My 12 Tips for surviving WINTER Running!!! + Life (of course).

It is here!  Utah has been tricking me into thinking that we were going to skip winter altogether this year.   Then we got dumped on with snow earlier this week to make up for the warmer temperatures we have been having.  I am all about hitting the treadmill when the temperatures are in the low teens and below (or because of kid reasons etc) but I do have some things that I do to help me to continue my running throughout the winter.

1.  Getting the right gear for winter is worth the moola.  Having a few REALLY high quality pieces of running clothes for the winter will make the biggest difference.  You don’t need a lot, invest in a few pieces to keep you warm. Just do the laundry more often and stick to the classics throughout the winter.  I recommend having a few really great base layers, an awesome coat and running tights that fit you right and do their job in keeping you warm.   A lot of the things I wear for winter running are from previous years so the things I am linking below are either things I wear now or things that are very similar!

Base layers:   Here, here and here.

Tights:  Here (in above picture) and here!

Jacket:  Drift 1/2 Zip is great on it’s own or under a jacket, this and this (pictured above).

Here is a great guide for what to wear according to temperatures:

2.  Worried about falling on the ice/snow while you are out running?  Grab some Yaktrax to lower your chances of falling!

3.  Do some sort of warm-up before you leave the house.  Jog up and down your stairs, do some jumping jacks, planks, mountain climbers… get the blood flowing and your heart pumping to make it a little bit easier when you first walk out the door into the cold temperatures.

4.   You have another thing to motivate you to do core work… having a strong core helps me to avoid slipping/falling on the ice.  When you start to slip, your strong core will keep you from falling hard!

5.  Do what you can to go at the best time possible!  Move things around on your schedule if you can to run in the lighter times of the day.  Running in the dark on the ice is one of my worst nightmares now (a few winters back I slipped on ice at 5 a.m. while running and hit my head very hard) so I do what I can to run when there is at least a little bit of light.   Avoid my mistakes and if you are on the ice running then slow down, get some Yaktrax and be cautious and aware of where you are about to step!  So glad Josse was with me to help after I fell:

6.  MAKE SURE YOU CAN BE SEEN!! If you are running during times that it is not light out (or just barely light out) always make sure that you are in clothing that can be seen by cars.  Retroflective pieces, a headlamp, a reflective vest, a flashlight… anything.  Snow and ice add another danger at any time of day for drivers to lose control of their car… I am lucky because there are a lot of running trails in our area so I’m not always on the sidewalk next to cars but still in a busy setting so I feel secure.

7.   Keep the little things WARM because without that, your run is going to hurt.  Toes, fingers, ears.  I feel like when one of those things hurt, everything hurts so prepare well for those before you leave.

Gloves:  Here (I wear these the most), here (these ones are great for hand warmers or to go over another pair of gloves) or here.  Never tried these ones before but they are rechargeable heated gloves;)

Headbands:  Here or here.

Socks:  I don’t buy particular running socks for winter but I just use my thicker pairs which seems to help—>  usually my Bombas socks and the tall ones on really cold days to prevent any space between my sock and pants.  Also make sure to wear socks that wick away moisture/wetness to help keep them warm and dry.

8.  Hit up an indoor track.  A lot of different colleges and rec centers will have these, find them and use them to get in some speed work to train for your spring races.  It will give you a break from the cold temperatures so you can get back out there again soon.

9.  Need some motivation to get out for the winter… remember how tough you feel after you finish a run in tough conditions.  Plus, you look really tough running around in the cold to all of the cars that pass by on the roads.

10.  To go along with #9… getting back into shape again is HARD.  Staying in somewhat good running shape year round sounds a lot easier to me than taking off the winter months only to start all over again:)  That motivates me to stick with it when the temperatures are telling me to stay in bed.

Below pic is from a time I ran 20 miles in the snow with my sister… that was a good time.

11.  Have something warm to look forward to when you get home from your run.  A hot chocolate, soup, hot oatmeal, a hot shower, a heating pad, extra warm socks, a hot bath, sitting on top of the vents in your house when the heater is on… coming home to something that will warm you up makes the run so much better.

12.   Remember that all of this winter training when the conditions are rough is going to make you that much stronger once those spring races come along.  Those races are going to feel like a breeze after running for months in low temps.  These runs you are doing now are just helping you build strength mentally and physically.

****Just know that your body needs time to adjust and adapt to temperature change while running.  Whether it is to the heat or to the cold, it just takes time to adjust BUT it does happen.  Every season change without fail, my body gets more used to the change in temperature and it feels better and better.  So give yourself a break and ease  into it if your body is really struggling adjusting to the changes!****

I post this pic below each year but it is always a good reminder for me… we don’t hibernate so get out there and enjoy the run!

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I think Beretta is enjoying the snow more than all of us combined.  She just goes out in the back and tosses the snow up in the air and then runs below it.

Brooke had her first candy cane of the season which was her highlight of the day.  And if you can see in the very back of this picture… we put the vent covers back on in our house which is nice because I have nearly lost a lot of things in the hole that was there before.

This is one of those lunches I might have to eat daily for a while.  Toast + eggs + zucchini + tomatoes + spinach +avocado + Chipotle tabasco after the picture was taken.

Went out for a bit with the Tuesday crew.

I crave spaghetti very often.

Bath time and snuggles for Brooke before bed.

Followed by some major stretching for me.  I did 5 miles @ a 6:53 average yesterday morning and wanted to make sure to stretch out really good because I haven’t done a tempo like that in quite some time.

Did anyone read about this amazing man?  Wow.

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What is your biggest tip for surviving the winter?

What temperatures outside get you to hit the treadmill instead of braving the cold?

Ever fallen while running… what caused it?  Were you able to get back up and finish your run or did it cause some problems?

What was your dinner last night?