Don't let the cold weather give you the indoor blues. If you're determined to keep running through the chilly months, there are ways to make each run as pleasant as those lovely springtime outings (except for that weather part!) Add these easy guidelines to your winter running mental checklist and you'll be set!

1. Begin your run against the wind. On the way back, you'll be less likely to get chilled from perspiration.
2. Don't overdress. You should feel slightly chilled during the first 5 minutes of your run. If you don't you may be dressed too warmly.
3. Always carry a hat and gloves. If the temperature drops, you've got protection.
4. Drink fluids before, during and after runs on cold days. You might not feel as thirsty as on a hot day, but your body still loses a lot of fluid.
5. Don't risk injury! Warming up and cooling down are even more important in cold weather.
6. Exercise indoors on really cold days.
7. Use common sense. Don't take chances. Run with a partner.

Winter running is no problem if you're dressed properly. And in the cold weather months, it's all about the layers! Using layers lets you find a balance between your body temperature, your clothing and the weather. When you layer properly, you enjoy the benefit of fabrics that couldn't effectively coexist in a single garment. Three layers are probably the most you'll need on the coldest days:

Layer 1 is the base layer to move moisture away from your body so you don't get chilled. It all starts here. This layer must move moisture away from the body to prevent chill. Cotton won't work, it just absorbs moisture. Choose a fabric such as CoolMax® for superior moisture management. You can wear a first layer as simple as a bra or singlet and briefs or as much as a top and pants.

DID YOU KNOW?

• You lose body heat up to 32 times faster in wet conditions than in dry conditions?
• As much as 30% of your body heat escapes through your hands and feet? Wear gloves or mittens and CoolMax® socks!
• About 40% of your body heat is lost through your head? Wear a hat and a face mask!
  
  As the temperature rises or your activity level increases, remove layers. Similarly, add layers as you get colder or the temperature drops. Don't let cold, snowy, wet weather interfere with your training schedule!

Do you want to keep your running program going in the winter but are tired of pulling on all those clothes every day? Head to your favorite gym and give the treadmill a try. The treadmill provides benefits to all runners from the beginner to the seasoned hard-core mileage junkie. The benefits are varied and here are a few:
1. Less chance of getting hit by a car in the dark.
2. Learn to perfect your form by watching yourself in the mirror.
3. After a winter of running on a treadmill, you will appreciate those outdoor runs even more.
4. It's all about the pounding and reducing your chance of injury:

• Learn to generate leg speed without pounding
• Add miles to your running without pounding.
• If you are new to running, your body can adapt to the running motion without having to also adapt to the pounding.
• It's an exceptional tool if you want to maintain your weekly tempo run, and you will recover faster because there is less pounding.
• There is no real proof of this, but years of pounding the pavement have to take their toll on your body.

If you're new to running, pick one day a week and head indoors. You will adapt to running faster. If you want to maintain your high fitness level including your tempo runs, give your body a break and take the tempo runs indoors.

This year while training for Ironman California, I did ½ of all my speedwork on the treadmill. On weeks where the speedwork called for intervals shorter than a ¼ mile, I was on the track. On the opposite weeks, my speedwork called for intervals between 1 and 1.5 miles. All of that was done on the treadmill. The results:

• I recovered much faster then ever before.
• I didn't feel beat up after the treadmill sessions.
• I ran my fastest marathon off the bike ever.

You'll find if you do it once or twice a week, treadmill running will just add more variety to your running routine.

  
Dave Jewell email: askdave@roadrunnersports.com

Water running is probably the best "non-running" activity you can do during the winter months (or any time of the year). It eliminates pounding and stress on your body but mimics the motions of running. Because water running is less stressing to the joints, runners have been known to do extremely difficult workouts in a pool that they wouldn't have been able to do on the road. (One of Margaret Gross' final workouts prior to her winning the 1988 Olympic Marathon Trials was twenty plus miles at sub six minute pace back and forth in the pool, without benefit of a flotation device.) Since most of us aren't Olympians, using a flotation device is advisable! If you aren't going to use something to keep you afloat, make sure you wear a pair of pool or beach slip-ons designed to protect the bottoms of your feet.

Follow these tips to maintain correct technique and to get the most benefit from water running:

• Make sure that the flotation vest keeps you upright in the water. If you find yourself leaning too far forward, reverse the belt from front to back to adjust for your center of gravity.
• When you water run correctly you'll also strengthen your abdominal muscles, as they'll be called into action to hold your body in a proper upright position.
• Your head should be the only part of your body out of the water. From your chin down, you should be completely submerged.
• Wearing a flotation vest, your feet should not touch the bottom of the pool.

Once you're in the water and ready to run, remember these guidelines:

• Feel free to slightly exaggerate your usual running motions in the water. Move your arms more than you would on land and bring your legs up to between 70° and 80°.
• Your knees should be at right angles and your feet should be directly below your knees.
• Try to keep your feet slightly flexed. Sometimes runners will develop slight cramping in their arches when they try water running for the first time. If it happens to you, try changing the degree of flexion of your foot.
• The water in the pool should be between 82° to 86°, any higher and you may become dehydrated. If the water temperature is too low (below 80°) you'll have trouble maintaining body temperature; you could even become hypothermic if you stay in cool water too long. Running in the water doesn't mean that you should forgo hydration; if you're working out for more than thirty minutes, you should have a water bottle handy at the edge of the pool. Continue to run while you drink.

One more helpful tip:

• You'll find that getting your heart rate "up" will be more difficult in the water. Water running results in a 10% to 15% lower heart rate than a similar effort on land. So don't worry if you usually run your intervals at 185 to 190, in the water your heart rate will be approximately 173 to 180. Since water running translates so well to running on land, the duration of your water workouts should be the same as those you do on the road. If you usually run forty-five minutes on land, run forty-five minutes in the water, you'll maintain your level of conditioning.

And just in case you're still unsure about the benefits of water running. Here's my own story:

Early in January 1989, while training for the Boston Marathon, I developed a bad case of bronchitis. For several days I coughed so hard that I broke both "floating" ribs. My doctor suggested I run in the water instead of on the roads, to avoid one of my ribs possibly puncturing a lung. For the next two months I did all my workouts in the water. I kept to my same training schedule: ran six days a week, did long runs, speed-work and easy runs. My longest run in the water was 2 ½ hours. When I did my "interval" workouts I was going so hard that I actually was sweating! I needed to stop during the rest periods and drink from a bottle of sports drink I kept by the side of the pool. My "speed-work" consisted of a slow warm-up of fifteen minutes, then three minutes hard with a minute easy times ten, followed by a fifteen minute cool-down. Because I was in the water I was able to do workouts that were even longer and harder than they would have been if I had been pounding on the track. I went into the race injury-free and very fit. My time was 2:52, my second fastest marathon ever!

Claudia Piepenburg
editor@peakrun.com
Claudia has been running for twenty years and is the current editor for Peak Running Performance. She holds or has held state age-group records in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia. In 1990, she was ranked 18th fastest masters woman in the world and 8th fastest masters woman in the U.S. in 1990 and 1991. She competed in the 1988 Olympic Marathon Trials, was 20th woman overall in the 1987 Boston Marathon and women’s winner of the 1986 Virginia Beach Marathon.