put it on and I get a full head to toe dousing.

The arm coolers work, especially if you're out in the full sun.

carleton

Thanks! That's an excellent plan. I think I have a sleeveless jersey that's loose fitting that could be perfect for soaking in the cooler till I get back to the tent. Now I finally have a use for that thing.

In my "research" (read: googling) on the topic there was mention of getting acclimated to the heat by training it it for a week or two. I'm not really sure how I can pull that off with my work schedule, but spending time outside (walking to lunch, etc...) would help.

Hermes

Women's panty hose filled with ice. Use them around your neck and down your back. Has the opposite effect that normally they do.

Hellyer can be very hot. I was happy to be racing and training at LAV indoors this weekend.

orcanova

I am trying to deal with the heat here in NOLA as well. Although I grew up in it, I de-acclimated after 28 years away. Its hot and humid here, which I find a double whammy. I am getting more acclimated than last year, and I think it helps to actually work out in the heat (prudently/carefully), rather than avoid it. Last August I was wearing a wicking doo rag under my helmet to help with the extra sweating. After a while, I discovered it was the worst thing I could do as it was trapping heat on my head. The difference without was very pronounced,as my HR was significantly lower without. Fluids and air-flow help a lot, respecting your heart rate is important too. But I also agree with other posters that the next step you can take is cooling your core temp with ice on the back of your neck and the crown of your head. It sounds like you lilt in the heat like I do, and you would benefit greatly from the ice.

orcanova

Not talking from experience here, but I read in another thread, some time ago, that arm coolers (white arm warmers) help reflect solar heat thus act as coolers. I also recal one poster saying they didn't feel they helped in humid heat, just in dry heat. The problem with humidity is that the heat doesn't feel like its dissipating off your skin as it has nowhere to go. Humidity sucks.

brianappleby

arm coolers can help a little, but only if the humidity is low. If it's dry out, they are cooler than bare arms, and you don't have to wear sunscreen, and pouring water over them is better than sex.

Velo Gator

I bought a towel called a Chill Pad earlier. It actually helped me cool down a great deal.