The snow is back but the training continues and this morning while running less than 10K from my house I began thinking about some my cold weather races and how I had traveled almost halfway around the world for the experience. Today all it had cost me was a lie in and it's a long time since I've had such an enjoyable run. The snow had turned a familiar route into something new and I could have been anywhere in the world.
The secret to running in cold weather is dressing in layers and you need to be comfortably warm when inactive (standing around) and comfortably cold when active. The pace you intend running and the air temperature will determine what you wear and you want to run fast enough that you generate enough heat to keep warm but not too much heat that you sweat. The problem with sweating is that when you slow down the sweat which is trapped in your clothing / hat will get very cold and maybe freeze which will in turn conduct heat away from your body over 100 times faster than if dry!!
I always wear a hat and gloves in cold weather as as soon as I feel my body temperature rising I take off the hat which helps release heat similar to the effect of taking the top off a flask. I then put it on or take it off as required. A long sleeve turtle neck top with a zip front will also serve a similar purpose and prevent too many stops when trying to regulate your body temperature.
Dress to live the part not look the part.
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North Pole 2004
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| Yukon 2005 |
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Yukon 2005
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| Antarctica 2006 |
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Antarctica 2006
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| Maynooth, Co.Kildare 2010 |
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| Maynooth, Co.Kildare 2010 |
Running in snow is very hard for me...Keep it up..Looks like your doing well...
ReplyDelete--I prefer running without shoes. My toes didn't get cold. Besides, if I'm in front from the start, no one can step on them. ~Michelle Dekkers - smartwool socks