Running in Cold Weather — What to Wear for Your First Season
Wearing layers to stay comfortable in your cold weather run.
With the weather changing soon, it’s a good idea to work on what I call the Wearing Document. It’s a temperature-based personal guide to what to wear while running in cold weather.
I actually started my own a little later in the season, in October 2019. Wow, I can’t believe I’ve been running that long.
Why a Personal Document?
Most of the literature on this topic is about gear. What gear to wear? Missing the information on how to run comfortably in cold weather. I assumed as it got cooler that what I wore would change. What would I wear when it’s 30 degrees out? What about when it’s 10 degrees? Plus, I wanted a guide tailored to my own needs. I have family members in Florida that start wearing scarves and jackets at 50 degrees; I don’t close my window until the high 40s.
How to Keep It
This is a preference. Anything from a simple handwritten page to an Access database can work. I kept it simple and went with a Word document and table formatting. Please indulge in your own preferences. Here are a couple of ideas you might incorporate.
What to Include
The basic information is the temperature, what you are wearing, and the notes area. The notes area is key. I use the notes area for information useful for potential changes. Here is an example.
Here is a sample day.
Temperature
This is paramount to your success. The local weather report will not do. It is way too general. You need something as local as possible that is constantly updated. I went with https://weather.com/. I was specifically looking for something with feel-like weather. Plus, I felt the weather by zip code would give me a more precise forecast.
Layers
The question of heavy vs. thin layers was never a question for me. Layers win, hands down. I hate to sweat and actually enjoy a cool run. So, I went with lighter, more numerous layers. For instance, I will wear multiple T-shirts, as many as three at a time.
Making Changes 5 Degrees at a Time
I decided that when the weather fell by 5 degrees, I would add a layer of clothing. Why 5 degrees? Arbitrary. It sounded good and has worked for me.
I did this in November, so even if I was off, I would not freeze. It’s not a perfect science, so I found myself making great use of the notes area. Sometimes, especially at the start, it could take me 3 or 4 days to get it right. Too hot, too cold — I was chasing Goldilocks in terms of what to wear for each temperature.
I’ve discovered, and you may as well, that 90% of the changes that occur are on your upper body while the lower body is usually fine. In fact, I make only 2 changes to my lower body: at 50 degrees, I switch from shorts to long pants, and at 10 degrees, I add bike pants under my sweat pants. Negative 5 is as cold as I have run, but I keep a set of long johns just in case.
Your list is going to be different. But here is mine. A basic list of all the items I wear
• Baseball Cap
• Light knit hat
• Heavy knit hat
• Weight gloves
• Leather-lined gloves
• Heavy Thermal Gloves
• T-shirt (numbers can range from 1 to 3).
• Shorts
• Long Sweat Pants
• Sweater
• Hoodie
• Lightweight long-sleeve pullover
• Thick long-sleeved sweater
How I Use the Document
I am up at 3:45 AM when I start my morning routine. My wearing document opens automatically at 4:00 AM. Around 4:15, I check the weather on https://weather.com/. I then go to my trusty document to see what I will be wearing. I am usually out the door around 5:00 AM.
This process has never let me down. I’ve had days with no wind at all where I felt a little warm, but never too cold.
A Work in Progress
This document should be permutable. This is and will always be a work in progress. Our athletic ability and running schedule will change, and what we wear will change with it.
Comments
Please feel free to comment and/or share your experience. Did this work for you? How do you know what to wear? What would you add?
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