Are you a cold weather wuss?

[Barefoot YOW]

Do you throw on footwear at the first sign of frost? Do you develop a relationship with the treadmill in the winter?

Why is one of the most frequently asked questions "What minimalist footwear do you wear in the cold?"

Why do so many people pass on the opportunity to become a better barefoot runner? Just like running in the middle of a heat wave in the summer, running barefoot in the winter provides an instant form and feedback check. Granted one does not just jump into barefoot running in the winter. You need to learn how to run barefoot again.

I equate cold running with hot asphalt or gravel. These surfaces enhance feedback, and therefore are wonderful tools to monitor your form. Get sloppy and your soft tissues remind you pretty darn quickly.

Even now in my 2nd winter of running barefoot, I can see great improvement in my ability to run in the cold. Last year, cold and wet were a definite no-no. This year I have several runs in wet near freezing conditions, including slushy snow. I ran over 6 miles (10 km) on Sunday at -14C (7F). I have learnt to be patient. Pick the running surface and conditions that suits you. Your feet will warm up. I know that some have experienced frostbite. Cold weather running is a new game, in which you need to be absolutely aware of your body. Barefoot Rick has learned he can run a marathon in single digits. I believe all of us (except those with limiting medical conditions) can run in the cold.

Send me a message/email/post about your winter running experiences. I'm interested in finding the silver bullet for Ol'man Winter.

I enjoy winter running ... hopefully you will too.

PS

I've got 200+ km barefoot running this winter at temperatures less than 40°F (130 km at sub-freezing)

 

[Barefooting Bob]

I agree with you completely

I agree with you completely Rod, I have seen definite improvement over last year with my winter running. Even though I have not gotten out quite as often as I would like barefoot this year, I have some pretty low temp runs and some really long runs in either just below or just above freezing temps. Still curious on how low I can go, I am hoping to break -30 this year for a km or so. But we will play that one by ear.

 

[LavaRunner]

 It just isnt going

It just isn’t going to happen for me. I have great circulation in my feet but when the road is colder than 40F I am in shoes of some kind. I've tried, the feet go numb and then I stop feeling the ground. Injury is imminent

 

[Chaserwilliams]

I ran 5.05 miles last winter

I ran 5.05 miles last winter in 27 F temps. It was also 85%+ humidity out, and 4 in the morning. It doesnt get colder than that very often down here in Texas...

I think the secret to it is to ignore the first few minutes while your feet warm up, and more important is to make sure your core stays warm, wear long sleeves up top, and something warm on bottom. My Zensah Calf sleeves do wonders for me!

Great topic Rob, you seem to be one of the leaders in this field, lol!

 

[NickW]

Chaserwilliams wrote:My

My Zensah Calf sleeves do wonders for me!

I tried to use my Zensah calf sleeves but noticed that my calves would start to cramp up during runs. I seem to be acclimating pretty well in just my shorts and long sleeve shirt with my biking headband and little glove liners. I also will use my huaraches for the first mile or so if it's in the low to mid 30's till my body gets warmed up. I usually get too hot within the first mile and have to start stripping down. Chaser get your head out of the gutter. I mean taking my gloves and headband off and pushing up my sleeves. I am very warm blooded and my wife calls me her chubby little heater.

She would kill me if she saw that I wrote that!

 

[Tristan]

Barefoot YOW wrote:Are you a

Are you a cold weather wuss?

In a word, YES, lol

Coldest I have been able to tolerate has been in the low 40's. Even then, a wet & windy run with a road surface temp of 45 (air temp was a couple degrees cooler) my feet were strugling with the cold, I lost sensation except for a burning feel which the burn stuck around into the next day. Never blistered but it was red and hurt. On sunny dry calm days I have gone several degrees cooler. And yeah I have tried wearing plenty, when its 40's or less I go for the tights, jacket, hat and gloves, and VFF if its below 40. I think everyones tolerance is going to be different. I think after another year I might go down to freezing, but for now I am barely up to 'warm up' milleage bf, havent even hit the 2mi mark bf yet.

The other problem is salt where I do most of running on the road here. When its near freezing or less, you can garuntee they are going to be throwing salt on the road if there is any precipitation in the forecast. I dont really want to run in that!

Assuming salt isnt in the mix, one thing I am going to try to do more of if the temp is borderline for me is to run the first mile in VFF and then take em off after my feet have warmed up. I've done that once or twice and it has helped.

 

[Chaserwilliams]

YOW / Rod, have you ran in

YOW / Rod, have you ran in cold temps in trails or grass? This is one of the few things that worries me about my next race is cold and wet trails.... We all know how well that worked out for Todd Ragsdale.

 

[NickW]

Tristan, when it's pretty

Tristan, when it's pretty cold I always wear footwear for the first mile or so until my body warms up, it really helps and will help the feet warm up before putting them on the cold man made surfaces. I've noticed that for me, if I start barefoot when it's really cold my feet will not warmup at all, but if I wear footwear for a mile or so first then they never seem to get cold after that despite running through flooded areas and wet and frosty leaves. Keep in mind my coldest run is 31 deg F and we don't get snow here much. I do think the cold surface doesn't ever let your feet get a chance to actually warm up if you start out barefoot in really cold weather. Just an observation on my part from my own runs.

 

[pbarker]

 As the fall approached I

As the fall approached I took the opportunity to slowly acclimatize to the cold and continue to run barefoot as often as possible. Socks if it is cold and dry and water shoes if it is wet. For my bike commute I also stay barefoot as much as possible. On the coldest mornings I wear two pairs of socks and with a plastic bag to cut the wind and stay dry. On today’s commute the temp was +5 and was able bike in barefoot.



It all depends on temp, is the surface wet or dry, wind, is it sunny or cloudy. You learn tricks. My latest one is to run in dry snow if my socks get wet. The snow will pull the water out and reduce the heat loss. Overdress. Run untill my feet are warm then bare my toes. Do not run through wet salt. Run on ice to improve form. Stop and look at my toes if they are white put something on.



Today weather looks promising, +5 sunny with mostly dry paths. I may have to go long.

My goal is to run a 50k in February in socks on snow covered trails.



Thanks for posting Yow

PB

 

[pbarker]

Had a great run. To bad the

Had a great run. To bad the paths were covered with gravel.

 

[ajb422]

I can get down to mid 40s

I can get down to mid 40s sometimes, but normally around mid 50s my feet go numb. There is something to be said for climatization at work there too. Growing up I could walk outside in that weather without shoes all the time. Sure I could fight through this but I see no benefit to it. I run barefoot because its fun, as soon as it ceases to be fun I put on shoes.

 

[LavaRunner]

 It all comes down to my

It all comes down to my basic philosophy, If I ain’t having fun, change the way I am doing it or stop. Life is to short to acclimate

 

[PatrickGSR94]

I can run and walk barefoot

I can run and walk barefoot down to about 45 degrees if the sun is shining. Below that I usually prefer VFF's, though I haven't really tried running that much in sub-45 degrees so I'm not totally sure if I could do it or not. I'm still walking mostly, and your feet stay on the ground more while walking, and therefore get colder.

The other night I tried pulling our trashcans from the back of the house to the front while barefoot, in the upper 30's, with dew on the ground. 2 trips back to front and my feet felt almost numb. Perhaps they would have come out of it if I had run right after that. But man was it cold.

 

[Barefoot YOW]

Chaserwilliams wrote:YOW /

YOW / Rod, have you ran in cold temps in trails or grass? This is one of the few things that worries me about my next race is cold and wet trails.... We all know how well that worked out for Todd Ragsdale.

Chaser -- frozen trails are still a no mans land for me. I still find my feet cool down too quickly, and the terrain feels alot rougher. If it is wet and around 40-45F then trails are a blast.

 

[Barefoot YOW]

LavaRunner wrote:It all

It all comes down to my basic philosophy, If I ain’t having fun, change the way I am doing it or stop. Life is to short to acclimate

But running in the cold/snow IS fun!

Besides, in my neck of the woods we get 4 months of winter temperatures. Running on a dreadmill or gravel bucket just doesn't do it for me.

 

[Barefoot Gentile]

No matter what, frozen trails

No matter what, frozen trails will cause damage, just depends how far you can go before it happens.



Check out this video of Todd attempting to run the Rocky Raccoon barefoot during cold temps. Sorry if this is a re-post.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgEKQKwvwhc

 

[LavaRunner]

Barefoot Gentile wrote:No

No matter what, frozen trails will cause damage, just depends how far you can go before it happens.



Check out this video of Todd attempting to run the Rocky Raccoon barefoot during cold temps. Sorry if this is a re-post.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgEKQKwvwhc

I know some will consider me sacrilegious to the Barefoot religion but that is the definition of "stupid is as stupid does". Sounds like he learned a very painful lesson. On one hand, push your body to the limit. But sometimes, we know those limits. Our bodies are mostly water, water freezes at 32F, when it is low 20's, it doesn't take rocket science to figure out the outcome.

Just Sayin'

 

[Barefoot TJ]

What Barefoot religion?  That

What Barefoot religion? That was just plain stupid, and I can't believe he thought he'd actually be able to complete the 100 miles when he set out. At least Todd has seen the light. :innocent:

 

[Barefoot TJ]

That little angel smiley

That little angel smiley needs some bare feet.

 

[Nyah]

Barefoot YOW wrote:Why is

Why is one of the most frequently asked questions "What minimalist footwear do you wear in the cold?"

I haven't asked that question directly but, I have asked if people continue being barefoot outside for mundane tasks during cold-wet Winter such as shoveling snow, going places with other people who don't run, waiting at a bus stop, etc and if not, then what is it that they wear on their feet. My thread didn't get responses from you, BF Rick or anyone else wanting to prove that cold-wet and freezing temps are OK to run BF in.