Running in the Winter II

I am very surprised at how frequently I have been able to run this winter. We have had a couple of days where we had an accumulation of snow. We have also had weather in the 20's during the day.

The coldest temperature I have run in so far is 23 degrees Fahrenheit. This run was only a mile and change from an auto dealership in town to our house. I had to drop off a car for inspection. I completed this run early on a Saturday morning while the family was sleeping.

I discovered the gloves I was wearing were not able to keep my hands warm. They are made out of a breathable material, as opposed to a material which does not readily absorb water. I wore a t-shirt, long sleeve shirt and a windbreaker. Normally when I run, my body warms up sufficiently to offset the cold. At 23 degrees I could feel the cold beginning to permeate my three layers. I was fine for a mile or two - but for a longer run I would have had some body heat retention issues.

Surprisingly I have not had any issues with breathing in the cold. I can remember cases when I was younger where It would hurt to merely breathe in very cold weather.

Since I knew I only had to run a little over a mile, I ran very fast. I averaged a 7:37 per mile pace on the way home. Being very cold provided a great motivator for getting home very quickly.

I believe this was about as cold as a temperature I wanted to run in. I have developed a very good tolerance for running in temps 28 degrees Fahrenheit and above. I have run into a stiff wind several times. Running into a wind simulates running uphill. I am not fond of running into the wind, but it does build up the leg muscles.