It's Not so Much the Heat...

As I've mentioned in previous posts, the Florida half Ironman was HOT! As soon as I landed in Orlando, I instantly thought of the movie "Cool Runnings" If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend. To give you a very brief background on the movie, A few Jamaican sprinters who have never left Jamaica, end up going to Canada to compete in the Bobsledding competition in the Olympics after they do not make the Olympics for sprinting (true story) When they land in Canada they look petrified because they have never felt such cold weather. Then one character says very sarcastically “it’s not so much the heat, it’s the humidity that will kill ya.” Gets me every time.

 When I landed in Florida, it was a very similar feeling except it was very hot, not cold. I laughed for a brief second when I was reminded of the movie but the thought of racing in that weather quickly beset any laughter.

Because of the heat and humidity, I knew it was imperative that I stayed hydrated. Not only to help me finish the race but also for my own health. Being dehydrated during any sporting event is very unsafe. Every year, we hear stories of athletes passing out or even losing their life due to dehydration during a sporting event. So throughout the race, I doubled the amount of liquid that I would normally intake. I also made sure I was not over heating as well. To keep my body temperature down I made sure to stay soaking wet for the entire run portion. Yes, I just poured 2 sometimes 3 cups of water on my head at once to stay cool. I may have looked kind of silly but it helped!

Here is the only photo I have from the race which is when I am crossing the finish line. I laugh at this shot because at that very moment I was thinking “Why did I do this again” All jokes aside, finishing that race was a huge load off my shoulders. I knew that finishing this race under the circumstances was a nice accomplishment. This was also a great learning experience. I now know after doing this race, I am in no shape to finish the full Ironman and I need to understand that heat conditions can greatly effect your performance. Ultimately, what I learned from this race was, I need to train a lot this summer. 

More photos to come!