From cannon to tape for Lucy Charles-Barclay in Kona

Written By Alecsa Stewart

by Meg Smith

Just over 2 weeks ago, Lucy Charles-Barclay made history in Kona, breaking away from the rest of the field from the gun, leaving them to follow in her wake for the rest of the race, setting a new IRONMAN world record along the way.

© Ironman / L’Equipe

After tackling the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona 4 times, and coming 2nd on each previous occasion, Lucy had her eyes firmly set on the win this year, more than ever before. In a recently published video, Lucy speaks about the novel approach that she and her coach Dan Lorang decided to adopt for the last big training block before heading out to Kona – heat training from home!
 
For 6 weeks, LCB was based at home, in the UK. Every morning she was up at 5am to clock 6km in the London 2012 Olympic Pool, followed by 5-6 hours of training in her own private ‘pain cave’. Lucy explains that “This was one of the hardest blocks of training [she’s] ever done” and that she was able to get through it all, by focussing on one session at a time, and not only thinking about the end goal.
 
For Lucy, the indoor training was just as tough physically as it would have been if training outside, however, it was the mental aspect where she felt most challenged. She completed virtually the entire training block alone, with no other athletes to train with. Perhaps the mental resilience she was able to develop through every arm stroke in the pool, pedal stroke on the bike, and stride on the treadmill was what eventually set her apart from her competition on the day.
 
LCB and Dan Lorang also decided to capitalise on being able to create a heat stimulus while training indoors. While Lucy’s previous Kona preparations have focussed on simulating Kona conditions on comparable terrain and heat in Lanzarote, their decision to stay at home and train indoors this year meant they could really refine their heat strategy.

The benefits of heat training span far and wide, and all the hours spent sweating in a chamber or pain cave count towards more than just being able to ‘handle the heat on the day’. Heat acclimation induces several physiological adaptations that are linked to improvements in thermoregulation, ultimately leading to improvements in performance. These adaptations include:

  • Increased plasma volume

  • Decreased heart rate

  • Increased exercise capacity

  • Improved thermal comfort

  • Reduced skin temperature

  • Reduced core temperature

  • Increased sweat rate

Incorporating heat training into your training plan doesn’t only have to be done in the lead up to a hot race. There is evidence to suggest that the physiological adaptations induced through heat training may also enhance performance in temperate environments.
 
The degree of adaptation you could achieve is ultimately determined by the intensity, duration, frequency, number of exposures and environmental conditions (humid or dry heat) you train in. The beauty of heat training is that it can be kept simple – you don’t need to get to an environmental chamber, you can do it from the comfort of your own home! Here are a few ways to ‘simulate’ a hot environment:

  • Overdress for your indoor sessions – get all your winter gear out (but don’t head out the door – do an indoor session!)

  • Turn the heaters on and close the doors of your training room 30 mins before starting your session

  • Have a hot shower or bath before you start your indoor session

  • Have a hot bath post your session

  • Do your session in a painter’s suit! (like this one from CORE)

 
It is important to remember, though, that heat training does add an additional stress to the body, so not all your sessions should be completed with the heaters turned on. If this is something you’re interested in doing, then we would suggest having a chat to your coach about how it might best fit into your training plan!

Alecsa Stewart
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