Weatherproofing

"A red weather warning has been issued for the Highlands..."

It's winter in the Scottish Highlands, and cold, snowy, wet or windy weather is the norm.  It regularly stays around 0-2 degrees here for around 3 months in the winter, and can be snowy, windy or wet.  But it seems to have been particularly windy, and particularly wet this year.  The woods where we walk the dog every day haven't been this soggy & muddy in the eight years we've lived in our house. 

Of course, I knew we'd have periods of weather that would make training outdoors difficult.  But I also know that for Celtman, the weather can do virtually anything on race day.  Whereas on the Solo Point Five I knew that for me, the weather wouldn't make a huge difference due to the particular nature of the course; for the Full event, it will have a massive impact: it could be the difference between me making that T2A cutoff, and not being allowed to finish.  

So this last few weeks, when I can, I've been out in the weather.  I wouldn't normally choose to deliberately ride into a 35mph headwind, but this time I did.  It was tough, I had to fight the instinct to turn and flee for home as my average speed plummeted; but I know that on race day we will have a headwind at some point.  The last section of the bike course from Garve to Kinlochewe is notorious for providing a killer headwind; even tougher with 160km already in the legs. 

With a stonking south westerly, we ran into it for 8km... heading up onto the hill, the wind drove rain into our faces and we persevered for a wee while before turning and heading for home, wind blowing us back to the van.  I've swam into a headwind before surfing back to my starting point; only a few hundred metres in the 6-degree water, but it all counts. 

Enough weather, though... I could really do with some slightly-less-crazy days. Days to get some miles in the legs without worrying about ice or flooding.  I'm very much ready for spring to arrive in the Highlands.  The consensus seems to be that this has been one of the wettest winters for many, many years.  Perhaps we're due some drier weather soon?   

In the background I've been working on my logistical race plan: getting kit organised, planning timings that will be changed and honed as the year goes on, and then - as events unfold- undoubtedly changed again on the day.  

Choosing the right shoes, so I can train in them for the next few months; finding kit combinations that work in different temperatures & weather conditions; planning the kit that my support crew will need, to take me from swim-to-bike, and bike-to-run.  And yes, that is a washing up bowl for me to stand in! Cold feet getting out of the water need to be quickly warmed before putting on bike shoes. 

I have two weeks leave coming up, and with our camper van finally coming home from the van doctors, I hope to have the opportunity for a few west coast days to ride some of the bike course, and swim in the slightly-warmer-than-Loch-Ness, west coast water. 

On the one hand I can't wait for spring to arrive, and on the other, time is marching on.  18 weeks from this coming Saturday, or 130 days from now, 200 of us will be lining up in a grassy, sheep-shit strewn field for a photo under a burning swirl, hearts in our mouths for what is to come.