For a running race, I consider temperatures between 40 and 50 degrees ideal. 45 to 50 is nice because you can dress in shorts and short sleeves; for an easy run I’ll wear long sleeves or capris tights until it’s 50 or close to it, but for races that drops to 45 or so. But for a triathlon, I prefer it to be warmer for obvious reasons. For cycling, I’d say 65 to 70 and overcast is perfect, and for swimming, the hotter the better.
On a side note, we had a birthday party for B over the weekend at the pool, on 7/16, and it was mid 60s and overcast with a few rain drops here and there. I had to laugh. Where is global warming when you need it? Fortunately, the kids had a great time, and we all enjoyed huddling in the hot tub.
My triathlon is Sunday, and I have a start time of around 8 am. I estimate it’ll take me less than 2 hours to complete the race – a 400 m swim, 15 mile bike, and 3 mile run. At 8 am, it’s supposed to be mostly sunny and 63 degrees. At 10 am, it’s supposed to be 68 and sunny. While 68 is definitely warmer than I’d prefer for a running race, overall I definitely can’t complain. The water temperature at the lake is 72 to 74. That’s warm enough that I could skip a wetsuit, especially given how short the swim is, but I’m planning to wear one at this point. It’ll probably cost me a few minutes trying to get it off, but oh well.
Normally for biking hard in the mid 60s, I wouldn’t want or need any extra layers beyond a short sleeve jersey, but given that I’ll be wet from the swim, I’m not sure if it’s makes sense to add a layer. Thinking about all this makes me nervous – triathlons are no joke. So much more hassle and logistical challenge than just running a race!
The girls finished up their swim season last weekend. L dropped her 50 free PR from 46 s to 41 s I think mostly by getting her flip turns. She also improved her 50 back by 4s and 50 breast by 8 seconds. She didn’t have much improvement on 25 butterfly, but she did very well in that last year. Her best event was probably the 100 IM which she swam in 1:41 in her last meet. L swims in the “B” division; there are two divisions, A and B. To swim A you must achieve a time qualifier, and L is about 2 s off in 100 IM and 4 or more seconds off in everything else, which is quite a bit. It’s interesting. I think she’s quite fast, but obviously there are an awful lot of kids who are quite a bit faster, even in the casual, fun summer swim session. L is eager to qualify for A, but I think it’ll be an uphill battle for her. Already, she is way faster than I was at her age.
Briony improved most of her times by several seconds. Her biggest improvement was in the 25 butterfly, which she improved from 54 seconds to 34 seconds. She also no longer looks in danger of imminently drowning when she swims butterfly, which is always a plus. More importantly, she got a lot of joy out of swimming this year. She enjoyed swim last year, but she loved it this year. She adores her coaches, and I adore them too for being so great with the kids. I find it interesting how great teenage boys and young men can be with little girls. I feel like there’s a stereotype that women and girls are better caregivers, but her coaches certainly are a great counterexample.