Winter running

[yuli]

We are having some of the most beautiful winter nights in Toronto this year 
There are some nasty windy cold ones, where you want to hibernate all day.
But like tonight, there are beautiful nights full of fluffy snow flakes slowly falling down and its very still (making it quite warm if you're dressed well).
I was taking a walk and felt this was the PERFECT weather for jogging!

Do you guys run in the wintertime outside?

There is something about the quiet and magical peacefulness of winter night that makes me wanna run outside, I wish every winter night was like this.
Days can be good too but the night with fluffy snow looks the best on urban streets, and there are no humans out so youre all by yourself 

Last winter I tried running during the coldest times (I have no idea why I am weird sometimes) and my lungs hurt from gasping the cold air eventually  also all my digits got extremely frozen.
Anyone who does this, what precautions do you take to comfortably run in the winter?

[SteakNchop]

Winter is my favorite time to run. I do two different endurance sports, biking and running. For me, biking is for the summer and running is for the winter. I usually enjoy running at like 4:00 AM the best. It's fun running in the middle of big streets where you'd never be able to do something like it during the day.

[ys]

i grew up in small town surrounded by forest, pine/fir forest is gorgeous in winter, we used to do cross county skiing.
now unfortunately i live in metropolitan area, chicago, i've been to toronto few times in winter, it sucks as well.  i guess everything looks like crap after experiencing winter pine forest.

[yuli]

Winter is my favorite time to run. I do two different endurance sports, biking and running. For me, biking is for the summer and running is for the winter....

Dude you read my mind, when living close to the city I bike in the summer, and I run in the winter (not as often as I should , I wanna start doing it more)...I go on long camping trips in the summer - sort of like living in the wild, and there I'll swim but only because its fun to be in a lake not cause I am that good a swimmer, I can only do it well if I have to not drown lol. What I do like in the summer besides biking all day is long nature exploration walks, I guess its called hiking..
I am will try going for a winter run as soon as I get some more computer work done, dam deadlines, I think I will wrap a thin wool scarf around the lower face and that should solve the cold-air-start-breathing-from-mouth problem. Digits freezing..I guess try two pair of gloves? lol

i grew up in small town surrounded by forest, pine/fir forest is gorgeous in winter, we used to do cross county skiing.
now unfortunately i live in metropolitan area, chicago, i've been to toronto few times in winter, it sucks as well.  i guess everything looks like crap after experiencing winter pine forest.

Winter forest when its quiet and snowy...the best! I actually don't live in the city but right on the outskirts - close enough to get downtown in less then an hour but also close to two very large parks (which are forests, with the river groin through through them and then down through the city)...in the yard I have one wall of tall pine trees...spaced close, taller then the house, it makes a pretty wall in the winter and welcomed shade in the summer.

Anyways I noticed I hate any exercise or sport where my feet are "trapped" in something, like skiis or skates or roller-blades, I don't like, I am semi-envious of the people that do. I like running and walking because its only using your body, as well as some swimming and any exercise done with zero equipment. I also like the other extreme where I am operating a machine, like biking...I'll probably like kite-surfing, gotta try that.

But I am trying to enjoy the nice winter days/night although I hate skating and skiing so I running and walking...I don't know what else to do...

[rawcarni]

Yeah i love winter running because the air is so much fresher and more clean! I also run between 04-07am. It's great! Especially when the moon and the snow make the nights pretty light...I love it. And when coming home, frozen and stiff ears - a hot shower is the nicest reward...

[Hannibal]

2 days ago I was running after a longer brake.
- 6 degrees C, a lot of snow
wonderful weather to do it
But I also ride a bike in winter

a hot shower is the nicest reward...

Have you ever tried very cold shower afterwards? That would really make your day  

[Hannibal]

Last winter I tried running during the coldest times (I have no idea why I am weird sometimes) and my lungs hurt from gasping the cold air eventually  also all my digits got extremely frozen.
Anyone who does this, what precautions do you take to comfortably run in the winter?

You've got to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
And wear some warm clothes, but no to warm, so you don't sweat too much.
My new sheep gloves:
http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/9372/img667111.jpg
http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/8561/img667421.jpg

[SteakNchop]

2 days ago I was running after a longer brake.
- 6 degrees C, a lot of snow
wonderful weather to do it
But I also ride a bike in winter Have you ever tried very cold shower afterwards? That would really make your day  

Oh, I keep mountain biking in the winter. It's just cold, wet and muddy so I don't do it as often.

[Hannibal]

Oh, I keep mountain biking in the winter. It's just cold, wet and muddy so I don't do it as often.

Mountain biking is definitely something much more difficult.
I ride on the streets and sometimes in the forest. I've got a cross bike, so it's not really accustomed to some rocky rough terrain.

[SteakNchop]

Mountain biking is definitely something much more difficult.
I ride on the streets and sometimes in the forest. I've got a cross bike, so it's not really accustomed to some rocky rough terrain.

Well cyclocross is a winter sport so you could almost call that a winter bike. One of the toughest things about winter mountain biking is your hands can get too cold to maneuver the bike properly. On the road, that isn't really a problem because you don't have to do as much and you can also always wear more heavily insulated gloves.

[yuli]

I have a bike I am sure can handle winter, but I never took it into the snow yet, its an old school men's hybrid bike, but with the bigger tires like mountain bike, I had to change the chain a few times and tune up but its been my dad's bike since 15years ago and now its mine...he bugs me to get a sppeed bike expensive like him but I like this one it has character and it has lasted so long must be good lol....

Here are the booties I am going to use for running in winter, fleaxible, ninja-like, sheep skin inside, leather outside....but I only wish the sole was a little flatter    Otherwise I have abused these for 3 years and they have proven good....but when I went winter running last year I stupidly wore running shoes...many times and froze....they do look narrow but I have small feet for my height so they work, better then running shoes ayway....





I am scared of cold baths, I take hot ones, but in each bath I dump a cup of salts 

I prefer mountain running to mountain biking and prefer biking on roads (more or less) instead, because I tend to be clumsy and I dont want to die or go to hospital yet 

[miles]

I sometimes wear a thin stretchy fabric tube over my nose and below when running in the winter. It lets the air in/out but traps the heat from my face/neck which warms the air before I breath it in.

Yuli if you could get the sole changed at a cobbler those boots would be great.

[Hannibal]

Yuli, those are really paleo-style shoes
I wear running ones.
Just an hour ago I was running - snowy terrain, not so easy as on hard one. About 5 km.

[achillezzz]

all day everyday lol i love it but I hatee running with music because you can get huge adrenalin/cortisol shots from it lol and after this feel like shit.

But when slow run without music totally relaxed without sweating because of winter and concentrate on the wind passing by your ears its incredible!!

[SteakNchop]

all day everyday lol i love it but I hatee running with music because you can get huge adrenalin/cortisol shots from it lol and after this feel like shit.

But when slow run without music totally relaxed without sweating because of winter and concentrate on the wind passing by your ears its incredible!!

Absolutely- I never run with music.

[SteakNchop]

Where I live the coldest it will ever get is about freezing, though only in the morning. No snow either. So I run with my Vibrams all year round.

[rawcarni]

all day everyday lol i love it but I hatee running with music because you can get huge adrenalin/cortisol shots from it lol and after this feel like shit.

But when slow run without music totally relaxed without sweating because of winter and concentrate on the wind passing by your ears its incredible!!

Exactly! you read my mind

[SteakNchop]

Us runners are all the same.

[RawZi]

    I love your boots.  I'm looking for ideas.  My and the partner went to see if I could find some closed MBTs.  I have the sandals, and the same store probably has closed shoes.  So he took me to a little outdoor strip mall, but it wasn't the same place.  Right in front of us was a hunting gear store.  I told him I wanted to go in to see if this store has boots I could wear, but he said the store that sold us the MBTs was down the block.  I went along, but that store only sold New Balance shoes, NB shirts etc.  I agreed to getting a pair of hiking shoes there.  The new shoes do actually grip the ice well so far.  They keep on shocking me (my hands when I wear them).  That hasn't happened to me in decades, that I can recall.  Then we went to WF last night, and the shoes just felt too weird to wear, so we (or rather I) shopped barefoot.  I guess that made it paleo.  During the shop, he suggested we return the shoes.  On a bright side, NBs are known to be vegan (no leather most of the time). 

    I think it's (long past) time I get sheepskin shoes like yours.  Maybe I can get them in the morning.

Leather shoes
Greenbees
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    Doesn't matter, but I like environmentally sound choices, not just for my own health.  I really believe raw paleo is better for the earth, even in shoe materials.

    Maybe I should make my own shoes.  I would love to brain tan leather, and I have sources for brains now.  I'm not sure how to make running shoes though.  I wonder how many here make their own shoes.

[Sully]

Running in the cold for too long can give you that pain. Bikeing in the cold is better since it doesn't require as much oxygen or breathing as long distance jogs. Heavy amount of cold oxygen can cause problems. I listen to my body, if I feel good running in the cold i do, if not I don't. I got some nice flexible leather boots too. I like long walks too in the cold. Don't force yourself in the cold if there is that burning or blood taste in your throat/mouth.

[SteakNchop]

Running in the cold for too long can give you that pain. Bikeing in the cold is better since it doesn't require as much oxygen or breathing as long distance jogs. Heavy amount of cold oxygen can cause problems. I listen to my body, if I feel good running in the cold i do, if not I don't. I got some nice flexible leather boots too. I like long walks too in the cold. Don't force yourself in the cold if there is that burning or blood taste in your throat/mouth.

Biking doesn't require as much oxygen? Try climbing up some of these mountains over here...

[yuli]

Biking doesn't require as much oxygen? Try climbing up some of these mountains over here...

Also when you are going at high speed you'll have to breathe out your mouth eventually, especially with the hills etc, and when you go fast there is more ice cold wind hitting you then running. They are both quite demanding exercises when its that cold out.

[Sully]

Biking doesn't require as much oxygen? Try climbing up some of these mountains over here...

No, riding a bicycle on cement is not as srtessing cardiovascularly as jogging for a couple miles. Jogging gets your heart rate up quicker. Unless your gear is very low and your peddling thousands a time a few feet. My gear is high on my my bike, I never breath heavy but feel a burn in my legs. So in a case with normal scenerios, much harder to go for a long jog, more heavy breathing.

even fat people rather ride a bike than go jog,

[Sully]

BTW, it pretty silly you mention biking up a mountain. Were talking about imediate surroundings, around the block on flat surface. I don't live in the mountains.

[Sully]

And even in that, running up a hill is harder than biking up a hill as far as cardio. I only feel a burn in my legs. I just got done biking from the store. Really cold outside. No problem. Breathing is more controlled and less oxygen needed.