Friday, June 11, 2010

it's going to be hotter than hell

.... when I get to Timor.

Like many riders headed to a race in a different part of the world, I am concerned about the heat and how to adequately prepare for it. Unfortunately I don't have the time to head over early - and let's face it not much changes in less than a week - and for full adaption I'd need atleast 2 weeks in that climate. Add that time to race days, and the worlds on only 3 weeks later - not possible to hit Darwin early and ride. So is there anything I can do?

I thought I would start by understanding what happens in that 2 weeks .....
Well this stuff is the guts of what you are trying to do when you acclimatise.

from Bill Henderson - Irunfar.com

And all that stuff adds up to something everyone can understand. If you acclimatise you can push the pedals easier when you get there. That's right, same amount of output for less work.

Ok, sold? So the question then becomes how to acclimatise if you live in another country without the heat and can't get to your race location weeks in advance?

I think my office, my windtrainer and my heater have a date come September.
The important thing is to mirror conditions as best you can, and temperature and humidity are key. I think that might mean turning on the humidifier too. And a fan. I see a large electricity bill in my future..... should hook the trainer up to the grid!

4 comments:

Sean Bekkers said...

Just roll with it mate. At the end of the it your going to be trashed anyway. I must get myself over there one day for that race.

Alison said...

Don't worry about the heat (you are a Queenslander who trains in it every year)
Hydration and then recovery are the key

Alison said...

Last year the first day was very hot, i had to let Meg go up the road on her own as I knew I couldn't stay the distance without more water.
I was the domesque (water carrier), the trouble was I had drunk all the extra water I had picked up before I got back to help Meg!!!

rach edwards said...

you sound like a rubbish domestique :) Thanks for the tips and insight.... keep it coming! Timor is terrifying the pants off me. Riding with 3 people I don't really know is daunting too - I want to do a good job.