Effects of cold on the lungs (Read 936 times)

I've never run in that cold, but I have done -5F. Wear a face mask or something over your mouth -- the condensation will result in the air you breathe in being relatively warm and moist.

Your lungs (and other innards) don't know anything about wind chill, so you can ignore any impact from wind chill effects. Peronally, I find that at about -5F and below that breathing through a balacava (sp?) helps with the dry air, and that's about all I change.

If I run a race in the cold, where I'm breathing harder than on a training run, I'll often find that my lungs get a bit sore and I'm coughing for a day or two afterward. I've never had any problems from a plain ol' training run. I do wear a balaclava when it gets to the teens or colder, so that my be helping as much as the shallower breaths.

Daniel: I thought you were a fellow Minnesotan! ;o) I'd have to be honest; I'm dreading the sub 20F weather we are supposed to be heading this week after we've been spoiled with the "heat wave" of upper 30s... This winter was not too bad--I think the coldest we had was about -30F. Coldest we had with windchill was about -40F. The coldest I had ever run in, including windchill, was -60F. It was early in the morning (6AM) and, yes, it was windy, I found out when I got back that most schools and even offices were closed due to hazadarous weather condtion! Of course, I always tell this story ("I ran in -60F condition!") but the actual fact is; I was running through a residential area with plenty of trees around to avoid wind... (it was -30 something without windchill). So this is actually something you can do (if the environment permits); to choose the course with houses/trees/fense...whatever to block the wind (if windy, that is). Another thing I do is to find a loop to go around and around... Yes, boring; but then if it gets really bad, you can always call it a quit. You won't freeze your lungs--if we do, I would have gotten frost-bitten lungs 3 times over. I would be careful about racing in such condition because, as previous poster mentioned, you would breathe quite a bit harder in racing or faster running. I ran a quarter marathon (supposed to be a half marathon but it was too cold and the organizer decided to cut it in half) in February and I felt a bit uncomfortable in my throat. But even then, it usually won't even reach as far down to your lungs. The body generates so much heat and, it's long enough of a way down to your lungs that, most cold air would adequately warmed up by the time it reaches your lungs. I personally don't like fact mask, or whatever, that covers my mouth. Moisture in the breath forms ice and gets quite uncomfortable. My biggest concern would be my cheeks (of my fact, that is...). Nose... Well, I guess I gotta live with it! That -60F windchill condition was the only time I actually saw icicle forming on the tip of my nose. Fortunately or unfortunately, it's still there. One thing I noticed, though... We had pretty poor dental treatment in Japan (getting better now) and I had quite a few fillings when I came to MN. Within the first, oh, I'd say 5~7 years in MN, they ALL came off. I'm actually convinced that it's due to the extreme cold condition. Every time I stepped outside when it gets REALLY cold, I felt this "clicking" sensation deep in my teeth... I swear it must have been the metal shrinking in cold air (and expanding afterward when i get back inside). Anybody out there experienced the same thing??? Any one? Any one? Any one? Ferris?

My coldest run to date is -10F. Your lungs are very capable of protecting themselves from cold air. They just produce a layer of mucus that lines the passageways. The colder it is, the more mucus is produced. What really needs protection on sub zero runs is your face. It's easy to get frost bite on your cheeks without realizing it. Tom