Running through the snow .. La-La-La, La, La-La-La

I've taken the winter weather as an opportunity to see how far I can run by going inside and counting laps. I know I'm a chicken, I can barely walk on the snow I'm afraid I'd kill myself trying to run on it. I was planning on running outside tommorrow. Maybe I'll have a better report for you then, at least tommorrow there is an anticipated high of 30 ....brrrrrr.

Whenever I run incold weather, I find that getting proper ventilation is key. It's not that important for my legs, as they make enough heat for themselves (usually jsut tights or sweat pants), but some sort of sweat-wicking shirt so that I stay dry. I usually find a wind breaker to be overkill, but if it's really cold I'll throw on a hat and gloves.

When it comes to biking, it gets a lot more difficult. Toe warmers or booties quickly become your best friends, as well as good gloves. I always make sure my knees stay warm because you can damage your knees by biking when they're too cold. Otherwise, I make sure you've got a good wind layer, and plenty of ways to cool off or heat up if need be. I always bring extra clothes on rides. It might be an exrta pain in the neck, but I've had to freeze my ass of on the way back enough times that I've learned better. Nothing is worse then turning around to go home and realizing that you'd had a tail wind the whole way out, just as it starts raining.

Some good ideas about how to stay warm without spending all your money on fancy clothes:

For like $3.50 buy some small ladies thermal knee high leggings and cut a hole in the toe for your fingers and another hole for your thumb and *presto* you've got some arm warmers.

wear ski socks, tall ones. It may not look cool, but your calves will thank you

cold toes? wrap them in a sandwhich bag! Thats as windproof and waterproof as it gets! (guys can also use that trick for their package...cold weather cycling doesn't HAVE to be associated with extreme shrinkage you know)

most hats are too bulky to fit under a helmet, so just wear an ear warmer. Mine works great when I doubble it up over my forhead (so that it fits between my glasses and helmet), and then let it follow the bottom edge of my helmet.

I somehow found these saftey glasses that actually look stylish. They sold them in my school's bookstore and they're for chemistry labs and stuff. The don't affect my visibality at all, they've got 100% UV protection, they're durable as hell, and they cost only $4. It's a good way to protect my eyes from wind and projectiles without having to drop $120 on some Rudy Projects. Plus if I lose them, break them or scratch them I just go buy another pair. Dang, another $4.00 out the drain!

Oh, and my last and maybe my most valuable way to stay warm over the winter is to let people know that it's OK to wear used cycling clothing. Check your local thrift stores - you'll be suprised.

Anyway, I hope these ideas are helpful to some of you cold weather cyclists. I've had to become fairly creative due to my lack of budget (and my need to stay warm). If anyone else has any cheap ways to stay warm, I'd love to know.
thanks
-S

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I am such a wimp...... We have about 10 inches of snow that has fallen today and expect about 6 more. My wife, her sister and I took about a two mile walk but I did not run. I did not go to the gym today either because of the snow. I hate driving in it. It was a nice walk though with the new snow and the christmas lights.

I ran in the "cold" last Tues. It was down to 50 degrees LOL. I have a treadmill for indoor running when it gets cold and when I do speedwork. You can keep the cold

I don't think that you would want to run around here (Ottawa, Ontario) today, because the roads are covered in sheer ice. It is actually only about -3 which is rather balmy for this time of the year but running on that ice even with my Sorels is impossible.

I loved the comments by sirsam16 on cheep warm cloths. Hope to use a few if I can ever get a workout in before the kids go to bed and its dark out. Most of my workouts are in a cramped basement. Anyways the reason I am responding is in regard to helmets and warmth. I have occasionally used an old helmet with the padding removed and a "knit" hat. So before you throw away that old helmet when doing an upgrade, think about using it in the winter.

Joe

great idea about the helmet. i told the kids to toss an old one out yesterday. time to do some dumpster dives. is that listed on the training log?