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