IM Louisville

kbaker1966

Hi all:

I am doing IM Louisville this year. I grew up in Atlanta running....at lunch time....in the summer, so I get it. I now live in Chattanooga and have exercised in the heat, but this year we have not had the really hot days that coordinated with my training (if I just didn't have that darn day job).

I know it's still too far out to really call it, but they are projecting a heat wave and right now the hottest day is August 24 (race day).  "They" say it will be a high of 99 (on Saturday they said it would only be 83 so I appreciate a lot will/can change and I am not overly obsessed about the heat...yet).

Having said all that, what advice can you give me for the race if it is in fact hotter than _______ (fill in the blank)?  What would you look for, do differently, etc?

 Thanks for your input!  Kay

Al Truscott

• Acclimate to the heat. Starting NOW, do some of your runs in the hottest part of the day, monitoring HR to keep your effort within your normal zones, and note how much your pace decreases. Practice doubling your normal fluid intake during these runs.
• On the bike, pour water on yourself at EVERY aid station. Assume you will need twice the fluid intake you normally do.
• Be prepared to use drastic cooling measures during the run: put a cold pack (the kind you crack to activate) in your T2 and SN bags, put them in your lower back while running. Put ice in various locations - down your shorts, under your shirt, hold in your hands. Wear a wettable neck bandana. The usual water over the head and sponges under shoulder straps.
• Drink up to twice your normal fluids on the run; be cautious about drinking too much sports drink at normal concentration: you'll take in more calories than you can absorb in the heat.
• Use HR to control your pace on the run; throw your pacing guidelines out the window. Don;t let your HR go above mid-high Z1 during the first half of the run; into LOW Z2 during the last 1-1.5hours may be necessary, but no higher.

As an example of the impact of heat on run pace … the hottest IM I did was IM WI 2005, 95F. My time was 4:46, with a 19 minute negative split (after the sun went down, I went faster.) The next three IMs I did were 90*/4:38, 82*/4:22, 68*/4:15. See a pattern there?

Jonathan Brown

Also, i would consider wearing a white hat during the run. This way you can store ice in the hat. With a visor this does not work well. BTW, it feel amazing to have a nice cool head. but it does feel kind of funny once in a while.

Mike Roberts

Arm coolers are an absolute must-have.  They work.

Mark Forsythe

I did IM Louisville in 2010, was my first ironman. - high temp was 100 out on the bike course and was above 95 most of the day. Many of these points are listed above, but here are what I considered keys to a successful day in the heat.
- Drink a lot more than usual. I drank at least 50% more than usual
- On the bike - if you have room for 4 bottles on the bike use them all. I grabbed a perform and a water to drink, the other two waters I poured over my head at 15 minute intervals between stops. It has an amazing cooling effect, especially if the sun is blazing. I consider the extra water to dump on the head to be the key to being solid on the bike in the heat
- On the Run - I wore a cap, and put Ice in it every rest stop. It would melt in the next mile, and I would reload. By the time of the run I was having a tough time with nutrition and learned that for me a cup of coke and cup of chicken broth as often as I could handle got me the liquids, carbs and salt I need to push on.
- Don't let the carnage on the run, and even some on the bike, freak you out! You have trained the EN way and your execution plan will get you through. Others are not as well prepared and it will be obvious in the heat. you will see a lot of people getting sick and stumbling around. It was a sight I have never seen before. The DNF rate was on of the highest to date. By following these plans and doing research like this you will persevere, just stick to your plan.
- Adjust your expectations. Another site that does race analysis had a good article on the 2010 IMKY and the impact it has on times. On average the heat resulted in finish times 45 minutes longer than year before.

Those are my thoughts an experiences. Hope all goes well, it is a fantastic race and venue. The heat adds a little extra to the Ironman experience!

Mark