Cold Weather Running

So, maybe its not snowing YET, but it was pretty cold in NYC this week.

Here in NYC this week we experienced a SIGNIFICANT temperature decrease.  For many people, this brings on thoughts of late nights in a ski lodge, or ice skating in central park, or even the excitement of holidays looming right around the corner.  For me, this brings back the nerves of running in the cold.  When I first started running it was the end of February, and I remember very clearly the icicles on my eyelashes… and it wasn’t even the coldest part of the year.  I think sometimes the best way to overcome your fears is to be as prepared as possible. So I’ve started doing some research about how to tackle running in the cold, and I’ve found out some pretty interesting things.  I turned to two of my favorite resources: NYRR and Active.com and here are three of the things I will definitely be applying starting now:

1. Don’t be afraid of the burning in your lungs, it goes away after a few cold runs.

The last time I ran in the cold I was definitely severely affected by this.  Running in the cold sometimes gives me a cough that lasts all day.  I’m hoping that this year, with the whole winter ahead of me, my lungs will adjust.  I’m thinking maybe my lungs just hate the cold in general because I had a very similar reaction to the cold water during the Trisprint last month.  After that, I coughed for almost a full 24 hours.  I’m definitely going to do more research on what exactly this means… and what I can do to make it better.

2. Hydration is still important.

This is very important for me because I am not great about keeping myself hydrated to begin with.  I think from years of drinking mostly diet coke (SO terrible) I’m out of practice with consuming the amount of water I should in a day.  Many many times I feel the results of the not being hydrated, and I think in the winter its even easier to not drink the right amount of water because the cool weather doesn’t necessarily serve as a great reminder.  If anyone out there has found something that helps them take in more water on a day to day basis I’d love to hear it!! Share the wealth 🙂

3. Less is more when it comes to what to wear. 

My gut instinct when heading out into the frozen tundra that is the tri-state area during the winter months has always been to put on as many super thick, heavy layers as possible.  After reading the articles on both NYRR and Active.com I found that the opposite is actually the most beneficial.  I don’t own a lot of cold weather running clothes- guess I have an excuse to go shopping!- but from reading both of these articles it seems like the best choice is some thermal running pants, some type of tech shirt, and something to cover my ears.  While I’m always very surprised how quickly I warm up while running, I’ll be interested to see if this “less is more” tactic is affective.

With my half marathon sneaking up very quickly… Just seven weeks away!!!!… and the possibility of it being very cold, I know these techniques and any others I come across will be so important to my success.  This is especially true on training days.  On race day, I’m sure that no matter what the temperature, adrenaline will take over BUT as it gets colder… forcing myself out of the house for early morning runs will be harder and harder.

It always seems like just as I’ve started to become “comfortable” in my workout routine, a wrench gets thrown in it.  This time, its the cold.  It makes me think of something Ryan Makely (one of my favorite Flywheel instructors) always says… “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.” So I guess the cold is just another challenge.  After my experience at the Trisprint though, I’m very intimidated by the thought of how my body will react to the extremely cold days this winter is sure to bring.  Trust me when I say, there will be PLENTY more about this obstacle, as the winter moves into NYC.

If you want to read more from the articles I talked about above, here are the links:

https://www.active.com/running/Articles/4-Cold-Weather-Running-Tips-for-Beginners.htm
http://www.nyrr.org/train-with-us/injury-prevention/staying-healthy/cold-weather-running-tips

Crystal

@fitcrys

#FITJ