*Let me preface this blog post by mentioning that safety should be the #1 priority when considering what conditions to train in.*
There I was. Lined up at the start of my first ever Olympic distance triathlon, my first ever open water race. It was windy as hell. My swimming experience to date was countless laps in a pool, and one practice swim on a calm day in open water. I was terrified thinking about swimming into that choppy water because I had no idea what to expect. The bike leg wasn’t much better, heavy headwinds going out of transition on a two-loop course made for slow progress. I had only ventured out on the bike when it was calm and nice out, windy days were spent inside on a trainer. When I got to the run, it was mid-day and balmy, even on the shaded path. I was used to getting up early and running in the morning before it got too hot, so I did not bring extra salt tabs and electrolytes with me. Needless to say, I probably didn’t have the best race I could have had that day.
Everyone loves to run on a beautiful sunny day and it’s easy to get out on your bike if it is not too windy. The reality is that the big race you have planned in North America in August is going to be hot and the water will be choppy. Also, that spring triathlon you signed up for in the mountains is going to be windy on the bike and the water is going to be colder than the pool at your local YMCA. If you don’t experience these conditions to some degree prior to your race, you are setting yourself up for a less than ideal outcome.
Obviously, it is impossible to predict what conditions will be like on race day.
You can look at previous race history, or seasonal weather patterns in the area of your race to get a feel for what it could be like, but that doesn’t guarantee what it will be like. What if you never ran in the rain, and you get to the run on your race and it starts pouring down rain? Do you hate running with soaking wet shoes and/or socks? Do you know how to safely descend hills on your bike in the wind or on wet roads?
The best athletes will have a plan.
In order to quell some of that panic inside you when you are standing there looking at white caps on the water in that reservoir, it helps to have practiced in those conditions before. You may not be totally comfortable in that situation, but that’s ok, you’ve seen this before because you found a lake in your area to practice open water swimming, and some of those days were choppy. It may be a miserably hot day on your run, and everyone out there is feeling the pain, but you moved some of your workouts to mid-day to help acclimate to the heat in a controlled environment.
Don’t totally avoid crappy conditions during training (obviously, unless they are unsafe).
I’m not talking about going out on your bike and there are tornado sirens going off, or heading out to swim with a thunderstorm rolling overhead. However, find yourself a place to practice your open water swimming if you can rather than sticking to the local pool. The next time you are out for a run and it starts to rain, try to stay out there a little instead of heading straight home to dry off. Find a safe place to practice cycling on windy days, or with wet roads to understand how your bike handles in these conditions. Doing will only serve to put more tools in your toolbox in order to be as ready as possible on race day.
Now when I toe the line at a race and there’s a little bit of a mist coming down or the wind is picking up, I know what to expect. I know how to handle these situations; I’ve experienced them before. I’ve ran through puddles before, I know what soggy shoes feel like. I know what cross-winds do to my tri-bike. I now have a toolbox and a plan to tackle these less than ideal conditions on race day.