winter running [giveaway]
As a runner who trains year round, having to run when the temperatures are below freezing are an unfortunate part of my favorite hobby. Especially when I normally train for longer races (half marathons) that are in April and May. That means I have to spend a lot of time running for my long runs, and as most runners, I just can’t fathom having to run those long runs on a treadmill.
I don’t hate cold weather. In fact, I sometimes wish that I lived in the mountains of Colorado because I love snow that much. What I don’t love is just plain old cold weather. If it’s going to be cold, it might as well snow. (On an added note: if it’s going to snow, it might as well stick. Come on now, snow! You can at least cover the nasty gray snow piles we have around right now. No use in snow if you aren’t going to make everything look pretty. Rant over.) There’s something about snow that just makes cold weather more bearable. But, up until last week, we had absolutely no snow.
I try to run at least one run a week outside. I think it’s really important for your body to feel the impact of concrete fairly frequently, especially since that’s usually the terrain you’ll be racing on. The treadmill is extremely forgiving as far as impact goes and if you move straight over from running all the time on the treadmill to running all the time outside when it’s warmer, you are bound to deal with at least shin splints, if not other running overuse injuries.
So, all of this means that I’ve had to spend some time running outside in the cold weather. And most of the time, there’s no snow on the ground to make that cold more bearable. And most of these runs are usually my long runs that take an hour or more to complete. That’s a lot of time outside in the cold.
My trick for making these long runs less cold and painful? The right running attire. Here is what I normally look like during these cold runs:
Cold Weather Running Attire:
- American Apparel leggings
- Under Armour ColeGear Base 2.0
- Tech Gear jacket
- Cool-Cat Athletic Headband
- Nike headband (under hat)
- C9 by Champion beanie
- C9 by Champion convertible glove mittens (not pictured)
- Asics Gel-Cumulus shoes (not pictured)
I’ve been fortunate enough that my coldest run as only been 24 degrees with a windchill of 19. Not terribly cold. But this outfit seems to do the trick. It keeps me nice and warm but not overheated.
My favorite part of my cold weather running gear is my newest addition: my Cool-Cat Athletic Headband. These cute multipurpose headbands were developed by runners for runners! They are awesome for wicking away sweat, protect you from the sun, and for what I’ve been using it most for, temperature regulation. It’s been awesome for covering up my mouth and nose to keep the cold air away (it’s extremely breathable). And it’s adjustable so that it doesn’t fall off my face, but I can still pull it down if it gets too hot. I will definitely be using this quite a bit this summer as a headband to keep the sweat out of my eyes!
Want to on for yourself?! Cool-Cat is giving away one of their athletic headbands to one of YOU! All you have to do is head on over to their Facebook page and give them a LIKE! They will choose a winner from that! No need to comment here – unless you really love me that much! ;) Make sure you check out all of their adorable colors – I had trouble deciding between the blue and the orange!
What gear do you wear when running in the cold? Do you keep your face covered when running in the cold?