Training In The Texas Heat
Can I please say that training in the Texas heat is one hard thing to do! I spent the entire season last year training at high noon, and nearly half of this year doing the same thing. After speaking with Dave and getting the scoop on training quality and recovery, I knew it was time to reset my alarm clock and get the workouts done before noon. What does that mean to me, it means 98 hours worth of high quality training in the last 5 weeks.
The craziest thing about the past 5 weeks was that about 3 weeks ago, I was on the phone with Dave and Adam W. talking about moving my entry from IM Florida to an earlier race in order to get the training done and over with as soon as possible. I mean the heat was just getting to me. Completely screwing with my head and my energy levels, I literally broke down one night and lost it. Dave gave me a couple scenarios when he lived in Arkansas training for Kona and Lake Placid during the summer. "Unfortunately there's just no way around training in the morning", Dave said. "The biggest key is you have to get many of those sessions done FIRST THING in the a.m. or they are gone and worthless". The words "worthless" stood out more than any other. If you wake up and get out the door at 10 am for your 6 hour bike...that puts you deep into the sun and into 105 degree temperature around 3 pm and you still have an hour left to go. You might get this workout finished but how's your transition run going end? Quality...highly unlikely. What about tomorrow or the next day's workouts? Never mind the intenisty or duration of the ride, chances are your body will need double to triple the recovery time just from the sun alone.
The stress from the heat is an amazing toll that your body completely rejects. It's much easier for you body to adapt, recover, and excel in cooler weather training vs. the hot, humid and nauseating weather we see here every day. I can now see the reason most elites and top performing athletes move to colder weather climates vs. staying in the south during the worst part of the year. Utah, California, Colorado are all wonderful places to train, especially Southern California where the climate fluctuates very little. I can count on 20 fingers and toes athletes I know off the top of my head who have moved to colder weather climates from Texas in order to maintain strict training schedules and recover faster. What does this mean for them...train more and excel faster?
As for now, I feel good. Not wonderful, just good. The training has been really solid and I couldn't have made it through the last 5 weeks without Dave's help. He has truly been an amazing mentor and coach. I am one lucky person to have him around.
In a couple weeks I'll be headed to Arkansas for CATS Half Ironman. This is a race I've done the past 2 years and I can honestly say it's one of the best races I've ever done. An amazing course and an awesome race crew make this race come together quit nicely. The weather on the other hand can be pretty unpredictable. The past two years have been pretty bizarre to say the least, with temperatures in 2004 settling into a mere 70 degree. The morning water temperature was warmer than the outside air and the bike couldn't have gotten above 65. Let's just say the course times reflected that wonderful cool weather. Last year was just the opposite with temperatures reaching 105 and once again...course times reflected the horrible conditions. I don't know what this year will bring and I really don't care. What I do care about is bringing all 3 disciplines together for a solid day. This race brings some extra motivation as Dave is flying down to help with the race organization and it's announcing. It will be good to have his support there and look forward to the long overdue visit.
I'll post up again after the race. Time to play the waiting game.....
The craziest thing about the past 5 weeks was that about 3 weeks ago, I was on the phone with Dave and Adam W. talking about moving my entry from IM Florida to an earlier race in order to get the training done and over with as soon as possible. I mean the heat was just getting to me. Completely screwing with my head and my energy levels, I literally broke down one night and lost it. Dave gave me a couple scenarios when he lived in Arkansas training for Kona and Lake Placid during the summer. "Unfortunately there's just no way around training in the morning", Dave said. "The biggest key is you have to get many of those sessions done FIRST THING in the a.m. or they are gone and worthless". The words "worthless" stood out more than any other. If you wake up and get out the door at 10 am for your 6 hour bike...that puts you deep into the sun and into 105 degree temperature around 3 pm and you still have an hour left to go. You might get this workout finished but how's your transition run going end? Quality...highly unlikely. What about tomorrow or the next day's workouts? Never mind the intenisty or duration of the ride, chances are your body will need double to triple the recovery time just from the sun alone.
The stress from the heat is an amazing toll that your body completely rejects. It's much easier for you body to adapt, recover, and excel in cooler weather training vs. the hot, humid and nauseating weather we see here every day. I can now see the reason most elites and top performing athletes move to colder weather climates vs. staying in the south during the worst part of the year. Utah, California, Colorado are all wonderful places to train, especially Southern California where the climate fluctuates very little. I can count on 20 fingers and toes athletes I know off the top of my head who have moved to colder weather climates from Texas in order to maintain strict training schedules and recover faster. What does this mean for them...train more and excel faster?
As for now, I feel good. Not wonderful, just good. The training has been really solid and I couldn't have made it through the last 5 weeks without Dave's help. He has truly been an amazing mentor and coach. I am one lucky person to have him around.
In a couple weeks I'll be headed to Arkansas for CATS Half Ironman. This is a race I've done the past 2 years and I can honestly say it's one of the best races I've ever done. An amazing course and an awesome race crew make this race come together quit nicely. The weather on the other hand can be pretty unpredictable. The past two years have been pretty bizarre to say the least, with temperatures in 2004 settling into a mere 70 degree. The morning water temperature was warmer than the outside air and the bike couldn't have gotten above 65. Let's just say the course times reflected that wonderful cool weather. Last year was just the opposite with temperatures reaching 105 and once again...course times reflected the horrible conditions. I don't know what this year will bring and I really don't care. What I do care about is bringing all 3 disciplines together for a solid day. This race brings some extra motivation as Dave is flying down to help with the race organization and it's announcing. It will be good to have his support there and look forward to the long overdue visit.
I'll post up again after the race. Time to play the waiting game.....
posted by Mark Gingrich at 7:51 PM
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