Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Ironman Arizona Weather

Ironman Arizona is this weekend and the weather reports seem to be pointing to conditions worthy of Kona or Buffalo Springs Triathlon in Lubbock, Texas.

Current predicted highs are for 92 degrees on Saturday and a possible 95 degrees on Sunday (race day).


So for a lot of triathletes, it comes down to proper hydration, keeping the body cool, and dosing their effort based on the weather conditions. 

Fluid replacement is key, as the dry heat won't seem as uncomfortable as the humidity of Kona, but fluid loss and sweat rate will still be pretty high. We usually advise our athletes to try to match their fluid loss on the bike and the first portion of the run. The rate limiting factor is their gut's ability to absorb the fluid. As the heart rate increases, the intestine's ability to absorb fluid will decrease, so riding the bike portion with a lower heart rate is important in the overall race strategy.

Personally, I'm a fan of any clothing that helps keep me cool. Lately, I've been using the DeSoto Arm Cooler sleeves. Basically a pair of white arm sleeves that you wear on the bike. DeSoto has released a new product called Coolwings that is basically the Arm Coolers connected with a piece of fabric that stretches across the back.

Active.com has a review of them here.
Or you can check them out at the DeSoto website.

I've used the Arm Cooler sleeves in some pretty hot conditions (113 degrees F riding around the Salton Sea on a June afternoon...) and if you keep them wet, or shove ice down them, they can help to keep the core body temperature a little lower. 




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