Baby It's Cold Outside

Yesterday, the entire country froze.  Literally.  Here in Baltimore wind chill temperatures reached -10.  Brr!!!!  Today,  we'll reach a balmy high of 27 degrees.  Yup, still below freezing!  

When temperatures began to drop this fall I made a decision to try out cold weather running.  I'd always been under the impression that this was impossible due to my exercise-induced asthma.  However, I had heard a lot of runners talk about how much they loved cold weather running so I wanted to give it a shot.  I went to the "Cold Weather Running Clinic" hosted by Charm City Run to get some helpful tips before I laced up in cooler temperatures.  I learned a lot that night but two of the most encouraging lessons I took home were:

1. Your body actually is more efficient in cold temperatures than warm temperatures.  Once temperatures reach 60 degrees and up your body gets less and less efficient.  

So, what does this mean?  In theory, this meant to me that it was possible cold weather running wouldn't be as difficult as I thought.  Heck, it my body is more efficient in the cold things might even be easier.  In reality I learned that even though cold weather running might not feel "easier" to me, I was definitely more "efficient" and set a new 5k PR on Thanksgiving morning!

2. Give yourself permission to cut your run after 10 minutes if running in the cold is truly as bad as you thought it would be.  

This "permission" was crucial to my decision to try cold weather running.  The women running the clinic talked about how it takes about 10 minutes for your body to acclimate to the cold and typically once you hit the 10 minute mark it gets a lot better.  With this in mind I headed out for my first cold weather running reminding myself that if I really didn't feel well after 10 minutes I could head home.  I was pleasantly surprised as I approached the 10 minute mark, felt great, and continued on to finish my run.

In full disclosure, even though I know enjoy cold weather running, the temperatures over the past two weeks are just too darn cold for me and I've been heading to the gym and running on the treadmill.  Running on a treadmill three times a week can get really REALLY boring so I mix up my runs with treadmill interval workouts.  Changing your pace every few minutes breaks up the monotony and keeps your body guessing.  I've really enjoyed trying out new interval workouts I find online and do one at least once a week.  Even though I've been enjoying my interval workouts I can't wait for temperatures to warm up a little bit so I can get back out there on the road!

<3 T