Cold Weather Running - Gear

[jem0622]

First of all, I am glad I bought a used treadmill off of Craigslist. We are using it daily in my household. However, I am thinking about outdoors. Right now, our route still has snow/ice on it. We go over the Monocacy River on the boulevard and loop around the office park. I don't even know that traversing that mess with Yak Trax is ideal. That bit of mess aside...what do you outdoor runners wear? I find that I cough incessantly after cold weather running. Thanks.

~Julie Miller

[Ron]

Hi Julie,

I'm more or less in the less is more  camp when it comes to dressing for winter running.  After a couple of miles your body generates plenty of heat, and I think at that point a lot of runners end up overdressed.  So then you sweat more, get wet, and then you'll just get colder.  At least that's how it goes for me; I sweat a lot more than most people, though.
A couple of wicking layers is usually the most that I'll wear outside, unless it's windy AND very cold (say, below 20).  Below 30 I'll usually tack on a hat and maybe gloves.
Lately when undecided, I've leaned more toward adding the gloves and hat over adding another body layer.  Having a warm head and hands seems to make the cold much more tolerable.  I wouldn't mind trying those arm sleeve only things sometime.  Whatever the case, stay away from the cotton if you'll be outside for any length of time at all, but you probably know that already.

When racing I'll get downright skimp.  Not quite at Ron Black's level (shirtless in January!), but usually just a shirt and shorts.

I'd love to get some yak trax someday, but I'm not sure if I'd get all that much use out of them around here.

 

[Steve Dobson]

I'm a cold weather weeny, but I agree with Ron about overdressing. This past Sunday, I had on four layers counting my Brooks Nitelife jacket (glorified windbreaker - but a least it's reflective), and was soon wishing I had put on less. I'm usually in long pants when the temps drop below 50. I'll put the hat and gloves on at 40. Usually I'll wear either a short or long sleeve tech shirt (depending on the temps) and a quarter zip. I'll add the jacket if it's windy. Definitely stay away from the cotton.

  I wouldn't mind trying those arm sleeve only things sometime. 

I once cut the toes out of tube socks and used them at the start of a marathon. Worked great and by the first water stop, I was able to chuck 'em.  Other runners was wondering why I was wearing a sweat shirt under my running shirt. 

I'd love to get some yak trax someday, but I'm not sure if I'd get all that much use out of them around here.

I'm not sure how well they will hold up but you could get plenty of opportunities up on the trails. 

[Brian P.]

A couple years ago I bought a lightweight jacket from Land's End or LL Bean - it's basically weather resistant light fleece outside and nylon inside.  It's very light and doesn't inhibit movement (it's supposed to be an outdoor or boating activity jacket), and boy is it warm.  I've worn it in the single digits with only a short sleeve shirt underneath and wasn't in the slightest bit cold.  I can't remember the name of the jacket, but it shouldn't be hard to find it (or something very much like it) in their catalog.

[tdebruyn]

Get some wool socks.  I swear by smartwool socks.  I typically get them at the LL Bean outlet in Hagerstown for quite a bit less than other retail stores.  I'm similar to Ron & Steve when it comes to dressing for the cold.   I ran with Steve Sunday morning on the trails and had a pair of tights, short & long sleeve shirt and a light weight jacket.  My head was pretty cold so I ended up wearing 2 hats (one of those under armour beanie ones & a fleece hat).  I also had the cheap cotton gloves they give away at the Frederick & Baltimore marathons.  My hands get too warm in much more than that.  For me....feet warm, head warm and I'm fine.

[jem0622]

Thanks all! I find that, even in my cold basement...I force myself to dress light and I am toasty in no time. I do have some light layers that I have amassed and they are the quick dry type. The route would be pretty friendly to me leaving a pile of layers if I had to...and then collect them up post run. Looks like the bridge is clear enough that we could pass it with no trouble. Just eyeball for black ice. I just need the wind to die down a little before I get brave. 

~Julie Miller

[veciii]

Hey Julie.  As you can probably tell from the responses, the answer to your question is pretty subjective.  Check out this site:  http://running.about.com/od/coldweatherrunning/a/wintergear.htm.  It pretty accurately summarizes what is out there.  I'd start out with a winter base layer, tights, gloves and hat.  (I pretty much wear the same socks year round.)  That's usually good for me down into the 30s except I actually usually wear two base layers.  (I wear a short sleeve underarmour shirt under my winter base layer.   

From there you can experiment with different things to get comfortable, maybe adding specialty items like windbreakers or waterproof items.  Figure this as the rule of thumb:  You should be cold for the first 10 minutes of your run but then comfortable.  Following this rule, I've never had to take off anything during a run. 

Go to eastbay if you want to get a flavor for all the products out there.  But you may want to go to a running store before you buy something.  I once bought a pair of gloves online for $10.  They ended up being equivalent to a pair of $1 women's polyester gloves.  (I wore the $1 version for a marathon because I could just throw them on the road when I warmed up and wouldn't care.  I ended up keeping them and buying a few more pairs.)         

[Erin]

Hey Julie,

I always dress like it's 20 degrees warmer than what it really is...seems to work for me.  I start out a little chilly, but end up feeling "just right" after I get going...

erin

[veciii]

In addition to YaxTrax, here are some other alternatives:

Ice Bugs:  http://www.garmontusa.com/icebug.html  These seem wicked cool

Microspikes:  http://www.kahtoola.com/

Screw Shoes:  http://www.skyrunner.com/screwshoe.htm

My trail running shoes seemed to do fine except going up hills on compacted snow and ice.