Holiday planned for two weeks

Running Bing

Im off to Tunisia in a couple of weeks and I was just wondering how this might effect my training.

Now I plan on running over there, in fact Im quite looking forward to running over there but there is obviously the heat issue.

Im a first time marathoner and a pretty inexperienced runner. My running is at a relatively slow pace (usually 10 minute per mile). The problem is the holiday falls on one of the toughest weeks of my training where I will be doing two 5 mile runs, an 8 mile run and an 18 mile run.


Now I dont mind doing this really slow, even walking, if I can get the miles in and I plan to do this really early in the morning...so do people reckon thats doable or will the heat just kill me.


Anyone else have experiences of training on holidays in hot countries?

cfitz

Babybing wrote: »

Im off to Tunisia in a couple of weeks and I was just wondering how this might effect my training.

Now I plan on running over there, in fact Im quite looking forward to running over there but there is obviously the heat issue.

Im a first time marathoner and a pretty inexperienced runner. My running is at a relatively slow pace (usually 10 minute per mile). The problem is the holiday falls on one of the toughest weeks of my training where I will be doing two 5 mile runs, an 8 mile run and an 18 mile run.


Now I dont mind doing this really slow, even walking, if I can get the miles in and I plan to do this really early in the morning...so do people reckon thats doable or will the heat just kill me.


Anyone else have experiences of training on holidays in hot countries?

I've trained in Egypt, Morocco, and Spain in high temperatures. I think some people struggle a lot more than others in heat. I was able to train daily at 1pm in Cairo (in April I think), it was tough and slower than it should have been but no major problems other than that. I'd recommend leaving training as late as possible in the evening. If you're in a big town you can probably run around as late as you like. If not, try to judge when darkness falls and aim to finish your run as late as is practical.

tunney

Babybing wrote: »

Im off to Tunisia in a couple of weeks and I was just wondering how this might effect my training.

Now I plan on running over there, in fact Im quite looking forward to running over there but there is obviously the heat issue.

Im a first time marathoner and a pretty inexperienced runner. My running is at a relatively slow pace (usually 10 minute per mile). The problem is the holiday falls on one of the toughest weeks of my training where I will be doing two 5 mile runs, an 8 mile run and an 18 mile run.


Now I dont mind doing this really slow, even walking, if I can get the miles in and I plan to do this really early in the morning...so do people reckon thats doable or will the heat just kill me.


Anyone else have experiences of training on holidays in hot countries?

While not a marathon runner I still do some runner and my weekly long runs would be 26-28km. I do cycle as well.

Just back from a weeks holiday in Turkey - family wedding, cousin marriaging a turkish bloke. I of course brought my runners and my bike.

It was 28 degrees at 6:30 when the sun came up. I'd get out on the bike at 6:30 and ride for a few hours but had to be home in the shade for 10:00 as it would be 38 degrees. In the evenings I'd run but it would be 42-45 degrees and my long easy pace of 4:15 had my HR up at 5-10km pace. Hydration was an issue on anything over 45 minutes.

All in all the heat wasn't too bad - its bearable. Don't run topless - you may think its the best way to stay cool but the more skin you expose the worse.

What REALLY got me though was on the last night 15 of the 20 Irish in our group got really really bad food poisoning last Friday. I'm off work still sick today and this has completely and utterly f*cked my plans for kenmare and ireman triathlons.

Moral of the story, stay hydrated and don't eat buffet salads.

hunnymonster

tunney wrote: »

What REALLY got me though was on the last night 15 of the 20 Irish in our group got really really bad food poisoning last Friday. I'm off work still sick today and this has completely and utterly f*cked my plans for kenmare and ireman triathlons.

sorry to hear that.

Running Bing

tunney wrote: »

While not a marathon runner I still do some runner and my weekly long runs would be 26-28km. I do cycle as well.

Just back from a weeks holiday in Turkey - family wedding, cousin marriaging a turkish bloke. I of course brought my runners and my bike.

It was 28 degrees at 6:30 when the sun came up. I'd get out on the bike at 6:30 and ride for a few hours but had to be home in the shade for 10:00 as it would be 38 degrees. In the evenings I'd run but it would be 42-45 degrees and my long easy pace of 4:15 had my HR up at 5-10km pace. Hydration was an issue on anything over 45 minutes.

All in all the heat wasn't too bad - its bearable. Don't run topless - you may think its the best way to stay cool but the more skin you expose the worse.

What REALLY got me though was on the last night 15 of the 20 Irish in our group got really really bad food poisoning last Friday. I'm off work still sick today and this has completely and utterly f*cked my plans for kenmare and ireman triathlons.

Moral of the story, stay hydrated and don't eat buffet salads.

Really? See thats the first thing I would've done:D Good advice.

Cheers fella's....do you think it might be worth while starting to try and acclimatise myself now?

I usually run in as little as possible...single T-Shirt and shorts no matter what the weather, would it be worth my while adding a few layers now?

hunnymonster

Babybing wrote: »

Really? See thats the first thing I would've done:D Good advice.

Badwater running gear


The badwater ultramarathon is a 135 mile run from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney in temperatures up to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, billed as "the toughest footrace on earth.

Peckham

For the past two years I've taken a week holiday about a month before a marathon, and both holidays were in hot areas (Canaries and South France).

Personally I find running in the heat quite difficult (was going out about 9am), and didn't get more than a handful of relatively short runs done. Pretty much treated them as recovery weeks, and I don't think it had an effect on my marathon results.

Getting the long run done might be the problem. Is there anyway you could get a long run done on the day you leave, and another long run on the day you get back/day after you get back? Then on holidays just do a series of 5 & 8 mile runs.

cfitz

Babybing wrote: »

Really? See thats the first thing I would've done:D Good advice.

Cheers fella's....do you think it might be worth while starting to try and acclimatise myself now?

I usually run in as little as possible...single T-Shirt and shorts no matter what the weather, would it be worth my while adding a few layers now?

I've never tried this, I always went out in singlet and shorts. I'd be guessing that you'd be sweating so much that no matter how good your long sleeve technical top was it would be sopping. Which is worse? Maybe Tunney has tried both?

cfitz

I've found that training in warm countries is more good than bad. The warm weather seems to be easier on the body. It's making the training priority over holiday fun that can be the problem!

--amadeus--

I was able to run in Egypt fairly easily - in fact it was one of teh high points of the holiday, running along the banks of the Nile at sunset as the muezzins called teh faithful to prayer; it doesn't get much better than that Tunisia should be pretty similar, I would guess. In contrast I couldn't run in Dubai at all; I only managed one 6k and that was on a treadmill in an airconed gym and I still really, really struggled. The difference was humidity - most people can handle heat but wih high humidity the sweat doesn't evaporate which means that the cooling effect is greatly reduced.

One teh layer thing, I don't think it's layers as such, more sun protection. The winner of teh Gobi Desert "March of Death" ultra used one of those space blankets over his head to reflect the heat a couple of years ago but you might get some funny looks if you try that!

Other things to bear in mind are the cultural sensitivities of a muslim country. I am guessing you are male which makes it less of an issue but many muslims find it offensive to see too much skin on display outside hotels or beaches. You'll also need to consider routes - in Egypt the hotel I was in was set in a big resort with a dedicated running trail. I wouldn't have been able to run had teh hotel been in the center of Luxor (I don't know if you have been to North Africa before but thier cities tend to be a little chaotic!

donothoponpop

Here's a few good links on heat and running I stumbled across a few days back.

http://blog.teamgearedup.com/2008/08/heat-and-running.html

tunney

cfitz wrote: »

I've never tried this, I always went out in singlet and shorts. I'd be guessing that you'd be sweating so much that no matter how good your long sleeve technical top was it would be sopping. Which is worse? Maybe Tunney has tried both?

I think he was talking about adding layers to his runs here in Ireland so that a run in the Irish weather feels like a run in hotter climates so he can gradually get used to running in higher temperatures. Its not a bad idea however as you won't be racing over there perhaps just run as normal here and take a gentle approach to training over there for the first day or two.

I think cfitz was talking about running in long sleeved tops while on holiday to minimise the exposure to the sun. Unless they are specific tops designed for this (ala the one hunny posted) I'd advice against. Run as much in the shade as you can, wear a top and always a running hat.

Reg'stoy

Hi babybing, mapmyrun.com has been mentioned quite often here, I used it to check out runs and distance when I was in the states recently. Either log in now and work out routes or hopefully your hotel will have a computer and just check out routes on the day. I'll be honest with you here I took it easy on my runs, the heat was a big thing for me but also because I was on holidays. One of the days I did a small run in the morning but did a 10mile trek in the afternoon to make up for my lack of a long run. Also and don't hop me here folks most hotels have gyms, air conditioned gyms , I'm perfectly ok with doing runs on hotel treadmills.
Anyway good luck with the holiday and the marathon, I'm a first timer myself.