“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us
up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only
different kinds of good weather.” John Ruskin
No such thing as bad weather? Clearly Mr. Ruskin is not a
triathlete. “Bad weather” in triathlon is encountering anything that is
significantly worse than was expected. If we are at Ironman Arizona in 2006 and expecting a high of 85
and it is in fact over 90 at the start of the marathon, then we call
that "bad" weather. If, as it was the year before at the same venue, we are
expecting breezes and instead experiencing very strong gusts (blowing some people into the
cactus along the bike course) then it’s okay to think of that as bad weather
too. Try telling the folks who just participated in IM Wisconsin that the
hypothermia-inducing rain
was “refreshing.” Like I said, Mr. Ruskin is no triathlete.
End of rant. Let's get to the topic of this blog, Ironman China. What kind of weather can the participants expect? At first glace it looks like it is going to be a lot like Kona weather.
2008 Ironman China Weather Prediction:
When you first find Hainan
on a map you will be surprised how far south it is. When you first heard about
an Ironman race being in China,
you might have thought of Beijing or even Shanghai.
But Hainan is in fact
about the same latitude as Hawaii.It is even south of Hong Kong and latitude-wise is in-between the Vietnamese
cities of Hue and Hanoi.
Being a tropical island Hainan
has a corresponding tropical moist monsoonal climate. The coldest months are
January and February when the temperatures drop to the sixties (Fahrenheit);
the hottest months are July and August, and the temperatures are 77 to 84
degrees. Temperatures can vary quite a bit on different parts of the island.
The typhoon season is June to September during which the island gets 70% of the
annual rainfall.
For Ironman participants what is important is the expected
temperature on race day. For April, the averages are as follows:
- Average High 85.1F
- Average Low 71.4 F
- Rainfall 4.2 inches
- Rainy days 12 in the month
Very close to Kona’s averages for April 20th:
- Average High 83F
- Average Low 69F
- Rainfall n/a
- Rainy days n/a
In short it appears that the weather should be a little
hotter and a little more humidity than Kona.
But what about the winds? It appears that Hainan has a reputation for being windy. China.org said this, "A tropical maritime climate prevails in Hainan, bringing it all-year-round windy."
A Cycling News write up of the Tour of Hainan described the strong winds buffeting the riders during the first stage. (And they get to draft!).
Finally, several tourist blogs also made note of the windy conditions in Hainan.
Whether Hainan's winds will be as strong as Kona’s notorious trade winds
or whether the course has exposed bike sections like Kona’s lava fields are
questions that I don’t yet have answers. But for those planning on doing the race, aerodynamics may be even more important than usual.
Acclimation will be critical:
Triathletes from the United States and Europe who almost
certainly have been training in coolish winter and early spring climates should
consider the importance of getting to the venue with enough time to acclimate to the warm, humid, windy conditions.