Heat Training Part Two: Barely Unbearable.

We talked last time about the basics of heat adaptation.  Now, here is how to do it in real life.

Like I mentioned, don't go out on an epic multi-hour workout in high heat. Recovering from that will take many days, which makes you slower, not faster.

Instead, dose yourself with slightly uncomfortable heat as frequently as your schedule allows. As you do more, you can up the temperature as you become more tolerant.  Here are some examples and pointers:

• Car trips.  This is my favorite so far.  Jack up the heat to the max in your car while driving anywhere, turning your Toyota into a rolling sauna from Hell.  The controls are literally at your fingertips, so you can cool it back down anytime you want.
• Jackets and extra layers at work. Put on enough layers so that you're sweating lightly at your job.  It's fun to tell people that you're "heat training", so this one is actually easier than you think.  If things get too hot, just take off a layer.
• Shorter workouts.
• Sleep in an extra layer of clothes.  Again, you want to be just warm enough to improve your tolerance, not ruin your sleep.
• Run on the treadmill or train on the bike for less than an hour with no fans.  This starts off feeling doable, but you are so glad when you're done!  
• Avoid cold. Don't swim in cold lakes, stand outdoors without a coat, or get involved with anything that will expose you to cold temps for long periods.  
• Up your game gradually.  Don't go overboard and ruin your training with heat. 
• It only takes 14 days to heat acclimate.  Don't start before you need to.

And that's about it!  If you have any other suggestions, let's hear them in the comments.

ZenTri 560 - Happiness!

(Out training for Ironman Texas, happy as can be.)

What is happiness?  Turns out, it's putting in hard work that proves you are who you want to be.  

Check into the show to hear my take on it and how it relates to triathlon.   And here's the link to the article describing how it works.

Tawnee Prazak and I cover the latest triathlon news again, and then I take you with me on The Training Log.

I've been swimming a few times in a neighborhood pool at daybreak.  It's quiet and pretty - 

(Another sunrise swim all alone. Nice!)

Kai's bike project came through just fine, and now he's cruising around on the Specialized Hot Rock while I trail run.  It's so much fun!  

(A little father-son time, relaxing in the shade and talking about life stuff.)

Training for Ironman Texas has gotten a little crazy.  With all the volume and intensity, you gotta do what you gotta do.  I realized I had used my bike shorts as a coaster and had to take a pic.

(The shorts were probably clean. Probably.)

For a final wacky picture, I saw a bike that represents a world with no wind resistance.  Imagine the possibilities!

That's it for this episode!  Stay tuned for the next one where we tackle Ironman Texas!

Heat Training Part One: Hot is the New Altitude

Preparing for Ironman Texas, I've been doing a lot of "heat training."  This is where you expose yourself to extra warmth and humidity to prepare the body for race day.  This thins the blood and allows you to stay much cooler than somebody who stays out of the heat most of the time.  Some people will tell you that it's even better than altitude training.  For a race like #IMTX, where people pass out left and right due to the insane temperatures, I totally agree.

There is an art to heat training.  Just like altitude training, you want to "train low, recover high."  If you subject yourself to horrible conditions while training, you won't get in good workouts.  You'll be wasting your training time and increasing your recovery time both at once.  A smarter option is to subject yourself to uncomfortably warm temps while not training, slowly increasing what you can tolerate.  For example, get so hot at work all day that running outdoors in the heat doesn't bother you at all.

You can do short to moderately long workouts (thirty minutes to almost an hour) outside or in a hot stuffy room and be alright.  It is the two to five-hour long bike or run in the heat that is very unwise.  Workouts like that require a huge recovery window.  You do not want to have bad workouts for three days because you decided to heat train on your long ride and now about as hydrated as a bag of dust.

In my next post, I'll cover when to start heat training and lots of tricks to do it right.

ZenTri 559 - Sami Style

How to train with intervals and heat, news with Tawnee Prazak, and Kai coaches us on how to ride your bike in a race.

 

Training for Ironman Texas starts getting really hot and heavy in this episode.  The heat of IMTX is incredibly oppressive, so I'm pulling out all the tricks. Above, I'm cycling in a long jersey and full gloves on a warm day.

In the pool, it's time to start adding in paddles and leg bands to amp up the resistance.

I've started collecting gear for the race.  I apply sunscreen again about halfway through the bike and again during the run.  The little tube is small enough to carry the whole race after the swim.

The Vaseline is the perfect size to apply to any hotspots that unexpectedly pop up.  And Thermotabs can be carried in a small Ziploc and eaten as needed.  I eat about two an hour.

With all the time on the bike, it was just a matter of time before my rig fell over and took a nasty hit.  The right rear tip of my Zipp Vukas got cracked off when my dog knocked over my bike in the living room.

I was feeling pretty bummed out, but managed to patch it just fine with some black Sugru.  Then to make myself feel better, I bought this cool shirt.  It worked.

The funniest thing happens over and over again when I wear it.  People stop, stare at it for a moment, then slowly say, "I... Texas... Texas."  Then they nod, and... nothing.  Conversation over.  Often, they just walk off and go about their business.  It's funny how it happens just like that every time.

Sami Inkinen is my inspiration for my latest round of training. He recommended RestWise in his training plans, and here's a screenshot.

When you get smart and zero in on how to do Sami Style right, you can do HARD intervals for two days in a row and be almost fully recovered in 48 hours.  Crazy stuff!

Sami Style training freed me up from eating mass quantities of junk just to keep up with the workload.  After a couple of days, I was able to go enjoy a nice salad at Freebirds.

I can't tell you how nice it was to enjoy some fresh greens without worrying about if all that fiber would wreck my next workout.

Back to the heat training, one thing I'm doing is spending any time in my car with the heater on full blast.  In this photo my watch is showing the temperature at 97 degrees while I'm wearing three layers of clothes.

It eventually got up to 99 degrees before I stopped that session.  It definitely seems to be working - I barely sweated at all.  

Alright! Stay tuned for more fun in the next show!

ZenTri Podcast 558 - The Natural

I'm honored to have Tawnee Prazak reading the news with me on this show!  We cover the latest in new races, pros being cut out of other races, cyclist drama, and much more.  

After that, Kai gives us some open water tips in his segment, "Kai's Coaching for Kids."

Then it's on to the training log!  It's peak training weeks time for Ironman Texas, so I take you with me on some epic rides.

(Out training on part of the Ironbaby bike course.)

I talk a lot about training techniques and high volume.  There's a lot of strategies to surviving 20+ hours of training a week.

(Texas scenery. He started snorting when I got too close.)

The Training Log is full of technical details on how to do many things.  I specifically describe about a way of training that uses your "natural pace." It's really cool!

Along the way, my bike starts coming apart from all the abuse.

(The bamboo bike computer mount I made by hand.)

(More scenery on the bike)

(Attacked by wild animals while stopping for water.  Look at the rage in his eyes!)

Among other things, the rear bottle cages flew off my bike on a long ride.  Once I escaped the death grip of the beagle-wolf, I was able to stow it away to find it again later.

(I hid my rear bottle cages in the bushes after it blew off the back of my bike.)

In random news, I've made friends with whoever is behind the @TheRealStarky Twitter account.  He sent me and Kai a couple of shirts and I might be helping him with a project!  

(Kai and I got a TheRealStarky shirt!)

That's it for now.  Stay tuned and let Tawnee know on Twitter if you liked her on the show!