Baby, It’s Cold Outside! 6 Tips for Cold Weather Running

Snow fell here today -- notice the palm trees in front!

A request from Running Buddy reader KN came in this week:

“You need to talk about running when it is cold out.  Once the warm days are done I have a problem going outside and running.  I don’t like not being able to sweat and getting all itchy…..”

On the occasion of the coldest day this winter in the Bay Area (it dropped into the 30s last night and the Marin mountaintops even received a rare dusting of snow), I thought today would be a good opportunity to answer the question: How do you force yourself outside to run in conditions only a polar bear could love?

There are plenty of practical tips out there for cold-running safety, which you can find here.  But rarely do these articles address the number one issue: getting out the door in the first place.  So, in no particular order, here are six tips to help turn you from Brr-some Billy into Toasty Tom (or, from Frigid Frieda into Balmy Betty):

1. Don’t run outside. This one might seem obvious, but it’s a great tip.  If you don’t want to run outside, run at your gym.  Or on a treadmill in your house, if you’re lucky enough to have one.  Trust me, I hate stationary running as much as the next guy, but there’s something liberating about running in a tank top and shorts while the poor souls outside trudge by your gym in their hats, boots, and scarves.   If you don’t listen to music when you run outside (and I don’t), I certainly recommend doing so inside.  People-watching in your gym is only entertaining for so long – after a while, the silent 24-hour news channels on the TVs hanging 30-feet away and the guy in the corner with the weird dumbbell technique get old.  Bring your iPod!
2. 

   Run with me!

   Bring your dog. Ninety percent of the discomfort of running in the cold comes from your brain constantly thinking about the fact that it’s cold, not the actual fact that it’s cold outside. Bringing your dog with you takes your mind off the temperature.  Who can’t resist laughing at Fido when he bounds a few feet ahead of you, slides into the snow, and then turns around and looks at you with a newly snowed-on Santa’s beard?

3. Run with others. “But Phil, I don’t have a dog!”  Okay, it’s a lame excuse, but I’ll accept it just this once.  Perhaps you don’t actually have a dog.  Then find a person!  While your best running buddy might not be keen to dive headfirst into the fluffy stuff and show off his new Santa’s Beard, he’ll be the perfect conversation partner, doing a great job of keeping your mind off how cold it is.
4. Avoid running when it’s snowing out. While running through snow on the ground can be fun (though you need to be careful when doing so), running while it’s actually snowing out isn’t the best idea. The situation that actually makes running in the cold noticeably uncomfortable is being wet while doing so, and falling snow melts on your hat and clothes while you’re running. This helps to ensure you’re always encased in wet clothing.  Not only is this uncomfortable, but it can be dangerous.  If you’re running outside in cold weather and get too wet, you’re at risk for hypothermia and should get inside as quickly as possible, and follow these hypothermia safety tips.
5. Don’t wear clothing that is too heavy. Instinctively, when we hear it’s cold outside, we know we have to bundle up, piling layer upon layer to keep our body heat inside.  When you’re running, this is only partially true.  Yes, you need to keep as much of your skin and head surface covered as possible to keep your warmth inside.  But as you run, and especially when you’re running, your body does an incredibly efficient job of generating body heat.  So much so, that too many extra layers can cause you to sweat excessively, which makes you wet, and therefore cold, as we pointed out in Tip 4.  So while it may be counterintuitive to do so, staying warm while running in cold weather actually means wearing fewer and lighter layers.  That doesn’t mean you should head out into 25-degree weather with nothing but a long-sleeve t-shirt to cover your top, but you should make sure that you have a breathable inner layer, like a Dri-Fit shirt that will wick sweat away from your body, along with a weather-resistant outer shell that will keep the biting cold wind and any precipitation out.  It may take a few tries with a few different options in your running wardrobe, but you will find the right fit!
6. Move. Okay, this might be a cop-out tip, but I followed it, and it’s been working wonders!  It did drop into the 30s here last evening, but all winter long our high temperature only occasionally fails to reach 50 degrees, and when the sun is out, it’s positively delightful.  If frequent Abominable Snowman sightings during your daily run are not your cup of tea, move south!  The extra doses of vitamin D from the surplus days of sunshine will also be a boost to your spirits, helping to fight against Seasonal Affective Disorder.

With these five tips, you should have a new arsenal of motivation to get your butt out the door when all you want to do is curl up inside by the fireplace and take a nap.  What are some of your favorite techniques for motivating yourself to run when it’s cold out?

Snow photo by the Marin Independent Journal.  Puppy photo by jcptalbot.

Tagged as: cold weather, dri fit, hypothermia, Running