Winter Running
Winter. I was over it back in November. It’s not my thing, I hate snow and I only have two living memories of using the phrase ‘I’m too hot’. The first being in the middle of Arizona as we circumnavigated the Grand Canyon, understandable. The second, a little more ridiculous occurred whilst on a cycle tour through former Yugoslavia staying in ‘Hotel Bambis’. A hotel in Montenegro chosen purely on its name, this in retrospect certainly lead to our downfall. There are things that happened in Hotel Bambis that can never and must never be spoken of. But the combination of a day’s cycling with 4 male cyclists, 2 double beds, a 35-degree hotel room, 1 mini fridge and no air conditioning did indeed make me too hot. It also gives me flash backs to being witness to an inhumane amount of sweaty flesh. The less said about that the better. Anyways, the moral of THAT story is, only in very extreme circumstances do I over heat. The reverse is therefore true, it takes very little for me to get cold, which is why winter = misery.
In this week’s blog I want to share a few essential things for these bothersome winter days to make sure that;
A) We still love running and it doesn’t become a chore
B) We still go, and train and we don’t become fair weather runners
C) We are safe and sensible to minimise injury - accidental or otherwise
On the train I drew this little mind map of winter essentials to give some structure to the blog. Then I thought, If I just share this with you it saves me explaining in great length the really obvious items and gives more time for some of the other things. So rapid fire, the winter essentials that fall under the ‘also great’ category are;
- Base-layers - My favourite two are 1) inov-8’s long sleeved merino base layer and 2) Decathlon Kalenji long sleeve technical top. Both thin, warm, breathable and long arms that you can hook over your hands to keep out the cold.
- Jacket - Favourite must be the inov-8 Stormshell waterproof jacket. Don’t leave home without it, especially in Wales.
- Headtorch - it gets dark quickly and stays dark longer. Don’t risk it. Make sure it’s charged and packed! I have a Petzl Reactik+, long battery, adjustable and doesn’t bounce.
- Compression socks - wear them under your leggings, on top of your leggings or just with your shorts. Just wear them! They protect the vulnerable lower extremities against the cold and prevent injury by keeping the blood moving. Do it. After trying many different brands my absolute favourite is still Compressport. Worth paying a bit more.
- Gloves - no one wants ‘the claw’ when you come to try and unlock your door at the end of a run. I have a couple of £1 pairs from Primark, they do the job.
- High waisted leggings - because wind blowing up your back or midriff is the kind of torture that no one deserves. Inov-8’s new Race elite full length tight are like another layer of skin, they are warm, they allow you to breath and have a great high waist.
- Double knots in shoe laces - because even with gloves on your dexterity will be reduced to a solid 4/10 and trying to deal with shoe laces is like trying to thread a needle whilst wearing boxing gloves.
- New Tunes - keep things fresh and distract yourself from the howling hell around you. Download the whole back catalogue of Mystique because you ARE scandalous, and no one is the boss of you.
On to my top 5 essential winter items for running. These aren’t all pieces of kit, but pieces of advice that will help keep the joy of running even when the weather outside is hellish. During winter we are fighting our bodies instincts to hibernate, wrap up by the fire and sleep and eat our way through to spring. Top 5 are as followed.
1) Buffs – One for the head, one for the neck, one for the face and one for the snotty nose. Whilst four on every run is maybe a little extreme, I’m making the point that they are so useful and so versatile. They are also really easy to take on and off if you start to get warmer or the weather takes a turn on you and you start to feel the chill. They are the easiest piece of kit to ‘manage’ out on your run, so take a couple wherever you go.
2) Commit to the Stretch – as athletes we all should be stretching, but if you’re anything like me it is the first thing that falls by the waist side after a long run when all you want to do is be horizontal. However when the weather is cold, stretching muscles before and after running is more important than ever. Injuries are far too easy to pick up when your muscles are cold and rigid and you bust straight into some gnarly hill intervals. However, take the extra 10 minutes at the start and end of your run to stretch out the main muscle groups and this will dramatically decrease your risk of injury. Think from the feet up; ankles, calves, hamstrings, quads, glutes and hip flexors.
3) Organisation – I’ve already said how we are fighting against our bodies will to sleep for as long as possible and desire to stay in the cosy warmth. By being organised we can minimise the awful transition time of being semi-naked in a freezing bathroom before hitting the trails with the blood pumping through our veins. Put your kit on the radiator the night before. A simple trick, but having a nice warm base-layer and pair of running tights to slide into reduces that fear of the freezing temperatures and prolongs the cushty warmth of inside for just long enough to kick your ass out the front door and get you running.
4) Purpose and Goal – This tip sounds a little intense, but it needn’t be. I don’t mean that for every single run you need to set mile split targets, or having a pacing strategy, or do some crazy new interval set that you’ve seen on social media. What I mean is, be mindful as to why you are doing your run. Is it to clear you head from the never ending to-do its? Is it to stretch your legs after a long day at work? Is it to meet friends? Is it to work towards that spring marathon? It doesn’t matter how small or seemingly trivial your ‘purpose’ might be, just by being aware that you do indeed have a purpose will mean you don’t fall into a punishing routine of seeing running as a chore.
5) Kindness - Sometimes I do have a tendency whilst running to migrate to planet E where things are all rainbows, sparkles and smiles. I understand that the reality of running is actually quite often; rain, effort and sore muscles. However something that we all can do is be kind. Be kind to others and most importantly be kind to ourselves. It’s winter which is not a time for personal bests, so just be happy for getting out there and breathing in the outdoors. Allow yourself some down time and a rest week. With races year round it is hard to find a natural down-season without getting extreme FOMO (fear of missing out). But show your body some love, allow it time to rest and recover. I guarantee that come that spring marathon your legs will thank you for it.
There we have it. Some winter running tips that should see us all through until the days are lighter and the sun brighter. For me, training for my first big race of the year has so far been going really well. I’ve had a couple of de-load weeks due to illness and needing to give my body a chance to catch up. I’ve had some high mileage weeks coupled with commuting to school and busy weekends of Mavericks which have resulted in me feeling pretty strong in these lanky legs. By following my own advice of being organised, committed, purposeful and kind I’m really looking forward to my first race (which I shan’t tell you what is it just yet) and hope that all of you are feeling the same.
See you on the trails soon.
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