Forums >Racing>Racing in the cold
At what temperature do you find your race performance suffers due to the cold?
That depends on what you're acclimated to. Same with the heat & humidity.
My performance starts to suffer under 32F. Though for longer races, a bit on the colder side can be a good thing.
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During a long race, below freezing is a temp that will have its way with me.
Half PR: 1:34 (August, 2012)
Marathon PR: 3:45 (October, 2012)
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Right around 10F is where I, personally, start to wear enough extra layers that I can't dial in a good race pace due to getting too warm from the effort, or too cold from not enough layers.
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I have a theory that the colder it is, the faster I will run because I will want to get out of the cold. I HATE the cold, but I've never run a truly cold race before (I consider 45F "cold," by the way.) Until this weekend, when I ran one in 25F, felt like 10F... it didn't negatively affect my performance, I just never heated up the way I would have in even 35F.
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Thanks guys.
I'm pretty acclimated I think as I've been running outside all winter. But it looks like it will be 17, feels like 7 for the 15k I am racing on Saturday so I was wondering if that was too cold to perform well. Sounds like it should be ok?
--Coldest it ever gets in the Virginia Beach area is about 18-20 degrees, which I have no problems with. I PR'd last weekend in 32 degrees, even with an injured foot!
What gets me is not the COLD, but rather the WIND. 32 Degrees and no wind is near perfect. 45 Degrees and a strong gusty wind are horrible to run in.
As to your performance in the upcoming 15k, what are the winds going to be like? That is the question. :-)
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Thanks guys. I'm pretty acclimated I think as I've been running outside all winter. But it looks like it will be 17, feels like 7 for the 15k I am racing on Saturday so I was wondering if that was too cold to perform well. Sounds like it should be ok?
Dress for a temp 20F warmer than actual temp.
Expect to be cold at the start and first segment.
Be quick to take off gloves and hat as you build heat.
I try to wear a quarter-zip or full-zip top layer and adjust constantly for into the wind, downwind, hills, etc.
That's about what it was for a 10K I ran last Sunday along the lakefront in Chicago. Do a very thorough warmup with some fast running and you should be fine. Know what parts of your body get coldest the quickest, and bother you the most, and dress for that. For me it's my hands. I can handle my legs and upper body being cold, but not the hands. However, don't race in the same amount of clothes you'd wear in that weather for a training run. It will be too much. Good luck.
Sounds good! Thanks! Looks like the wind will only be 7mph. Which shouldn't be bad at all!
Yep, Personally I go to most races in shorts and a short sleeve Tshirt, no matter the temps. (as long as wind is not blowing).
---I just sit in the car + stay really warm until 5 minutes before race start, then jog over there + go :-)
I'm usually slower because of snow when the temperatures are below freezing. And warm snow (+25 or so) is generally slower than cold snow, closer to 10-20F.
I will not be wearing shorts and a tshirt!
Yep, Personally I go to most races in shorts and a short sleeve Tshirt, no matter the temps. (as long as wind is not blowing). ---I just sit in the car + stay really warm until 5 minutes before race start, then jog over there + go :-)
AK- I'm hoping the roads are cleared and in decent shape.
Never reached my lower limit - a 20F race with a long sleeve t-shirt and shorts was fine - just got my sweats back on in a hurry. I think much lower than that then I'd have to layer which might hit me a couple seconds per mile.
Its not the temp but the wind. 20F with no wind feels better than 45 with a 20 MPH wind to me.
My issues are heat. Above 60F and I start to wheeze some, above 70F I get overheated and slow down.
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You probably know by now what parts of you are affected by cold the most. Trust your experience with training runs and just wear that.
For me, it is hardly ever cold enough that I need a full jacket. So I usually can get away with my Patagonia vest with different weight tech shirts in anything from freezing to negative 11(coldest so far, with stiff North breeze to boot!). I run hot up top, my head is rarely covered with anything thicker than a skullcap(those stretchy NFL player nylon covers worn underneath helmets) but my legs and hands are totally from a different person!!! I have to double my gloves at anything under 20. Can't feel my fingers if I don't! And I have to wear my heavy thermal tights at 32 or less, doubling up tights when it reaches negative temps. Otherwise, I stiffen up so much that I end up doing the old lady/Marvin the Martian shuffle. My legs just do not work well in the cold. Which since I am using them the most and the muscles are the biggest, I find very odd. But it is just me. So I know that and deal.
So really, anything cold or hot that I don't dress for makes my race suffer. If I overdress for 80 degree temps, I suffer. If I underdress for 30 degree temps, I suffer.