The Secrets of Winter Running

With my second half marathon two months away (Feb. 6th!) I start training again for the 13.1 distance in a few weeks. But the biggest difference this time: the weather!

I began training for my first half marathon in August. The weather was warm, and as my runs got longer, the weather went from sticky and humid to crisp and cool–the perfect running weather. I enjoyed every single one of my long runs outside in gorgeous Fall weather and got to enjoy watching the leaves change before my eyes. And I loved every minute of training!

This time, I’m starting in the middle of Winter, or technically the beginning, since Winter actually starts on December 21st (but it feels like the dead of winter here in Upstate NY.) Most of my week night runs have been on the treadmill, since it’s too dark outside for me to run in rural setting after work. And its also hunting season and I don’t want to get mistaken for a deer during the day. So, I went to the high school track to run a five miler a few weeks ago. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t fun either. Welcome to winter.

Last year I didn’t run at all outside from November – April. This year, I’m hoping to change that by doing at least a few of my long runs on the weekend either at the track or in a town nearby. One thing that has me stumped so far is how to dress! I miss the days where I could throw on a long sleeve technical shirt and cropped running tights and be comfortable. Now, I find myself freezing to death crying tears from the wind under too many layers.

I haven’t figured out the secrets about how to dress for this weather yet, but I’ve been asking around. Amanda recently told me to dress for 20 degrees warmer than it is outside. Meaning, if its 20 degrees, dress like it would be 40, since you’re going to get warm while running anyway! Here’s what I’ve learned so far.

• Ear-warming headbands work wonders. I have a fleece one right now that I’ve been using until my Nike running headband that I ordered arrives. The one I use now doesn’t wick sweat away, so it gets wet, but it keeps my ears warm for now! It also keeps my hair and earbuds in place. I can’t wait to get my new Nike one.
• Layer…but not too much! I went for a run with Chris last weekend in 28 degrees..and we layered TOO much. I felt like I was wearing 200 pounds of clothing. But what did work were my running tights. I was wearing my cold gear tights underneith a pair of sweatpants, and that seemed to keep my leggies warm.
• My new gap running jacket is awesome, but its not warm enough for really cold weather! It was fine when I went to the track because when I got warmed up I could throw off my sweatshirt and just wear the running jacket, but that was because I had a place to throw the sweatshirt! When I’m running on the road I don’t have anywhere to throw my stuff, so I’m investing in a cold weather running jacket, as a Christmas present to myself! 🙂

If you run, how do you handle this weather? Do you stay inside on the treadmill or brave the cold? If you run outside–what the heck do you wear to stay warm?! What are the other secrets?