❄️ The Case For Cold Weather Running
Here’s why I’m spending the winter months toughing it out in sub-20° weather.
Good Morning!
If you’re reading from the Northeast U.S. (or anywhere above the equator) right now, you’ve probably had a piping hot cup of coffee and are bundled up on this holiday.
Make no mistake, I hate the cold.
I’m a February baby, but there’s nothing about this climate that makes me happy (unless I’m snowboarding).
But lately I’ve forced myself to continue exploring my passion for running this winter, despite the average daily temperature being 20° or colder lately,
Why?
Well for as much as I sh*t on ice baths (reminder: they do next to nothing for performance, but improve your tolerance to torture) cold-weather running is my personal preferred method of cold exposure for the season.
Over the last year, I’ve developed a sense of grit and obsession about my running, and I learned last spring that there are some benefits for running outside that undoubtedly helped me with my performance in last year’s NYC marathon.
Newsletter Summary
The case for cold weather running and it’s benefits
One quote about tolerance to start the week
The case for cold weather running
On a 15° January afternoon, I laced up my Nikes, grabbed my heattec gear with the built-in balaclava, and threw a beanie and two pairs of wool socks on for a 10K around my neighborhood.
Before I started my smartwatch, my pre-run heart rate was around 90 bpm.
I was excited.
Even with cold gusts from wind tunnels around Queens belting me in the face like a roller coaster ride, I was up for the challenge.
And a challenge is what it was.
The right playlist, a creative route circling Astoria Park and the East River waterfront, and a few close calls with some drivers speeding through yellow lights brought my internal temperature right where it needed to be for this run to actually be…fun.
The first argument I’ll make for cold runs is that they can be invigorating.
It’s similar to the rush of adrenaline that an ice bath brings, but unlike ice baths, there’s a certain body heat that comes with running outdoors that honestly makes the cold feelings dissipate quickly.
This is purely anecdotal, and I can’t guarantee it for everybody. Especially if you’re not already a runner.
As the folks at Idaho Spine and Sport physical therapy point out, it’s not always fun or enjoyable.
But it does come with unique benefits that will bode well for springtime and summertime running:
Improved heart health, which is a byproduct of blood vessels working harder to pump blood to chillier areas of the body during cold runs
Better sweat management, where (with repetition and proper winter hydration) the body is conditioned to sweat less and retain more water during cold runs, which is great preparation for hotter temperatures where sweat is more frequent
Ample Novelty for the brain; something new and challenging strengthens our anterior mid-cingulate cortex, the part of the brain that deals with difficult things, and makes future difficult things easier
The spring runs that will (eventually) be here soon will be so much easier because I got out in December, January and February.
Not just psychologically, but physiologically too.
If there’s one thing that this newsletter will constantly challenge you to do, it’ll be to do hard stuff.
But what can’t be underscored is how often hard stuff benefits your body at a microscopic level, too.
If you’re a runner and have started to develop a weekly habit of getting the legs moving, this might not sound as attractive.
But that’s okay.
I’ve got an another try at the NYC marathon in November, and it’ll be cold again for that when it comes.
So getting the reps in now — loooong before I need to be ready to run that 26.2 miles across five boroughs — will pay dividends down the road (literally).
One Quote About Tolerance To Start March
“What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly - that is the first law of nature.
— Voltaire
Love this quote right here.
We have to learn to endure things.
That’s what makes us, us.
If you’ve been here a while, you can do 300 something newsletters.
That’s impressive.
I’d highly encourage you to suggest this newsletter to somebody who could benefit from learning a thing or two.
Thanks in advance! See you later this week.