GordoByrn's Group Full for the Spring (Page 11)

Can I jump into this discussion too: I'm in that same place as Matthew, have a steel road bike and am considering aerobars. I've been hesitating as we have hills hills hills here and I wonder if they would really be useful? Plus, the idea of being a little farther from the brakes makes me uncomfortable. Need to try them first.

OK there's this from a major cycling chainstore, for about $50

G- I went for a run today at lunch, it is presently 99 degrees and will only be getting hotter.  What are some things I should keep in mind when running in the heat?  Should I avoid it?

G-dude

Matthew - I was thinking about your RR and your high HR. Wo! How is your recovery going? Just curious - have you ever checked your resting heart rate?

... ugggh 99 degrees....

Sore yesterday but feel good today. I rode 40 miles today - more than I had planned for but that's the way it worked out. How 'bout you? Your big race is in what 5 - 6 weeks? Psyched?!

Few ideas for you to bear in mind...

Hydration -- easy to get a low level of chronic dehydration through the warmer months -- in Hong Kong, I need to make sure that water was available everywhere in my life -- beside bed, every meal, in car, beside desk... everywhere I went

Stress -- increased HR is a sign of increased stress -- it is tempting to adjust zones upward to get 'normal' (perhaps more accurately, 'desired') training paces/powers -- this is often a mistake -- if you accept lower pace/power then, for your endurance work, you will gradually adapt. For your higher intensity work, you will need to train indoors with air conditioning and/or accept a lower work rate.

Racing -- there is the pace that you can sustain in a temperate climate and there is the pace that you can sustain under heat stress. Living in Florida, you'll learn the difference. Many athletes that live outside of extreme heat forget this when they face heat stress -- result is underperformance. We must train/race at the effort appropriate for the conditions we face.

Electrolyte Panel -- certain athletes can lose significant amounts of key electrolytes -- if performance drops significantly then ask your doc to check your electrolyte levels to ensure that the heat has not depleted you.

Recovery -- if you live in extreme heat then phasing your year to have an unloading period in the hottest months can make a lot of sense. You may also find that you have a key advantage when racing temperate athletes in early season races that are prone to heat.

Fluids -- I have found that the body's ability to process fluids is highly trainable -- this is a key adaptation that needs to be achieved to have success with long term training in the heat.

Training Camps -- similar to altitude-based athletes going to sea level for training camps... it can make sense to travel to cooler climates for training camps.

As well, you will need to adjust your effort downwards, and avoid spikes, when training in extreme conditions. 

First build the endurance so total training duration is similar to the length of time the athlete will be competing.  For slower long course athletes, this won’t be practical, so you will need to aim for spreading the training across an entire day.  

Next build the endurance so that total training output approaches what will be required on race day.  Biomechanical and recovery considerations mean that the bulk of this output will need to be done on the bike – powermeters enable you to track total work (kilojoules).  Educate yourself on the likely work required for your athlete’s entire race.

Once the capacity for total work is well established, then you can focus on work rate.  A premature focus on optimizing work rate (most often functional threshold and VO2max) most often misses the true limiters facing our clients – being basic endurance.

When working with an athlete that is new to endurance training, you will need to apply the principles above to a longer timeframe.  Start with building the capacity within a fortnight, then a week, then a long weekend, then a 24-hour period and, finally, a day.

Ok race peeps post your raceday pix! Here are mine just in: