I know what you are thinking! "Recovery...from what!?" Yesterday's ride beat me up! Just kidding...well sort of. Yesterday's ride did beat me up a little, due to the heat here. It was 97 degrees here yesterday, and my my body hasn't had much time to acclimate to the heat, as it came on rather suddenly. I have already heard from a few people, about how they would much rather have the 'dry' heat of 97, rather than 80 degrees with midwest humidity. They obviously don't ride! Yeah, humidity sucks for the most part. It makes it hard to stay dry, and you have to be more aware of hydration, but I would rather have humidity. Why you ask? Evaporative cooling! God's air conditioning.
You see...when you are riding, the increased perspiration helps to keep you cool as the wind created by riding evaporates the sweat on your skin. The dry heat is worse (in my opinion) because your sweat production is typically less, and the evaporative process is short lived...thereby decreasing the cooling effect. You just need to make sure you are drinking more water.
Here's an interesting fact about hydration/dehydration...
Dehydration of less than 2% of your body weight can have a profound effect on performance levels. Yep, that's right just 2%. For me that is under two-pounds...that's it! It is easy to lose two-pounds of water weight when exercising...especially in the heat or high humidity...even in the cold! So stay hydrated!
Tomorrow will be an early day for me, as I need to get in a ride on the trainer before work. Just a short ride though...I am scheduled for my annual firefighter fitness evaluation tomorrow, so I don't want to use up all of my energy on my bike. I am anxious to perform this test, as it includes body fat measurements and lactate threshold testing. I am curious to see my numbers this year compared to last year. They should be significantly better!
I'll share those numbers with all of you once I get them.
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