Winter Running Advice

>> Wednesday, November 19, 2014

I saw something on Tumblr 2 days ago:



It kinda annoyed me. I had to reblog it WITH CORRECTIONS. You can find my post below (or go to it on my Tumblr page to see for yourself):



Two things I'd like to note:

- Sure, there's ice on my facial hair in all of those photos, but I've never frozen or gotten frostbite on any part of my face. That's just moisture getting caught on something and then freezing. It's NOT freezing my skin.

- The reason I'm so against the original image and wearing too many clothes is that it's DANGEROUS when it's that cold. You should never wear TOO LITTLE so that you freeze (duh), but when you wear TOO MUCH you get hot, start to take off layers and expose sweaty skin, and then THAT'S when you can really be in trouble. Sweaty skin hitting freezing temps is a recipe for frostbite.

Oh, and here are 4 of the links from that tumblr post:

Race report (and LOTS of photos) from the 20-25 below 0 10K.
My PSA from 2008 on how to run outside in the winter.
THEE most important layer to have on for winter running!!
That time I got frostbite on my penis. Click it. Thank me later.

5 comments:

Anonymous,  7:13 AM, November 19, 2014  

WOW! The original was clearly not written by someone who actually runs in the cold. I don't know that I've ever worn as many layers as they describe. By the "megarunr" system, shorts stay out until it gets below 35. Your corrections are a definite improvement.

Anonymous,  8:31 AM, November 19, 2014  

Seriously. WAY TOO MUCH CLOTHING. I'm wearing a tank top down into the low 40s and I'll see people out in that weather wearing every piece of clothing they own. Crazy fools.

Shinianen 10:58 AM, November 19, 2014  

Great commentary! I mean, I know we're MN hearty but ... yikes!!When I started reading this post I was like ... WTF?! Who wears a sweatshirt or fleece above 30 degrees? I would be dying!! (And yes, I have tried it, if only for vanity reasons - I ran the Monster Dash Half 2012 in my unicorn hat and furry fleece jacket... I think it was maybe 30 degrees at start time and I almost overheated at mile 6. Thankfully I had a wicking t underneath that I could strip down to).

Unknown 1:53 PM, November 19, 2014  

never in my entire running career living in boston have i worn that much clothing. - kim k (formerly known as teta equals booby)

T 4:12 PM, November 19, 2014  

few things personal to yours truly:
- breezy or sub-45/50: ear mitts come out (they cover only the ears and they are fantastic). i'm weird and cold ears means not good things for me.
- toque/hat comes out when it hits about freezing. otherwise, ear mitts and my standard visor work fine.
- pants/tights don't come out until about the time the hat comes out ... unless it's really snowy, in which case, exceptions are made due to wetness. legs are always the last to get cold.
- long sleeves don't come out until the low-40s (though i will sometimes layer a singlet under a long-sleeve just to keep my actual core temp up. helps with the breathing). warmer layers ... depends on wind, sun (or lack thereof), etc.
- gloves? it needs to be single digits. i hate running with gloves/mittens. i probably need to learn to do it, though ...

i'm also a "hot" runner, so i tend to warm up fairly quickly and tend to not need as many layers.

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