Well I'm currently sat at the Porsche Human Performance laboratory at Silverstone having completed my 45 minute stint in the heat chamber - Rory is mid-sweat!
I must say it is a great experience - you drive alongside the racecourse for a good mile before reaching the Porsche building which has racing cars parked inside - I am currently sat on the first floor looking out at the track watching some racing wannabes 'race' around the track for the day!
Anyway, back to the heat chamber - it was about 35 degrees - I only ran at 10.5km but that was comfortable. Every 5 mins you have your body temperature checked and are asked your Perceived Rate of Exertion. The idea is that your body adapts to the temperature change - these adaptation effects last about 2 weeks. According to Andy who runs the operation, the optimal number of sessions is 14, but you gain 70% of the benefits in the first 5 sessions - all of these should be done in the month prior to your desert run.
Effects include an earlier onset of sweating which means your body is more efficient at cooling itself down and a lower heart rate whilst exercising in the heat. They can also test your sweat content for sodium (and other) levels... this sounds like an awesome idea for those contemplating the MdS or similar as it will give you an accurate reading regarding how much salt you need to take on during the event. Given the fairly random recommendation of 20 tablets/day in Morocco for everyone regardless of size, weight, body shape or gender, this is definitely something I would recommend...
Anyway, Rory must be nearly finished now - more later...
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