Runners: Tips for Winter Survival, by Hal Higdon

For many runners, Thanksgiving marks the end of the running year. The holiday season with its many family demands takes precedence over normal training needs. Before they realize it, January 1 has arrived and at least for those in the Frozen North, it may seem too cold to train.

But this need not be the winter of your discontent. Some simple training modifications can allow you to get through the next several difficult months. Then, when the ice melts and buds appear on trees and bushes, you’ll be ready for your next running adventure, whether a summer 10-K or a fall marathon.

Here are some tips to get you through winter:

1. Buy a treadmill. Treadmills are the single best indoor exercise option for runners, although they are not cheap: $1,000 or more for one liable to last a winter of tough training. Can’t afford that? Consider buying a cheap pair of dumbbells or a jump-rope.

2. Join a gym. Rather than buy your own ‘mill, enroll in a gym that has its own row of exercise machines plus a pool and dressing facilities. You don’t need to train indoors every day, but getting out of the cold even two or three days a week may make winter more survivable.

3. Switch sports. Sometimes we grind ourselves down—mentally if not physically—when we run day after day after day. Other sports can lure you outdoors. Take up the sport of skiing: cross-country or even downhill. Snowshoes make an interesting option for the winter months. (No, you don’t get aerobic points for riding a snowmobile.)

4. Dress right. Okay, you’re going outdoors no matter how badly the Alberta Clipper bites. Learn to stay warm by layering wicking clothes. The two most important items of clothing are mittens and a wool cap to hold the heat within your body.

5. Plan a trip south. Escape to a destination where you can run in shorts and singlet again. To motivate you to maintain training, pick a warm-weather race like Run 26.2 with Donna in Jacksonville, FL in February. (I’ll be running the half.)

Before you know it, spring will be here. Good luck with your winter training.

About the author:

Hal Higdon is author of the newly published novel, Marathon, available from his website: halhigdon.com. Check also Hal’s Winter Training Program, available in an interactive format through TrainingPeaks.