Sub-zeros: The Adventure of Running in Winter

 Ernesto Hontoria

Versión en castellano: Sub-ceros: La aventura de correr en invierno

January 2, 2018

In December, temperatures dropped below zero centigrade, starting the sub-zero season. So far, it is my fourth ‘below zero’ run this winter, all were variations of the same route in Oakville. The last two were especially harsh with an official temperature of minus 10 degrees before the wind effect. Including the wind chill, the temperatures felt between minus 17 and minus 20 degrees Celsius.

When you go outside in the cold, the wind makes a considerable difference in the way we perceive temperature, and more important in how quickly our body lost its heat and cools down. It is so relevant, that running downwind or against it has made, so many times for me, the difference between running pleasantly or miserably in winter. A cold headwind usually means feeling the ice pangs on your cheekbones, ears, and needles piercing your fingers through gloves; while the absence of wind, or the wind in the back allows you to enjoy the run because the body heats up with the exercise. In the presence of headwind, the heat does not accumulate in the body, and one runs feeling cold.

This morning, for example, I went for a run at 8:30am. The thermometer read minus 12 degrees with a wind factor that took it to minus 22 (as per internet). While I had the wind at my back things was going well, but when I did a U turn, and confronted the wind, I began to feel pangs in the bones in my face and punctures in my fingers that made me temporarily abort the run. An hour later, I took it up again with a balaclava and double pair of sox on both, my hands and my feet.

Here my observations of the sub-zeros:

·         With a pair of socks on, two or three toes froze on the way and came home completely asleep. They woke up in the shower with hot water.

·         None of the gloves I have has been better than running with socks in my hands. This morning I wore a double pair of socks (on feet and hands) because one was not enough. The hands were hot all the time, which is unusual.

·         The Outdoor Research balaclava worked quite well, but I had to leave my nose and mouth uncovered to avoid fogging the lenses with vapor from my breath.

·         I used 3 layers of clothing for the upper body and two layers on the legs. The last layer, a waterproof or windbreaker jacket and pant, are of great help.

January 5, 2018

What do you need to run in the winter?

All you need is your will and running shoes. Yesterday, January 4, I went out for a run again with the thermometer below minus 10 degrees Celsius. It was noon and the sun was bright. I ran with three layers of clothing covering my torso (one less than on Tuesday 2nd), two layers on my legs, two pairs of socks, a balaclava, and a pair of socks covering my hands. Three toes on my left foot froze and fell asleep in the first 10 minutes of running. Those on the right foot threatened to fall asleep too but they endure and were good to the end.

At one moment in my run, when I was asking myself what I am doing here instead of staying at home having a hot coffee, a runner in his twenties passed me on the other side of the street. He was wearing shorts and no shirt, and seemed to be enjoying the midday sun, which at the end probes my initial point that for running in winter you only need will, shoes,… and maybe a short?

 

February 2, 2018

At minus 15 degrees you also sweat

Yesterday I ran at minus fifteen degrees centigrade with a wind chill of minus 25 according to the weather page. I wore 4 layers of clothing on my upper body, two layers on my legs, two pairs of sox on my feet, one on my hands, and a balaclava to cover my head and face.

 The body was warmly dressed. My feet, hands and face were cold. After three or four minutes of jogging I had to adjust the balaclava to better cover my forehead because the cold was giving me a headache. My eyes watered for some minutes and my nose ran slightly. I breathed through my mouth most of the time, blowing puffs of steam like a train engine. Sometimes the vapor would condense on the lenses, clouding them, mainly the left lens, and there was a small drop of water frozen on the eyelashes on the same side. I felt the jaw numb, the papillae on the tip of the tongue frozen and for about 10 min pain in the cheekbones.

The hands just warmed after 20 or 25 minutes, and although it is hard to believe, at minus fifteen degrees you also sweat. I came to the change room bathed in sweat. The exposed parts of my face were red as tomatoes and my eyes small and puffy. When I undressed, I found other red spots on the skin of my belly and hips. They were cold despite having sweated and the 4 layers that protected them from the elements. I also had red spots on the neck.

The hot shower brought me back to normal. A little later in the office I felt as if I had got water in my left ear. I was going to start shaking it off, like I usually do every time I swim, when I remembered that I had not swum that morning. Apparently, it was a sequel of the cold weather. It accompanied me most of the day, although was decreasing.