Thursday, January 3, 2013

(Week 3) "Acclimating To The Cold"

The holidays got me a bit, both in my diet and in a couple missed workouts, but I still managed to get in some good, medium "hike/jog"s.  Part of the challenge of training this time of year has been adjusting to the cold weather.  Some of my early morning workouts have been in the the single digits or slightly higher.  I am remembering the basics of layering (after a couple times of freezing off your nose...or other body parts, you start to wise up a bit).

Layering for me in temperatures lower than about 35 degrees is something like this (if I ran the whole time it might be a little different, but since I have been walking at least half of the time, I have to dress slightly warmer):

head:  I wear a hat. If I can't pull the hat over my ears, I wear a scarf or make sure my jacket has a hood.
upper body: t-shirt, sweatshirt, fleece jacket (if windy, I will skip the sweatshirt but wear a windbreaker over the fleece.
hands: I have fingerless gloves that can be made into mittens if needed, but if it is in the upper 20's 
or higher, I usually pull my sleeves over my hands.
legs:     Legs stay pretty warm as long as you are moving, but if it is in the 20's and I feel like it, I will
wear fleece pajamas  under my sweat pants.
feet:     I don't usually have problems with my feet, but occasionally I will wear wool socks.

An interesting thing I have always found is after a few two-hour sessions of early morning jogging in the cold, your body begins to acclimate, and before long you find your self indoors asking "Is it hot in here, or is it just me?"  There is plenty more winter left, so I'm glad to be getting used to it...or at least I think I am.  Week 3 training went as follows:

Monday:            8-mile hike/jog (1/4)
Tuesday:           workout cancelled
Wednesday:      8-mile hike/jog (1/4)
Thursday:          workout cancelled
Friday:              1 hour stationary bike
Saturday:           8-mile hike/jog (1/4)
Sunday:             off

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