Training and Racing in Cold Weather: No DNF

Posted on January 31st, 2008 by TriathleteDad

From experience, I’ll list some things to keep you from a DNF (Did Not Finish) in a triathlon, duathalon, or any competitive race while beating Mother Nature’s extreme elements at the same time.

I need competitive races on the calendar in early spring to keep the motivation to train 5-6 days each week. These races are great for helping you push your threshold, and can make you stronger and faster. But the weather in early spring in the Midwest can be beautiful, or it can be miserable. Today is one of those miserable ones. It reminds me of an early season duathalon race I did a few years ago. It was early April, and instead of 60-70 degrees F, it was in the cold, 30-40 degrees F. And it had rained all night before the race. But, I figure, I’m tough, and I can dress for it, right? The rain had stopped the morning of the race. But as soon as the gun went off, the sky opened up and it poured. The race was a 2-mile run, 20-mile bike and a 3.1-mile run or 5k. When I got on my bike it was puddling like crazy. But, it was a sprint, and I was hammering, and just a little chilly. But after 25 mins of this my fingers, hands, arms, toes, feet and legs started to get cold. When you are racing your focus becomes so intense that you don’t realize how cold (or hot, depending on the weather) you may be. But, I knew it was bad when I tried to get water out of my bottle and my hands were so cold I couldn’t squeeze the water out. I never quit and have never had a DNF, so I pushed onward. In transition, I hopped off my bike and my feet were numb. It was nearly impossible to change my shoes. One guy ran with his helmet on because he couldn’t unsnap it.

After the race I grabbed my stuff and headed for the car. It was a 90 min drive home and I was shaking for 60 mins of it. Many people here hypothermic and the EMS was on site treating folks. My buddy Nick who works in politics told me the only thing that got him through was thinking about our Forefathers and how they had it much worse (name any war, and think of the conditions.) Here’s some advice for cold-weather training

Cover your skin. There is a lot of sports gear available specifically designed to keep you warm, without restricting your performance.
Remember what Mom said – you loose most of your heat through the top of your head. Keep you head, and hands covered before, during and after the event.
Bring extra clothes, packed, dry.
Don’t forget extra socks.
As soon as you finish the race (or training), get out of your wet clothes as quickly as possible.
Stretch in dry clothes, so that you can maintain heat.
Eat well. Keep your immune system boosted. I remember my wife had a bowl of warm soup waiting for me, with lots of beef and rice. (Protein and carbs.)
Keep thinking of your Forefathers.