How do I prepare for a marathon that may be cool or hot on the day?

Gary,

I have just run the Berlin marathon on Sept 20. The marathon website had indicated to expect temps of about 16 degrees but there was a "heatwave" and it was about 26 degrees! I had done all of my training in our winter at temps of about 13 max and usually a lot cooler. So I found it prettydraining and nearly fainted at about the 31 km mark and had to walk from then on! But I got there and it was a great day with huge spectator support and a wonderful course around the city.
Are there ways of coping with such a large increase in temperature from the training regime to such unexpected heat in the actual marathon? I drank lots of water and ate about 5 bananas on the run from drink stations at about 2 km intervals.

Photos: Lorraine Moller: Sub 2.30 marathon in stinking Barcelona Heat to come 3rd in the Olympic Marathon. Note the signs of dehydration. An athlete must anticipate the conditions of the day and train to withstand them as best one can.

I am a very late starting marathon runner at age 63. My first was New York last year when I did 4 33. Berlin I did 5 hours. I was running at about 6 min km pace up to 31 km when I had the problem and walked from there. I had done 3 33km training runs without difficulty at 6 min pace to give 3 hr 20 min.

David

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Gary responds:

A couple of weeks ago, I competed in a grueling mulitsports race in Australia with my two brothers, Bruce and Gordon. I was told to prepare for weather conditions that may range from 5c to 30c or more.

It was a Wellington winter, so I prepared by frying in a sauna a few times a week for several weeks beforehand. Please read my earlier article about using a sauna. I also took Lifestream Astazan.

Other than being better able to handle heat stress, there is the benefit of an increase of blood volume by a few percent which means a larger fluid sink for oxygen and other nutrients on one side and for wastes like carbon dioxide and acids on the other.

On race day it was mild weather but I had 38km of intense mountain biking to complete. I used the sponsor's drink bottle which was a bad mistake. First swig just minutes into the race and it became apparent that the plastic bottle was not going to resume its shape - it consequently fell out of the drinks cage! That meant another 36km without a drink and I was already sweating!

But, no worries, I knew I was heat acclimatised and had that extra blood volume. I rationalised that the loss of the bottle meant I had 600gm less weight to lug up steep and muddy slopes.

The upshot of all this is I finished the distance without any water and without any problems with dehydration. I finished sixth out of the entire field and first veteran. Our team won the veterans category and we were sixth overall.

I hope this helps answer your question.

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How to use a sauna to improve health

Two months ago, during the depths of the New Zealand winter, our family needed to prepare for an active holiday of cycling, running, walking and swimming our way around the tiny tropical nation of Vanuatu. The big challenge was to survive going from winter to 30 degree heat and 90% humidity. Our solution was to spend time in a sauna two to three times a week during the month or so leading up to our departure.

Photo: Alofa enjoying a mid-winter dip in Vanuatu

Progress prior to departure was significant: My sauna tolerance increased from just 15 minutes to over an hour without having to go out for a cold shower.

The benefits of a regular sauna go well beyond preparing for a mid winter tropical holiday:

Benefits from regular use of a sauna

• Helps remove all toxic metals safely and rapidly from the body.

• Helps remove thousands of toxic chemicals from the body in a gentle and safe manner.

• Helps improve infections, both chronic and acute, by heating the body one or two degrees to improve immune system activity.

• Helps remove debris and congestion in and on the skin to regenerate the skin as the major eliminative organ of the body.

• Shunts the blood to the body surface to reduce heat. This helps decongest the internal organs such as the liver, kidneys, spleen and pancreas for improved organ function.

• Moves blood throughout the body for improved circulation and oxygenation of the body.

• Moves the lymph throughout the body for improved lymphatic drainage.

• Beneficial for many serious conditions including heart disease, cancer, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, infections and much more.

Benefits there may be; but these depend on proper use of the sauna. Here is the procedure I recommend:

How to use the Sauna
If you have a medical condition, like diabetes or heart disease, please take extra care, avoiding extremes while the body acclimatises to the heat and cold cycles. Have company with you at all times.

• Begin with a warm shower, using soap to clean the skin and scalp then enter the sauna with wet skin and hair.
• Remain in the sauna until sweating freely with the capillaries and sweat glands fully dilated. How long this takes depends on how hot the sauna is.
• Take the coldest shower you can get out of the tap. Cool the entire body as quickly as possible so that the capillaries and pores of the skin clamp tight.
• Return to the sauna and remain there until again sweating profusely.
• Repeat the cold shower and then repeat the sauna for maybe a few more cycles (Be conservative for the first few times while you acclimatise).
• Start the final shower with a warm one, soaping the body thoroughly to clean the skin pores while they are open, and then finish with a cold shower to clamp the pores tight for the last time.

Drink plenty of cold water during and after the sauna. If you weigh yourself before and after, you will know how much you need to drink to ensure you are hydrated (1kg body weight loss is one litre of water to drink over the next few hours).

By about three weeks of regular use, your heat tolerance will be much better than before and you may notice subtle improvements to health such as better sleep, calmer nerves and smoother skin. Fingers and toes may be warmer than usual despite the cold winter weather (This winter has been the first in a long time that I have not suffered chill blains).

Heat acclimatisation for running around the tropical island of Vanuatu

Here is a video presentation for my team to assist them with preparing for the 10-15km legs of the Round Vanuatu Relay. This relay concides with the depths of the Southern winter, so being able to handle the heat and humidity is going to be a real challenge.

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