January 15, 2019
Happy 2019 and welcome to my first blog! I’ll try to keep this short and sweet!
Since I may be new to some of you, let me preface this by saying I live at the beach. I am a summer girl…tank tops, bare feet..the whole nine yards. I like the humidity…it makes my hair curl. I do not like the cold. I like the warmth so much that you will find me practicing yoga in a 90 degree studio…in July!
I also live in CT…and New England is home to some pretty vicious winter weather, especially when the wind whips off the water!
But as much as I dislike the cold, I love to run…outside…all year long!
So here are Coach Chris Kopcha’s tips for surviving your winter runs!
1. Don’t run inside on the treadmill as soon as you get that first cold morning of the season! Your body has the ability to adapt to changes in temperature if you don’t fight it! But when January rolls around and you want to run off those Christmas cookies, it’s going to feel even colder if you haven’t built up to it.
2. Don’t get overwhelmed! If you aren’t running a super early marathon, you can bring your mileage down to a maintenance level. After a big year of running, I welcomed the opportunity to run shorter distances. I found an awesome 100 day challenge through Slowtwich where I have to run a minimum of 30 minutes every day. I can handle that. Even in single degree temps (this morning’s windchill was 9).
3. Dress appropriately! My annual Turkey Trot this year saw a windchill of 1. My husband thought I was nuts! No cotton! I love Merino Wool! Layers. Cover all exposed skin. A little Vaseline on your face will protect you from windburn. The technical clothing has come so far in recent years. And you don’t need a closet full! A good base layer and protection from the wind!
****tip…..if its super cold and I’m running first thing in the morning…I put my clothes and sneakers in front of the heating vent for a few minutes before getting dressed!!!
4. It may eventually snow and get icy. Wear bright colors. Run facing traffic. Reflective gear and lights is a must when it is dark. This may not be the best time to do a lot of speed work. Go find a hill and do some repeats. As Frank Shorter once said, “Hills are speed work in disguise”. There are some really good products to help winter running like Yak Tracks, but unless you are running consistently in packed down snow, they usually aren’t necessary.
5. If it all gets too much, find a treadmill or take a day off and do some mobility work. I admit that February gets a little to dark/icy/cold for my liking with too many big snowbanks and not enough drivers paying attention. So to my clunky old treadmill I go.
6. Don’t over think it. Make the appointment with your running shoes. Write it in your calendar (or type it into your phone!). Just go outside. The sun will feel good. You should be a little cold to start. Always dress for 10 degrees warmer. You will warm up in a few minutes and be thinking you over dressed. First day of Spring is March 20!
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