It's getting hot in here!

It's getting hot and as much as I would like to take off all my clothes I tend to stick to social norms so sorry no peep show!  How does heat affect training?  Well I've been thinking about that a lot lately.  While I'm not proposing a scientific look at this right now I just wanted to know the basics for myself.  (this is where I tell you to go to talk to your doctor or nutritionist for advice).  My doc said something interesting that got me thinking.  When I said I was drinking electrolyte drinks he mentioned that was not enough to make up for the salt loss during sweating.  He said I'm only helping to partially replenish the salt and water that comes along with these drinks further dilutes the salt in my system.  So that is why for the first time in all my years of triathlon training I decided I needed to seriously consider salt tablets.  Someone finally got the point across in a way that made sense to me.  So my dizziness might mean I need salt!

Here are some things that affect me:

• I'm vegetarian and don't eat too many processed foods which means the amount of daily salt consumption is already pretty low for me.  (maybe this explains why I now have to hide the soy sauce in my fridge to keep my son from grabbing it and chugging it straight from the bottle?  he's begging me for more salt?? no just a toddler thing?)
• I've had heat exhaustion several times in the past which might make me predisposed to becoming a victim again. 
• I hate water and don't drink enough during the day as it is so I need to make it a point to force it on myself (I say as I'm getting up now to go fill up my 32 oz bottle as I just realized I have only had caffeinated drinks so far today!!!)
• So for me my fueling issues seem to be more towards salt and hydration problems not fuel and calories.  Which the light headedness had me fooled.

Your body always has to work a lot harder in the heat to pump blood since a lot of energy is being expended on sweating and keeping cool.  This is why I love winter sports it feels easier!

So I'm going to try and focus on these things and see how it helps me this summer.  Now I just need to look up ratios for salt intake vs how long I'm working out for in the heat.  I'm thinking my new partners at Pacific Health Labs might be able to help in this department!

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!  Happy Independence Day!!  We had some fun with a run and the heat was staved off by some nice cool watermelon at the finish!  I ran his one for fun and was so excited when my son decided to sprint it in with me to the finish!  He got a little distracted by some ducks but then started chasing me down again once I reminded him what we were doing!  My dad was out there and finished strong so proud of him, he hates running but keeps doing it so he can continue to tri!  My mom got her walk in after helping me take care of my son during the race.  We like to stay active!

Happy Training!