Weather & Performance: Learning to Get Acclimated to the Heat

By: Kaitlin Sighinolfi

I don’t know about you all, but I’m getting pretty tired of DC’s schizophrenic weather patterns. While I have enjoyed the gentle, balmy winter, 85 degrees in the middle of March does not make my body happy! This morning’s early jog in the crisp, cool air was perfect… but I know it’s short lived.  Whether you love the heat or loathe it, one thing I quickly learned on my Friday run was you can’t mess around with it.

Every Friday a group of work colleagues and I get together and go for a run along the mall. The quick and comfortable route down to the Lincoln Memorial and back allows us to take a break from the weekly grind and catch up with each other in a more personal and friendly way. It’s something I look forward to every week. This past Friday was no different. I had a tough week and was truly excited for an epic vent session while on an easy recovery run. No such luck. Although the run started out well, by the time we reached Lincoln, I knew something was wrong. There were little yellow spots floating in my vision and I couldn’t seem to consume enough water.  I experienced my first MISERABLE run of 2012 by getting nauseous, seeing spots and almost fainting on friends. Overall it was just not a good scene and I was not only embarrassed but completely distressed about how a typical run could go so wrong

A complicating factor for runners is that everyone reacts to heat differently – while I’m miserable in it, my friend Ryan flourishes.  However, given my own personal fitness and racing goals, living in DC presents training challenges, ‘cause not running is just not an option.  But because I refuse to relegate myself to a summer of gym drudgery, running on the gerbil wheel most refer to as a treadmill, or suffer from a lack of sleep so that I can run super early in the morning, or late at night when the city gets a few moments of “comfort”, I have no choice but to deal with the heat. 

So what can I do to make sure that my training doesn’t get sidelined simply because it’s hot outside? Being the endurance geek I am, I researched the subject to realize that that there are 2 main things I can do to optimize my performance: acclimatization – meaning that I need to get my body used to exercising in the heat; and proper hydration - which will stock blood-plasma stores and replaces fluid lost through sweat.

Acclimatization in this city is a true challenge. Last week temperatures were in the mid 80s and it was sunny out every day; this week it’s been significantly colder and windy. With those conditions, how does one even start acclimating in preparation for a race day?  While I’m certain that by running every day around the same time, no matter the weather, my body is already naturally adjusting to seasonal temperature changes, but when the weather patterns aren’t following normal seasonal changes, this presents a true challenge.  In particular, like many of you reading this, I am beginning to get concerned that this is the time in my training when I need to increase my mileage, and truly prepare for a hot weather races, meaning I need to consciously plan and strategize on how to adapt to the heat.

 According to a recent article I found in Runner’s World, “the average at-rest body temperature is 98.6 degrees; normal while running in the heat is 101 to just below 103. Some people who hit 103 will feel fatigued and light-headed, while others will feel fine. Same with 104 degrees.  At this point, your body may be generating more heat than it can dissipate, and you may feel like death—or feel nothing at all.” "The symptoms are the key," says , says Douglas Casa, Ph.D., A.T.C., COO of the University of Connecticut's Korey Stringer Institute."If you feel poorly—light-headed, nauseous, extremely fatigued, have cramps or a headache—those are big-time warning signs to back off the pace." Perhaps the most important symptom, he says, is when everything seems harder than it normally does. "That's a sign to ease up and slow down. Your body is now locked in an internal battle, trying desperately to keep itself cool while you are forcing it to keep working."

So if acclimatization means gradually training my body to run in the weather conditions I can and will face on race day— then it’s probably smart to start off with short, slow runs in the coolest part of the day, and work up to running at race pace in DC August-esque temperatures. The acclimatization process is supposed to fortify your body against the heat by prompting several important physiological adaptations: your sweat rate increases, which helps cool you more effectively; your blood volume increases, which makes more fluid available as sweat; and your body starts to utilize sodium more efficiently, which helps maintain fluid balance in and around your cells. It takes about 7-10 days to acclimatize.

When I was struggling on Friday, Ryan - yes, the same Ryan who loves running in the heat – told me a pretty crazy story of one of his buddies who recently ran the Badwater Ultramarathon, a 135-mile, nonstop running race across Death Valley in the stiffing July heat.  In an attempt to get his body into a condition where finishing well would be a possibility, Ryan’s friend built a sauna-like room around his treadmill. He would run every day trying to simulate the expected conditions in Death Valley and as a result, he DOMINATED his race last summer.  He was smart about running in the heat. He properly prepared for it and definitely was better for it.

I believe that training smart will pay off in the long run, however consistently smart training will ALWAYS pay off – you will feel better, and more prepared during the race, with a better chance of putting up a PR! It is important to recognize that acclimation is only one step in preparing to race in the summer or heat. It remains incredibly crucial to be cautious in the heat and pay attention to the signals your body will be sending you, no matter how well you believe you have adapted to the conditions.  

Another crucial step to help you prepare for a good race is hydrating. As endurance athletes, I feel like we talk about fuel and hydration a lot. This is even more important during the hot spring and summer months.  Just like acclimation, it is crucial that hydration occur on an ongoing basis, not just when you exercise.  In fact, many of you may be interested to know that according to experts and coaches, most people are somewhat dehydrated at all times; as a culture we simply don't drink enough fluids.  After my Friday run, my coach and I went over my day in an attempt to figure out what went wrong.  It definitely was a collection of things, but I made one particularly obvious and stupid mistake – enjoying Thursday’s patio happy hour a little too much and not consuming nearly enough water to make up for it. 

Given that I’m a creature of habit, my coach made a pretty genius recommendation: to improve my water consumption she suggested actually scheduling drinking water into my daily routine, just like I schedule workouts.  While she cautioned me not to water load, in fear of how hot it is outside, I need to do a better job of being conscious of consuming enough fluids throughout the day to optimize my hydration level.  In fact, a recent article I read said that “an individual can sweat up to 3 liters an hour in extreme conditions, the most water your body can take back in the same time period is 1 liter.” If this is true, that that means you'll finish extended workouts at a hydration deficit.  Hydration should not only be a preemptive measure, but also a part of your training and recovery plan, particularly in the heat and humidity.  By being properly hydrated, the goal is to make sure your body is better able to handle the heat, and in turn be able to match (or at least be close) to what your body is losing from sweating, and in turn have a more effective workout. I’ve already attempted to work this into my routine, and have quickly begun to realize that I am definitely one of those people mentioned above, who is constantly dehydrated. I’m optimistic that I’m going to get better about it!

It is vital to recognize that even with proper training and preventative measures, the most important skill is listening to your body and knowing the danger signs of dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, heat cramps and hyponatremia.  If you can, on those particularly hot days that I’m certain are quickly approaching, run in the morning (usually just before sunrise) for the coolest temperatures of the day. When possible, you can also seek out shady routes for relief from incessant sun. Dressing in light-colored, synthetic clothing (to reflect the sun's rays, wick and dry quickly), that fits loose enough to promote airflow will help to evaporate sweat and thus maintain body temperature. I would also recommend finding a running buddy if you don’t already have one. Even when I didn’t want to admit something was wrong, my colleagues expressed concern because my behavior was off.  I think stubbornness is a trait that many endurance athletes pride ourselves in – the ability to push ourselves past that normal threshold of pain. I get that. I often am that. But Friday was just an easy recovery run with friends and there was no shame in recognizing that something was wrong, and taking a break to recover from it.  It is because I was with friends that I did stop, drank some water and took a moment in the shade. It’s because of my own stupidity and stubbornness that I was dizzy, lightheaded, and nauseous. Please be smart.  

Running in hot weather is an important skill to hone, especially when living in the city, but every year, sometimes every month in this city is a little different. So I hope you will take this advice, recognize that it might take a few weeks to adjust, take general precautions and use good common sense, and I assure you that you will be able to successfully continue to train for your entire race schedule through what promises to be a grueling DC summer.

Good luck!

Multisport World Comes to DC!

Join us THIS SATURDAY, March 24^th, at the Multisport World Conference and Expo at Georgetown Prep in North Bethesda, MD. Developed in partnership with USAT Mid Atlantic Regional Council, this is the definitive kick-off to the new tri season offering you seminars, clinics, workshops, competitive events, activities for the kids, a vendor expo and much, much more. Headlining a terrific list of speakers is 6x Ironman World Champion DAVE SCOTT.  Also appearing is OUR OWN BRAND AMBASSADOR JEFF HOROWITZ, renowned swim coach and founder of Total Immersion TERRY LAUGHLIN and USAT Olympic triathlete JARROD SHOEMAKER.

Admission to the seminars and expo is FREE and if you register today you will be eligible to win a CompuTrainer Pro (a $1,500 value!)… you’ll also be eligible to win other great prizes, snag a swag bag and receive exclusive discounts on clinics and workshops.  Click here to register now: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e5gh1zt651ac149b&llr=njuuivbab

For complete details on all Multisport World DC has to offer click here:

http://www.multisportworld.com/Washington_DC.htm

We look forward to seeing you there and be sure to stop by our booth on the expo floor!

From Injury to Opportunity

By: Taldi Walter

Does your life sound something like this? Chlorine before coffee, a run during lunch, and Happy Hour spent hammering at Hains Point? You’re starting to see the rewards of long hours training, and having the best triathlon season of your life.

Topping podiums, breaking PRs, and crushing your training plan makes it easy to ignore nagging pains from conditions like patellar tendinitis, iliotibial band syndrome, or Achilles tendinitus, that may forewarn more serious injuries. Endurance sports are based at least partly on an ability to endure discomfort. You’ve heard that pain is just “weakness leaving the body,” when in reality, it might be the sign of a muscle or ligament about to tear.

Athletes know that consistent training is the way to attain the highest possible fitness, and that extended or frequent downtime will inevitably result in a loss of fitness. It’s simple: the bigger your triathlon goals, the more things in your life that must be focused on achieving your goals.

The mere thought of an injury brings the frustration of not being able to do the thing we love most at the level we’d like. But this singular focus on training and pushing through the pain can oftentimes be counterproductive. Our bodies compensate for weaknesses by putting additional stress on other parts, which can lead to stress fractures, torn ligaments, and worse.

I learned this lesson the hard way when I allowed a minor foot injury to fester, leading to months of pain, a chronic injury and serious damage. Being injured taught some important lessons about keeping mental balance —one of the hardest and the most important aspect of recovery and well-being for a competitive athlete.

The first step is to admit you’re injured so you can move on. It sounds simple, but admitting you’re injured means accepting the uncertainty of not knowing if and when you will race again. It took me four months in a walking cast to finally accept that I was injured; however the shift in mental energy from resistance to acceptance freed me to explore other aspects of myself.

My time away from training allowed me to realize that my love of triathlon is more than just an addiction to speed, spandex, and surpassing personal limits. It’s the community of people, the competition, and the places triathlon can take you that keep me coming back. I was also forced to find creative ways to stay in shape with a hope of one day returning to the starting line.

Your heart and cardiovascular system don’t care exactly what you do to get them in shape. So find any exercise that causes an adaptive response in these systems, whether in the gym or on the roads, and it will prepare you to some to come back strong.

·         I Love to Swim.  Like most Triathletes, I didn’t believe “love” and “swim” could or should be in the same sentence. However my downtime forced — I mean, facilitated — a greater focus on my least favorite split, the swim. In order to get myself to the pool, I signed up for a challenge, swimming between the islands of the Adriatic Sea with a group of friends on a Swimtrek vacation. I had such a great time that I came home and joined a Masters Team. Masters swimming continues to feed my competitive nature; motivates me to get to the pool, and has resulted in better form and performance.

·         Bike Commute to Work. It’s not hammering at Haines Point, but you can do a lot of short all-out efforts between lights. Take advantage Washington’s bike lanes, embrace the hills in the city, and work on your bike-handling skills as you bounce off buses and avoid car doors. Depending on the length of your commute, you can rack up some pretty good mileage in a week. Check out WABA for commuter safety tips and always wear your helmet!

·         Get your Zen on. Yoga at a studio like Stroga is a great way to increase core strength, flexibility, and body balance. Core work strengthens the powerful muscles of the midsection, which help stabilize the body during all movement – think aeroposition on the bike. Meanwhile, weakness and lack of flexibility in your hips can compromise your running mechanics, putting stress on your IT band and knees, thereby leading to pain and injury. Poses like Pigeon can increase hip flexibility, and balance exercises like Tree pose challenge your proprioreceptors, the muscle-nerve connections that create an awareness of our bodies in space. It sounds odd, but close your eyes and stand on one-leg for 10 seconds. That little wiggle you’re working with highlights the importance of proprioreceptors, because they make tiny adjustments to help you from falling on your face when your body is in motion. 

·         Embrace a Lower Heart Rate. Anaerobic exercises support your multisport training and make you a healthier, more well-rounded, and less injury-prone athlete. Not being able to run means having more time to focus on the things that make you a better runner. Functional exercises strengthen the muscles that are directly involved in running, often in the same way they are used. A good resource for functional exercise is Smart Marathon Training, by Jeff Horowitz. Horowitz’s approach focuses on three runs a week and building full-body strength in a sensible approach to training in less time and with fewer injuries.

·         Give Back. Your local triathlon community keeps you going; use your downtime to help keep the community going. Volunteering for local races like Nations Triathlon is a great way to feed your desire to swim-bike-run. You can step up your game and volunteer as a coach for the next generation of multisport athletes through ACHIEVE Kids Tri.

As you start to ramp up your training this spring, resist the urge to be an overachiever. Overcome your ego, and to listen to your body. Many athletes are so used to existing on the edge of overtraining that it seems a natural state. But when you feel a twinge of pain, and not the good kind, take a day off even if it hurts to miss a workout. It will hurt worse if you miss a whole season. The idea of placing limits on training is a scary thought for most of us, but a more balanced training routine has gotten me where I want to be – off the sideline and in the race.

Breathing Techniques for Newbies Doing Triathlons

By: Ronald Molina

Ask any triathlete or someone who wishes to do a triathlon which part they dread the most, and they’ll probably say the swim. But, with understanding proper breathing techniques and plenty of practice in the swimming pool; anyone can overcome this dreadful part of the race.

As a beginner triathlete myself, with just 3 races under my belt, swimming can be a daunting task, but with time and constant learning, the swim part can be an enjoyable one without it being terrifying on race day.  As we all know, breathing is easy on the bike and run. While there are a few tricks to rhythmic breathing in both of these legs, you don't have to move around and ask your surroundings permission in order to get a breath. In swimming, you do.

From a beginner standpoint and what I have read and learned so far; the two most important aspects of breathing in swimming are becoming comfortable with:

1. your face in the water while swimming
2. a rhythm to your breathing

Face In the Water

Keeping your face in the water is step one, because if you swim with your head up or your face out of the water, your legs and hips will drop. A high-head/low-hip position requires you to push more surface area through the water, creating more drag and makes you splash all over the place, which you don’t want.

There are different tricks to keeping your face in the water. Be sure to have comfortable goggles. Focus on looking at the bottom or staring at the black line down the center of the lane in the pool. If you experience anxiety due to being under water, take a lot of rest breaks and remember that as far as pool training goes, you are never very far from the wall and an exit. Taking swimming lessons, signing up for Tri Clinics, and lots of practice will help.

Rhythmic Breathing

Once you are comfortable keeping your face/head in the water while swimming, you need to figure out how and when to breath. The critical action here is to begin exhaling through your nose/mouth as soon as you finish breathing in.  The tendency for beginning swimmers is to hold their breath while their face is in the water, then try to exhale and inhale very quickly when turning to breathe. This will create a shallow breath and a quick buildup of carbon dioxide in the lungs. They will have to stop and take a break in training or roll over on their backs to catch a few deep breaths on race day, which I have done before.

You must exhale while your face is in the water. So when you turn to breathe, your lungs are mostly empty and ready to accept a fresh breath of air. You do need to force the rhythm a bit. You should forcefully exhale through your nose/mouth as soon as you complete the breath. There's no pausing. It is a constant rhythm.

Two- or Three-Stroke Breathing

If there is one important thing I have learned by attending swim clinics in the area is that the three-stroke or bilateral breathing, will help you create and maintain an even stroke and improve mechanics on both sides of your body. However, it will increase the time between breaths by 50 percent over a two-stroke or one-sided breathing pattern. That is a huge decrease in total oxygen flow while swimming.

The best thing to do is to incorporate bilateral breathing in your workouts during warm-up, drills, easy aerobic sets and short sprints like 25s and 50s. Work on stroke balance by breathing to the left going down the pool and to the right coming back.  The main problem with breathing to one side all the time is that it usually creates a hitch or imbalance in one side. Typically one side becomes a bit stronger and you will veer off course in open water. The main benefit, however, is more air, which is nice when you are trying to swim fast.

You can definitely learn more swimming techniques and open water advice at the next DC Tri Clinic on Sunday, March 25.

About Ronald:

Ronald recently started doing triathlons in June of 2010 and has been hooked on the sport. During his childhood and throughout his life he has loved swimming and biking; then in 2010, he was introduced to the sport of triathlon by his older brother and was intent on training hard for his first one. He completed the 2010 Washington DC Triathlon and volunteered at the ACHIEVE Youth Triathlon. Recently he ran the 5 Mile Alexandria Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. Ronald is looking forward in introducing more minority athletes and others to the sport of triathlon and to promote a healthy and active lifestyle.