okansas.blogspot.com Occassional thoughts about orienteering
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Experiment begins
I began an experiment today. I was inspired by three things. First, the temp hit 104 F (40+ C). That's just too hot. Second, I read a story in Runner's World magazine about running in hot weather. Third, I watched riders warming up for the Tour de France time trial and remembered reading about riders using cooling vests before races.
I created a home made cooling vest. It is pretty simple. I've got some of those flexible ice packs. I created pockets inside an old cycling jersey. I put the ice packs in the pockets, put on the jersey and I'm cool and comfortable.
My plan is to test the vest tomorrow. Before I go for a run, I'll wear the ice packs for a while - I think I'll start with 30 minutes - and then go for a run. I don't know a good way to make this a controlled experiment. I'll just test it and see if it feels like it makes any difference.