**I should also mention I’m super cold natured and am the guy wearing cycling gloves when it’s 60° outside. **
That’s your answer. If your cold natured in 60* imagine what your going to have to wear/put on in T1 to feel comfortable in wet/cold and just barely above freezing.
Yes; I added clothes in T1 but that made for a nearly 5’ T1 …it is a longish run anyway but it still killed me. But heated into 40s for run which was awesome!
I used to dream of racing in that kind of weather. The best I ever had was lake placid in 82 or 83, it was 45 degrees and raining. I raced in a lycra top and Tri shorts, nothing else. I felt so energized and drank only one bottle of water and a coke for about a half ironman.
Unfortunately for me most races are held in hot, humid, and just plain shitty conditions. You see each person has their own perfect conditions, you are lucky that most races suit yours. I say if I can go do Kona, you can put on a few layers of clothes and work your way through those perfect conditions… (-;
It’s not stupid to do the race if you’re well prepared. I’ve raced a number of spring sprints, in Montana, in the high 30’s to 40’s and did a November swim-run-bike race in 14 degrees.
If you have the right gear, you should be able to get a hard race (and great training) in. A helmet cover (or taped vents in aero helmet), toe covers, gloves, winter cap, for accesories. Full zip long sleeve and a vest would probably be wise, if you are cold natured. I recomment zipping up both a little, with the vest already over the jacket. For legs anything will be pretty slow going on, but knee warmers would probably be most effiecient.
Expect to be a little uncomfortable on the bike, but keeping your head and hands warm will help alot.
Taxi Triathlon in Manhattan Kansas back in the 80’s…38F…same deal…indoor swim and then bike run outside…I rode in only a wet speedo after the swim…no socks, no top… Remember feeling it was brisk but not bad. Ran off the bike pretty well also after some numb feet for a few strides…really no problem!
a side note…I was passed on the loop bike like I was standing still but some guy that went on to win…checked his results…kinda shitty swim, unreal bike, and pretty good run…by a guy named Steve Tilford…yeah that Steve Tilford…
My best races have all been in “not perfect†weather. Those are the ones I remember the most too
Get yourself an extra shirt before getting on bike (maybe extra gloves too?) and maybe another extra one for run that you can dump if warm… and go have fun!
Well I ended up wussing out and stayed home. Alarm went off and it was 31° with wind chill.
I’ll be the ST oddball and not have any badass heroics to brag about. Went for a 4 mile run and couldn’t have imagined biking - even in head to toe gear.
Thanks for all the replies. Maybe another time I’ll HTFU.
Rebelman in Oxford by chance? It sucked. Coming out of the warm pool into T1 was miserable. Toes went numb on the bike and fingers went numb on the run. It eventually heated up some
Might be a good chance to pad your stats if that means anything. I once did a backwards tri in October (run, bike, swim) in which I won my age group. That usually doesn’t happen… but if you’re not used to cold weather it can be a challenge. I’m also from New England and 35 degrees is something most people can deal with here.
Might be a good chance to pad your stats if that means anything. I once did a backwards tri in October (run, bike, swim) in which I won my age group. That usually doesn’t happen… but if you’re not used to cold weather it can be a challenge. I’m also from New England and 35 degrees is something most people can deal with here.
Here in TX I consider doing a century ride in 100 degree weather typical. So I guess it’s very much YMMV for what you tolerate.
I think it felt extra cold because it was 85º Friday afternoon, then windchill was 22º by Saturday morning, which warmed to 31º race morning. 50 degree swing makes it feel worse than it is.
Well I ended up wussing out and stayed home. Alarm went off and it was 31° with wind chill.
I’ll be the ST oddball and not have any badass heroics to brag about. Went for a 4 mile run and couldn’t have imagined biking - even in head to toe gear.
Thanks for all the replies. Maybe another time I’ll HTFU.
Your biggest problem would probably have been cycling in that skirt.
I was really dreading the sprint I did today ( possibly the one you skipped since you mentioned TX…Caveman?) due to the cold. Especially when they announced the wind chill was in the 20s right before the start. I’m really cold natured too, but I actually didn’t think it was bad at all. I just threw on long sleeve top and gloves for the ride and run and was fine. I noticed there were an aweful lot of unclaimed timing chips when we started so I think a lot of people skipped out.
