Forums >Gears and Wears>Wearing right for the weather
I'm new to this whole winter thing in regard to running. I been looking around at tights but haven't yet bought a pair. Living near the ocean in Massachusetts means it's typically 25-40 through the day right now. RunnersWorld told me I could go outside in in a long sleeve shirt with shorts on in 30 degrees.
How do you prep for a cold day's run? I'm thinking tomorrow (technically today) I'll be heading out for a decent 3-5 mile run in about 33 degrees with low wind. Am I safe?
Also, a tight in this kind of weather, I'd love to be able to afford the Under Armour 3.0 but it's just not realistic for my budget. I may buy a pair of the cheap end Asics, worth the difference?
-Michael
For long training runs err on the side of taking too much clobber... it's no big deal to tie a jacket round your waist or put gloves/hat in your pockets if you find you don't need it all - but it can be very unpleasant if you find yourself 10 miles from home and getting very cold.
You don't need any fancy brands - but when it's cold I normally take: thickish walking socks. Sprinter shorts under running tights. Technical t-shirt/long sleeved shirt (or merino base layer when particularly cold). Shower proof jacket, or goretex jacket if it's really raining properly. Gloves: two pairs when very cold - thin synthetic ones under woolen ones. Just the thin ones when not so cold. A skull cap to keep warm and a peaked cap to keep the rain out of my face. If it's especially cold a buff for round my neck.
Sounds like a lot... but all the hats/gloves/buff can go in jacket pockets if need be, and the jacket and be tied round my waist.
I'm new to this whole winter thing in regard to running. I been looking around at tights but haven't yet bought a pair. Living near the ocean in Massachusetts means it's typically 25-40 through the day right now. RunnersWorld told me I could go outside in in a long sleeve shirt with shorts on in 30 degrees. How do you prep for a cold day's run? I'm thinking tomorrow (technically today) I'll be heading out for a decent 3-5 mile run in about 33 degrees with low wind. Am I safe? Also, a tight in this kind of weather, I'd love to be able to afford the Under Armour 3.0 but it's just not realistic for my budget. I may buy a pair of the cheap end Asics, worth the difference? -Michael
The UA cold gear tights (not the more expensive 3.0 base layer, but the ones without a fly opening) are the warmest thing I have found. The coldest conditions I've used them for is 16 miles at 6 degrees F. I find that the UA cold gear tights are warmer than the way more costly CWX Insulator tights. Most of the time, I prefer the Mizuno breath thermo loose tights, but I don't think the current version is as nice as the ones from a few years ago.
You don't need to spend a lot on cold-weather running gear, those Asics tights are fine. And I get my gloves at the hardware store, cotton gardening gloves for $1.38 / pair.
How much to bundle up depends to some extent how fast I'm planning to go--faster running generates more heat that colder running. The runners world guide can help but it's one of those things you need to figure out through experience because everyone has their own tolerance for the cold.
Runners run
My fingers and ears get painfully cold at 35 or below. So gloves and hat at or below that temp, but I have run in shorts and a long sleeve shirt in temps down to 25 F. It does not get much colder than that here in NC. It's cold to start but in a mile or 2 I am comfortable.
Thanks guys, I feel a little more confident in just throwing on some north face gear and heading out now. It's still only 22, so maybe once I'm at least around freezing.
I'm going to head out today and look into the ua coldgear/asics and see what I can find.
No Talent Drips
Only 22? Sounds balmy compared to the 5deg current temp where I sit just 200 miles north.
If the sun is out, run in shorts in 30 degree weather.
Dei Gratia
+1 on the cheap-o cotton gloves. Makes it a lot easier to tolerate losing them too. I've used socks as glove substitutes in a pinch as well.
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Menace to Sobriety
Same for me. Gloves, hat and long sleeves is usually enough for mid 20s and above. Sometimes if its windy, I'll put a short sleeve cotton t-shirt over a long sleeved tech shirt. I have enough old ratty race shirts that if it gets too bulky, I just drop it somewhere.
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Good Bad & The Monkey
Everybody is different. You need to find the temperature/clothing combinations that work for you.
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Poor baby
In temps down to zero, I wear a pair of Champion C9 cold weather pants from Target. Below zero I wear a pair of SportHill Zone 3 pants. I also wear a Champion thermal shirt with a Brooks wind breaker, cheap cotton gloves of fleece below zero, hat and a neck warmer.
I've read this before and I also used it as a guide when I started running outdoors in the cold, you should be cold for about the first two miles of a run, or you have over dressed and will get too hot by the end of your run.
You should also keep the wind direction in mind when you go out. I start into the wind and return with the wind at my back. The thought is that if you return into the wind and you have been sweating (which I do a lot of), the wind in your face will cool you down too rapidly and you will get very cold from being wet.
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Target sells some good, inexpensive tights under the guise of a "base layer". I've found those to be very warm, and have run in temps down to about 4 degrees.
You're definitely safe in 33 degrees. My personal limit for just shorts is about 32 (depending on other conditions) and some people in my running club never transition, no matter the temperature. Comfort is a personal thing, though, so see what works for you.
------------------------------------- 5K - 18:25 - 3/19/11 10K - 39:38 - 12/13/09 1/2 - 1:29:38 - 5/30/10 Full - 3:45:40 - 5/27/07
If you are ever heading on 95 towards New Haven you can stop at the UA outlet store in Clinton, CT. They usually have a good selection.
Sara
MM #2929
Not a bad trek once I get back to Amherst in a few weeks, of course once I have some savings to spend. (By the way, Ojo... 784 days? awesome)
Looks like just shorts and maybe a henley or longsleeve over some basic UA heatgear.
Worst case scenario I'm only like 2 miles away. I just have to find what keeps me comfortable.
My warmest running tights are REI OXT. I've had them a couple of years, so I'm not sure if they still make them from the same material. They are thick, and unbelievably warm. I don't like to be cold, and these things are windproof, too. They are slightly fleecy, but not baggy or anything. I have a top made of the same stuff. I ran in -2 degrees last week in Colorado and my legs were never cold.
It really is an individual thing. I wear a lot more than some people because it just doesn't bother me that much to overheat on a training run. I can always take something off. A race is more problematic because I hate being cold at the start, but you warm up fast. That's why I don't like cold weather races.
I am a believer in high-end running gear and don't mind spending $$ to have good stuff. You get what you pay for (with allowances for premiums for the name- which is why I'm not that sold on UA stuff). I have great Sugoi, Brooks and Nike tops and jackets that have served me well, and some Brooks light mittens that seem to be windproof and very warm.
Out there running since dinosaurs roamed the earth