I failed

[babynoahsmom]

Yesterday, I tried to ride in the Tour de Corn in Missouri. I was riding the 64.2 mile ride. THe heat was around 100 with a higher index. I made it 56 miles and had to give up. I really think I was hydrated enough, but it got to where I would have to pedal a while and then coast a while. I slso got to where I would have to stop every couple of miles and rest under a shade tree. The longest ride I have done so far was a 30, but there were a lot of hills and I thought it would be easy to do a sixty flat. How could I have trained to have been able to tolerate the heat?

[Biciclista]

good grief, you didn't fail!! you went over 50 miles in weather that can kill people.
don't be so hard on yourself. you did an amazing job.

the best thing you can do to improve your performance is to train more.

but even the best of riders can't ride their best in conditions like that.

[channlluv]

+1

You did really well going that far in that kind of heat. Don't beat yourself up on this one. Seriously. Go celebrate your achievement.

Roxy

[babynoahsmom]

Thanks for saying so, but I keep thinking about the others that made it and think maybe I should have just pushed myself a little more.

[Tri Girl]

Are you acclimated to the heat yet? I know that I'm not, and the other day when it was 100, I really struggled to get in 20 (and I'm in good cycling shape). The heat can really zap you. One thing that I've found helpful in especially hot conditions is to use endurolytes http://www.hammernutrition.com/za/HN...0047&AMI=10104
I started using them when tri training, and now I use them ALL the time in the heat. Every endurance athlete I know swears by them.
Doesn't mean I won't have trouble, but I know for certain that it helps me maintain my stamina/endurance in the heat. I take 2 an hour.

I'm not trying to push drugs here, but that's what helps me in the heat.


I think you did quite well. Really, going 56 in that heat when your longest ride has been 30 is impressive. Really.

[tulip]

What is with these posts saying that "I failed/I suck/I'm horrible?" It's just a ride, people!

Like everyone else said, you did not fail.

Please, let's try to phrase things a bit more positively. Set a healthy example for our kids, etc.

[TxDoc]

#1 - you did not fail. You did ride 56 of the 64 miles, so you succeeded above 85%. HONOR YOURSELF!

#2 - you can get good training tips from the abstracts of the medical symposium that is usually done before the Hotter 'n Hell 100. They discuss dehydration, overheating, heat stroke, etc - and proper training. It's a great conference - too bad they are skipping it this year. you can find info at www.hh100.org

A few helpful hints:
- first of all speak to your physician and get some baseline data. Temperature of course, and heart rate, but also some bloodwork would help. A baseline BMP and CBC, repeated post-long-ride, then with high heat/humidity, then post ride with heat/humidity) is a good idea, so that you know what is the range you play with.
- start training for elevated temperature gradually. Get out and ride during the hotter part of the day (remember a very good sunscreen and plenty of fluid), starting with short ride and possibly with some support available (husband, friend, etc). Increase the distance gradually, and learn what amount of fluid you need for different distances - and when you need to use electrolyte replacement or food. It is a very good idea to start with small goals and build up. I have seen experienced cyclists (racers) start heat training with a 10 mile ride, and increase the distance very slowly.
Ask around here and on the bike forums - a lot of people that ride the HH100 will reply with good advice.
Good luck!

[jobob]

The longest ride I have done so far was a 30, but there were a lot of hills and I thought it would be easy to do a sixty flat. How could I have trained to have been able to tolerate the heat?

Your only "failure"
-- and I'm only using that term because you insist on using it and I'm with everyone else, I sure as heck don't consider what you accomplished a failure, hence the quotation marks
-- is that, based on what you told us, you may not have prepared adequately for this event.

Like everyone else said, you have to train yourself to get up to these kinds of distances -- a metric century is a long ride!! -- and if you're riding in the heat you have to ride a lot in the heat to get your body accustomed to it. And to know what kinds of foods work best for you in the heat, and how much electrolyle you need to consume. Et cetera. Tx Doc's post above had excellent suggestions.

And heat can affect even well-trained people in a pretty unpredictable manner.

I wrote in very glowing terms about my friends melissam and dachshund in another thread, and the super-tough ride they did in the heat yesterday (which I might add they had to train for a good long time to be able to do).

Now, where we live in the San Francisco Bay area, it doesn't get super-hot very often -- plus our idea of super-hot might not hold a candle to your idea of super-hot (bad pun, sorry). For one thing, it generally doesn't get very humid out here. Certainly not like the east coast's version of humid!

That said, we had one guy on that training ride yesterday who had to bail out about 2/3 rds into the ride. To put it simply, the heat got to him. He is by no stretch of the imagination a quitter, he has done many strenuous bike rides (and run marathons!!) in the past. He had trained well leading up to this ride. But once in a while stuff happens and our bodies don't cooperate the way we want. He was bummed to have to end his ride when he did, but he's also experienced enough to know that sometimes that is the very best option (and at times, the only sane option).

So all I'm saying is, it happens to the best of them. Please don't beat yourself up for not finishing the ride. You'll learn from it, and if you want, you'll do another, and hopefully you'll be better prepared for it and it'll be a breeze, comparatively speaking.

[babynoahsmom]

That was the thing about yesterday, not only was it hot, but the humidity was awful. When there was a breexe, it felt like a blow dryer hitting you in the face. I will probably look for another long ride in the fall when it is not so hot, and do a lot of training in the mean time.

[uforgot]

Holy Cow! Over 50 miles in this humidity? I've been here my entire life and it still wipes me out. I think you made the right decision to not push on. You could have pushed yourself too much. I had a dance performance in an un-airconditioned gym on Friday and I'm still wiped out. I was suppose to do a ride in St. Louis yesterday but just couldn't do it. Tell me, how are you feeling today? I bet you are tired, aren't you? The humidity has been unreal this week. Heat index has been way over 100 for several days.

Instead of I failed, how about renaming this thread "I'm smart". Pyannyplayer was at that ride. Maybe you could pm her and see how it went with others?

Here at TE we never allow others to think they fail, and we encourage bike purchases!

Edit: Oh, yeah, and of course, I just have to say it..."It's not the heat, it's the humidity!" Welcome to Missouri!

[malkin]

Training ride through a volcanic eruption?
Or possibly on the sun...

Then you could blame any difficulty on equipment failure, because I'll bet you'd need really special tires to get through a lava flow.

[babynoahsmom]

No volcanoes here in Arkansas! Just lots and lots of hot pavement. I am just now starting to feel better. I am tired, but starting to think about maybe riding for a while tomorrow evening when it cools down. I have emailed one of the organizers of the ride to find out if they know how many drop-outs they had. I need to clean my bike. Seems she has quite a lot of poweraide splatter on her. Maybe she drank more thanI did??? I would love to hear from anyone else that was on that ride with me.

[TrekTheKaty]

That said, we had one guy on that training ride yesterday who had to bail out about 2/3 rds into the ride. To put it simply, the heat got to him. He is by no stretch of the imagination a quitter, he has done many strenuous bike rides (and run marathons!!) in the past. He had trained well leading up to this ride. But once in a while stuff happens and our bodies don't cooperate the way we want. He was bummed to have to end his ride when he did, but he's also experienced enough to know that sometimes that is the very best option (and at times, the only sane option).

So all I'm saying is, it happens to the best of them. Please don't beat yourself up for not finishing the ride. You'll learn from it, and if you want, you'll do another, and hopefully you'll be better prepared for it and it'll be a breeze, comparatively speaking.

Jobob hit it here. When I used to run, they emphasized training logs. The amount of sleep, resting heart rate, overall diet, stress at work, hydration, breakfast that morning, and food/sports drink consumed during the workout were all factors that could affect a long run. Even a professional athlete may not know exactly what caused a DNF. But we know yours was HEAT/HUMIDITY--but there are other factors we can all work on during training rides. For instance a quick bathroom break and back stretch followed by jelly belly sport beans send me off like a rocket. DH is learning that a 5 minute break once every 2 hours improves my overall speed.

How about you change the title to "learning experience?"

[wildeny]

How could I have trained to have been able to tolerate the heat?

Here is my experience.

I just attended a hilly race of 63 km to the top last Saturday. The race started around 8 am but it's over 38 C (100+ F) after 9 am (by the time I finished it's a little over 11:30 am). Many people were dehydrated and had muscle cramps before the last steep 6.3km climb (to 700 m in altitude). Some of them couldn't even continue. Being a female cyclist to finish the race is already a big achievement for me.

I'm not a fast rider. In order to finish before the closing time, I did practice the route -- especially the last climb -- twice before the race (two Saturdays). From the first experience, I learned that the two factors were important to finish the race: heat & water.

Heat:
Besides the hot weather, to make it worst, the organization even gave us number hats to cover our helmets. (see that yellow thing?)

I just had to learn to deal with the heat. Keeping myself hydrated helped.

I took the arm covers off before the climb. I even took off the sun glasses so that I could wipe out the sweat easily. I also unzipped my top a little bit.

Water:
The organization didn't supply any water or food along the route, nor could the teams. It's a 2-2.25hr for the pros so it's all right, but for amateurs it's 3-4hr. I knew this so I already planned to stop in the middle to get two bottles of lemon water from a convenience store. Some people didn't check and ran out of water before that long, steep climb.

Another important thing to finish the race is
Power conservation:
In my case, before the 6.3km climb, it's 57km of ups and downs, which could consume your energy a lot during a hot weather. It's a difficult climb so conserving some energy for that would help. Some people who arrived the hill before me couldn't ride any more, not even walking, because they ran out of their energy (as well as experiencing serious dehydration, muscle cramps etc).

Even though I wasn't fast at all, I finished the race (holding the certificate).


This is my personal birthday gift on my birthday. (and it's my first race and my first three century trips in km -- I had to ride back. , unlike those with the teams who had a ride home)

babynoahsmom, practice & planning ahead help. Next time you can also finish your race.

[babynoahsmom]

Thanks for even more advice. I hope to see some of you guys at the BDB. We should all wear something to identify us? Any ideas.....I WILL NOT be the one splayed on the side of the rode being chasing by the Ambulance. Hos ironic is it that a Lawyer's wife was chased by an ambulance? LOL!