Cold games: How, what and where to run in winter
Last year, if not two, running was the main sport, and hardly anyone can find at least one friend who made the half marathon or ten. It is also commonly believed that running is a summer activity, but in fact it can be practiced both in the cold and in icy conditions. At our request, the editor of the main theme site Newrunners.ru and the experienced runner Ksenia Afanasyev told how to behave in winter runs and how to dare them.
How to start
Ksenia Afanasyev
My favorite advice for beginners is “Start!”. Among my acquaintances there are quite a few people who are endlessly studying the issue and still cannot go from theory to practice, are waiting for vacation, spring, good weather or a package with personal sneakers from the States. In winter, they, as a rule, take a breather and stop depicting readiness about to begin training, because there is snow and other Russia outside the window. I will not be cunning: the easiest way to get involved in the warm season, but winter running causes goose bumps only to those who have never tried it.
I warm up at home, with my favorite music videos on YouTube: I do exercises that everyone knows from physical education lessons, and I just dance. Warm up is needed not only to warm up the muscles, but also to develop the ligaments and joints. You do not want to do this, but you need to: it reduces the risk of injury and improves the quality of running. After jogging, already at home, I will definitely stretch - already under the 20-minute series of some series. It helps me to distract from the unloved occupation (I do not like to pull) and do everything carefully, without hurrying. Warm up and hitch - this is what my familiar runners most often neglect. I cannot speak for everyone, but I know for sure: if I am not lazy before and after jogging, then even the most shock training the next day will not remind me of pain.
If we talk about the duration of the runs themselves, then everything depends on the training of each individual person. For example, I run, adhering to the training plan, which should prepare me for the spring half marathon. It has both 15-minute jogging and 25 km races. With the appropriate equipment such an adventure is not a problem. If you make friends with running in the summer, then with the arrival of winter, you do not need to make special discounts for the season: this is only unusual for the first time, and then fun. There are, of course, special days of bad weather, when the wind literally knocks down, but such special effects are not every day, but you quickly get used to the sub-zero temperature. I often hear comments in the spirit of "I don’t want to go out into the street, but you are ready to run." So I also do not want to go out, because the foot is much colder - another thing is running.
What to wear
The first layer - thermal underwear for active sports. I found my perfect kit in the ski shop. Talk to your snowboarder friends: those who spend several hours on the track can tell more than sales assistants in most stores.
Second layer - a jacket with a long sleeve (thin fleece, synthetic long sleeve) and running pants or leggings.
Third layer - sweatshirt, lightweight running jacket or windbreaker. The choice of this layer depends on the weather. In dry frosty weather, you can get by with a minimal set, but if it is sleet, you need to make sure that the top layer does not get wet in any way.
General rule: do not wear too much clothing, otherwise you will quickly sweat and freeze at once. Also, do not leave open areas of the body. For this you will need:
Gloves. In every second text about winter equipment, you will find mention of sport gloves, in which you can use the touchscreen of the phone. This is great, but in Moscow such gloves are still not sold at every corner, and those that are sold are not necessarily suitable for running. I have several pairs: fleece, synthetic, knitted. I took the most comfortable from my grandmother. I suspect that she bought them in the transition.
Little cap In sports shops you can find special sports hats - they are usually uglier than usual. Nothing prevents running in your favorite knit, just to not fall down.
Sports socks. Just buy, and then you will understand.
Sports scarf or buff (neck bandanas). Especially convenient are those that can be pulled on the nose.
You can still add shorts (some girls and guys wear shorts over leggings for additional warming, as well as not to sparkle naked booty) and a mobile phone holder.
Pro sneakers and reflective elements
Now about the main thing. Running is usually recommended as the most democratic sport. It is believed that in order to start running, you need only good sneakers. As can be understood from the text above, not only, but the right shoes - this is really the most important thing. Choosing sneakers, you first need to forget about your aesthetic preferences, if, of course, you are going to run, and not upload nice pictures to Instagram: in this case, take the most fashionable. To pick up shoes taking into account the features of your feet and other individual features, you should consult with several different specialists of sports shops, as well as study reviews and recommendations on the Internet. Even on the Internet you can find websites with services that help you choose sneakers depending on your data. Here is one of them.
Beg one more tip: try to be noticeable. Choose equipment with reflective elements, wear safety vests, use flashlights. It can save your life.
How to behave while jogging
The main thing - do not disturb others. Overtaking pedestrians, you need to remember that, after landing in a mud puddle, you not only wet your feet, but also spray all around. No one is to blame for the fact that you are in a hurry for a personal record, including motorists. Try to cross the road, using underground or regulated overhead crossings: you move faster than pedestrians, and for the man behind the wheel you appear on the road from nowhere.
Speaking of unspoken etiquette, I like to greet runners for a run. It's enough to smile, nod, wave a little hand. Usually I decide on such actions when eye contact is established and the person does not look away. By the way, this happens quite often. Last spring, I constantly intersected with the same person, running around the pond not far from home. We saw each other every other day, but, approaching me, the man always looked away to the side. I find it impolite.
With whom and where to run
If this is your first winter, then it is better to find a running company. First of all, in order to make sure that you are not crazy, because, as you know, only the flu is all sick together, but they are going off alone. Observing how the eyes of colleagues who know that you are going for a jog at -15 ° C are rounded, first of all, repay yourself as a superhero, and then spill over. The company of runners in this case acts soberingly: firstly, you will not surprise anyone here with your willingness to run in the cold, and secondly, if you don’t have enough motivation, you can always find it in social networks. While you are lying on the couch, they download photos and reports from jogging, and this encourages not to throw. In addition, with other "frostbitten" you can discuss the best gloves for running, good sneakers, the right technique and plans for the spring.
You can run wherever the streets are cleaned of snow and ice. In the area where I live, it seems to not do this in principle, so I run to the next. Caution in this case does not hurt. I myself like to pretend to be the conqueror of the elements, but there is nothing great about bruises and tremors. In Moscow, to combat the icing do not spare the reagents, but that death is suede boots, the runner does not care. During the preparation of this material, no sneakers were injured. Run where you go: near the house, at a dacha with friends, in the city center. I always drive sneakers in my car and used to change clothes in the back seat. This is the only thing that justifies tinted rear windows.