Hello everyone!
As promised, allow me to introduce my first guest blogger Alex from Running Just as Fast as I Can. Since it's becoming cold outside (or is already!) I thought it was important to provide information about cold weather running. It's January and many of us are signed up for races or just want to exercise more! So, without further ado, here's Alex:
The lovely Julie, asked me to put together a post about cold weather running. As I am a guest blogging virgin, be gentle with me ladies!
In the past I have stuck to the treadmill in the winter. It is obviously a lot easier and you can watch TV (yeah!). But in the past three years, I have been training for marathons and I have found that you can’t train on the treadmill. You have to do some outside running.
Obviously, Maryland and Pennsylvania aren’t the arctic, but it is still cold in the winter. So here are my tips (some stolen from other runners, but I will take credit):
- Experiment with layering. I still haven’t mastered it! I find that lots of thinner layers are much better than one really thick layer. For example, a long sleeve t-shirt and my North Face Denali jacket are okay for short runs, but for longer runs I will wear a short sleeve technical t-shirt under a Nike cold weather turtleneck and then put a fleece vest (L.L. Bean) over that. For me personally, my chest and butt get the coldest, so that is where I load up on the layers
- I have always been really partial to Nike, but I am recently finding that Under Armour is also really great for cold weather. I know that running clothes are really expensive too, so I only buy 2-3 pieces of each type of clothing. (2 pairs of tights, 2 turtlenecks, etc.) I just wash my clothes all the time.
- Keep moving. I know there are times when you want to slow down or walk, but the minute I do, I am so cold. That makes it so hard to start again. For that reason, I try to push on through. If I am really hurting, I will shorten my mileage rather than walking.
- Always wear a hat and gloves. I am a hat girl. I have a Nike fleece hat that has a hole in the back for my ponytail. I absolutely love it! Also, a guy from my running club recommended mittens over gloves because it allows you fingers to stay warmer.
- In regards to hydration, I am a big drinker. I consume fluids like crazy, so any run that is 8 miles or over, I always run with a water bottle full of Gatorade. My running friends don’t drink anything and it drives me crazy!
- Make sure to change out of your running clothes as soon as possible. If we run away from home, I always bring a spare set of clothes in my car. I change as soon as we are finished, so that I can keep my temperature up. Otherwise I am freezing!!
Obviously I am not expert, but this is what I have found from my experience. I hope this helps and any suggestions are always welcome!
Smooches,
Alex from Running Just as Fast as I Can (alexandrarusso24@gmail.com)
