Saturday, December 29, 2012

My Winter Running Essentials: Clothing

I’ve come to realize that when the snow hits the ground and the temperatures plummet, there are a few things I add to my running routine, things I now can’t live without.  Winter in the Twin Cities was all fine and good up to a few weeks ago – no snow and temps in the 30s.  However, we got whacked with 12 inches of snow on the second weekend of December and the temperature has seldom risen above 20F.  Since then I’ve had to dig through my running gear to get out some winter gear, but I also had to treat myself differently too.  My writing ended up getting a bit lengthy (probably because I haven’t posted in so long) so I’ve separated my entry into three posts based on the subjects of clothing, gear, and health.  Here then is the first segment on winter running clothing – 

 Clothing – Of course the rule for outdoor winter activities is to dress in layers.  That is indeed key, but there is extra importance on the first innermost layers and the outer layer as well.  In the winter I always start with a base layer or long underwear.  I personally wear a long sleeve Craft base layer shirt (that I’ve had for years) and typically a C9 by Champion long underwear bottom.  I’ll sometimes add a C9 long sleeve top over the Craft base layer as well.  As far as long underwear go, there are the old fashioned kind and many new more techy ones out on the market as well.  They all work from my experience.  Simply buy want you fancy and use it.

For the outermost layer, it’s a good idea to have a windproof shell of some sort.  Once the temperature gets below 20F, any wind provides a pretty harsh wind chill.  While on warmer days you might drop the shell, you will always want your outer layer to be a bright color.  It seems like cars and people in general don’t expect other people to be out running in the winter.  Thus you want to stand out with some neon or something else obnoxiously bright.  Also, while this is more of a rule, it’s also good to run against traffic if there isn’t a path/sidewalk and you need to run on the street.  That way if a driver doesn’t see you running, you are able to see so and get out of the way.  I couldn’t tell you how often I’ve seen runners in my area running with traffic, putting all their trust in drivers seeing them.


 Layers, layers, layers.

Lastly for clothing, the little things are also important.  By that I mean hat, gloves, and, when it’s really cold, face protection.  For gloves, I actually use two pair.  I have a pair of thin wool knit gloves (that are my primary autumn gloves) that I often wear underneath a pair of minimally lined nylon/fake leather gloves.  This combination always seems to work for me as I can take off a layer of gloves if my hands get too warm.  As far as my hat goes, I have a trusty Asics hat that I picked up at some running event expo and have had for years now.  I love it as it has a thicker fleece lined headband area – perfect for the ears – but the upper part of the hat is similar to a long underwear knit.  It keeps my upper head warm but lets the extra warmth vent out.  I’ve also used fleece hats before with success.  (Know thinking about it these also always had thicker headbands for the ears and thinner uppers.  For face protection (which I use under 20F), I have two options.  I have a fleece/neoprene mask that I used to always use for cold weather bicycling.  It’s vented in the front for your nose and mouth which is great, but it also causes you to look like Hannibal Lector.  My other option is a fleece neck buff that my wife made for me a few years ago.  This is my go-to of the two for running.  It does a very good job of keeping my neck and chin warm, as well as my face and nose on those really cold days I wear it higher up.  On those really cold days though, I have to make sure I have it adjusted right for covering my mouth.  Otherwise, I get a mouthful of fleece when I inhale.


 
 Peek a boo!

That’s it for now.  Check back soon for parts two and three.

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