Tips for Cold Weather Running

The following are some cold-weather running tips. Most of the tips involve some good common sense in the severe conditions.

1. Adjust the intensity of your workout.
2. Keep your head covered and your hands and feet warm as a significant amount of our heat loss comes from our extremities.
3. Warm up properly, start your runs at a comfortable pace and slowly build up the pace to a pace slower than your normal training pace.
4. Shorten your stride to improve your footing on icy roads. Wear Ice Grips over the soles of your shoes for greater traction.
5. Carry your cellphone.
6. Wind chill does not measure temperature; it measures the rate of cooling. On a day with high wind chill, prepare for the wind.
7. Run into the wind for the first part of your run and with the wind on the return portion.
8. When running by yourself, run in a loop in case you need to cut the run short.
9. Cover all exposed skin. If you or your running partner have exposed skin, be aware of each other to prevent frostbite.
10. In the winter it’s dark, so wear reflective gear and run facing the traffic in order to be more visible.
11. Mittens are warmer than gloves.
12. Drink water on any run over 45 minutes.
13. Use a lip protector (like a lip balm such as ChapStick) or Body Glide on your lips, nose and ears.
14. Gentlemen, wear a wind brief.
15. Do speed work indoors on dry surfaces.
16. Be aware of hypothermia for both yourself and those running with you. Hypothermia is a drop in your core body temperature. Signs of hypothermia include incoherent, slurred speech, clumsy fingers and poor coordination. At the first sign, get to a warm, dry place and seek medical attention. You are more likely to experience difficulty on a wet and windy day.
17. Do not accelerate or decelerate quickly in the cold weather.
18. Make sure your changes in direction are gradual to avoid slipping or pulling muscles that are not properly warmed up.
19. Freezing your lungs is just not possible. The air is sufficiently warmed by the body prior to entering the lungs. If you find the cold air uncomfortable, wear a face mask; it will help warm the air.
20. Wear a single pair of thermal socks to stay warm.
21. Take your wet clothes off and get dry ones on as soon as possible.
22. Wear your water bottle under your jacket to keep it from freezing.
23. Review runner safety. Safety is even more important in the winter with less light and far more ice and other obstacles on the running paths and roads.