I’ve got my first race of the season this weekend. Current forecast is 36 and rainy at race start. It’s a sprint Duathlon, so no swim, but The first run usually gets me nice and toasty before I start the bike… in normal weather.
Here’s the questions:
What to wear?? Trisuit with armwarmers? Do I try a jacket and throw all aerodynamics out the window? I’ve also never tried a base layer under my trisuit, but it’s worth a thought since there’s no swim…
I use the Giro Aerohead and I’ve had issues with the visor fogging… it’s also a tinted visor. Do I ditch the visor? Buy a clear one? Or go with my old Giro A2 that I (thankfully) haven’t sold yet?
Have you trained in similar conditions? If so, what did you wear?
Last Tri I did was similar (swim was 58 degrees, rain all night so wet and cold for bike). Only change I made was to wear my vest for the bike – stripped it for the run (sun appeared by then). Pedal harder to stay warm. (This was off-road stuff, so that may make a difference).
Not really. This race has a history of being cold/nasty… one year it was snowed out. I have only raced it the past 2 years and it was unseasonably warm but it was forecast to rain once and I was preparing for 50-60’s and rain… nothing like 36
I have heard the vest idea from a few people so I may look into that, but my vest is even a bit looser than I would like for a race scenario.
Arm warmers work great for me in the rain. NO WAY to the jacket. Aero always matters and it is just a sprint distance so suffer it out. If you’re cold, go faster as it just means you’ll finish that much sooner! I like to use a thermal compression underarmor long sleeve if conditions call for it. 30’s and rain and I would wear the base layer.
Go with glasses. The aerohead minus visor is still a proper aero helmet I go glasses no visor in raining conditions where fogging will be an issue. Worth noting the aerohead is a MIPS helmet so it may be a safer option than the ageing A2… Rainy conditions and all…
From what I’ve read elsewhere, the visor is an integral part of that aero gains in this helmet (since it wraps all the way back to the ears), so I would think an A2 would be faster than the arrowhead w/o the visor.
… that said… the safety side of me hears my wife’s voice in your comment lol
That’s cold. I would prepare more to keep warm before the start, then blast the run like most usually do in the beginning. I would kick the tri top and wear your heaviest road top with arm warmers and gloves. If you feel cold by the time you are on the bike, you aren’t going fast enough.
Have a DRY towel, socks, shoes, and hoody waiting for you at your bike for afterwards.
I raced a Duathlon in October that was -2°C with a 30km/h wind and went with tights, a base layer up top and a fairly thick cycling jacket. I doubled up on two thin gloves for the bike and wore my Bell Javelin helmet w/visor which kept me nice and toasty, and also helped keep the snow/sleet that started falling from pelting my face. I also had a buff on my head for the first run, but didn’t put it back on for the second run which was a mistake with a sweaty head and blustery freezing winds–it was a short enough run to tough it out though. With the possible rain involved it might change things, but depending on how serious the event is I’d lean towards staying warm than optimizing performance (I’m a wimp when it comes to being cold though lol–I did still win my race even bundled up )
agree with keeping warm before the gun. go to Walmart and buy some throw away insulated slippers w/ rubber soles, get a Roka thermal swim cap (for before hand and during the swim), good rain gear (if you have a sherpa to pass off to immediately before the gun)/or trash bag poncho; get one of those thin foil emergency blankets; have a thermos w/ hot beverage; for the bike, if your jersey allows it, roll up a nylon vest and stick it in there (just in case you’re shaking so bad that aero advantage is out the door), beanie cap and neoprene toe covers, full fingered gloves; consider shorts only under the wetsuit and then pull a (DRY!!) jersey on in T1. Austin 70.3 in 2017 was so bad I ended up killing my bike split - I was shaking so badly I had to put it in 53x12 on the climbs to generate heat, then brake on the descents b/c the wind chill was too bad. Stopped to put on a vest b/c I was shaking so much I was afraid to sit up and put it on while riding
I also had a buff on my head for the first run, but didn’t put it back on for the second run which was a mistake with a sweaty head and blustery freezing winds–it was a short enough run to tough it out though. With the possible rain involved it might change things, but depending on how serious the event is I’d lean towards staying warm than optimizing performance (I’m a wimp when it comes to being cold though lol–I did still win my race even bundled up 
)