Help! I'm getting so frustrated with the icy conditions here but I really want to run. It is just too slippery to feel safe. How is everyone else managing it?
Here I could only run ice free with the traffic on the roads but since it is the centre of town, it isn't something I want to do, or I'd need to join a gym to use their treadmill but gyms really aren't my thing, so I'd just be using the treadmill till conditions improve here but not the other gym facilities which seems like a waste of money, unless I can join for just a month or two.
I did see some runners out today running confidently and fast on what was very slippery ground but I couldn't stop them to ask them what their secret was. One guy clanked past obviously wearing strap-on metal shoe tracks which is an option, although having looked them up they don't get good reviews wrt durability.
Others seemed to be running without tracks in regular shoes but how?! Do they have special shoes for snow and ice? I was sliding and skidding too much to run in my ASICS. I am going stir crazy without my runs and will have to resort to swimming at this rate. Usually I cycle everywhere too but can't do that at the moment either. Just watched two cyclists skid out on the ice and crash.
Written by
boptillyoudrop49
Graduate10
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Someone (I think it was runswithdogs ) suggested running on grass if it's icey...do you have a park, playing fields or trail close by you could use? Many of the routes I already use are firm path but each side is grass, which works well when I run with my son, he prefers to run on grass, I don't.
I tried the grass but a lot of other people had had the same idea. I slipped twice, like an ice skating rink! Have ordered inTrax spikes and Yeti ones which I'll try out when they arrive. I don't think the ice will last all that long but it is a pain at the moment. Haven't been able to run all week.
I found the perimeter of parks rarely get used, or if you can move further away from the path maybe? Lets hope the poor weather doesnt last long 🏃🏻♀️🏃🏻
Yes hope so! A lot of conditions have their challenges but I think ice is the worst one for running. I will try the pull-on tracks when they arrive next week and go and talk to the people at my running store about trail shoes. I am determined not to be beaten! Failing all else I will have to look into treadmills.
Yes - grass can be less slippery but so hard to run on. In winter I get by with new running shoes, nothing special. And we have ice October to March. It's only on the days where the ice has warmed and re-melted that it's a major issue. That moving a little bit faster while running keeps you upright (never fallen while running, fall at least once a year walking). Don't change your speed too fast or take corners too fast and you'll probably be okay. Some folks here like the shoe strap-ons, but some of them with thicker coils can be unstable if you hit a bare patch of pavement.
I tried the park but just in regular trainers and conditions were too dodgy to run, even to walk in parts. I did have some stretches where I could run but not much before the next icy section. I don't have trail running shoes. Would they be much better? Might pop out to the shops later and look into it. I am quite tense without the exercise, totally blew my fuse on Tuesday which is really not like me at all 😣 embarrassed about it now!
A friend of mine slipped out on ice 2 years ago and ended up needing knee and hip surgery and she is still in pain with it now so maybe with that in mind I am more nervous about the ice than I really need to be.
When conditions are tricky, there are several things I can do - use the treadmill (the last resort as I hate it and it bores me), run more cautiously and slowly but like you road running seems too unsafe to me so I am stuck with the variable pavement conditions or run on grass. The grass option if it is light is definitely pretty comfortable, frost dries up all the mud too, so it makes life a lot easier. The other thing is to try an alternative aerobic exercise - I enjoy step aerobics using Jenny Ford (free on You Tube) and Leslie Sansome does indoor walking workouts. Pretty good and involves some upper body exercise as well as the legs.
Do you have a treadmill at home Joolie? I am wondering if I can arrange with a hotel to pay to go in and use their treadmill for a month or two. I don't fancy signing up for a gym for a whole year.
The gym nearest me allows you to pay a set fixed price (I think it's about £6 or so) to use the gym facilities for a single session- in the same way that, say, you'd pay a set price to go swimming just the once. Whether that's more economically sound than getting a membership for a month or two depends on what your running habits are, and what your gym happens to offer for it's membership packages, but it might be worth contacting the gyms in your area directly to find out if they offer this?
Also, if you haven't already, check what public facilities your nearest university offers. I've graduated now, but my old uni offered 'pay as you go' facilities for the public, whereby you paid for 10 sessions at a time to be used at your own convenience (I think within about 6 months?)
I have one at home which I have had for a couple of years. I am sure many people have them at home and would like to get rid of them, why not ask around on Facebook and among your friends if anyone has one to sell or give away? After the great outdoors, it is pretty boring but you could always listen to music or watch tv while you exercise
I have ordered two sets of pull-on tracks which go over the instep and at the back over the heel with spikes underfoot. Reviews seem very mixed and I suppose I'll sound like a scary old ghost clanking my chains as I go along 😏 If they aren't much good and the ice persists, I'll see if I can try out a treadmill somewhere and see how I get on with it. I think I'm just resisting it because it is new and I don't want to look a fool trying to use it, if you know what I mean.
I'll see what the powers that be at my running store have to say about trail shoes and ice. What's the bet I get trail shoes and the chains arrive just as hey presto the ice clears?!
Bop, if it's really bad ice all the way on the pavements/walkways then no don't try running on that, it's not worth risking an injury as your friend found out, I take it she was road running?
My local Parkrun went ahead with thier run this morning after much deliberation over the icy conditions, saying it's is up to us to take care and they would not be held responsible for any injuries sustained. I'll try to put a photo on of the conditions, a relatively small Parkrun with 87 peeps braveing the cold & ice, and the times of the finishing front runners were slower by 2-3 mins, no small wonder!
Seems the only other way for you is on a treadmill, either in a gym or if you have room at home, buy one? Running really means a lot to you/us to maintain a healthy well being in mind & body!😊
It does indeed Dave! Actually my friend wasn't even running when it happened, just walking from her house to the gate. I think she must have been very unlucky in the way she landed.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
week3run1 ✅. 3 x 17 mins with 1 min walks. 
How did your parkrun or (not)parkrun go?
week 2 begins! 
