Cold-Weather Running: Ain't Nothing Gonna Stop This Bus

Winter has finally arrived here in Madison, South Dakota, and I think it's going to stay. The snow started falling before Halloween, but last week we saw some of those nose-hair-freezing lows that call for all-night fires in the fireplace.

We learned to run outside regardless of the weather a long time ago. Call us a little crazy, but few meteorological circumstances will make us miss an outdoor long run with friends. We usually log an outdoor run once a week on the weekend. Our daytime jobs force us back to the dreadmill on weekdays. When a person leaves for work in the dark and returns home in the dark, he doesn't really have much of a choice, which is why we value those outdoor runs with friends so much.



this past Sunday's cold-weather crew

JT's first 5K took place November 25, 2010. Historical records say the high was 19 degrees and the low was 2 degrees with wind around 10 mph. We ran a Turkey Trot in Mitchell, SD with several layers and much determination. Jason's second 5k was on January 8, 2011, and the average temperature was 12 degrees. So we cut our teeth pretty early on winter running. And we've learned many things along the way. Here's some of the wisdom we've gained over the last three years of winter running:

1. Layers are your friends. You can always shed one if you need to.
2. If you're comfortable outside in the clothes you're wearing before you start running, you're wearing too much. Take off a layer. You're going to warm your body up running, remember.
3. Run with the wind. You're not trying to squeeze in a resistance workout in the winter. You're trying to run outside and get a little vitamin D. Around here wind is a huge factor. Rarely do we have a day without even a breeze, and more often than not, wind contributes to the real-feel temperature. One of my girlfriends and I have driven out of town just so we could run a point-to-point with the wind (and then the one with a vehicle in town gave the other a ride back out to the stranded car.)
4. Keep your head, hands, and feet warm. They act as the temperature regulators. If I'm too warm when I'm running in cold weather, I'll start to cool down by stripping my gloves off first. It's amazing how much heat can be released (and held in) just with gloves.
5. Use sweat-wicking materials. The dryer you stay, the warmer you stay. I prefer cuddle-duds, which came out with an athletic form of their under gear a couple of years ago. Jason and the dudes seem to really like UnderArmour's cold gear. Whatever it takes, a base layer can make a huge difference in staying warm and dry.
6. Anticipate a slower pace. My running buddy and I noticed the slow pace this past week, and we rationalize that our bodies are working hard to stay warm, so they can't run fast. Plus we're running in several layers of clothes, and the joints just don't move as fast with that much material.
7. Fuel up with warm liquids ahead of time. I learned this last year. I started drinking a cup of warm chicken broth before a particularly cold outdoor run. Basically, my thought was to try to cut the cold off at the pass by starting out with a warm core. It worked well for me as I trained for a marathon in particularly cold weather last spring (we had snow on the ground until May!).
8. Stay off the icy patches, but if you're running in light snow or slightly icy weather, wear some kind of gear on your shoes. We are big fans of Yak tracks, sold at the nearby gas station for the local ice fishermen. They work fantastically in helping us run with a little more confidence.
9. Strip as soon as you get home. You'll be wet, and the cold will catch up with you.

I'm sure other people have their methods for staying warm, but these things have kept us pretty comfortable throughout the past three winters, some of which were real doozies. Because our neck of the woods only sees about eight to nine hours of daylight this time of year, we value whatever time outside we can get. Maybe that's why we'd rather just bundle up and listen to the crunch of the snow under our feet than the thump of our shoes on the dreadmill. The temperature rarely factors into the decision of if we're going to run or not. It just determines our wardrobe.

On other news, JT finished up his treatment at the local chiropractor and is seeing gradual improvement (and increased feeling) in his hip and leg. I'm still finding my groove with my eye on January, knowing we're going to have to get much more serious and structured. For some reason, the turn of the calendar makes me feel like discipline is far more in our grasp at that time. I can't imagine planning this journey all alone, that's for sure. Having someone else in the house with the same goals, well, there's just no comparison to it. Triathlon, for us, is a team sport.

Stay warm all!