7 Winter Running Tips

For all my northern Midwest friends, winter is upon us.  We slid into work this morning, tried to remember where we put our Yaktrax back in March, and are working on building motivation to run in the cold, dark nights that are going to be with us for the next few months.

I can finally say that I am adjusted to my rest cycle and have now been able to enjoy the free time – getting to my Christmas shopping early, deep cleaning my apartment, spending time with old friends, logging a few extra hours at work.  It took time, but now I am realizing the benefit to taking a true rest from running. I have been running maybe twice a week, but nothing fast or long – max 5 miles or so at a conversational pace.  I realize that in the past I would start a training cycle already really in shape – granted, it’s nice to feel like you can kill any workout, but part of training is to get yourself in shape, and then sharpen your abilities.  I am excited about starting training on December 1^st with fresh legs, a 100% healthy body, and to have all my personal and professional life responsibilities in order. 

One other benefit of resting, is that I haven’t had to head out in the cold very much!  I have had quite a few people asking me for winter running advice the last few weeks, so in light of that, and getting myself motivated to head out the door in a few days, here are my top 7 winter running tips.

1 – A great thing about running in the dark is that you can see cars coming really easily – but you want to know what’s more important than that?  THEY NEED TO SEE YOU! Please try and wear something that is reflective – a vest, reflective details on your jackets or pants, blinking lights, there’s Velcro reflectors you can put around your wrists or ankles.  Seriously – anything helps.  Lots of running outwear is black, but wearing something with a color, topped with reflective gear will help you to not end up underneath a sliding car. 

2 – The second thing in terms of importance in my book is being able to see.  I’m a big fan of head lamps (or torches as they are called in England!) and it can really help you out on those dark nights.  I have a couple Petzl’s and they work really well.  If you have had yours sitting in a drawer since last winter, go ahead and change the batteries right away. If it’s been a while since you’ve used it, you may not realize how dim it really is, and being out on a run in winter when your head lamp dies is not a good time.  I don’t always like to wear head lamps, so in that case I will go to residential areas that are well lit.  If there isn’t any snow on the roads I’ll try and choose a neighborhood that had pretty new roads and just run loops there.  The newer pavement helps lessen your chances of tripping.  If there’s snow on the roads, I try and pick roads that aren’t traveled on much, and will run in the road on the fresh snow.  Sidewalks get icy and are a constant set of mini hurdles, so I prefer road but NEVER with music.  Which leads me to…

3 – Use all your senses.  Your vision will be greatly impaired when you’re running at night – there’s lots of shadows, dark areas, headlights that practically blind you, so I focus more on using my sense of smell and my hearing.  I NEVER wear earbuds when running at night – as a woman, you have to be aware of your surroundings (and everyone needs to be aware of cars, dogs, creaking tree branches, even owls!) so keep the iPod at home and listen to what’s going on around you.  You may think that my saying I use my sense of smell is odd – but it really helps me to know who is around.  You can notice a person’s cigarette smoke or cologne very quickly in contrast to the crisp smell of winter, so you can figure out where someone is at without them even making a sound. 

4 – Dress in layers, and not just any layers, but tech fiber layers.  Most people have a tendency to wear way more than they need to as soon as the temperature drops below 45° or so.  With keeping that in mind, you should expect to be cold for the first ten minutes or so of your run.  To help be as comfortable as you can you need two things – keep your core warm with your first layer being a snug fitting tech fiber shirt, and invest in a good pair of tech fiber running tights.  Having a base layer that fits you snugly and wicks away moisture will keep you more comfortable.  I prefer to wear running sleeves instead of a long sleeve shirt, because if I get too warm I can just pull them off and then use them as Kleenex.  (kinda gross, I know, but very practical!)  I love keeping my ears covered once it gets below 35° or so, and I almost always have gloves or mittens with.  If there’s more than a 10mph breeze out there, try and wear a windbreaker type jacket and pants of similar material over your tights – it will help a LOT.

Sporting the layers with two wonderful people I used to coach. 2008.

5 – Lotion.  You can have the perfect layers on, a reflective vest, and the warmest hat ever, but WOW does it hurt when your face gets cold and you start getting icicles on your eyelashes.  My favorite line of defense for this is to put lotion on my face, and thick chap stick on my lips.  It provides another layer of protection from the cold and makes it a lot more bearable.  You may still get little icicles on your eyelashes, but you’ll appreciate them more as being pretty than a miserable side effect of your face feeling like it’s going to freeze off. 

6 – If it’s windy outside, do your best to start into the wind, and have the wind at your back as you head home.  If you start out with the wind it will be a harsh reality when you turn around – you likely worked up a bit of a sweat and once that frigid air is in your face your temp will drop – quickly. 

7 – Watch your footing!!  This may seem like a no-brainer, but every year I have running friends that take a digger, get injured, slip and fall on ice – it’s a hazard of living in the upper Midwest, but with a couple precautions you can really diminish you chances of falling and injuring yourself.  First – wear Yaktrax.  They go on over your shoe and provide a LOT of added traction. Secondly – Do yourself a favor and don’t try and do speedwork or even strong pick ups outside if there’s even a hint of ice anywhere.  You’re just asking for it.  And lastly – if the weather is really bad, you’ve recently had an ice storm, or there’s more than two inches of fresh powder, just find a treadmill – any treadmill, and do your miles there.  Your chances of wiping out and pulling/breaking/tweaking something increase exponentially when it truly gets bad, so just play it safe and stay inside.  (Or throw on your snowshoes/skiis/snowboard for a different kind of workout.)  Your 2014 racing season will thank you.