Winter: how not to freeze when working out?

yirara

Just wonder if someone else has the same problem: I ran for 90 minutes at just below freezing today. The whole 90 minutes my arms and legs were cold, and once I got home I slipped into bed with my electric mattress cover on full power. I was so cold I didn't even notice this. Took a shower on highest temperature and was still freezing afterwards. Back to bed, and now, two hours later I'm still cold. Btw, I was hardly sweating during the run. By now I had two mugs of hot tea and no difference. Yikes! I've not lived in a country where it actually gets close to freezing for years, thus this is an eye opener. How do you stay warm if freezing is not due to sweating?

spiriteagle99

It sounds like you need to tweek your clothes a bit. I keep lists that detail weather conditions (temp., feels like temp, wind) and what I wore then and how I felt. People vary a lot in how much they need to wear. The usual rule of thumb is to dress as if it is 20 degrees warmer then the temperature, but some people do better by mentally adding just 10 degrees. I find I do best if I dress for the feels like temperature, since wind and clouds can make a big difference in how I perceive cold. If I feel a bit cool, but not really uncomfortable, when I leave the house, I'm usually okay. If I'm warm leaving the house (comfortable) then I'm overdressed and will be sweating heavily a mile or two later.

For running when it's around freezing, I would wear light gloves (or start with fleece gloves and switch to polypro when my hands start to sweat), a fleece hat or ear band, long sleeves, long pants, and a windbreaker or fleece vest. With that I would end up sweating, but overall okay.

One big thing is to get out of your damp clothes as soon as possible. I have a harder time if I run in town or in the forests and need to drive home in my sweaty clothes. A warm coat helps, but it does take longer to warm up afterwards. Running from home I just jump in the hot shower ASAP. I take some long showers in the winter. If I still feel cold, then I eat something hot: tea, soup, hot chocolate, or coffee. I learned that when I was a backpacker and would get hypothermic. Warming the insides helps warm the outside.

yirara

Yeah, at the moment I'm wearing warm pants that are not tight and thus should hold warmth, long sleeve top and jacket on top, fleece headband and maybe or maybe not gloves. It's just not enough. I'm close to wearing a thermal pant underneath, and it's just around freezing at the moment and might get a lot colder. I just got my winter running leggings out, but I don't like to wear leggings and I really wonder whether they are much warmer as wind totally is not the problem here. Am a bit at a loss on what else to do.

snowflake954

I can only tell you what I do.

First off I wear cotton stretch leggings with sweatsuit pants over. The double layer makes a big difference. Wool socks or cashmire blend.
I layer on top. Right now I'm wearing a thermal long sleeve stretch top with a pile Timberland jacket (very old--30 years) over. If I warm up too much I unzip as I go along.
My gloves are wool but my pile jacket has long sleeves and covers half of my hands--I roll up the cuffs or take off the gloves as needed.
If there's a cold wind blowing I wear a cotton long scarf wrapped around my face that I can adjust and breath through. I wear a large thick thermal skiing headband, or a cap if colder.

Layering is key. I used to run in Minnesota with below 0° temps and had a waterproof jacket that I wore. I don't buy special gear--I use what I've got.

yirara

I usually wear sweatpants. It's just what I find most comfy. I guess I need to experiment with different layers underneath though. Or indeed try the thicker leggins again. Top is pretty much what you're doing already.

snowflake954

Being in Holland I assume you have "humid" cold--the worst, it gets into your bones. When we lived in Venice it was that kind of cold.

Tip--cashmire is very light and warm and stays warm even when wet. It's great underneath other layers. You can probably find old cashmire sweaters at fleamarkets. If you wash them by hand in delicate, for wool, liquid soap, they come out better than new and smell fantastic. I wash all my wool, cashmire, and silk by hand.

Put cold water in a plastic tub and add soap. Emerge sweater and let soak, rub any stains or underarms gently with a little more soap. Wring gently and then put clean water in the tub--swish around and wring by hand again. Dry on a line draping the sweater over it with 2 clothespins under the arms. Leave until dry. Can iron on low.

The sweaters puff up like a cat. I have 20 year old sweaters that look like new.

AnnPT77

I'm not sure whether any of this applies to you, but it's different variations maybe to consider. My cold weather workouts are not running, but rowing (in a boat, pre-ice-up, but air temps barely above freezing); plus some history of cross-country skiing (not the trudge kind, the "go for it" kind). I do walk in cold, but that's very different, of course.

Can you tolerate wool on your skin? If so, that has interesting warmth properties compared to other materials. (I can't, but some active friends swear by it - even just a thin wool layer.)

For me, a thin inner silk layer is really helpful, i.e., silk long underwear. It adds trivial weight or thickness, but makes a pretty big difference. Since it's underwear, I don't care what color it is, and it's pretty affordable on clearance at online sites if color doesn't matter.

Layers really are better, IME, especially if some air between. For me, a couple of thinner layers is warmer than one thick one, generally.

Since you say "wind not a factor", I won't emphasize outer windbreaker layers, but in windy conditions (even if the wind is self-generated, which rowing or cycling can do), that thin wind pants/jacket makes a huge difference. I don't know how running is, in movement-generated airflow, because I can't run. If the cold feels like it's cutting in, it might be worth trying, if you have some useable garment(s).

Just a couple of thoughts.

yirara

thanks a lot guys. Today was my rest day thus I'll try something new tomorrow, and if that doesn't work something else the next. Looks like the air will remain very dry and temps around freezing without any wind. (meh, I always do a winter weather prediction in autumn, and my prediction for this year was some rain days, somewhat humid air but not quite so cold. I got it totally wrong this time)

avatiach

+1 on silk long underwear, wool socks, fleece or wool hat and gloves. Some people actually start with thicker gloves and then have light gloves underneath. The nice thing about hat and gloves is that you can take them on and off. Some people put a headband under a hat, then if you warm up you can hold the hat in your hands.

AnnPT77

avatiach wrote: »

+1 on silk long underwear, wool socks, fleece or wool hat and gloves. Some people actually start with thicker gloves and then have light gloves underneath. The nice thing about hat and gloves is that you can take them on and off. Some people put a headband under a hat, then if you warm up you can hold the hat in your hands.

I treat a jacket layer in the same way: If biking, I sort of spin-roll it into a tube with the arms sticking out, and tie it around my waist by the arms (the rolling keeps the tail from tangling in the bike; I leave it dangling for walking, don't know what's best for running). (Probably would work with light pants, too, but I'm less bothered if my lower level is too warm.) Rowing, obviously, I can take off layers and put them in the bottom of the boat until we're back at the dock.

BrianSharpe

There's probably a couple of things at play, one of them being cold tolerance. If you've not lived in a cooler climate for a few years there's definitely an adjustment.

Second thing is clothing, I live in a place where we have extremes at both ends of the range. It occasionally hits -40C here in winter and will occasionally hit close to 40c in summer. Heat kills me.

For winter running it's really a matter of trial and error. Something I've found that really works for me is a light merino wool base layer. Toasty warm, lightweight & wicking. For really cold weather I'll add winter weight tights (if you refer sweats the base layer under them will probably make a difference) and for my torso a mid weight half zip with a fleece layer and running shell to block the wind. I have a variety of toques / beanies of differing weights/warmth for warmer vs cooler days.

Personally the hardest thing I found to dial in was gloves. You want your hands warm without being hot. I ended up with a Columbia fleece glove that has the silver / reflective liner which works for most days & I'll wear a liner on really cold days.

You want to dress so that you're a bit cool to start as you will warm up with time.

Like I said, a bit of trial and error. The good part is that most running gear lasts years so that investing in quality is worthwhile.

Have fun!

AnnPT77

Speaking of gloves, FWIW: If it's really cold, what works well for me are the gloves sometimes called "choppers". The particular type I like are gloves (not mittens) made out of very flexible leather (I think it's deerskin), with relatively light wool liner gloves - two pieces for each hand. (They can also be gotten as mittens - i.e., not separate fingers; or with an attached lining (that latter not as useful for me).)

They're super warm. When they get too hot part way through the activity, I remove one of the layers (usually the wool) and stick that part in my pockets.

My late husband used to use a mitten variation of this when he did Tai Chi outdoors in way sub-freezing temps. However, it was thicker wool mittens, with a nylon/cordura windbreak-type over-mitt.

In both the leather and nylon type versions, there needs to be a wrist strap or cinch of some type, or they're hard to keep on . . . especially the nylon ones.

snowflake954

My question is "How's it been going". Have you been able to better your situation?

cwolfman13

Merino wool base layer.

Skyleen75

I love my fleece neck warmer that can be pulled up over my lower face if the wind picks up. Easy to carry if I start to over heat. I swear by my sealskin waterproof socks. I prefer light weight fleece mittens but sometimes wear heavier gloves. When it’s really cold I rock merino wool base layers. Also I’ve learned a warm vest is a great layer. I’m part polar bear though and my ideal running temp for a tank top is 40f

yirara

snowflake954 wrote: »

My question is "How's it been going". Have you been able to better your situation?

yeah, it went better overall. Then a cyclist drove into me and now I'm awaiting surgery. Don't ask. So basically... running was going better, but I'm not better.