Does heat acclimation and pre-cooling really work?
Well, it’s safe to say that the hot summer days of running are here! With many big races on the horizon, including the Waterloo Classic, it’s important make sure we do our best to prepare for the additional challenge heat provides.
It’s a topic I wrote about briefly in the past, but this week I wanted to take a closer look at things. Two strategies I discussed before were (1) getting acclimated to the heat and (2) pre-cooling.
Both of these strategies make sense logically. If you practice running in the heat, your body will be better equipped to handle it. In the case of pre-cooling, if you start with a cooler body temperature, then there is more wiggle room before your body really has to make the push to cool off. But what does the research show, and how well does each strategy work?