Why Bad Weather Doesn't Mean Runners & Cyclists Can't Get a Good Workout
There is a particular kind of dread that comes with waking up for a planned ride or run and hearing rain on the window. The easy call is to roll over. But if you live in Alberta, or really anywhere in Canada in June, waiting for perfect conditions means waiting a long time.
The good news is that running and cycling in the rain is genuinely manageable with the right approach, and training indoors is not the compromise it used to be. Here is how to handle it either way, and how to make sure your fuelling is dialled in regardless of where you end up.
Running in the Rain
The first thing to accept is that you are going to get wet. Once you make peace with that, most of the anxiety around rain running disappears. The experience is usually better than expected once you are actually out there.
Wear a cap with a brim. It keeps the rain out of your eyes and off your face, which matters more than any other piece of gear on a rainy run. A lightweight running cap does the job without adding heat or weight.
Go lighter than you think you need to. A heavy waterproof jacket traps heat and moisture from the inside faster than rain gets in from the outside. A water-resistant shell or even a lightweight layer is often more comfortable than full waterproofs on a run.
Watch your footing. Wet trails are a no-no! And wet roads change the equation. Roots, painted road markings, metal grates, and wet leaves are all significantly more slippery than they look. Shorten your stride slightly and give yourself more room for error, especially on corners and descents.
Protect your feet or accept wet ones. Waterproof trail shoes keep feet dry in light rain but can become uncomfortable once water gets in over the ankle. Many runners prefer to simply accept wet feet and focus on socks that reduce the risk of blisters. Wool or synthetic blends handle wet conditions far better than cotton.
Start slower. Rain cools the body and can mask how hard you are working. Your pacing instincts may be off for the first kilometre or two. Let the effort settle before pushing into the session.
Cycling in the Rain
Rain riding has a reputation for being unpleasant, and it can be if you are unprepared. But committed cyclists in Canada ride in the rain regularly throughout the season, and the adjustments that make it safe and manageable are straightforward. Just remember - stay off the dirt trails as riding the single-track when it's wet causes long-term damage.
Give yourself more braking distance. Wet rims on rim-brake bikes lose a significant portion of their stopping power. Disc brakes perform better in wet conditions, but even with discs, build in more stopping distance than you think you need. The road surface is the bigger variable.
Lower your tire pressure slightly. A few psi less than your usual setup gives the tire more contact patch and improves grip on wet pavement. Not dramatically, five psi is often enough to make a noticeable difference in feel and confidence.
Avoid white lines, manhole covers, and metal surfaces. These become extremely slippery when wet. In a corner, a painted road marking can feel like ice. Plan your lines around them rather than over them.
Wear a waterproof or highly water-resistant jacket. Unlike running, cycling generates significant windchill at speed. A proper cycling rain jacket is worth having for the season. It does not need to be expensive, but it does need to block wind and repel water.
Dry your bike after. Wet riding accelerates wear on drivetrains. A quick wipe-down after a rainy ride extends the life of your chain and cassette considerably. It takes five minutes and is worth building into the routine.
Fuelling for a Rainy Day Session
This is the part most people overlook, and it matters more than people realize.
Cold and wet conditions suppress the sensation of hunger. Your body is working just as hard, sometimes harder, because it is also managing core temperature in addition to the physical output, but the usual hunger cues that prompt you to eat are dulled by the cold. Athletes who would never forget to fuel on a hot summer ride regularly under-eat on grey, wet days and wonder why the session fell apart.
The fix is simple: plan your fuelling before you go out, not in response to how you feel once you are moving.
Before the session, eat something that delivers a steady release of energy rather than a quick spike. Quality dark chocolate made from cacao is a strong choice here. The natural fats moderate how quickly carbohydrates enter the bloodstream, which means a more even energy curve through the effort rather than a peak followed by a drop. The theobromine in cacao produces a calm, sustained lift in alertness that holds through the full session without the jitteriness that can come from a strong pre-workout coffee.
During longer efforts, most people reach for gels or chews because solid food can feel like too much to deal with while moving. The problem with gels is that the concentrated sugar hits fast and hard, a spike that can result in a crash, and for a lot of athletes, real GI distress at the worst possible time. Our Chocolate Energy Bars sit in a different category entirely. With honey and coconut oil added to the bars, the chocolate breaks down easily without needing to chew through something dense or dry, so your gut handles them comfortably mid-effort. But because they are built on quality dark chocolate with natural fats and cacao compounds, the energy releases steadily rather than all at once. No sugar bomb. No gut issues. Just fuel that keeps working as long as you do.
After the session, your body needs to begin restoring glycogen and supporting muscle repair. The flavanols in quality cacao support circulation and have well-documented anti-inflammatory properties that are relevant for recovery whether that follows a hard rain run or a long wet ride.
The 7 Summits Snacks Chocolate Energy Bar Explorer Box brings all five of our dark chocolate energy bar flavours together in one mixed box. Each flavour is built on the same foundation of quality dark chocolate and natural superfood ingredients, with flavours drawn from the regions surrounding each of the world's seven summits. Discover your favourite today.
Taking It Indoors
Sometimes the weather is not just inconvenient but genuinely unsafe. Heavy rain, lightning, hail, or simply a morning where the combination of fatigue and conditions makes going outside the wrong call. Taking it indoors is the next best thing.
Treadmill running has improved considerably. Modern treadmills with a slight incline set to one percent more closely replicate the effort of outdoor running than older machines. If you have been avoiding treadmill work because it feels easier or less valuable than road running, the incline adjustment is worth trying.
Indoor cycling on a trainer or at a spin class delivers a controlled effort that can be more specific than outdoor riding on a technical day. Heart rate zones, power targets, and interval work are all easier to execute precisely indoors. Some athletes actively prefer indoor sessions for quality work even when conditions are fine outside.
The mental side of indoor training is the part that takes the most management. Without the changing environment of an outdoor session, focus and motivation can drop faster. Having a specific session structure rather than just getting on and pedalling helps. A playlist, a programme, or a target metric gives the session a shape.
Fuelling Indoors
The fundamentals of fuelling do not change when you move the session inside. Before, during if the effort is long enough, and after, the framework is the same. What does shift is one thing most people do not account for: indoor training tends to produce significantly more core body heat than the same effort outdoors.
Outside, airflow manages your temperature as you move. On a treadmill or a stationary trainer, that cooling mechanism disappears almost entirely. Your body works harder to regulate its temperature, which means sweat rates are higher, perceived effort climbs faster, and the risk of hitting a wall earlier than expected is real even on sessions that would feel manageable on the road. Staying on top of hydration indoors is not optional, it is the first line of defence against a session that falls apart for no obvious reason.
On the fuelling side, the same steady-release logic applies. A dark chocolate energy bar before a structured indoor session delivers the kind of calm, sustained energy that holds through intervals and tempo work without spiking and dropping mid-session. The difference indoors is that you do not have a pocket to reach into, so eating before rather than during is generally more practical. Finish your bar before you clip in or step on, and you will not need to think about it again until you are done.
The 7 Summits Chocolate Energy Bar Explorer Box is as useful for indoor training days as it is for outdoor ones. Five flavours, one box, find the bar that works for you and build it into the routine whether the forecast cooperates or not.
The Call Is Yours
There is no universally right answer on whether to go out or stay in on a rainy day. Some of the best training sessions happen in the rain. Some of the most useful ones happen on a treadmill in a quiet gym. What matters more than the decision is that you make one and commit to it, rather than spending the morning watching the forecast and doing neither.
The conditions are part of the training. Learning to manage them, whether that means adjusting your kit, your pacing, your gear setup, your fuelling, or simply your mindset, makes you a more capable athlete across every season.
