Training & Nutrition - Training in the tropical heat/Red in the face

Summer has arrived in south Florida with heat indices in the upper 90's and humidity levels at 80% and above. As a fairly new rider I was getting 20 plus miles a day out of my mountain cross bike. Then I began riding a 10-sp road bike and it got real hot and sticky at the same time. Now I'm only doing 11 miles trying to increase distance by 10-15 % per week and speed too. I'm averaging around 13mph which I realize is a turtle pace. I have a 30 mile Heart Association ride coming up in July. A month ago when it was a bit cooler, it didn't seem like much at all but now it's a push.

How hard should I be training in these conditions? I ride always in the morning right after rush hour to avoid the hottest part of the day and when I get home, my face is beet red and hot from heat. Is that normal or am I pushing heat exhaustion? The red goes away as soon as I cool off usually by a swim in the ocean or an immediate tepid shower and I hydrate with my camelbak during my ride. Any tips and advice would be appreciated.

Kathy

Seems like you might be putting too much stress on yourself for speed and distance. Slow down, ride easier, take longer, let your body adapt to the conditions. If you can afford it, get a heart rate monitor and ride within the range for your age and weight. RELAX riding is supposed to be fun.

Are you eating a big breakfast before riding? If so, eat less.
How is your overall diet?
Keep hydrated.
Have you had your blood pressure checked lately? If not, it might be worth the effort to do so. If this is something you think you might do, talk to a DR that is familiar with Sports Medicine. They are more aware of the stress' that athletes put on their bodies and can advise accordingly.

Tell me about it Oceanrider. If its not raining on us, its 100 degrees! Take it slow. We had 2 85 mile days on our FL tour. Whew! We got some sun!

Dave

I've been to FL a couple of times during the summer and I can't believe how hot and humid it gets- and I actually LIKE hot, humid weather. But in FL it's just as hot at 11 pm as it is at 3pm. I think I would probably go out either early or in late oafternoon or even early evening- avoid the peak sun hours especially if it's over 85 degrees. The humidity there is absolutely oppressive.

Originally posted by oceanrider
Summer has arrived in south Florida with heat indices in the upper 90's and humidity levels at 80% and above. As a fairly new rider I was getting 20 plus miles a day out of my mountain cross bike. Then I began riding a 10-sp road bike and it got real hot and sticky at the same time. Now I'm only doing 11 miles trying to increase distance by 10-15 % per week and speed too. I'm averaging around 13mph which I realize is a turtle pace. I have a 30 mile Heart Association ride coming up in July. A month ago when it was a bit cooler, it didn't seem like much at all but now it's a push.

How hard should I be training in these conditions? I ride always in the morning right after rush hour to avoid the hottest part of the day and when I get home, my face is beet red and hot from heat. Is that normal or am I pushing heat exhaustion? The red goes away as soon as I cool off usually by a swim in the ocean or an immediate tepid shower and I hydrate with my camelbak during my ride. Any tips and advice would be appreciated.

I live in Central Florida which is a bit hotter even.

It is hard to say if getting red in the face is a problem or not, it does not happen to me.

Heat exhaustion is caused by dehydration. I can hit a pseudo heat exhaustion on a really hot summer day if I am riding over 60 miles and riding pretty fast. What seems to happen, is I sweat out water faster than I can absorb it. I can go through a 70 oz camalback in one hour under hot conditions. People behind me often not a small rain of sweat (eeeeeuuuuhhhh).

I eat salt on longer rides during the summer. After 50 plus miles, I can get hyponatriumia. I can tell I am getting low when sweat tastes good. Symptoms include nausea then vomitting & weakness and then disorientation. Electrolyte drinks don't work because they are relatively low on sodium.

By the way, the red face has this origin. When you exercise, your body shuts everything down except blood flow to the brain and increases blood flow to the muscles and to the skin (to vent heat). With your red face, I would guess you are fair skinned and your body is just trying to vent heat. You might slow down a little.

I have noticed that since I got below 200lbs, I have less trouble with venting heat. Losing some insulation helps.

As an aside, cycling in hot sticky Florida in the summer is pretty good training. I have gone out west and ridden at high altitude (over 12,000') and noticed very little affect. At high altitude it is usually pretty cool so it is for me less draining then riding down here.
Kathy

Kathy, here in Atlanta it gets almost as hot, but not quite. Humidity is also a problem.

Hydration is essential, of course. But also, if you overheat (red skin is a sure sign) you must stop and find a little shade. The camelback is a wonder, but one drawback is that it lets you keep riding. When you stop, your body starts to really drench your clothes with sweat while you take that drink. So not only do you cool down, but you get a nice cooling effect from the air when you take off again, now that your body is wetter.

Thanks for all the advice. The sun's been hiding and I've been taking advantage of the cloudy conditions. I don't get as red in the face and I have more energy to complete the ride. The key is not to get caught in a downpour. I am still trying to increase my mileage by 10% per week. With a base of only 60 to 70 miles, that's not a lot. It's when I stop that I FEEL the heat so I know I'm really overheating so you're right about that one LBM. I have one planned stop on the way back at a shaded butterfly garden where I sit and cool down.

Yes, I am a redhead and my skin is sensitive but I did manage to get a nice tan this year. My hat's off to you in Central Florida. You're usually a good 3 to 5 degrees hotter.

You might want to get a new helmet with more/bigger vents. Of course, by saying that I'm assuming you don't already have a good helmet with plenty of ventilation.
The MOST IMPORTANT thing is to stay hydrated. Drink in big gulps, little tiny sips don't digest quickly enough. A mere 2% drop in body fluid can cause you to have a hard time concentrating, which isn't good, because the heat will ad to that. 75% of American's are chronically dehydrated, and their thirst mechanism is so weak people mistake thirst for hunger. Dehydration can also slow metabolism. So, drink drink and drink again.
On days I plan to ride, I make an effort to drink even more than usual, and I have to take a leak pretty much every 20 mintues or so it seems.

I live in Tampa. It has been really hot and humid. I try to ride early in the morning (6-7am starts), and in the early evening. Unfortunately, we have also had a lot of rain and lightning. However, this year I have been able to ride almost every day.

It takes several weeks to become acclimated to high heat and humidity when training for endurance sports. It is normal to be a little sluggish while getting used to it. Humidty is a bigger trouble than heat. You these tips should help:


Hydrate. This is most important. Drink lots of water, even when not exercising. You need to be well hydrated at the start of your activity. This means at least three to four liters of water a day. This requirement soars during periods of high humidity. The best plan is to carry water and sip constantly, all day. During periods of intense activity (usually over 90 minutes) your electrolyte balance will get narfed (that is a technical term meaning out of whack). Try gatorade (diluted 2:1), orange juice (diluted 2:1), or the occasional bannana to prevent this and the cramps that go with it. Avoid caffeine and alcohol, these dehydrate you.

Avoid the humidity. Early morning or late evening workouts are better than mid-day workouts.

When starting a training program for an endurance sport. First concentrate on building a "base" of miles. This means pay attention to how long you can stay on the bike or how far you go. Pay almost no attention to how fast you are going (you do need to keep your heart rate up though). Train for endurance first and speed second. Once you have achieved a "comfort level" with miles, you will not wake sore and tired and the effort will seem no more than routine. At that point, usually after a period of weeks, you are ready to train for speed.

To add speed training, you could do a number of things, my favorite are short unmeasured bursts of speed built into a daily ride. Pick a point in the distance, and race to it. The better I feel that day, the more often I do these. If you prefer a more structured approach try 90 seconds at best speed followed by 90 seconds of recovery. Repeat the sequence (they are called intervals or repeats) 3 times. Over the course of weeks increase the amount of time at speed and decrease the recoveries or increase the number of intervals. You should try to do 2 workouts like this a week.

Adopt a hard/easy approach. After a hard day you should take the next day easy. Don't loaf, just don't attack the workout with the same level of intensity. This gives your body a chance to adjust to the new level of work that you are expecting of it. Speed days are always followed by an easy day.



I had not planned to write so much.... I hope some of this helps.

BTW: most of these tips were adapted from running workouts, hopefully some of the more experienced cyclists here can add or correct some of this to be more relevant to bicycles.

regards
Dan