Coping With the Cold

Dealing with exercise in the winter can be difficult. This writer, with visions of May mornings and August evenings, takes the positive approach to running in the cold.

For the past few weeks, every single run I have undertaken has been overshadowed by a single stark fact of nature; in Michigan, this was the second coldest December on record. Now, I certainly am glad that I was not around during the coldest one, but I was here for this one, and as an intrepid runner, I must cope with the cold as best I can. What does that mean? The running version of common sense, of course. When you are out there, you are surrounded by the raw cold and the unforgiving remnants of winter precipitation, not central heating and blankets and a cozy fire. You have to prepare yourself accordingly. Obviously, that isn't exactly a new thought to an experienced runner, so what I am going to talk about here is how I prepare to run in the cold weather and what I do if it is simply too cold to run outside, which I am certain everybody who runs will find very, well, clever in a strange way.

I have to spend about an hour numbing myself mentally in order to really face the cold. As someone who was born and raised in a state where five months of the year the state is virtually uninhabitable, one would think that I would be able to cope and, if I am really strong, not even notice the cold weather. I am really not that strong, and when walking outside in the snow, you notice the snow, and that is about all. Therefore, even if you live here, you have to pretend not to see it. What does that mean? Well, first of all, it means that you should dress in two or three layers of thick cotton or wool, and make sure that everything is loose-fitting too, for you don't want to freeze in place while you are moving to desperately avoid freezing in place. Secondly, it means thinking warm thoughts. When you first walk outside and encounter the snow and sleet and all the things that turn your route into a large unreasonable facsimile of a fjord, think of what that same route is like on a morning in May or an evening in August. Well, that might be a little hard when the wind chill is well below zero and the only other runner you see you have to talk to through a scarf, but try it anyway. You do have to dress right in order to avoid frostbite, but you should think about it in a way less dismal than the weather. That way, you don't collapse into a freezing heap on the side of the road shouting "Take me now!"

There is also a unique training that should be undertaken when it is cold and otherwise dismal outside. I need to stretch my legs especially, as they are usually the coldest of the extremities when I run anyway. It is vital that one feels especially loose and relaxed before running in the cold, because you are going to want to pick up the pace and run as fast as you can in order to get back to your car or home. Well, that's my motivation anyway. It takes me about 15 to 20 minutes to stretch, and I do it while I am standing outside too, just so I can be loose in relation to the cold. Yes, I do believe that you should stretch in the same weather in which you intend to run, because that acclimates you to the conditions, whether they are dismal or perfect. What I like to focus on, although sitting on the ground in the winter is a risky proposition at best, is sit-ups and butterfly stretches (I THINK this is what they called them when I was forced to take physical education in high school), so my lower back and legs are especially prepared, as they are typically the first to go if I do not stretch appropriately.

Now, when it is simply too cold to run, and there are a few of those days in our winter here in the Great White North, there is something that I like to do that not only permits me to get in at least a little training that day, but is also extremely fun to do as it annoys the heck out of everyone in my home. For about 45 minutes, I take the time to adjust all the furniture so it is away from the wall in the living room. Now, I did calculate how many times it would take me to make one mile by running the perimeter of the family room. Although it is almost 90 times, I am perfectly willing to do this in order to get some exercise in. Not having a treadmill, and always being someone to pick the more creative, though impractical solution, this is also the only alternative short of re-establishing my membership at the local recreation complex. That would likely make the most sense of any of the suggestions my admittedly warped mind could come up with, but then again, just how common is common sense? Uncommon enough that I do not possess it, so it appears.

If you followed the things that I have stated here in order to better cope with cold weather, I am certain that you would find that you probably figure all this out a long time ago. If you are a beginner, then you have, believe it or not, a valuable reference from someone who knows rather a lot about his sport, although it probably doesn't seem that way given my presentation of the material. If you live in warmer regions, then you'll read this and find no value in it, although you are getting a taste of what we know all too well this year, so perhaps this is useful after all. In any event, running in the cold is a rather dangerous proposition, but if you can see it coming and prepare for it, you can at least survive long enough to see better weather.