IM Headwear - hat or no hat in the heat
If you watched IM Texas on Ironman live you saw that part of Rappstar's heat strategy was a buzz cut and no hat. Chrissie commented that some guys don't want any head restrictions on the run, not even a visor, and feel that water thrown directly on the scalp is cooler than putting it on a hat. So what are the thoughts on this?
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Personally like wet hat. And sponge or ice under it.
As a folically challenged person, when the sun starts blasting I wear a hat. It is easy to remove it for a couple of seconds to dump water directly on my head. I also tend to wear it backwards after Al T suggested a while back that wearing it that way could help keep the sun from blasting on the neck, which could aid a bit in staying cooler.
In training, when I don't have access to endless sponges and ice, I wear a visor, as my head gets hot with even a mesh hat.
I wore a visor at IMWI but I think it would have been nice to have a hat to dump ice in...unless I raced with a hat. Damn it, now I can't remember
. I know I dumped ice in the DS arm coolers and that was money.
I'm learning/relearning that I need to have some sorta barrier between my massive forehead and my eyes as otherwise sweat just streams into my eyes.
When you're out in the sun as long as I am on the IM marathon, and also follicularly challenged Like al mentioned, I've gotta wear a hat. I also put sponges and ice under it.
Rapp posted the following in his "Ask Me Anything About IMTX" thread on ST:
I wasn't, though I should have been. I actually just had a visor in my T2 bag, so even if I had worn the visor, I still would have gotten burned. But the only thing I'd change is putting a strong dose of Bullfrog - which I find lasts for a full Ironman - on my head.
The reason I didn't wear a hat/visor during the run is that I knew I was going to sweat a LOT. And I think it's easier to wipe your head down with cold water and sponges with a hat/visor to get in the way. I find with a hat and visor that I get a lot of sweat in my eyes, because the hat/visor soaks it up, and then it trickles down into your glasses. But with nothing on my head, I was able to wipe my forehead with cold water every mile, which I think helped a lot.
But I did need to put sunblock on the top of my head (even if I had used my visor) and I'm a bit - but not really very badly - paying the price for that now.
I'm pretty sun sensitive and wouldn't go without a hat - but that's because I'll put up with a lot of temporary discomfort but bad sunburns are not good for me.
As far as sweat running into your eyes...if that's a problem, do check out this product:
http://www.amazon.com/Sweat-GUTR-Frost/dp/B003RLHIS6/ref=sr_1_4?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1337708035&sr=1-4
It looks goofy, but they are pretty effective and won't make you feel hot. I don't wear it much any more, but I went through a period of really liking it. You can "hide" it under a hat, too. :-)
Lately, I've been training with a visor as I don't like the extra heat on my head from a hat. Been rocking the shaved head with sunscreen(Bull Frog Marathon Spray SPF 50, and haven't been burned yet this year.) The sweat seem to roll off the visor and mostly stays out of eyes and sunglasses.
Did what I think is a pretty good test of the Bull Frog Marathon Spray last weekend. I had 3 days of beach time with no sunburn. I only applied once in the morning before hitting the sand. The spray worked really well so that I could apply myself and get the back of my shoulders easily.
A visor and the SPF 50 Bull Frog Marathon spray seem like a really good combo.
Sam ... I'm down to a number 2 haircut and will go to number 1 in a couple of weeks. I'm already half bald so it doesn't matter. Will try the bullfrog and visor soonest.
Long haired hippy pinko!
Funny!!
I haven't been to a barber in over 15 years. I don't even know what a number 2 haircut means.
A razor has been doing quite well. Hmmm I wonder just how much money I've saved.
Has anyone tried the Zoot Icefil hat? I wish they had one without the neck/ear flap, I think that thing would drive me nuts since I don't like things flapping around when I run. I just got the IceFil armcoolers and they are amazing.
I have to wear a hat in the sun - with really light blonde hair, my scalp will burn right through my hair. And sunscreen just makes my hair look greasy and nasty. Thus the hat. I'm going back and forth deciding whether to go with my regular headsweats hat or an IceFil hat.
Chrissie has such a thick mat of hair, it is basically a hat. Holds water well and keeps the sun off her scalp.
I always wear a hat or visor. I need help keeping the sweat out of my eyes and sun off my face. I wet hat also feels really good.
Seriously, I violated the "nothing new on race day" rule big time during my very first HIM race by wearing a hat I bought at the expo...after I found out it would be over 100 degrees with no shade on the run course.
Since then I still never wear hats in training, but will do it for a hot weather race.
And as for sunburn, my hair is fookin' THICK...no worries there no matter how short I cut it.
Robyn - As a person who has painfully sunburned her scalp before (stupid part), I am a huge for of Aveda's Hair Veil. It protects the scalp and also magically protects hair from chlorine, too.