Originally Posted by
Heathpack
... Therefore if someone is experiencing a decrease in performance and an elevation in heart rate in the context of a warm ambient temperature, decreasing the ambient temperature may increase the chances the athlete can complete the workout as prescribed...
You quoted me, but didn't address the 70degree vs 80degree outside temp. Both are cooler than the body wants to be, but under work, in both cases I'd expect the body to be sweating.
The 2nd thing about elevated HR my wife learned - early 90s and son later learned the hard way. It *seems* you get a few extra beats for free within the limits of you max. So if 175 is your AT, ride in 30 degree hotter and your new AT is 180ish... Both in desert races backed off thinking they might blow up, when they both later learned they can just run a higher HR in the heat. I don't expect max HR increases with heat, but I have no data for that.