Purpose

This guide is meant to serve those who intend to run in winter weather. It's a reminder of reasonable steps they can take during this winter to accomplish their running goals. Note that the guide is at best a tertiary source of information, with some of my personal experience thrown in. If you feel pain anytime during your training, especially if it's acute or sustained, stop and please see a doctor ASAP. Any criticism or questions are welcome, as this is sort of my first guide.

 

Fundamental Ideas

Your regimen should be based on the distance you want to endure and the speed at which you want to clear that distance. Whether your regimen is a success depends on your ability to reasonably increase the stress you put on your body over time to reach those goals. Find that balance between pushing yourself to a new limit while enduring the mental and physical stress it takes to do that. Also mix up your training so that you're not confined to one environment or type of exercise.

When running in the winter you want to layer clothes that will keep you:

  • warm

  • dry

 

Training Tips

First, keep in mind that what you're training yourself to do can put a lot of stress on your body. If you haven't trained in a long time or you're overweight, it's unrealistic to think you can slug a 6 mph pace for 30 - 40 minutes for your first run. Take it easy and gradually notch your way up to the long distances and high speeds. With careful planning, self awareness and will power it will only be a matter of time that you'll get yourself to where you want to.

You'll probably benefit the most from mixing up your outdoor running with using a treadmill indoors. Sometimes your environment can become harsh enough that you can't see, are likely to slip or get attacked. Having the option to run indoors prevents you from having to stop your training if one of those conditions come up. You can also use treadmills to train yourself at keeping a certain pace, if you find that to be a problem when running outdoors. If you train long enough, the pace you keep off-treadmill should be similar.

My personal experience has been that treadmills are pretty useful for keeping pace and simulating running at an incline. However, they're not as fun and don't fully prepare you for the mental and physical stress of running outdoors. It's my opinion that one shouldn't get too used to those machines and should balance their running schedules with running outside when the chance is available.

Regardless of what schedule you're using to train, remember to always keep proper running form. For those of you who are aware that you have poor form, I advise that you prioritize running in proper form, even if it's slower than your usual pace. It can feel exhausting, but keeping form is your best protection against injury and an inefficient use of energy in the long run.

 

Training: Outdoors

If you're planning to run a set distance, I'd recommend running outdoors. Make routes simple, you want keep focused on your running form instead of wondering where you're supposed to go. The change in scenery can be refreshing and if there's good visibility, you can visualize checkpoints for yourself as you run.

For example, let's say you spot a fire hydrant two blocks down your route. It's easier to zero in on the thought of reaching that fire hydrant first than of constantly thinking about how many miles you have left to run. Then when you reach the fire hydrant, you visually search for the next checkpoint along your route and zero in on the thought of reaching it. You keep on doing this approach until you're at the end of your route.

Word of caution, as always please pick routes where:

  • traffic is low/non-existent

  • there's no ice and it's easy in general to place footing

  • sufficient lighting is present

  • crime and dangerous wildlife is not a threat

 

Training: Indoors

When running indoors, it's probably best when you're training by doing intervals of walking and running. It's also ideal if you're training to run a certain pace for an extended time. It's important to gradually challenge yourself with treadmills, if used. This means that when you're starting out, use a low speed and gradually move yourself up week by week. If you think a pace is too casual, instead of raising the speed, slowly raise the incline first.

Training indoors is also a good opportunity for cross-training, you don't have to limit yourself to treadmills when indoors. Any form of exercise that isn't running which also uses all your limbs is acceptable. Elliptical machines, lifting, yoga and swimming come to mind.

 

Clothing: Outdoors

Your best chance of keeping warm and dry in winter weather is by wearing layers of clothes strategically. Make sure every part of your body is covered up, this prevents heat from seeping out and helps to keep it insulated. Layers kept closest to your skin should keep you dry. Layers farther away should keep you warm.Keep in mind you're layering with how you think you'll feel 10 minutes into the run, not how you feel right after stepping out the door. Materials you should consider wearing are fleece, wool and polyester. Stay away from cotton. If you run at night or early morning, it's a good idea to wear reflective gear (i.e. reflective wristbands, reflective jackets, etc.). Keep a cellphone with you with an app like Run keeper and an interval timer on, to track progress and help with interval running.

Starting from the head, we'd be looking to wear anything that'll cover up most of our face and neck. Ski masks, toques, skullcaps and scarves will do, though I'm sure there are other pieces of clothing that could also work. Wear a combination of these so that your face and neck are both covered and insulated. A basic combination would be wearing a toque/skullcap over a ski mask.

Moving to the upper body, this is where layering is most important. Depending on the weather you'd wear either two or three layers. Your base layer, the one closest to your skin, should keep you dry by wicking moisture away from your body. Wearing polyester is best, but keep in mind it might stink after your run. Your second layer should keep you warm, so wearing anything made of wool or fleece is ideal. The third layer, if needed should shield you from wind chill and/or getting wet. If you have something like a windproof/waterproof jacket I'd suggest wearing it as the third layer if conditions are especially harsh.

Now onto the lower body, depending on the weather you'll probably only ever need at most two layers. As before, the base layer should keep you dry. Picking a second layer to keep warm isn't as important here because your legs are good at generating heat. Wearing a second layer would be important for protecting yourself against wind/water. Clothing that's windproof/waterproof like track pants will do the job.

Finally, we're at the extremities: hands and feet. One layer of gloves is appropriate, especially if you can use your cellphone with them on. Wearing wool socks is a good choice. Based on my personal experience, normal running shoes will do if roads and sidewalks are salted decently or if it's recently snowed. If your area is usually icy, it might be time to consider wearing all-trail running shoes

 

Clothing: Indoors

With regards to clothing indoors, your intuition should be good enough to decide how you'll dress. Keep in mind you want to stay dry and warm. Assuming the heating is working, the warm part is already covered. So just pick clothes that'll keep you dry.

 

That wraps it up. Let me know if there was a mistake or anything missing that could help fellow runners out. Good luck to everyone out there.