Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Rainy ride by guest Ashley Sollenberger


The rain came down, the cranks churned; water dripped, sprayed, and stung, road grit stuck.  Ah, the joys of riding in the rain.  Today’s workout called for two to three hours on the bike with a few efforts, a couple on the flats working on keeping the cadence high, and a few good hard climbs to generate some power.  The weatherman attempted to put a damper on the day by forecasting rain and thunderstorms all day.  The rain turned out to be an added training bonus.  Once you get over the fact that it’s raining, you realize that it’s really just water; during a triathlon I am always wet when I start the bike portion, so why should a little rain get in the way.

Today was a day that not only strengthened the legs, but the mind was sharpened as well.  

My “A” race this season, Ironman Lake Placid, will occur rain or shine, so my training must reflect that reality.  Getting outside in nasty weather can be a great confidence booster, come race day, I can handle anything the course or Mother Nature is willing to serve up.  The way I see it, nasty weather will only move me further up the results page.  I’ve trained in all sorts of weather, come race day weather will be the least of my concerns. 


  So from time to time, get out in the rain, wind, snow, or in the middle of the hot summer day, you’ll learn to make pace adjustments based on conditions, and you will be able to match expectations to your current environment, this provides invaluable confidence come race day.

I rolled up to my back porch after a wet 2 hours and 45 minutes; I seemed to be lacking some power on the flats as I’m still apparently recovering from a big weekend.  I felt better on the climbs, which were back to back to back for a total of about 20 minutes.  I tried to stay seated, keep the cadence high, and the speed up.  I then cruised home while enjoying a near perfect tail wind, hosed myself and the bike off, and enjoyed some lunch.  


The sun will be out tomorrow, and so will I, the race will be rain or shine.

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