Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The Big Chill?

I'm going to admit it, I am a wimp when it comes to running in the cold. When the temperatures drop below 50, I'm wearing long sleeves, gloves, and probably something to cover my ears. When it gets to the 30's, on go the running pants. I get cold very easily.
 
But this year, I'm trying to break myself of that.
 
Because of my calf issues over the summer, I've been running with compression sleeves over my calves. On my first sub-50's run of this fall, I had the shorts and calf sleeves on, along with a long sleeved shirt, and I felt fine. I continued running that way for the rest of the week. Then, this past Sunday, I was struck with a dilemma - it was 36 for my Sunday morning run. I hadn't expected it to get below 40, so I was initially dressed in my usual cool weather gear (including a light vest). So I got bold, and went out that way. And a funny thing happened.
 
I survived.
 
What's interesting is that the calf sleeves and shorts left only my knees and lower quads exposed, not too different than just wearing pants. It was actually quite comfortable, I ran well, and no adverse effects afterwards. Of course, it was a perfect fall morning with no wind, so I assume that had something to do with it. But I confirmed to myself that it was actually possible for me to run in chilly weather while wearing shorts.
 
My next mission is to see how low I can let the temperature go before switching to running pants. I'm wondering if I can go below freezing...

No comments:

Post a Comment