Pre race
- Stay out of the sun/heat as much as possible
- Carry a bottle of water with you to expo/going for food etc – you control your hydration levels .. no one else
- Stay away from alcohol as will dehydrate you more
- Be aware that the heat will make you feel less hungry/inclined to eat – so do try to stick to fuelling strategy even if appetite is suppressed
- Wear sun cap/sun glasses and sun blocker
- Apply sun blocker the night before – will be one less thing to worry about in the morning (and hopefully the room service people understand 😉
- In terms of equipment prep – add these to your bags/packing list – White or bright trisuit/race gear (black/dark gear tend to absorb heat more, sun block, salt tablets for T1/T2, shades for bike, spare socks & cap/visor for run and arm coolers if possible
Race day
- Try to keep in the shade as much as possible pre race start e.g. in the transition tent, under a tree – today is NOT the day to top up the tan
- Again have access to cold fluids as much as possible pre race start
- T1 – take a little more time to apply sun blocker, hydrate
- Bike – Drink before you feel thirsty and in regular small amounts (gulping can cause you GI issues and spill everything), know the aid stations and what they provide – swap out bottles as much as you can – should get cooler drinks and take a spare water to pour over your head to cool you down and the energy drinks to replace electrolytes
- T1 – take a little more time to apply sun blocker, hydrate and put on fresh socks (the others will be sweaty and wet by now) – if you have a lot of white residue on your race gear – this indicates a lot of salt has been excreted by you – if so, consider taking a salt tablet (ideally you will have trialed this in your training – if not – use an energy drink to replace sodium in the form of electrolytes
- Run – run in the shade when there is an option, again hydrate little and often (too much will make you “sloshy”) – know use the aid stations, energy drinks/flat coke for electrolytes, water to refresh/cool head/core body temp, if sponges on offer – push them down race gear and squeeze later on to release cooling water