Cold weather running gear?

trswallow wrote: »

First most of my comments are based on my cold tolerances, so you might have to adjust the suggestions up or down based on your own comfort level. For a frame of reference I keep my house in the mid sixties during the winter. Second this turned into a long post, but hopefully it provides most of the info you need.

Last year I trained for a marathon over the winter months and had many runs in single digit weather (no I idea what the wind chill was) and/or multiple inches of snow on the ground. I have had sweat freeze on the outer layer of my clothing, the moisture from my breath freeze into a layer of ice on my beard, water freeze in the bottles on my hydration belt and on my coldest runs the corners of my eyes start to freeze. Even in the coldest weather I would at most only wear three layers.
You really need to build up an assortment of gear that can be layered together in different combinations based on the weather.

First rule, no cotton items. When it gets wet it will not keep you warm and your own sweat will reduce its ability to keep you warm. You want wicking fabrics that will move moisture away from your skin so that you don't get chilled by your sweat.

Second rule, you want to be slightly chilled at the start. After a few minutes of running your legs are going to be little furnaces heating your whole body. If you are already warm before you start running then by time your furnaces get fired up you are going to have sweat pouring off of you and wicking fabrics will not keep up.

Third rule, stay hydrated. You might not sweat as much as you do when running in the heat, but cold air is very dry and will rob you of moisture with each breath. Covering your mouth with a scarf can help with capturing some of the lost moisture and warming/moisturizing the incoming air so that it is not so harsh on your lungs.

Fourth rule, protect your water bottles. Water bottle are usually alright down to the mid-twenties. As the temperature goes down you run into problems with water freezing in the spout of bottle and then the bottle itself will freezing. For runs up to an hour or so you can get by with taking the lid off after the spout freezes. However for a multi hour run the bottle needs protected because once it starts freezing you can't thaw it without risking frostbite from the frozen water bottle.

Inner Layer: Compression tights and shirt. You can usually get compression gear in three weights/thicknesses (light, mid, heavy/cold weather). The light weight gear by itself will only keep you warm down into the 60s and provides no wind protection. These are really just a long sleeve/long leg version of the compression shorts you might wear in the summer. The heavy weight stuff can work down into the 40s or 30s and the mid weight somewhere in between. Once you have to start adding layers you want to layer closest to your skin to be snug so that it move with your body and does not rub against your skin or bunch up. As a man the only times I have come close to having bloody nipples is when I have layered up with a loose inner shirt, because the other layers press just enough so that the inner layer rubs instead of gliding over your skin.

Outer layer: Jacket, Athletic pants, wind breaker suit. The outer layer you want something that can stop the wind from cutting thru you, while still letting moisture out. Since you will possibly be wearing these over one or two other layers make sure that they are a little loose in the body, but fitted at the ankle, wrist, and waist. A jacket with thumb holes is nice because it prevents a between your gloves and the cuff of your jacket. Just make sure that the sleeves are long enough so that you can use the thumb holes and cross your arms in front of you without the sleeves and back pulling tight. Otherwise you run the risk of being part way through a run a feeling like the jackets going to cut through your thumb webbing. A zip-up jacket is better than a pull-over because you can partly unzip it to regulate your heat as you warm up. I avoid wearing jackets and pants with a nylon shell because they tend to trap moisture. I only wear nylon shells if I am more worried about water getting in than out.

Middle layer: 1/4 zip fleece pullover - Fleece provides a nice amount of warmth without a lot of bulk or weight. I have never used a middle layer on my legs because they produce so much heat while running that it is not needed. When I add a middle layer I usually only wear a light or mid weight inner layer.

Additional items:

• Hat, scarf, Balaclava -The balaclava covers your head and neck and can be pulled over your mouth, but depending on the weave might restrict your breathing to much.
• Gloves, Mittens, Glove Liners - Mittens are considered to be warmer than gloves because your fingers are kept together and share warmth. I just wore gloves and if my fingers got too cold I would pull them out of the fingers of the gloves and make fists in the palm of the gloves.
• Trail shoes, water proof/resistant socks - Trail shoes provide better traction for running in the snow and some are water proof/resistant. I haven't used the socks before, but since my new trail shoes don't have a Gore-Tex layer I am probably going to be getting a pair to tryout this year.
• Headlamp, reflective gear, lighted vest / NoxGear - Since it gets dark earlier, there is a good chance you will end up doing some of your running in the dark. You want a bright headlamp that lights up your path and get the attention of any oncoming cars and preferably uses AA or AAA batteries so that replacement batteries don't cost as much as the light.

To save money I bought a lot of my gear at discount stores like T.J. Maxx and Marshalls.

trswallow wrote: »

First most of my comments are based on my cold tolerances, so you might have to adjust the suggestions up or down based on your own comfort level. For a frame of reference I keep my house in the mid sixties during the winter. Second this turned into a long post, but hopefully it provides most of the info you need.

Last year I trained for a marathon over the winter months and had many runs in single digit weather (no I idea what the wind chill was) and/or multiple inches of snow on the ground. I have had sweat freeze on the outer layer of my clothing, the moisture from my breath freeze into a layer of ice on my beard, water freeze in the bottles on my hydration belt and on my coldest runs the corners of my eyes start to freeze. Even in the coldest weather I would at most only wear three layers.
You really need to build up an assortment of gear that can be layered together in different combinations based on the weather.

First rule, no cotton items. When it gets wet it will not keep you warm and your own sweat will reduce its ability to keep you warm. You want wicking fabrics that will move moisture away from your skin so that you don't get chilled by your sweat.

Second rule, you want to be slightly chilled at the start. After a few minutes of running your legs are going to be little furnaces heating your whole body. If you are already warm before you start running then by time your furnaces get fired up you are going to have sweat pouring off of you and wicking fabrics will not keep up.

Third rule, stay hydrated. You might not sweat as much as you do when running in the heat, but cold air is very dry and will rob you of moisture with each breath. Covering your mouth with a scarf can help with capturing some of the lost moisture and warming/moisturizing the incoming air so that it is not so harsh on your lungs.

Fourth rule, protect your water bottles. Water bottle are usually alright down to the mid-twenties. As the temperature goes down you run into problems with water freezing in the spout of bottle and then the bottle itself will freezing. For runs up to an hour or so you can get by with taking the lid off after the spout freezes. However for a multi hour run the bottle needs protected because once it starts freezing you can't thaw it without risking frostbite from the frozen water bottle.

Inner Layer: Compression tights and shirt. You can usually get compression gear in three weights/thicknesses (light, mid, heavy/cold weather). The light weight gear by itself will only keep you warm down into the 60s and provides no wind protection. These are really just a long sleeve/long leg version of the compression shorts you might wear in the summer. The heavy weight stuff can work down into the 40s or 30s and the mid weight somewhere in between. Once you have to start adding layers you want to layer closest to your skin to be snug so that it move with your body and does not rub against your skin or bunch up. As a man the only times I have come close to having bloody nipples is when I have layered up with a loose inner shirt, because the other layers press just enough so that the inner layer rubs instead of gliding over your skin.

Outer layer: Jacket, Athletic pants, wind breaker suit. The outer layer you want something that can stop the wind from cutting thru you, while still letting moisture out. Since you will possibly be wearing these over one or two other layers make sure that they are a little loose in the body, but fitted at the ankle, wrist, and waist. A jacket with thumb holes is nice because it prevents a between your gloves and the cuff of your jacket. Just make sure that the sleeves are long enough so that you can use the thumb holes and cross your arms in front of you without the sleeves and back pulling tight. Otherwise you run the risk of being part way through a run a feeling like the jackets going to cut through your thumb webbing. A zip-up jacket is better than a pull-over because you can partly unzip it to regulate your heat as you warm up. I avoid wearing jackets and pants with a nylon shell because they tend to trap moisture. I only wear nylon shells if I am more worried about water getting in than out.

Middle layer: 1/4 zip fleece pullover - Fleece provides a nice amount of warmth without a lot of bulk or weight. I have never used a middle layer on my legs because they produce so much heat while running that it is not needed. When I add a middle layer I usually only wear a light or mid weight inner layer.

Additional items:

• Hat, scarf, Balaclava -The balaclava covers your head and neck and can be pulled over your mouth, but depending on the weave might restrict your breathing to much.
• Gloves, Mittens, Glove Liners - Mittens are considered to be warmer than gloves because your fingers are kept together and share warmth. I just wore gloves and if my fingers got too cold I would pull them out of the fingers of the gloves and make fists in the palm of the gloves.
• Trail shoes, water proof/resistant socks - Trail shoes provide better traction for running in the snow and some are water proof/resistant. I haven't used the socks before, but since my new trail shoes don't have a Gore-Tex layer I am probably going to be getting a pair to tryout this year.
• Headlamp, reflective gear, lighted vest / NoxGear - Since it gets dark earlier, there is a good chance you will end up doing some of your running in the dark. You want a bright headlamp that lights up your path and get the attention of any oncoming cars and preferably uses AA or AAA batteries so that replacement batteries don't cost as much as the light.

To save money I bought a lot of my gear at discount stores like T.J. Maxx and Marshalls.

krdews wrote: »

trswallow wrote: »

First most of my comments are based on my cold tolerances, so you might have to adjust the suggestions up or down based on your own comfort level. For a frame of reference I keep my house in the mid sixties during the winter. Second this turned into a long post, but hopefully it provides most of the info you need.

Last year I trained for a marathon over the winter months and had many runs in single digit weather (no I idea what the wind chill was) and/or multiple inches of snow on the ground. I have had sweat freeze on the outer layer of my clothing, the moisture from my breath freeze into a layer of ice on my beard, water freeze in the bottles on my hydration belt and on my coldest runs the corners of my eyes start to freeze. Even in the coldest weather I would at most only wear three layers.
You really need to build up an assortment of gear that can be layered together in different combinations based on the weather.

First rule, no cotton items. When it gets wet it will not keep you warm and your own sweat will reduce its ability to keep you warm. You want wicking fabrics that will move moisture away from your skin so that you don't get chilled by your sweat.

Second rule, you want to be slightly chilled at the start. After a few minutes of running your legs are going to be little furnaces heating your whole body. If you are already warm before you start running then by time your furnaces get fired up you are going to have sweat pouring off of you and wicking fabrics will not keep up.

Third rule, stay hydrated. You might not sweat as much as you do when running in the heat, but cold air is very dry and will rob you of moisture with each breath. Covering your mouth with a scarf can help with capturing some of the lost moisture and warming/moisturizing the incoming air so that it is not so harsh on your lungs.

Fourth rule, protect your water bottles. Water bottle are usually alright down to the mid-twenties. As the temperature goes down you run into problems with water freezing in the spout of bottle and then the bottle itself will freezing. For runs up to an hour or so you can get by with taking the lid off after the spout freezes. However for a multi hour run the bottle needs protected because once it starts freezing you can't thaw it without risking frostbite from the frozen water bottle.

Inner Layer: Compression tights and shirt. You can usually get compression gear in three weights/thicknesses (light, mid, heavy/cold weather). The light weight gear by itself will only keep you warm down into the 60s and provides no wind protection. These are really just a long sleeve/long leg version of the compression shorts you might wear in the summer. The heavy weight stuff can work down into the 40s or 30s and the mid weight somewhere in between. Once you have to start adding layers you want to layer closest to your skin to be snug so that it move with your body and does not rub against your skin or bunch up. As a man the only times I have come close to having bloody nipples is when I have layered up with a loose inner shirt, because the other layers press just enough so that the inner layer rubs instead of gliding over your skin.

Outer layer: Jacket, Athletic pants, wind breaker suit. The outer layer you want something that can stop the wind from cutting thru you, while still letting moisture out. Since you will possibly be wearing these over one or two other layers make sure that they are a little loose in the body, but fitted at the ankle, wrist, and waist. A jacket with thumb holes is nice because it prevents a between your gloves and the cuff of your jacket. Just make sure that the sleeves are long enough so that you can use the thumb holes and cross your arms in front of you without the sleeves and back pulling tight. Otherwise you run the risk of being part way through a run a feeling like the jackets going to cut through your thumb webbing. A zip-up jacket is better than a pull-over because you can partly unzip it to regulate your heat as you warm up. I avoid wearing jackets and pants with a nylon shell because they tend to trap moisture. I only wear nylon shells if I am more worried about water getting in than out.

Middle layer: 1/4 zip fleece pullover - Fleece provides a nice amount of warmth without a lot of bulk or weight. I have never used a middle layer on my legs because they produce so much heat while running that it is not needed. When I add a middle layer I usually only wear a light or mid weight inner layer.

Additional items:

• Hat, scarf, Balaclava -The balaclava covers your head and neck and can be pulled over your mouth, but depending on the weave might restrict your breathing to much.
• Gloves, Mittens, Glove Liners - Mittens are considered to be warmer than gloves because your fingers are kept together and share warmth. I just wore gloves and if my fingers got too cold I would pull them out of the fingers of the gloves and make fists in the palm of the gloves.
• Trail shoes, water proof/resistant socks - Trail shoes provide better traction for running in the snow and some are water proof/resistant. I haven't used the socks before, but since my new trail shoes don't have a Gore-Tex layer I am probably going to be getting a pair to tryout this year.
• Headlamp, reflective gear, lighted vest / NoxGear - Since it gets dark earlier, there is a good chance you will end up doing some of your running in the dark. You want a bright headlamp that lights up your path and get the attention of any oncoming cars and preferably uses AA or AAA batteries so that replacement batteries don't cost as much as the light.

To save money I bought a lot of my gear at discount stores like T.J. Maxx and Marshalls.

Wow & thanks! what a wealth of good, solid, logical information. I've been running for years and usually once the temps dip in the 30's and the windchills are up and snow on the ground I'm running for cover (treadmill). But so far this year I've been running a lot and ran new extended routes to keep it interesting - nothing for me to run 13 on Saturday morning. So, I've been experimenting with layering more than normal and definitely appreciate your insight - thanks for sharing. I know this is off subject and not a fun subject... but any advise on a runny nose? From the time I start and to the end of my run, I am snotting, spitting, honking, blowing; but it just won't stop. Contemplating joining a running group to train for a marathon this spring - I would be embarrassed if I'm the only one doing this - is that normal? Thoughts appreciated.

trswallow wrote: »

First most of my comments are based on my cold tolerances, so you might have to adjust the suggestions up or down based on your own comfort level. For a frame of reference I keep my house in the mid sixties during the winter. Second this turned into a long post, but hopefully it provides most of the info you need.

Last year I trained for a marathon over the winter months and had many runs in single digit weather (no I idea what the wind chill was) and/or multiple inches of snow on the ground. I have had sweat freeze on the outer layer of my clothing, the moisture from my breath freeze into a layer of ice on my beard, water freeze in the bottles on my hydration belt and on my coldest runs the corners of my eyes start to freeze. Even in the coldest weather I would at most only wear three layers.
You really need to build up an assortment of gear that can be layered together in different combinations based on the weather.

First rule, no cotton items. When it gets wet it will not keep you warm and your own sweat will reduce its ability to keep you warm. You want wicking fabrics that will move moisture away from your skin so that you don't get chilled by your sweat.

Second rule, you want to be slightly chilled at the start. After a few minutes of running your legs are going to be little furnaces heating your whole body. If you are already warm before you start running then by time your furnaces get fired up you are going to have sweat pouring off of you and wicking fabrics will not keep up.

Third rule, stay hydrated. You might not sweat as much as you do when running in the heat, but cold air is very dry and will rob you of moisture with each breath. Covering your mouth with a scarf can help with capturing some of the lost moisture and warming/moisturizing the incoming air so that it is not so harsh on your lungs.

Fourth rule, protect your water bottles. Water bottle are usually alright down to the mid-twenties. As the temperature goes down you run into problems with water freezing in the spout of bottle and then the bottle itself will freezing. For runs up to an hour or so you can get by with taking the lid off after the spout freezes. However for a multi hour run the bottle needs protected because once it starts freezing you can't thaw it without risking frostbite from the frozen water bottle.

Inner Layer: Compression tights and shirt. You can usually get compression gear in three weights/thicknesses (light, mid, heavy/cold weather). The light weight gear by itself will only keep you warm down into the 60s and provides no wind protection. These are really just a long sleeve/long leg version of the compression shorts you might wear in the summer. The heavy weight stuff can work down into the 40s or 30s and the mid weight somewhere in between. Once you have to start adding layers you want to layer closest to your skin to be snug so that it move with your body and does not rub against your skin or bunch up. As a man the only times I have come close to having bloody nipples is when I have layered up with a loose inner shirt, because the other layers press just enough so that the inner layer rubs instead of gliding over your skin.

Outer layer: Jacket, Athletic pants, wind breaker suit. The outer layer you want something that can stop the wind from cutting thru you, while still letting moisture out. Since you will possibly be wearing these over one or two other layers make sure that they are a little loose in the body, but fitted at the ankle, wrist, and waist. A jacket with thumb holes is nice because it prevents a between your gloves and the cuff of your jacket. Just make sure that the sleeves are long enough so that you can use the thumb holes and cross your arms in front of you without the sleeves and back pulling tight. Otherwise you run the risk of being part way through a run a feeling like the jackets going to cut through your thumb webbing. A zip-up jacket is better than a pull-over because you can partly unzip it to regulate your heat as you warm up. I avoid wearing jackets and pants with a nylon shell because they tend to trap moisture. I only wear nylon shells if I am more worried about water getting in than out.

Middle layer: 1/4 zip fleece pullover - Fleece provides a nice amount of warmth without a lot of bulk or weight. I have never used a middle layer on my legs because they produce so much heat while running that it is not needed. When I add a middle layer I usually only wear a light or mid weight inner layer.

Additional items:

• Hat, scarf, Balaclava -The balaclava covers your head and neck and can be pulled over your mouth, but depending on the weave might restrict your breathing to much.
• Gloves, Mittens, Glove Liners - Mittens are considered to be warmer than gloves because your fingers are kept together and share warmth. I just wore gloves and if my fingers got too cold I would pull them out of the fingers of the gloves and make fists in the palm of the gloves.
• Trail shoes, water proof/resistant socks - Trail shoes provide better traction for running in the snow and some are water proof/resistant. I haven't used the socks before, but since my new trail shoes don't have a Gore-Tex layer I am probably going to be getting a pair to tryout this year.
• Headlamp, reflective gear, lighted vest / NoxGear - Since it gets dark earlier, there is a good chance you will end up doing some of your running in the dark. You want a bright headlamp that lights up your path and get the attention of any oncoming cars and preferably uses AA or AAA batteries so that replacement batteries don't cost as much as the light.

To save money I bought a lot of my gear at discount stores like T.J. Maxx and Marshalls.