The Pleasures And Perils Of Winter Running

On any given day, the hardest part of my run is getting out of bed.

The space inside my covers is warm and comfortable; outside this zone it is much colder. And traumatic though this initial transition might be, stepping out my door will put me in an environment that is colder yet.

Looking out the window, I see a hostile, unforgiving world — frost on the rhododendron leaves, dreary clouds, the sound of icy rain pattering on the roof. I'd like to say I've never given in to sloth, but the truth is that on plenty of these mornings, I've pulled the covers back up and forgotten the run that I had planned. That's a shame, because I've found that once I actually go down to the road and hit my stride, it's never as bad as I thought it would be.

The pleasures of running in our area this time of year include missing the bugs, intense heat and humidity of summertime. On a good winter run, there's something stimulating about the cold air on skin and in lungs that are burning with the heat of exertion. Going past the houses, you pick up the drift of wood smoke. And then at last, the snow begins to fall, making the landscape white and beautiful.

Wonderful as these runs can be, the right clothes make the difference between comfort and misery. Balance is the key here. Wear too little and you can expect to freeze up, but bulky clothing can restrict movement — or make you sweat until you soak the clothes, and get chilled.

I worry most about my head and hands, which are prone to lose the most heat. If temperatures are in the mid-40s, I'll wear my shorts and T-shirt, but put on a hat and gloves. This might look kind of stupid, but it regulates my temperature perfectly. If I find myself getting too warm, it's easy to take off the hat and carry it — not like the bother of carrying an unneeded jacket.

If it gets a little colder, I'll do long sleeves but keep the shorts. Colder yet and I'll add a light nylon windbreaker or layer of fleece, with tights or puma pants for bottoms. Oftentimes, I'll keep the running shorts on underneath because I find they glide well and add extra warmth. Chafing, the unpleasant foe of long distance runners can be more of a threat in winter. Vaseline or band-aids over nipples and other sensitive areas can prevent lots of unnecessary suffering. 

Clothing made of breathable tech fibers is better than clothing made cotton or wool because of its ability to draw off moisture, hence reducing the chance of catching cold after sweating up a big hill and meeting an icy wind on the other side.

This shouldn't mean that anybody who wants to run in winter has to shell out for a $50 performance shirt. They're ready to sell it to you, but chances are you don't need it.  Last year, Ocean State Job Lot had some perfectly good $5 polypropylene long-sleeves on sale. You can even get away with wearing cotton some of the time; it won't kill you. Running, not brand name clothing, makes the runner a runner.

Other than shoes, the most expensive pieces of running apparel I wear in winter are my massive ski mittens. Because of  lousy circulation, my hands become miserably cold with even a moderate dip in temperature.  Plenty of my friends have run comfortably barehanded when I had lost sensation in my fingers wearing gloves. This illustrates the concept that clothing needs are different for different people. The pace you run at, as well as your own personal fortitude will make a big difference in your running attire.

Running wisdom also says that cold muscles are at greater risk of injury.  Hence, now it is even more important to warm up before any kind of workout.

There are lots of ways to do this. On my college team, we had a series of elaborate exercises and stretches that we would go through before any run. Now that I am running solo and unwilling to spend the extra time, I generally run at a slower pace for about a mile or so and then stop for a few minutes to stretch out the kinks. I'll stretch out again after the run. It's debatable as to whether this is the best way to do things, but so far I've avoided injury. In order to prevent strain or tear, it's important to do some kind of warm up before stretching. Otherwise, you are stretching cold tissue.

As in winter driving, winter running requires vigilance on icy days. One nasty fall can mean an injury that will undo months of training. I've heard of runners who put screws in their shoes in order to boost traction. This I haven't tried, however, I have put Yak Trax, similar to snow chains, on my shoes. They work fine for a while, but it doesn't take many miles until wear and tear render them useless.

When it gets really cold - down to the teens, to zero, below zero - items like wind pants, fleece socks and insulated underwear are armor against the toughest conditions.

Then there's the fleece mask that I have with little breathing holes in front of the mouthpiece. One benefit is that it covers up the nose and the face from the wind and cold, reducing frostbite risk, and also warms the air outside before it enters the lungs. When it gets very cold, icy air can be a real shocker to the respiratory system. The mask reduces this, but also makes my breathing louder, and more unnatural. The loud breathing, combined with the dark mask, make me feel like a low budget Darth Vader when I go by the normal people picking the morning paper out of their driveways.

Tom Fagin has run cross-country throughout high school and college. He ran the Green Mountain Marathon in October, finishing third, with a time of 2:46.