Heat, Clothing & Your Sportive/racing/training Performance:

Have you ever thought about how much slower you will go if you are wearing  one layer too much or too less clothing?

Heat, Clothing & Your  Sportive/Racing/Training Performance:By Guy Watson : British Cycling  Level 2 Coach:

Suppose I could tell you about something that could take  1-2 hours off of your Etape time? - I've got your attention right!

Remember all  of the fuss surrounding Paula Radcliffe when she had to abandon the Olympic  Marathon' She'd been one of the big favorites and prior to the event she had  prepared meticulously and yet she failed in her target event. There has been a  lot of speculation as to why she quit but I recently attended a lecture hosted  by Professor Mike Tipton that opened up my eyes as to how important clothing and  heat regulation is to performance.

Mike Tipton is Professor of Human and  Applied Physiology at University of Portsmouth and is The World Expert in  survival in extreme environments and has developed training programs for the SAS  - all very interesting but not exactly relevant to cycling I thought' - how  wrong I was!
  
The introduction to the lecture outlined how man fits into  his environment, with reference to the facts that only 30% of The Earth is land,  and of that land, 65% is uninhabitable. The point of all this information was to  emphasise that, without the inventions of clothing and housing, humans would  still be living in a narrow strip either side of the Equator. The normal body  temperature for a healthy human is 37 deg. C - and we can't tolerate more than a  few degrees either side of that before becoming very ill - there are not many  places on the planet that stay at 37 degrees all year round! So believe it or  not, Europe is an extreme environment for humans to live in - and cycle  in.

We are all pretty familiar with the way body does everything possible  to regulate our internal temperature, from sweating and shivering if we are  slightly under / over dressed - right through to collapse, coma and death if you  are having a particularly bad day! What sportsmen often forget to consider that,  this regulation process places additional loads on an already stressed body. If  you are after maximum performance - or just want to ride at the same speed more  comfortably - the more you can help the body regulate it's temperature, the more  energy will be available for the actual activity.
  
Now comes the important  part - we all should know the dangers of hypo & hyper thermia - they are  DEFINITELY A RISK TO BE CONSIDERED in your next Sportive, Etape or Fondo and I  will outline the dangers in a moment - but what about the sliding scale of how  your performance is affected in between the two extremes of too hot and too  cold' As sportsmen we are always looking at ways of squeezing that little bit  extra out of ourselves - we train hard, try to control our body weight, take  supplements, spend a fortune on equipment - what about clothing' Have you ever  thought about how much slower you will go if you are wearing one layer too much  or too less clothing'
  
The problem is we never really see a detrimental  effect because unless we are really pushing it, our bodies just let us get on  with it. If we go out training in shorts and short sleeves on a spring day when  it really is a bit too chilly, we just push a bit harder too stay warm and get  home with no real harm done. Try that on a ride of more than a few hours and you  will start to become hypothermic. So just because you can go out and ride with  clothing that isn't't quite suitable for the conditions ' it doesn't mean that you  are not paying a price for it ' you simply will not be performing at our best  because your body is having to compensate for your poor choice of clothing '  this uses up valuable resources that could be used for making your bike move  faster. So forget the tough guy attitude if you are serious about your  training.

Even with the form of your life and everything perfect, the  Etape is going to push your body hard.
After Pace Judgment and  Nutrition/hydration, doing all you can to help the body maintain its optimum  temperature will have the biggest effect on your performance. And as Paula  Radcliffe found out, if it is a hot day, temperature regulation will be THE  major factor. Professor Mike Tipton went as far to suggest that her choice to  wear that baseball cap could have just pushed her body over the  edge.

Some Interesting Facts:
Nuclear/Biological Protection Suit,) death would  occur in around 4 hours

• At rest, the human body produces  around 100W of heat energy ' ever burn your hand on a lightbulb' That's a lot of  heat! If the body could not loose any of this heat (' the nearest you could get  to this would be to wear a
• During hard exercise (e.g. climbing a French col!)  - the human body can produce up to 1700W! - that's the same as a small  fan heater! - if you were not able to loose any of this heat, you would be dead  in a few minutes.

• The main way for us to loose heat is EVAPORATION of  sweat - just sweating doesn't do anything.

• Even with perfect  hydration, it is not possible to replace all of the liquid you loose through  sweating, you will continue to dehydrate.

• Even low levels of  dehydration can impact performance and it is claimed that a loss of 2%  bodyweight (1kg for a 50k athlete) can reduce performance by 10 to 20% - that's  as much as 1-2 hours extra on the Etape!

Clothing choice for a sportive event:

I have used extremes to illustrate what I am trying to  say but the main message that I want to get across is that in between, there is  massive scope to increase your performance by using intelligent choices of  clothing. It can be assumed that in the Pyrenees in July, heat is going to be a  major factor but don't forget the cold. Cycling is unique in that one minute you  can be over heating on a climb and the next you can be chilled on a descent - so  try to buy the best cycling specific clothing that you can get hold of. Your  ideal choice of bike wear needs to be able to cope with the temperature extremes  that you can reasonably expect and be adaptable enough to allow you to be  comfortable in the variations in between.

Minimum List (Ideal  Conditions):

• Shorts, Socks, Mitts, Helmet etc.
• Arm Warmers (more adaptable than long sleeves)
• High quality  Race Cape or GoreTex jacket
• Gillet (Sleeveless windproof zipped top)
• Cotton Cap for under helmet
• Sunglasses

Tips:

• At the early  AM start it will be cold so wear the lot.
• Remove the cape as soon as you  are about to move off and stow neatly in a rear pocket. If you wait until the  start you won't be able to do this for a while due to riders being all around  you and you will then start to overheat.
• As you get to the first climb - remove gillet.
• Replace gillet for the descent - repeat throughout the  day.
• For big descents - put on your cape
• If you have to stop (feeds,  punctures etc) first remove a layer of clothing to prevent overheating - then  before you chill replace the layer and then add a cape for longer stops.
• Have one bottle with just water in it for drenching yourself. Remember,  evaporation is the key to loosing heat - so only drench exposed skin /  hair.
• All of the removing / replacing of clothing may seem like a pain  but like hydration, if you practice it in your training it becomes 2nd  nature.

Symptoms of Dehydration:

• thirst
• less-frequent  urination
• dry  skin
• fatigue
• light-headedness
• dizziness
• confusion
• dry mouth and  mucous membranes
• increased heart rate and breathing

Symptoms of Heat  Stroke:

• headache
• dizziness
• disorientation, agitation or  confusion
• sluggishness or fatigue
• seizure
• hot, dry skin that is flushed  but not sweaty
• a high body temperature
• loss of consciousness
• rapid  heart beat
• hallucinations

Finally, an interesting point about the  importance of heat regulation and cycling:

Professor Mike Tipton worked  with British Cycling at the Athens Olympics. One of the first things he did was to ban the use of pre-cooling ice jackets. You may have seen our rowers and  other cycling nations strutting around in body-warmer-type jackets stuffed with  ice packs.

What Mike Tipton knew was that hardly any cooling effect takes  place when the coolant acts on the trunk and chest. So while the other nations  were mainly just posing, all the British Cycling Team just relaxed in loungers  with hands placed in buckets of water on either side and got twice the cooling effect due to the array of veins and arteries in the hands and wrists.