Cold Weather Running (Spring/Fall)

Having no clues to running in cold weather, I went across the globe to seek the help of my running friend, CP Waterman, for some insights. He hails from Malaysia but has been living in Paris for some years and so would certainly know a thing or two about this subject. Waterman himself is a fast runner and is aiming to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Here's his take.

"Weather forecast here in Paris for tomorrow morning is 11°C and that means COLD! The thought of going out for a run immediately sends chill down my spine. Being an equatorial creature, I detest running in the cold. There are just too many things that my body cries out in loudest protest.

Since most of the major Marathons in the world are run under similar weather condition ( 10°C to 14°C at the start) either in Spring (April - London, Paris, Boston etc) or in the Fall (October, November - Amsterdam, New York City etc), my thought of qualifying for Boston soon won over the battle. To stay in the game I must brave the storm, I mean the chill and the gale and whatever!

So it’s a question of how best to prepare ourselves for training runs and eventually how best to run in the race to mitigate all the possible discomforts associated with the cold weather.

Training runs
This is the easy part because if you don’t get it right you can always call it a day and head home for the warm cozy bed. But you can’t afford that if it is a race.

1) Head - Weather can be very erratic you may get a gale wind accompanying so it’s best you have something to cover your ears. So, I used an ear band to protect my ears from the cold and at the same time my earphone sits better and I get better sound effect from my MP3.

2) Hands – This is one that deters me from hitting the road because my palms freeze especially when it is windy. So don’t leave home without a pair of gloves!

3) Upper Body – A track top over your normal climacool T shirt will usually do the trick but you may want to consider a wind breaker especially when you have a strong ghastly wind to battle with.

4) Running shorts – At this stage you don’t normally need to wear a long winter tight unless you have extreme cold phobia.

5) Shoes and socks – wear your usual climacool socks and a good pair of running shoes.All well said and done but if you discover that mid way into your training the weather picks up and you are now cooking in your outfit, then its time to take off your ear band and gloves and put them into your track top or wind breaker. And if you like, remove your track top or wind breaker and tie it round your waist.

At 10°C and above you won’t have breathing problem inhaling the cold air instead you will feel a lot easier at these temperatures.Oh yes, don’t forget to drink just as often. You may not feel thirsty but believe me your body needs that fluid!

Racing
Like I mentioned earlier racing is altogether different in that you can’t afford too many mistakes. Below are just some of the practical aspects I found useful when I race in the cold.1) Wear an ear band if it is windy.

2) I always wear a pair of gloves. Period!

3) I wear a jumper which I will discard shortly after the start when my body has warmed up sufficiently. You don’t want to race with your track top round your waist because you will lose precious seconds!

4) On top of the jumper I wear a plastic bin bag (100L size) to break the morning pre race cold!

5) I bring along a milk bottle filled with energy drink (the cap is larger than that of the normal water bottle). I will do slight warm up to keep warm in the waiting line up (expect to find thousands upon thousands of runners in front of you and thousands upon thousands behind you!). By time I finish the drink the empty milk bottle will now serve a different important purpose under the cover of the dark color bin bag, if you catch my drift (strictly for guys!).

6) Then if the weather turns for the bad and ugly midway, sorry mate, I am afraid you will just have to put on your gloves and ear band and grind your teeth and fight the race like a MAN or WOMAN. Yeah!

7) You may want to bring along disposable wipes and tissue paper as waiting for the race start in the cold may induce a minor runny nose. The wipes and tissue will come in handy for toilet use as well.Voila, there you have it. Whether you are taking the Boston challenge or hunting down the NYC route, happy training and keep running!"

Waterman
Paris
3/9/2007