Running in Cold Weather. . .

This morning I woke up, drove Dr. J to work and then checked the weather. Sundays are my long run days for the 1/2 Marathon training that I'm following and since it's winter in NY you never know what you're going to be running in. Sure enough, today happened to be the coldest day yet since the cold front started pushing it's way through earlier this week. These are the conditions I finally ran in after waiting until the middle of the day to decide between running outdoors or on a treadmill.

Yup, it felt like 11 degrees thanks to some serious wind gusts. Ouch and Brrr. . .  Today was a 5 mile run which isn't the furthest I've ever run but it is the furthest I've run since high school. Last week was 4 miles and that felt surprisingly good, but it wasn't balls to the wall cold and windy. I knew today would be a different beast entirely. 

So, how does one dress for such weather? Well here's what I chose to wear:

1. Sunglasses to keep the cold wind and sun out of my eyes.

2. Lululemon beanie, it's double layered so very warm and technical fabric.

3. Neck gaiter(also technical fabric) & felt great to pull over my face while I cooled down.

4. 200 Weight Icebreaker Long Sleeved Base Layer

5. Under Armor Short Sleeved Heat Gear T-Shirt

6. Mountain Hardwear Wind Breaker

7. Lululemon tights

8. Skirtsports Happy Girl Skirt

9. Injinji Compression Socks

10. Brooks Adrenaline's 11 GTS

11. Fuel Belt 8oz Water Bottle

For the record, most of this stuff I've acquired over the last 4-5 years in case you're wondering how I can afford some of this. Also, I used to work for a sporting goods store so I got employee discounts and free stuff from company representatives. Man, I miss that job sometimes! :-) Whatever I didn't purchase then, I've bought at a discount thanks to relentless shopping and dropping in on stores and online sites periodically to see what's getting marked down. The only items I paid full price for were my Lululemon tights and the Skirtsports skirt. The rest I got at either a decent discount or serious discount. My opinion is that it's better to wait and find the high quality stuff in your price range because it will last. Mountain Hardwear is one of my favorite brand and their stuff is legit. It works, it's techincal and it will probably outlast you! ;-)

How did I feel with all of this on? Well, at first I worried I would get too hot and suffer through the latter half of my run. However, thanks to the wind and low temps I never felt hot. I didn't even unzip my jacket which I nearly always have to do at some point! All in all, I nailed my clothing today. I didn't get too hot or too cold. Though when the run was over I did a quick cool down and high tailed it back to the apt and right into a warm bath because once I stopped moving I got cold FAST!

If you're training for a race in cold weather let me know where you're doing your runs! Inside? Outside? What are you wearing and what pieces can you just not live without???

I hope this post was informative for anyone else who regularly runs in these conditions! 

If you have any questions feel free to contact me!