Adjusting to race day weather that does not match hopes or expectations.

We sit in our offices, doing errands, hanging with friends or out for our daily workout and in the back of our mind we ponder our goal race event coming in a few months, weeks or days. We project all our hard work coming to a peak, doing the little things; following a nutrition plan, completing our long runs, purchasing the right gear, tapering, testing fueling or working on just about anything we can think of. Then as race day nears the weather outlook turns grim. The prediction of a high temperature day can prompt feelings of panic or disappointment and annoyance after having worked so hard for this one day. 

How does one focus knowing our A, B or even C goal may be in jeopardy? The first goal to limit such anxiety is to stay in the moment.  Weather predictions can be wrong.  I’ve watched weather change from a downpour to clear skies within minutes of starting an event and also experienced a downpour right at the start without such predictions.  The second goal should be to adapt and prepare for such conditions, proper hydration leading up to the event, fueling and hydrating during the event including salt intake for longer events and even clothing considerations; the type of material can be key to improving sweat wicking and reduce sun exposure. Think light, white and little covering (although material can help shield from intense rays in extremely sun-intense environments).  Lastly, it is critical to adjust race pace early on to account for increased body temperature as the day progresses.

The goals and expectations may change for this event but all the hard work building up to the event is not a waste.  If you take it easier this day, the improvement in fitness will provide confidence that you can reach a new level with smart training.  Finishing an event in hot weather is a huge victory in learning how to prepare for such harsh conditions in training or racing events.  The experience and gain in wisdom is immensely valuable and equally is the realization that one day does not define you nor is it the secret to finding happiness. As always, when a race day turns sour due to unexpected events, to keep life in perspective, avoid taking yourself too seriously.

First bike fitness test of the season following base training block.

Most of my blog entries have been about my perspective on training and tools to go about improving endurance. Occasionally, I will post some personal training workouts, fitness tests or race reports. Below is my first field test of the season.

I've been training consistently for the past 3 weeks, running 17 or more miles on each Sunday accumulating roughly; 40 miles of  running, 80-120 miles of biking, 3-4 miles of swimming and 1-2 hours of functional strength work.  Most of my aerobic training has been spent below my MAF heart rate determination of 147 bpm.  The few hard efforts have felt great but required a few days of easier training to recover from the intensity.  This past Saturday I was able to test my fitness on the bike during an indoor computrainer race over a 6 mile rolling course.  I went out conservatively for the first 2 minutes and kept my heart rate around 162 bpm, roughly 90% of my max heart rate. My average wattage was 357 and I weighed in at 167 lbs.  This equates to 4.7 watts/Kg and is a great sign my fitness is coming along without doing much anaerobic work. Having accomplished my goal, I can go back to base training to absorb the effort and prepare for my first duathlon of the season.