Forums  > General Running  > Do runners feel the cold more?


Do runners feel the cold more? (Read 729 times)
posted: 1/27/2008 at 7:29 PM
In the infrared spectrum (depends on the scaling), I'm purple-blackish.

Mood rings register the same same thing.

Confused
posted: 1/28/2008 at 4:07 PM
i'm pretty much cold all the time so i've always got layers on and bring jackets with me everywhere...even in the summer (cuz the have the air on way too high in the resturaunts) Mostly my hands and feet are frozen all the time and i'm pretty sure its because my resting heart rate is so low (most runners are because their hearts are very healthy) and so my circulation sucks and makes me a walking frozen ice cube. At least thats why i think most runners are cold...that and low body fat! Cool hope that helps LOL


Everyone needs water

posted: 1/29/2008 at 12:41 AM
Ya know something? this makes total sense to me all of a sudden. Ive noticed how I'm not as cold tolerable anymore, but I just didnt take it too seriously. Yeah I guess maybe because ive lost weight, I dont have the warm blubber layer anymore.

However, I remember how I used to walk to all my classes in college and I would actually have to get there about 20 minutes early just to allow time to go and dab off in the bathroom and allow the little sweat on my shirt at the small of my back and my shoulder blades to dry off. HOW EMBARASSING!!! I'll take a few extra socks and a sweatshirt anyday over that
invisible


posted: 1/29/2008 at 1:34 AM
modified: 1/29/2008 at 2:10 AM
Quote from HarmonyC01 on 1/28/2008 at 4:07 PM:
... I'm pretty sure its because my resting heart rate is so low (most runners are because their hearts are very healthy) and so my circulation sucks...



Low resting heart rate does not equate to poor circulation. Thank God, you're wrong. Smile

90 percent of the game is not giving up.
posted: 1/29/2008 at 1:46 PM
When I was 240+ I thought I was not tolerant of the cold. I would always be turning off the AC in my grad student office, starting many arguments with my 300+ colleagues. Now I'm 165, and I can barely leave the house without a few layers on. As of right now, my office (thankfully no officemates now!) is easily 10 degrees warmer than the hallway, and I'm still wearing the jacket from when I left the house.

Oddly enough, this never stops me from running in the 20s, 30s, and 40s....
posted: 1/29/2008 at 11:41 PM
As has been noted lower body fat does make you more sensitive to cold. Having said that, I have actually found that I tolerate the cold much better since I started running. I'm guessing this is because I run outdoors so that I am acclimating to the colder weather much faster than most people. That, or I'm just too stupid to come in out of the cold. It's 50 / 50 on that one.
And who am I anyway?<br>
Just another fat jogger, evidently.
posted: 1/29/2008 at 11:47 PM
I am always hot...fat...thin...as a couch potato...as a runner. It is just my constitution I think. I do get a chill a few hours after a long run in the cold...but that is the extent of me ever being cold.


cursed avatar for rent

posted: 1/29/2008 at 11:52 PM
Quote from anutherfinemess on 1/29/2008 at 11:41 PM:
As has been noted lower body fat does make you more sensitive to cold. Having said that, I have actually found that I tolerate the cold much better since I started running. I'm guessing this is because I run outdoors so that I am acclimating to the colder weather much faster than most people. That, or I'm just too stupid to come in out of the cold. It's 50 / 50 on that one.


I tolerate the cold better when I'm outdoors...man, it's when I'm sitting still that I feel like an icicle!

Smile
Kirsten
'07: 1324.5 mi
'08: 1561 mi
...
.: 2009 Goals :.
• Run 1750 miles
• 2 marathons - Bayshore, Grand Rapids
• PRs - 5k, 10k?, 15k, HM, 26.2
• 1st trail relay (North Country)

I'm gonna roll up the sidewalk
I'm gonna tear up the ground
Comin' round to meet you
The long way round
~ Stereophonics
BaldMike


posted: 1/31/2008 at 3:15 PM
I am so glad to see other's with this same issue. I have no hair, so my head is always cold and I always wear hats, so I know why my head is cold. My hands though.....They are literally like Ice Cubes most of the day. I have done a lot of reading into it, talked to my doctor about it, she did not think it was circulatory issues. I think it does boil down to body fat and from what I have read, if your core temperature is not warm enough, the body will not keep the extremities warm. The body’s first response is to keep the vital organs in your core warm and functioning, if they are not warm enough, the body will not send enough blood to your feet and hands. I have started trying to wear more shirts or sweatshirts, something warmer over my core. My feet don't get so cold anymore, but my hands still do.
PR 10k - 47: 41 in 2007, goal to break 45 minuntes in 2008
PR 13.1 - 1:44:19
PR 26.2 - 4:24 in 2007, goal to break 3:45 in March 2008

Upcoming races:
March 2008 - ING GA Marathon
July 2008 - Peachtree Road Race
And hopefully the Marine Corps Marathon in October 2008.
Docster


posted: 1/31/2008 at 5:10 PM
20 months ago (and ~60 pounds) I was usually hot/warm...always on the hot side if others were "comfortable".

Now I'm on the other side of the equation most of the time. Fat is, after all...an insulator.....


I look marvellous!

posted: 2/1/2008 at 12:56 AM
This is great! Thanks, everyone for responding.

I'm not 100% sold on the body fat theory. Yes, I guess I have less body fat, but in my case, marginally less. Call me crazy, but I think it has more to do with the way our body adapts it's body temperature regulator to try to prevent our brains from burning up when we get too hot when we run. Undecided

And muscle increases our basal metabolic rate - the precise reason why some of us run - so we can eat more! Big grin


Suffering from late adult onset athleticism. Not looking for cure.
2009 goals: Run and run and run and run. Keep my iron up.
Midsummer's night run August 22
Scotiabank Waterfront Half Marathon Sept 27
posted: 2/1/2008 at 1:34 AM
Generally if you're exposed to the elements you build up a little bit of a tolerance to it. I've noticed I feel less cold because I run in cold weather all the time. I think people who lose a lot of weight may feel the opposite and feel colder because fat acts as an insulator and after losing the insulation you lose body heat more quickly. Also after a long run I feel really warm for a few hours and then the rest of the day I feel colder than normal probably due to the strain I put myself through with my long runs. It's possible that because we run in the cold all the time we are better able to detect temperature differences also??? Still generally people should develop some tolerance to the cold. Usually not much but there is a difference. I know that people who spend lots of time in cold weather eventually develop a special kind of tolerance. I forgot the exact numbers but people normally shiver in cold weather at a certain average temperature, which I forgot. But people who have spent a certain period of time in cold weather develop a tolerance, one of them is actually shivering at lower temperatures.

Forums  > General Running  > Do runners feel the cold more?