Planning ahead for Winter

[KimLoulou]

With dark nights approaching I know I will not manage to go running 3 times a week😪. I have not ran seriously on a treadmill before Assume it is the same. Looking to join a gym 😬. How do people approach winter running?

[EleanorL Graduate]

I'm certainly interested in the advice given as I am a bit of a fair weather runner !

[Millsie-J Graduate]

I just run.

I prefer the cooler weather to the heat of the summer months . If it is icy underfoot I won't venture out, or heavy snow/rain. But I will run between showers.

I took early retirement last year so can flex my times but I know not everyone can do that.

Always use hi-viz gear. I also use a chest torch.

[Hidden in reply to Millsie-J]

Where do you get a chest torch and are they better than a head torch?

[Millsie-J Graduate]

This is the one I have:

decathlon.co.uk/run-light-r...

Ive never used a head torch but many graduates on the forum do. Equally quite a lot use this chest torch or similar. Im sure others will be along soon to let you know what they think of each.

[Millsie-J Graduate in reply to Millsie-J]

Also Aldi do flashing arm bands, for cyclists I think. Brilliant and very cheap.

[AnnieW55]

To start, the main advice is to make sure you can be seen, so the brighter the better - and it doesn't have to cost a fortune Aldi, Lidl, Decathlon do good stuff at reasonable prices as do online stores and other supermarkets. If you get a head torch make sure it has a strap that goes over the top of your head and not just round it. The over the top strap stops it falling down. Gloves and a neck buff are useful, although you will generally put them in your pocket fairly soon into your run.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

In my first post graduation winter I continued to run three times a week, with two of those being before work with headtorch and at times wading through the winter mud.

Subsequently I have on occasions only run twice a week. Perseverance through that first winter meant the habit was well and truly ingrained and I only missed runs when unavoidable, but also became more relaxed and kinder to myself if that happened.

[buddie17 Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

Great advice... if I follow plan I'll graduate November so I was wondering how I'll cope during winter months

[RuthMargaret Graduate]

I plan to try to run twice a week in the real depths of winter. Probably a daylight run on the weekend, and an evening run in the town one night after work. It is going to be more of a challenge to get out there in the colder weather, but I really want to keep it up!

[KimLoulou Graduate]

I will continue to do parkrun but by the time I get home will be dark

[MarkyD Graduate]

No reason to go indoors during the winter. I live in a village with no street-lights and not much in the way of pavements either. So it is not practical for me to run in the dark. But 5 miles away in the nearest town is a 10km circuit, all street-lit and mostly on a 2 metre wide pavement/cycle-track which must have been designed for winter runners. So that's one run, parkrun or a Sunday afternoon is another and my third run is either during the day (when I work from home) or a couple of laps of the pavements near my home... a bit tedious, but still a run.

There is plenty of winter running gear in the shops, and you'll need fewer layers than you think. A buff, gloves and visibility gear are the most important items.

[Bonkersbrit Graduate]

Some excellent advice I'm reading. I am also gearing into first winter, in a place which expects between 5 and 6 metres of snow between late nov and late April. 😱

Good job, I , like everyone on this forum is up for a challenge!!

You don't see many runners here in winter. I guess combination of frozen precipitation, wind, cold and poorly cleared pavements. So, I am hoping to use the running/walking track inside the ice hockey stadium ( oval in shape, above the raked seating) when the weather is bad and try for one outdoor run a week when weather allows. I guess that means I need all the high viz for outside but regular stuff inside ( don't want to blind my fellow trackies !)

This may of course prove so mind blowingly tedious that I loose interest. I did hear one runner at the road race I did in aug saying how she runs the trails in her snow shoes! That sounds like hard work to me and distance covered would be less even though effort expended much increased!

I only found this lovely place in April but I can imagine the posts on this forum during the winter months contain plenty of tales of heroic battles with nature and the "can do" spirit . I can't wait! As with all issues from health to work schedules, we all face different challenges ( mine will be more white than some!) but with mutual support, good humour and shared ideas I hope we will all still be here to celebrate the spring ( and my first run-iversary)

May you all glow in the dark, splash in the puddles, slide on the ice and continue to bask in the self satisfaction of having run, whatever the climate🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏻🌧🌈☀️❄️☃️💨🌪☂️⛄️⛈🌥

[KimLoulou Graduate in reply to Bonkersbrit]

That is definitely winter not like the dreary wet winters we have.