Trainning Hot / Humid and Racing Cool
I live in South Florida so I deal with the heat and humidity on a daily basis. I pretty much have my hydration and sodium intake dialed in for down here but my concern is that my Iron Distance race is this September in Ohio were it is sure to be less humid and hot. Any advice on how to adjust intake on race day? I normally take in 40 oz per hour on the bike and shoot for 32 oz on the run. Sodium is at 1,200mg per hour...... Thanks
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Jason -
You never know. I grew up in Ohio, and remember killer heat/humidity during "Indian Summer". And the hottest race I ever finished was IM Wisconsin 9-11-05, Temp and humidity both @ 95 at the start of the run.
That said, your run intake probably won't need to change - almost every one is slowly dehydrating on the IM marathon, so keeping your fluid intake at that 32 oz per hour (or more if possible and you are a faster runner) on the run is the best approach.
Most folks I think go by the old urometer for fluid intake on the bike. If you need to pee within the first two hours, you're probably overdoing it! For me, I know that until the temp goes above about 70-75, I can get by with one bottle an hour; up to three for temps approaching 90 and above.
You are going to need to adjust your hydration. I ran into this at IMCDA last year. Following my normal protocol, I hit what Al discussed having to get some relief in the first couple of hours. As long as you have your fuel and your hydration seperated it should not be an issue. Take down your fuel as you normally would, making sure that you have enough water with it to keep the osmolality in line. Then just suppliment with water as needed. Also since it will be less humid in Ohio than in Florida, keep your eye on that. Some of your normal indicators around sweat will be different due to the lack of humidity so it can be hard to judge your sweat rate.