Originally written in German. Translated to English by AI — please excuse any awkward phrasing.
Right as I start training again, winter arrives … ideal conditions for spending long periods outside. The only positive thing is that it hasn’t snowed — the cold is somehow manageable. Especially since the sun was shining faithfully the whole time.
What was on the plan for the week?
- Monday: an easy ride (1h) with some technique work
- Tuesday: a 1h run with Tabata intervals (very hard) and in the evening a technique swim session
- Wednesday: an aerobic bike session
- Thursday: a rest day with a swim session
- Friday: the long 1h 40min run at -7°C — surprisingly fast out there
- Saturday: an aerobic swim session that took a real toll, plus an easy 1h run
- Sunday: a 4h bike session, also in freezing temperatures
OK, a lot of people will be wondering how you can spend 4h on the bike in that weather without freezing solid — it works with:
- a pair of summer cycling socks, over that a pair of winter cycling socks, plus a winter cycling shoe and an overshoe on top
- a pair of short cycling shorts, a pair of leg warmers, and long winter cycling tights over all that
- a long-sleeve base layer, a short summer jersey, a long cycling jersey, a second long cycling jersey, and a windbreaker
- a balaclava, a hat, and a face warmer — topped off with sunglasses and a helmet
I felt pretty comfortable in all of that — no freezing, no sweating. OK, I could only look straight ahead since the layers completely restricted my upper body movement. Oh, and after half an hour the water bottles were frozen solid — even in a thermal bottle there were ice cubes after 2 hours … but on the plus side there was almost no traffic on the roads and the sunshine was spectacular. Still, I wouldn’t mind if it were summer right now.