If there’s anything that darkens an endurance athlete’s attitude and life, it’s racing and training in the rain. Dark, unrelenting rain that brings misery, foreboding, tests your determination, and brings on introspection. The kind of introspection that has you asking yourself why am I out here?
As far as race day goes, you race in whatever weather you get as long as it’s safe. To paraphrase the man called Nate, you can run in the cold, and you can run in the rain but you don’t run in both. Training in the rain helps you prepare for those damp, dismal race days and builds character and chafing, don’t forget chafing.
Caught unaware by a torrential downpour during your weekly long ride, you congratulate yourself on fashioning a makeshift rain jacket from a trash bag and keeping your feet almost dry with grocery store bags. You pedal along thinking, I’m recycling while cycling. Drivers and passersby are thinking hobo on a stolen bike.
You once upgraded cassettes at considerable expense to save 30 grams, now you’re considering adding an oversized water bottle cage for a thermos in the hopes of thawing a bit during rest breaks.
Travel Kuppe Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle (Amazon)
You don’t mind swimming in the rain. After all, you’re already wet. Then you hear the boom and crash of thunder when you’re about 600 yards out. You realize that your only quick exit is to climb the levee which has boulders the size of your car.
You finally reach the top still wearing your swim cap, goggles, and dragging your swim buoy. Kneeling to catch your breath you hear a small child yell, “Look, mommy, it’s a man dressed as a raccoon!”
Two words: waterlogged shoes.
Braking & Cornering on Wet Roads (RoadBikeRider)
You’ll never forget that triathlon in Sevierville. It rained the night before and all of race day. You don’t know what was more chilling, the swim, the cold water your tires churned up from the road, or the race director yelling “Y’all know your brakes don’t work now, right?”
You patiently explain to your new running buddy that a 75% chance of rain means a 25% chance of good weather and that while it’s raining steadily right now, it’s almost certain to clear up before you are supposed to meet at the trailhead. He texts back “Dude, look out your window. There was less rain in Blade Runner.”
Clear plastic leaf bags are super handy for laying out your gear in transition if it rains on your triathlon and great for transporting wet clothing and shoes back home from training runs and rides. Plus you don’t have to backtrack 20 miles and root through a dumpster because you threw the wrong trash bag away.
You think back to the Medoc Trail Race the year rain caused massive flooding but race day dawned bright and clear, leaving only one obstacle between you and a course PR: mud. About six miles in you hit the “slurry pit,” a dip about 15 yards long with a steep entry and even steeper exit, completely covered in a layer of mud slicker than WD40 on linoleum.
Relying on momentum and a finely tuned if unreliable sense of balance you ran/slid across the gap looking like a combination limbo dancer and ice skater. Finishing the race with no mud above your knees.
Nothing says great race quite like hosing off your running clothes and shoes on the back deck before you’re allowed to put them in the washing machine.
12 Tips for Running in the Rain (Verywellfit)
The Safety Factor
To be serious for just a moment, training and racing in the rain increase your risk factor for injury for running and cycling. In researching this post I literally found no articles about swimming in the rain. So I’m not recommending that activity. We can discuss whether or not I’ve been foolish enough to do that myself another time.
Always assess your risks for training and racing and don’t be afraid to bail to the treadmill or bike trainer. If you do choose to brave the rain do everything you can to put the odds in your favor. Tell someone where you’re going and when you’ll be back. Maybe use a tracking app. Stay visible, bring lights, bring a friend, pick a safer venue or route. A workout is a workout whether you’re circling a well-lit parking lot or running or riding in the wild.
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