Running in “Cold” Weather
2 min read
Where I live on the Mid North Coast of NSW, Australia has one of the most ideal climates in Australia, temperate climate all year round with a short winter period. Winter has arrived now and will be with us for the next month or two.
For some parts of the world winter means snow, ice and sub zero temperatures. For this area of Australia it means cold mornings and if the sun is out close to 20C in the day time. We are pretty lucky to live in a climate like this.
This morning I went for my long run, left the house at 5:30am for a two hour effort. It was cold, it was 4C to be precise and it felt cold. Over the past month as the temperature has dropped I have resorted to wearing my gloves, buff and arm warmers during my early morning runs and usually I am taking these off within the first 10-15 min of my run. Today I felt the cold, not that it was that much colder than previous runs but I felt the cold. I was wearing shorts, t-shirt, gloves, arm warmers, buff and toe socks with my sandals and I didn’t warm up and until after an hour of running when the sun came up.
I’ve run in colder climates than this when travelling, as recent as this year in Korea where it was much colder than today. The key is layering and when the mercury drops like this morning I made the mistake of not adding an extra layer.
My 3 tips for running when the weather gets cold.
- Cover the ears and fingers
Get a good set of gloves and a beanie or buff to cover the ears. If your head and fingers are warm it goes a long way to keeping you warm
2. Add an extra layer
A good running vest to cover the torso will keep you warm when the temperature drops close to freezing.
3. Get out there and run
Once you start running and your core temperature increases running becomes comfortable. Get ready quickly and get out there and run.
The other advantage to running in cold temperatures is the body recovers quicker. Plus the after run coffee tastes better after a cold run. Embrace the cold and run.
Love to hear your tips for cold weather running if you live in a place which really is cold. What do you do to stay warm and keep running?
I live in southern Victoria so it’s not particularly cold but I feel like Winter just rushes in and hits with unexpected force. At parkrun the other week, it was 0 degrees – not the coldest I’ve run in but it really kicked me and I found it hard to get out there. You’re right though – the best thing to do is just get on with it and get out there! Within 1km, I was fine although my gloves stayed on for the whole 5km – can’t stand cold fingers!
0C is cold for a parkrun. Good job for committing in that weather. Always find once I get started it’s ok, getting started is the hard part.
I love having coffee after a cold run. Our winters here vary in severity from year to year, but it really does not get too bad for too long in Dallas. I have a go to vest for below freezing temps and a few different options for ear covers. My fingers always freeze regardless of what I have on them. That is just me though. Another reason why I like having coffee after a cold run!
It doesn’t quite get below freezing here, i don’t have that to worry about. I do look forward to the coffee after a cold run though