The Sunshine State is a beautiful place to live and to run, but it presents a special problem for athletes trying to train in the southern paradise -- the whole "sunshine" part can get very overwhelming when you're an endurance runner. At the annual FACA conference this past weekend, Scott Simmons of the American Distance Project gave his advice for coaches attempting to make the best of this sticky, sweaty state. Here is a breakdown of his presentation on heat and humidity management for the upcoming cross country season.
The Problem
Because the weather here is so hot, runners start their training sessions with a higher core body temperature. As you begin your workout and your core body temperature increases even more, you experience:
- Increased heart rate
- Increased water loss
- Decreased maximum cardiac output
- Decreased performance
- Increased recovery time.
"The bottom line is that every athlete it affected," Simmons said. "Nobody is a great hot-weather runner who is going to excel in hot conditions."
Even escaping Florida doesn't mean you're escaping the heat. The summer Olympic Games in Athens and Beijing, as well as the 2007 World Championships in Osaka have had average temperatures of over 80 degrees and high humidity. Sometimes the weather follows you wherever you go, so what can you do to help your runners keep cool?
Possible Solutions
Besides packing up and moving north, there are ways to manage the heat. Simmons detailed two ways in his presentation -- training-based strategies and creative interventions. We'll review the former first. To avoid overheating during workouts employ some strategies that may change up your routine and get your team out of the sun.
- Cross-training sessions: Vary the intensities of the different portions of your workouts. Take one day out of the week and move your practice into a cooler, indoor location that day. You can even do indoor treadmills, cycling or other drills.
- Combination land/water workouts: Water exercises are great aerobic work and are a good way to cool down the body after an outdoor workout. Use a pool, the ocean, a fountain...whatever is closest to your practice location.
Another way to keep your temperature down before and during a workout is to try out some new cooling technology. These come in a variety of forms and prices, so here is a quick list and description of the neat devices that Simmons spoke of:
- Nike Precool Vest: For the Beijing Olympics, Nike developed what is essentially a vest made of ice packs to keep athletes' core temperatures down prior to events. While it increased performance, it is also heavy, not to mention that is isn't even available to the public.
- Arctic Heat vest: Like the Nike vest, this was created to keep athletes cool before events, and was used in both the Athens and Beijing Olympics. It is lighter than the Nike vest, but still gets heavier and soggy as the "ice packs" melt. The main idea of both vests is to precool athletes during warm-ups.
- AvaCore RTX: This high-tech device, developed by Stanford researchers and nicknamed "The Glove," encloses the hand and uses air pressure to draw heat to the user's palm, which is grasping a cooled cylindrical tube of water. Studies have shown that the palms are a major point of heat dissipation, and the Glove has proven very effective at increasing performance when used before a workout. The drawback: it costs about $3,000.
- Cool Point (by Trigger Point): For those of us who can't afford an AvaCore RTX, there are cheaper options for cooling the palms, including the Cool Point, which costs about $20. While it doesn't use air pressure to draw heat to the palm, and therefore is not effective for precooling before a workout begins, it is still effective to use while running. The gadget is a light-weight, long-lasting cold pack that straps to the user's palm, and doesn't hinder normal running like holding frozen water bottles would.
- The Core Cooler: This is the water bottle that's "not just a water bottle." It uses three methods to lower body temperature: When filled with ice, a runner can breathe into a straw and fill his lungs with chilled air, cooling his insides; he can also exhale through the straw, which loops around and releases the cool air into the runner's face, cooling him on the outside; third, a spout can be opened to allow you to drink the melted ice, which also cools the inner body. This bottle will also cost you about $20.
- 110% compression clothes: This gear, developed by the company 110%, uses compression clothes lined with ice packs to decrease recovery time. Because they are meant to be used after a workout, they will not show the same increase in performance that the previous cooling systems promise.
- CoreCooler: This bottle-shaped device was what Simmons advocated the most. They implement the same palm-cooling science as previously mentioned equipment, but use a different freezable substance rather than water, which will last longer and won't expand. These will cost you $70 per pair.
These are only a few possible solutions to the heat problem that hinders many runners from reaching their full potential. As Simmons said, "One of my philosophies for coaching is: always ask questions and always try to find solutions, and not be satisfied with anything."
"Everything to know about the sport is not known."
As the hot summer months progress into a hot autumn, consider trying out some new strategies to keep your team not only cool, but also safe.