The Winter wardrobe is now in use

[C3PO]

With only one month of autumn running behind me - basically October, winter came early this year. With climate change, winter has come later and later, even in Norway. And I'm not convinced it will last very long. But for now the temperature is below freezing, and was -4 during my run this morning, with a welcome glimpse of the sun.

So I'm back into my winter gear. I'm not sure if I've mentioned that I'm only part Norwegian, and moved here as an adult. So I don't consider myself one - which explains my reluctance to fully embrace winters until about 10 years ago. Anyway, I've started understanding why Norwegians swear by wool for everything - especially wool garments today, which are really thin, don't itch, and do a fantastic job of retaining heat.

So these days I'm wearing a thin woollen top, with one of the slightly thicker Nike running jackets. My legs also have two layers. Thin wool bottoms, and regular running pants on top - I have a pair of thick Karrimoor ones, but they were just clammy. When the temperature drops below -10, I'll wear my cross country skiing pants. I wear thin wool socks, a thin buff, a thin beanie, and a reflective vest if I'm running in poor lighting conditions. I wore thick mittens today, but had to take them off pretty quickly, and it was fine running without anything on my hands. I wore thin running gloves last week, so I'll probably use them next week. And one new innovation this year - wool panties. Last season I found that my bottom suffered the most from the chill, so I'm trying wool panties this year. I've been wearing a regular sports bra, but suspect that I might need to get some wool in there too once things get really cold.

What makes all of this possible is my Icebug studded running shoes. They're fantastic! Not having lived here as a child, and having managed to get a concussion after slipping on the ice shortly after I moved here, I don't do very well on ice. But the Icebugs let me move safely. They're so good, I've even bought Icebug boots for everyday use. They've simply transformed my relationship with the Norwegian winter - what a pity it took 30 years.

Unfortunately your pace definitely goes down under such conditions. But at least my two runs on the ice this season have been longer than any I managed last year, so that's good news. And I seem to be warm enough!

[roseabi Ultramarathon]

Brrrrrr! Sounds like you have the kit sorted, though

And you may be a bit slower, but I bet the extra effort will be great for improving your fitness.

[misswobble Marathon]

Oooh not heard of Icebugs! Ta for the heads up on those.

I have recently bought a long-sleeved Merino base layer top from Aldi. It's too hot for running in though. I have run in it but have ended up being boiled. It is great for popping on afterwards, if it's not raining that is. I think it will come into its own once the weather turns really cold here. I have found the small of my back gets coldest so try and make sure my top covers it up. I run in long tights but not the thermal ones. I just get too hot. Fortunately we don't have winters as cold as yours!

[ju-ju- Marathon]

That looks soooooo cold, but I bet it's an amazing experience to run there. Do you have forests to run in too?

[C3PO Marathon in reply to ju-ju-]

I have two forests within a 10 minute run from my house - one of them is a nature reserve of about 18 sq.km. But at this time of year, the tracks are transformed into skiing paths, so running there can be difficult, and I suspect you'd get yelled at by the Norwegian pensioners who ski during weekdays. We had a poor winter last year, and I managed to go on one very slow run, so I'd like to do some more exploring this year. If we get enough snow this season, I expect to swap out one of my weekly runs with a ski trip.

[boptillyoudrop49]

Thought it was cold here! Good for you, running about in a Norwegian winter, not sure I'd be tempted! I had never heard of Icebug running shoes but I'll keep them in mind. Apparently we are due for a very cold winter this year so that could mean a lot of snow and I've been wondering how to run then other than on the streets. I suppose it is ok if the snow is hard and packed but running in soft drifts will be difficult.

[Eatcakeandrun Marathon]

Wow! I will look up those ice bug shoes for if we get a bad winter. For now I just need wet weather stuff!

[benwill Marathon]

Brrr thats cold wouldn't like to run on that ice even with super ice shoes!

[C3PO Marathon]

For those of you who are interested, Icebug is a Swedish company, and they have a web shop. They don't only sell studded shoes, but trail shoes. Their shoes are pricy, though, and I bought mine from a different online retailer at a hefty discount last year.