Dealing with the Cold

I went back in the blog archives to look for tips on cold weather running. Would you believe we have 720 posts. . . man I'm a dork. I found this information related to the Richmond Marathon and thought it would apply very well for tomorrow. So I made a few tweaks and am re-posting it. . .

The First Carolina State Bank Half Marathon is less than 24 hours away (admit it, some of you just got a little butterfly in your stomach reading that). As you can tell, it will be a very cold start to the race. This may cause concern for some of you, but I hope to put your minds at ease and give you some of my tips for a cold race.

#1 - Wear Layers - You can always take extra clothing off as you warm up. If you however start with just your base layer and a heavy jacket, you have no middle ground. You are likely too hot or too cold. If you have layers, you can peal them off little by little. Just make sure your layers are items you don’t mind throwing away (see the bottom of this post).

#2 - Be Technical - Be sure to keep technical clothing as your bottom layer. It is fine to throw an old cotton t-shirt on as a middle or top layer, or a sweatshirt. Just keep some wicking clothing on as a base layer.

#3 - Head and Hands - Do not forget to keep your head and hands warm. If you don't have one, go buy a cheap stocking hat. An ear warmer is fine too, but with temps predicted in the 30s to start, you will want to hold in the heat. As for gloves, go cheap. My recommendation is going to the kids department in Target. You can buy a two pack of kids gloves for $1.49. They are super stretchy, and you can put on both pair at once. If your hands get hot, peal off a single pair. These gloves fit my hands in case you are wondering how stretchy they are.

#4 - Trash Bags - Lots of runners will rip (or cut) a hole in a trash bag as a final external layer. It holds in the heat and is black so it warms up in the sun. You can throw it away when the race is about to start. Bottom line. . . dress warm but with layers. Once your body has warmed up, it will stay warm as long as you keep moving.

#5 - Band aides and Body Glide - Don't forget this! Guys, protect your chest. Cold weather can make you chafe badly. You do not want to finish your race with a bloody shirt.

#6 - Get Warm - When you finish (and you all will) get warm! Have something in your car to put on. Once you stop running, your body will very quickly get a chill. Don't take a chance at getting sick right before the holidays.

Dropping your layers. . .I plan to collect extra clothing at the start of the race from RMEC runners. I will most likely throw it all in a big box that you can rummage through at the finish. I would also like to arrange a person on the race course around mile three to get your extra layers. This may end up being me. It could be Patti, if I can talk her in to it (assuming she is going to be on the course). I will post a comment here once we decide.