jogging in winter

[tattiefritter]

I'm not completely crazy

Are you sure?!?!

The first thing I thought of was "what about your eyes?". My eyes feel terrible in the cold and by cold I mean a measly 0 degrees C. I don't think it ever gets anywhere near minus 33 in the UK (except perhaps in the middle of a whiteout in the Cairngorms in the Scottish Highlands - somewhere I hope to never find myself).

Jeez!

[violette]

Thanks for the advice. In live in New Brunswick, we only have a dusting of snow and it hasn't been below -10 in the day, usually arount -5/+2. The only thing that stops me is the WIND, I hate it. This morning, we had a dusting of snow, but now everything is melting.

[yellow]

violette, we get that cold wind here too. I find that if I wear a wind vest that I'm fine once I get warmed up. I have a full wind blocker LS top, but it's too hot, even when it's 15*F/-9*C.

I bought a pair of the YakTrax pro stabilizers but haven't had to use them. It's generally very dry here and I find that if I just slow down a little, running on the snow is really quite easy and fun (but of course if it's too deep, then that means I should be XC skiing, not running)! But ice...I think I'd either use the stabilizers or go skiing!

[Bikingmomof3]

I actually prefer to run in colder temperatures. Anthing above 60*F and I am miserable. Hopefully I will be better aboutt he heat and humidity this coming summer.

As for snow, we have not seen any. There has been lots and lots of rain and our temps have been around 52*F/11*C well above normal.

I miss the cold and snow.

[Hammer]

I've been running on snow covered sidewalks. It's a tougher workout! I only have been doing a 2 mile loop. Usually I run 12 minute miles. I've been doing 13 minute miles. Some sections of sidewalk haven't been scooped, so the footing is a little uncertain. We're talking only about 2 inches of snow, but that still is a little resistence and reduced traction. Then hopping over the drifts at the end of the sidewalk where the street intersects... It wears a person out quicker, I think.

Anyone else have similar experiences?

[HillSlugger]

We had our first measurable snowfall Sunday into Monday. With Tuesday as a run day I drove along my usual route yesterday evening to scope out the sidewalks. I found that they were greater than 90% clean and dry. I avoided the crunchy snow and ice as much as possible (even running in the road for a short stretch) and ran carefully when it couldn't be avoided. If the route had been worse I would not have run.

[anakiwa]

I've been running on snow covered sidewalks. It's a tougher workout! I only have been doing a 2 mile loop. Usually I run 12 minute miles. I've been doing 13 minute miles. Some sections of sidewalk haven't been scooped, so the footing is a little uncertain. We're talking only about 2 inches of snow, but that still is a little resistence and reduced traction. Then hopping over the drifts at the end of the sidewalk where the street intersects... It wears a person out quicker, I think.

Anyone else have similar experiences?

Running in snow is WAY slower (at least if you want to maintain the traction needed not to fall down). I don't pay a lot of attention to pace on regular runs, but I'm sure I slow down at least that much.

[VeloVT]

I recently bought a pair of Icebugs for running in icy conditions:

http://www.icebug.se/ShowDocument.asp?id=136

They have water resistant uppers and teeny carbide spikes on the soles. I only wear them when it's truly icy, or there's significant packed or new snow on the sidewalks -- they're heavier and stiffer than running or trail shoes and the spikes are noisy on dry pavement -- but for those conditions they're excellent. Even on ice they really improve traction, and are a very stable shoe -- more than I'd normally want actually, but it's good in slippery conditions.

Also tried trail shoes this winter (Brooks Adrenaline ASR) for less severe winter conditions, since I was sliding all over the place in my regular running shoes. The traction is far better than trainers, and I love the waterproof uppers. I don't totally love the shoes (just too stable for me), but I'd definitely recommend giving trail shoes a try for winter running.

I can't wait until spring <<sigh>>.... We've had lots of snow in the past two weeks, so much that I've been reduced to running on the treadmill -- which is just horrible. And I miss riding my roadbike outside. <<longing sigh>>..