How cold can you go...running?

Kori Martini

I'm tagging along onto the thread about cold biking....and asking about running. How cold does everyone run in? I used to run in just about everything. I live outside of Detroit, and I think the coldest I ran in so far was like -18F a few years back. I think it was a stupid move. As I've gotten older, I am getting more wimpy. I ran outside two days ago in a windchill of 3F. I felt like I was frozen when I got home and felt somewhat shaky the rest of the day.

While I DESPISE the treadmill, I've grown more drawn to it with each passing winter. So tell me....where do you draw the line? What helps make the cold runs better? How do you stay motivated to get out the door? Do you ever run with Yak Traks or added traction or just look for pavement wherever you can?

 

Carl

Treadmill all winter here now!!! Fell on ice two years ago and knocked myself out!!!

Will bike outside till about 30 degrees then all on trainer!!

[Deleted User]

I'll run outside until about -20 F (with windchill). If you're wearing the right gear, it's not so bad.

The colder it is, the shorter I'll make the run. If the temp is -20 F, I'll cap the run at about 30 minutes max.

Aside from vDot testing, you'll never see me on a treadmill.

Disclaimer: I am Canadian

Steve West

@ Kori - I'm with you on the effects of age on my cold running mojo. Decades ago winter camping in the ADKs it was normal to long weekends to several weeks camping, winter mountaineering, and ice climbing in temps well into the minus teens and below. Now-a-days I am hard pressed to run in single digits.

I don't mind running in the teens or above as long as the roads are relatively clear. The conditions I hate most are slushy, mashed potato snow and temps in the low 30's. But I have to say, I have no problem deadmilling. Just this past run challenge I did back to back deadmill half marathons on consecutive days. I still have a goal to deadmill a marathon @ BQ pace - that would be fun! Sorta.....

Yep, Canadian's are different...... My hat is off to you Brent and all your crazy Canadian friends!

@ Carl - what ever happened to the 'bad ass' honey badger? You slackin off?

Dino Sarti

In SoCal? About 45-50 degrees....

Al Truscott

 For me in the Pac NW, its not cold but wet that sometimes sends me indoors. But in CO, I've run @ -6F without a problem. Just having sunshine and no rain was a bonus! The colder it is, of course, the better grip there is on packed snow. The trick is layers and breathability, as well as planning the run to minimze time away time between ending the run and being somewhere warm&dry. 

Brenda Ross

I'm with Brent, but if there is a really good wind going on, I find that just cuts me in half, when the temp is -15F and below so it all depends and if the footing is shit, I will put myself on the mill.

Joseph Lombardi

 Ditto on Age impacting my chillin mojo...I was raised in the Northeast (when we had cold winters) and went to school in Wisconsin and have run in some pretty cold stuff...below zero...but these days...I'm ok pulling the plug below  freezing (actually below 30)and taking it indoors....especially if it is windy...if it is cold even 20's but the sun is out ...I'm fine...

coop6

Kori, I grew up south of Detroit, and my husband and I still have a lot of family and friends in Michigan. We didn't move anywhere warmer though, I'm freezing along with you still in the Midwest. I'm drawing the stay inside line now at 20 degrees. I've had asthma my whole life, and it's better in some ways now and worse in others. Last winter a doctor told me to just stay inside if the temps are really cold, or run in this thing that looks like a Darth Vadar mask. The Vadar getup was $30, and looked ridiculous so I've been on the mill mostly. I can watch the runnersicles go by my house while I'm on the treadmill, and I kinda wish I was out there with them, sometimes.

Previously, I'd run outside until it hit single digits. The disposable hand and foot warmers are awesome. Mizuno breathe thermal is a great base layer. I've used yaxtrax, but they are really good only if your entire run is on snow or ice covered roads. My running tends to be a mix of clean pavement and poorly shoveled sidewalks and yaxtrax on clean pavement are like fingernails scraping on a blackboard.

Carolyn Yeo

I find it hard early in the winter and then I adjust. After living in PEI Canada I feel I can run in anything. The cold wind in PEI is crazy off the ocean and winter lasts until June. That being said, I bought a treadmill yesterday. Maybe my tune will change.

Satish Punna

 I tried yak traks one winter and the bottoms of my feet reaaally hurt after any run longer than an hour. 

Satish Punna

 We get our fair share of cold weather out here.  Currently it's -18c outside.  I think one can run in just about any temperature if properly attired, and that includes Vaseline on exposed skin if necessary.  If its sunny and there is little wind, all the more so.  Where it gets dicey is if its cloudy and/or wet, and windy.  Those conditions usually send me inside.  Also, from a headspace point of view, if its early am, dark, and less than -10 (absolute or windchill) that usually keeps me inside.   Its just -easier- . Having said that,  the windchill or feels like temperature doesn't matter to me as much as absolute temperature however, since its only parts that are exposed to the wind that feel this effect and it can be mitigated (vaseline on face), particularly if you are wearing a wind proof outer layer.  Clear eye protection to keep the wind out of your eyes is also really useful when running in the cold.   Precipitation (snow or heavy rain) and icy conditions will send me inside every time. I fell on ice during a tempo run and damaged my shoulder a while back and that's not something I wish on anyone. 

cgres123

In New Jersey it can get a chill here and then it doesn't stop me at all, not that I like it mind you, ice and snow is my limit.

Kori Martini

@Satish, I heard that about the yaxtrax and making your feet hurt. I have a pair of shoes called IceBugs (from Iceland...go figure), that are pretty comfy and aren't painful at all. I use them for shorter runs when I can't stand the thought of the dreadmill.....or to walk my Huskies!

Steve West

Another way to go, if you go int he snow and ice is putting a bunch of these in your winter runners:

Last year I had #8 x 1/2 and they were too long.... kept feeling them biting my feet.  Need to get some 3/8 I think.  I use 4 in the heel and 6 up front, all of them along the outer perimeter of the sole.

Paul Hough

I don't own a treadmill and will run in anything Tampa can throw at me. On a few very, very rare days, that would mean upper 20's. But my old legs don't like temps below 40 anymore although I'm proud of the -71 degrees (wind chll) I scored back in 1982 when I was in Dayton, Ohio. That was the same day as the Freezer Bowl south of us in Cincinnatti with something like 30,000 no-shows due to the temperature. It was a mere -59 down there per this blurb I took off the internet. I remember the game because they were showing it in the lodge which where we were warming up for a race. Yes, I have printed race results from that day verifying the wind chill we faced. It was supposed to be a 10K but was shorted to 3 miles due to the weather. My only excuse was that I was young and dumb.
-------------------
Freezer Bowl (Jan 10, 1982): San Diego Chargers(11-6) at Cincinnati Bengals(13-4)

Riverfront Stadium was the host for this game, and it was to date the coldest game in terms of wind chill in NFL history. The air temperature for the game was -9°F, but the wind chill made it feel like -59°F for the game. My good blogger friend Frank attended this game in the frigid conditions.

MattAaronson

I can't think of a day that the cold has put me on the mill. Only ice and other bad footing conditions will do that.

Rumpole

I'd prefer to be outside, but don't trust my wheels not to flat (calf injury). I've come to appreciate the treadmill--you really can drill the paces. Still, being outside is more fun.

Tom Glynn

As I get older, I get more wimpier! Lived for many years in Ottawa and ran 365 days a year outside for many years. Cold, miserable winters, freezing rain, etc. The hardest step was always the first one out the door. Now that I'm really old and live in Northern CA, it's treadmill running most of the winter as it dips into the low 50's

run2far

My friends say you have to temperature proof, meaning each new minimum you may have a slight cough 2 to 3 hours later, but only once a year. I'm near the Windy City and Milwaukee, am 60 years old, and ran indoors (dreadmill) once in last 2 and a half years, but we now have a 1/12 mile indoor track thats free, so my comrades are thinking wimpy (it is nice for speed work though). So I've run to minus 20, its the wind thats the problem, i quit at 30mph on days below 20 degrees. And i do lots of Galloway pacing run walk run.
Joe-Trial newbie
also I can't swim, but did a couple of Sprint tri's, how can I learn freestyle quickly ? Thanks

russG

@Joe - now that's a change of topic!



If you REALLY want an answer to that, go right over to the general training forum and start a new topic - you will get at least as many recommendations as you can handle, many (most) from people who know more (some much more) than do I.



That said:

(a) Private lesson from an instructor who knows how to teach adults how to swim.  This is by far the best way - you need someone who can help you build your stroke, stand on the deck and watch, guide, etc.,.  Ideally you would have someone who can give you a mix of drills and distance to do daily in between lessons.  Lessons could be 2x weekly to start.

(b) Find a club that has masters swim clinics aimed at beginners

(c) http://swimsmooth.com and click on beginner

 

If it makes you feel any better - 4 years ago I couldn't swim freestyle more than 50yd without stopping for breath; last September 1.2m in 39m - not race winning, but a lot of progress for me.  With time and commitment, much is possible.

Russ

[Deleted User]

Posted By Satish Punna on 04 Jan 2013 07:10 AM

 I tried yak traks one winter and the bottoms of my feet reaaally hurt after any run longer than an hour. 

Yeah, I tried them this winter while visiting Canada, and I found the same. They provide good traction, but make my feet sore after a while.

I find that 5F is the coldest I can go before the temperature starts to make a face and ears hurt a bit. But like Dino, anything south of 60F is offensive to my Southern California sensibilities. 

Bomber

I live in Denmark and I run outside all year round.. (it can go well below freezing here)

I only run indoor when it is icy outside (as the careful running on ice makes for an ineffective workout) I also run in shorts until it is just around freezing - but that is more because I dislike having my knees covered..

If it feels too cold - just run faster :-)

[Deleted User]

 Cold never stops me. Snow? No problem. 

Heat does. Anything above 95, with typical Midatlantic humidity? Fuggedaboutit.