If you haven’t heard already, we are having some unusually cold and snowy conditions here in the Seattle area. I assume this is what led a runner in my area to ask me on Twitter the other day: “How do you dress for snow and ice runs?” I responded: “Long pants and sleeves, gloves, hat that covers your ears. Some use YakTrax for icy runs. Mostly, I go to the gym.”
But Tuesday afternoon I went out. It was 25 degrees and sunny with 5 inches of snow on the ground.
I dressed warmly, of course. Took my own advice. Long pants, which I pegged (hey, it’s coming back in style and if you don’t believe me buy any fashion magazine) and tucked them into my wool ski socks, long-sleeved shirt with thumb holes, a light shell jacket and two pairs of gloves. Oh, and a hat that covered my ears, of course, and sunglasses. I looked like a total dork.
See?
Anyway, I didn’t care. I set out on the trail, which looked magical all covered in snow. I learned a couple of things out there:
1. Running in the snow is fun because you have to watch your foot placement. In that way, it’s a lot like trail running.
2. Running in the snow is slow because you have to watch your foot placement. In that way, it’s a lot like trail running.
So, if you like to run trails, you probably would like running in the snow. As I went slowly along, watching for icy patches, I smiled because I was having so much fun! I also thought about how I would organize this very blog post.
Soon, I spotted two women runners coming at me in the opposite direction. As they passed me, I realized they were high schoolers. Probably cross country runners. They were hauling ass. Left me in their snow dust.
I kept running, but started rewriting this blog post in my head. So, you don’t have to run slow after all.
And then I saw her. It was as if someone plucked this woman out of an ad exclaiming “Visit Florida!” (which happens to be where we just got back from), and dropped her here — a winter wonderland. She was fixing her iPod, but that’s not the first thing I noticed. Nope.
I noticed her legs because she was wearing shorts. Not just any shorts, but short shorts that went up on the sides like the way they wore them in 1980s workout videos. And her legs! They were so tan they were almost red. Her hair was the same color as her goldenrod hoodie.
Once again, I rewrote this blog post. You want to know how to run in the cold and snow?
Any way you want to.
10 comments
Awesome. And so true. Whatever works for ya… do it. 🙂 I know how crazy that kind of weather is over there since I lived in Bellingham for 10 years, and I'm proud of you for making it out there anyway. It is fun!
I LOVE IT!! Good for you to get out there and run in the snow? You are hard core! Shorts…that is just plain old crazy!
I'm coming to learn that the real hold back is snow and ice. They affect safety. In terms of temperature, you can dress for it.It's funny because you really do get used to what you have. At that temperature here, I wore a light long sleeved shirt, full pants and no hat. I actually really enjoy running in temperatures close to freezing because I find it easier to regulate my own temperature.
I have been experiencing the same thing because I live in the NW too! Last year running in snow and ice wasn't really an issue, and the year before I did it (except for the week or so when we were really snowed in around Christmas, then I just snowshoed). This year I am in a bit of a pickle as this is the final week before the Seattle Marathon! Today was a planned off day, but tomorrow I was going to run…but I have now decided not to because the extreme cold is just TOO much for 6 a.m. darkness. I don't want to hurt myself right before the marathon and I feel like trying to run on snowy, icy sidewalks will just make me slower. I still plan on a Thanksgiving Day run, though….
TOO FUNNY!!! It's true, you see all types out running. Some will be bundled from head to toe and others are like you said, dressed for the tropics. I like to wear arm warmers so I can peel them off easily, and I usually do. But it's been around 80 and sunny here this week! Wanna trade for a week??
Yeah Kerrie! Glad you made it out. Happy to be in La Jolla but a bit sad about missing the snow. I wonder how Sunday will be for the marathon?!?!
Haha! Great post and so true! I'm on your side with running in the snow. Had a race this past winter with a short snowy trail section. I was tiptoeing through it and others just buzzing by and I couldn't figure out how they were doing that!
Great post! The world is all gone wrong… you were running in ice and snow yesterday and in Toronto I was out in my shorts & tshirt enjoying the sunshine. Odd!
You're getting a nice little taste of Canadian running! Glad you got out there. I have about 4 months of that ahead… but colder and with more snow. 🙂
so true!