Last weekend I set out for my weekend “long run” of 5 1/2 miles. After the progress I’ve made over the last several weeks increasing my speed, distance and comfort with running (inside and outside), I didn’t expect 5 1/2 miles to be that difficult.
It was the day of the Chicago Marathon and while I ran no wear near a marathon, each step felt like I was! It was an absolutely beautiful day in the Chicago area but we are smack dab in the middle of fall and as expected, it was chilly.
Regardless, I finished my run. My hip flexors were sore, my legs still cold and as it turns out, one of my toes was bleeding through my sock. While each of these issues had their own reason for happening and solution (ie: buy new shoes and cut your toe nails dumbie!), it was also a reminder that I’ve never run in cold weather before.
You see, I first started running my last summer living in New Jersey. As the summer came to an end, I moved to LA where weather hardly exists and most of my running was kept inside (or relatively short bursts). We’re now in new times, with a new (old) location, new health concerns to think about and new and improved distances.
As soon as I came home, I made note that I needed to search for some cool weather running tips to make sure that I stay healthy and injury free. And because I would hate to leave you hanging, here’s a few of the best and that I found to be the most helpful.
While I saw many of the same tips on many different sites, it wouldn’t be fair for me to not give any credit. The best of the best (to me) came from Running.About.com and RunnersWorld.com.
What are some of your cool weather running tips?
Good tips!! I ran thursday morning (6am eek!!) and it was in the 30s…I think I dressed well but my lungs were telling me to get back inside and go back to bed. 😉
I was also reading that it takes a few runs for your lungs to get used to the colder weather.
Great advice! I’m bad about over dressing then getting too hot!
Well now you know: dress as if it’s 20 degrees warmer. 🙂
thanks for sharing this! you should check shut up and run’s site for safety tips. she’s a huge advocate.
props on the 5.5 mile run. i am trying to build my mileage back up as well. possibly going to go later tonight, but that’s up for debate with my ankle.
Don’t over work that ankle! And we still need to find a 5k/10k to run together! 😉
In Chicago during the snowy winter…my best tip is run on the grass and not the path/sidewalk. There is less ice! I love thse cool morning runs. I actually ran in the rain today and because it wasn’t too cold, I loved it!
That’s such a great tip! And I never would have thought of that, I guess I’d just assume it would be worse. And since I’m back in Chi-town now, I’m totally taking this to note. 😉
I agree with warming up before you go outside, I do a ton of star jumps or some weights then hit it!
Great ideas!
I think the best advice is not to dress too warm – it might be cold when you start but as soon as you get moving it heats up FAST!
Absolutely! I found “dressing as if it’s 20 degrees warmer” to be the perfect way to think about dressing vs. over dressing.