Respect the Heat

[LRZ]

One day, a 90-minute, 4-1, 13-15 y/o game. Then, several days later, a heat wave rolled in: a 3-hour, 12 y/o, 17-16 "pitching duel" with temperatures in the 90s. I drank a lot, before, during and after, and tried to keep my body temperature down with wet towels; nonetheless, soon after I got home, I fainted from heat exhaustion. I don't know how you Arizona folks do it.

[Rich Ives]

27 minutes ago, LRZ said:

One day, a 90-minute, 4-1, 13-15 y/o game. Then, several days later, a heat wave rolled in: a 3-hour, 12 y/o, 17-16 "pitching duel" with temperatures in the 90s. I drank a lot, before, during and after, and tried to keep my body temperature down with wet towels; nonetheless, soon after I got home, I fainted from heat exhaustion. I don't know how you Arizona folks do it.

Getting hydrated before you even start will help a lot.  One measure is you are hydrated if your urine is clear (not yellow)

[BrianC14]

2 hours ago, LRZ said:

One day, a 90-minute, 4-1, 13-15 y/o game. Then, several days later, a heat wave rolled in: a 3-hour, 12 y/o, 17-16 "pitching duel" with temperatures in the 90s. I drank a lot, before, during and after, and tried to keep my body temperature down with wet towels; nonetheless, soon after I got home, I fainted from heat exhaustion. I don't know how you Arizona folks do it.

Sounds like my weekend.   The last two games of Saturday (of the four I worked) there were a total of 48 runs scored.  Add to that the 92 degrees (94 the previous day) and it was.... tough.     

And speaking of hydration, don't forget the benefits - yes, BENEFITS - of having a beer or two post-game.  

BEER BENEFIT #5: RECOVER FASTER.

Move over, Gatorade—a heady brew could also aid in workout recovery, according to a Spanish study. Researchers asked students to exercise until their body temperature reached 104 degrees, and then had them rehydrate with beer or water. As it turns out, people who had a post-workout pint were slightly more hydrated than those who had H2O.

http://www.menshealth.com/health/have-a-beer/slide/5

Agreed - how in the world do you guys in the desert southwest do it?    

[beerguy55]

You need to start hydrating 3-5 days before such an event.

In BC and Montana we've played in tournaments that were over 100 for the weekend...after going to a few of these some players figure it out, others don't.

And, it's not necessarily about the drastic symptoms, like passing out (which I've seen players do).

You start making poor decisions because your brain isn't firing on all cylinders - and you see that in the players, the coaches and the umpires.

[KenBAZ]

I've talked about this before. Rich's point about stay in a hydrated state is a good one. Also, gradually getting acclmated is important. Cooling off between games and between innings as much as possible is another thing. Lastly, knowing your body. Some guy are just not going to handle the heat as well as others. For whatever reason they just don't tolerate it as well as others. I on the other hand have had problems with cold.

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[CJK]

I mentioned this in a thread about a challenging schedule, but I find it valuable in the heat as well.

It's really important to relax between pitches and between innings.  Roll your neck around, flex your fingers, stretch your knees and back, clench and unclench your butt, swing your arms, smile, blink your eyes, breathe deeply in through your nose and out through your mouth, or whatever else might work for you.  Reducing your stress helps your body do the rest of its work (like cooling and focusing) more efficiently and helps you maintain control if tempers flare around you.

[BrianC14]

7 minutes ago, KenBAZ said:

I've talked about this before. Rich's point about stay in a hydrated state is a good one. Also, gradually getting acclmated is important. Cooling off between games and between innings as much as possible is another thing. Lastly, knowing your body. Some guy are just not going to handle the heat as well as others. For whatever reason they just don't tolerate it as well as others. I on the other hand have had problems with cold.

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Yep, being cold is beyond awful.   I'd rather work in heat than in cold, damp, windy conditions.   There's very little to nothing you can do for cold.   On really hot days, I've been known to request two bottles of water:  one to drink, the other to pour down my back and chest.   With the low humidity, you can practically hear it drying before it even gets to my waistband.

[BrianC14]

3 minutes ago, CJK said:

I mentioned this in a thread about a challenging schedule, but I find it valuable in the heat as well.

It's really important to relax between pitches and between innings.  Roll your neck around, flex your fingers, stretch your knees and back, clench and unclench your butt, swing your arms, smile, blink your eyes, breathe deeply in through your nose and out through your mouth, or whatever else might work for you.  Reducing your stress helps your body do the rest of its work (like cooling and focusing) more efficiently and helps you maintain control if tempers flare around you.

 

[BrianC14]

(Insanity later).  

[Stk004]

7 minutes ago, BrianC14 said:

Yep, being cold is beyond awful.   I'd rather work in heat than in cold, damp, windy conditions.   There's very little to nothing you can do for cold.   On really hot days, I've been known to request two bottles of water:  one to drink, the other to pour down my back and chest.   With the low humidity, you can practically hear it drying before it even gets to my waistband.

Funny, that's how I feel about heat. I can throw on layer after layer if it's cold (read: playing golf in 20-29 degree weather). But when it's really hot, I can't take off my skin. Shirts can only get so breathable and at the end of the day we're still wearing pants. But, I'm moving to LA in September so maybe that view will change. 

[BrianC14]

On a serious note, beware of rhabdomyolysis:    http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/rhabdomyolysis-symptoms-causes-treatments#1

Trust me when I tell you that it's nothing to mess with.  As @Rich Ives said above about urine color, "rhabdo" is a condition where your urine color turns to orange juice or even darker (had a buddy who said his urine looked like root beer).    It's serious stuff, and hydrating with water alone won't help much, if at all.  

[BrianC14]

8 minutes ago, Stk004 said:

Funny, that's how I feel about heat. I can throw on layer after layer if it's cold (read: playing golf in 20-29 degree weather). But when it's really hot, I can't take off my skin. Shirts can only get so breathable and at the end of the day we're still wearing pants. But, I'm moving to LA in September so maybe that view will change. 

My condolences.  

 

[Tksjewelry]

Has anyone tried the cool catcher helmet cooling system?



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[BrianC14]

22 minutes ago, Tksjewelry said:

Has anyone tried the cool catcher helmet cooling system?



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I looked at that for use in the Wilson bucket that I have, but was skeptical on how long it would really last.

[Mudisfun]

On 6/12/2017 at 2:24 PM, beerguy55 said:

You start making poor decisions because your brain isn't firing on all cylinders - and you see that in the players, the coaches and the umpires.

So true... did 3 plates a few weeks back..

9:30 game roughly 80 at 1st pitch. Went through 2 water bottles and one on the drive to games 2-3. 1:15pm 84 at 1st pitch with decent humidity - Went through 3 bottles during the game. Typical tournament where they were WAY behind from game one... 1:15 game ends after 2:05 game time... take a 20 minute break and game 3 starts at 85 degrees... went thought 5 water bottles but could still feel the impact of the heat.

 

Example: R2/R1, 1 out. Fly to F8 for out 2 in the later innings. R2 gets into a run down after retouching for out #3. F6 fires to F4 and gets R1 into a run down which I am officiating for the 4th out! Normally I am aware of the out count but I could tell my focus was starting to suffer due to heat, fatigue and dehydration. Thankfully the game ended an inning or so later but I had to make a conscience effort to concentrate harder on pitches and pickoff attempts for example. 

Got home, cracked a couple of cold, frosty adult beverages and decided that 3 plates in a row are dumb with little to no time between games to rest, cool down and get some hydration in ya!