Running in Colder Temperatures, foot temperature

[jlubkoll]

Hi,

I am now in BF running for the better part of a year and at the very beginning in spring I can remember that my feet got so cold that there was zero feel of ground and obstacles leading to a stone pinching the skin and just staying there without me noticing until I got home. The "melting" of the frozen feet afterwards was terrible painful and the hole was a bloody mess.

Nowadays my feet do not get competly numb and I still feel what I am running on in general, although with definetly reduced intensity and I believe slight delay in noticing. However due to the tougher skin nothing seems to puncture any more.

The "melting" still is very painful. Even at higher speeds during temps of approx. 5 degC the feet stay cold even at a full half marathon at race speed. I am not really skinny or lightweight, circulation problems are not known of and it is not hindering the functioning of my running but I fear that it will get worse with lower temps eventually to the point of freezing.

Question: Do your feet actually warm up to a "normal" temperature when running for longer times ? Any idea what I do wrong? What is "normal" ?

From the logical standpoint, why would the body heat up more than necessary, there still is enough feeling and in evolution it certainly did not happen often that temperature changes of the environment happened within minutes or seconds (like entering a heated building).

Cheers

Jörn

 

[Barefootpuffin]

I think it's an acclimation

I think it's an acclimation thing. Maple Grove Barefoot Guy (saypay45) on these forums, has recently written a post on winter running. Might be worth it to check it out. I've noticed that my feet get cold, but I don't lose much sensation. If you are worried about frost bite or anything like that remember feet can't freeze if the temp is over 32 degrees farenheit. His post is here.



Hope that helps,

Aaron

 

[Barefoot TJ]

And here is an article

And here is an article written by Barefoot Rick Roeber. He's the only one I know who runs marathons in the single digits through snow and ice: http://barefootrunners.org/story/winter-barefoot-running-it-you-barefoot-rick-roeber

 

[JosephTree]

The simple advice I remember

The simple advice I remember is to get your core temp up prior to going outside. Oh, yes, and overdress a bit. I ran through the winter last year for my first BF winter, and noticed that it became easier as the season progressed.

This year I'm determined to maintain my fascial conditioning and will get together a bin of gravel for indoor marching. I used to think that such an activity was way over the top, but now am just the opposite. I'll be happy to run in my Vibram Bikilas when it's icy and cold, but don't want to be back to baby soft soles come racing season in the spring.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

What do you think about ice

What do you think about ice bucket marching?

 

[Paleo]

Hi Jörn,my feet get used to

Hi Jörn,

my feet get used to the cold, as long as I keep running through the seasons, so that I don't get a shock in December-January.

Depending on the temperature, I need between 5-10 Minutes before they start feeling comfortable. At 0 C, it takes about 7-8 minutes. And during that time, I am constantly wondering whether I need to turn back. The feet never feel really "warm", but they are comfortable.

For me the most important factor is dressing warmly on the upper body and the legs. A wool hat does wonders.

When it is really cold, a small workout indoors before setting out helps. For example: 2-3 sets of push-ups and 2-3 sets of sit-ups.

I don't find helpful, however, just warming my feet indoors before heading out. That makes the shock of the cold worse.

This winter, I will be trying Chelsea's idea of putting on vaseline on the tops of the feet, especially when it is wet.

You have it a good bit colder in Berlin than we do in the Rheinland.

Best of luck

Paleo

 

[joohneschuh]

I try to keep my lower legs

I try to keep my lower legs as warm as possible as far down to the ground as possible.

Ideally this would be something like gaiters made from woll, felt, neopren, anything, covering the ankles, heels and the upper foot. Like socks without the bottom, maybe.

Long running trousers seem to be always too short. They leave the ankles uncovered. Shod runners have socks. We could wear socks, but then we could as well put on (min)shoes.

So my simple solution is: I took a pair of long, tight, warm socks and cut off the front seam. I put them on inside-out and then flap back the whole lower part which covers the foot. This leads to a double-layer ankle-cover which also covers the heel and a little bit of the upper foot close to the ankle. I look a bit like a hobo but my feet don´t freeze so much.

I wonder how far into the lower temperatures I´ll be able to run in my first winter bf...

 

[jlubkoll]

hmm, I cannot even keep my

hmm, I cannot even keep my hands warm which are closer to the circulation core, they have the same problem as the feet and follow the same mechanic of keeping abiliity to feel but really cooling down to the point of being horrible painful when warming up (and being very clumsy in movement). I usually have to wear gloves when it comes even close to the zero point, even under heavy excercise.

Ok, I am usually not wearing lots of cloth because I don't like the thick covers. I'll try getting myself wrapped in more, maybe it helps.

Minshoes are always an option (however the same issue still applies in most of them as there is not really any insulating layer). Socks are absolutly not an option, haven't worn any this year yet and refuse to do so for the forseeable future Especially on ice there is no other option than minshoes, cannot get spikes on my bare feet :/

 

[Paleo]

I also wear gloves starting

I also wear gloves starting at about 5 degrees. For that I have some thin ones--just glove liners really. At about 0, I put on full cycling gloves which have wind-stopper in them.

But, it also depends a lot on the moisture and the wind. Yesterday, it was about 9-10 here, and I wore my 3/4 tights, but two long-sleave shirts (like I had on in Bonn, but thicker). For the first 3 Km on the Rhein (opposite direction from the 3-Bridges race), it was windy, and I felt the whole time like I wished I had my gloves. But, after the South Bridge, I had to start zipping my shirts open, since I now had the wind at my back.

Are you running in tights or in looser pants? As I have just written in another post, I prefer tights because they really trap the air right on the skin. When it gets really cold, I put on long-underwear, too.

Cheers

Paleo

 

[JosephTree]

My GF knitted me some very

My GF knitted me some very simple fingerless mittens that I love to run with.. When my hands warm up they just slide back onto my wrists. Then when the wind changes or the sun goes away, I just slide them back. Being wooly, they keep my hands warm even when they get sweaty.



Anybody want to order some?

 

[jlubkoll]

My pants are usuelle Kind of

My pants are usuelle Kind of Loose, don't like tight clothes. Usually like the stuff i wore in Bonn.
In Extreme temps like less than -10degC I use long underpants, but that is rare.

Will be interesting in Winter....

 

[JosephTree]

Jlukoll, just be aware that

Jlukoll, just be aware that cotton next to your skin can do bad things. Once it gets damp with condensed sweat it will chill you quickly and deeply.

 

[Barefoot YOW]

My 2 cents worth from a

My 2 cents worth from a Canadian perspective. You are touching on some good points.

1. Accilimatize to winter running. Get your pyche ready for the cold.

2. Warm your feet up. Your feet will warm up but it may take 2-3km. So maybe start off already warm or run 15 min with minimalist shoes

3. Push the heat through your feet. Keep your core warm. Wear a toque (winter hat), mittens, and layer up. It is still around 4°C here and I layer up on top but wear shorts. Your feet will heat up quicker if your core is hot. Use the toque to regulate your core temperature

4. Add a shell. A wind breaker shell lower and upper body is advised when it is colder than -5°C

5. Dry is KING. I avoid cool wet conditions. Water is a better conductor of heat than air. If it is wet you will get cold. I'd rather run at -10°C in dry than +5°C in wet

6. Sun glorious Sun. Give the sun time to heat up the ground. Asphalt warms quicker than concrete. Although concrete retains heat longer after the sun disappears.

7. No feeling No Sense. If you have lost feedback from the ground it is time to put on some footwear. I suggest that you run with footwear as a backup. I click a pair of huararches to my water bottle carrier



Have fun exploring barefoot running this winter. Even Barefoot Rick had difficulty learning to winter run (as evident by his frostbite photos). Let us know how your adventure goes.

 

[Barefooting Bob]

Another couple of points to

Another couple of points to take into consideration as well:

.1 Avoid at all costs running on streets or sidewalks that have been applied with rock salt or chemicals to melt the ice. Think meat tenderizer, this is what will happen to your feet.

.2 This might sound a little silly but it was effective for me, I used a pair of wrist bands on my ankles, for some reason this helped regulate the temperature of my feet. It seemed to help keep my feet warm on my below zero runs. I definitely noticed the difference when I did not wear them, it seemed my feet got numb faster and I had to shut it down.

.3 If you are going to start your run barefoot, make sure your feet are nice and warm prior to heading out, I used to do this by standing on a heat vent and then doing some running in place to get the blood flowing. But usually when it was really cold, I left the barefooting to the end of the run when I was about 2km from home or the office to ensure my feet were nice and warmed up.

.4 Don't stop and stand in one place if you can at all advoid it, keep moving that is key.

.5 Avoid puddles, slush and any area you are not sure about. The last thing you want to do is get your feet wet, the heat will be sucked out of your feet quicker than you can say, 'Damn, I wish I didn't do that!" ;-)

 

[Barefoot Gentile]

Great tips and advice Bob and

Great tips and advice Bob and Yow.



I would also go for little walks outside as the temps start to drop, experience as much as you can. I really can't run yet, so this morning I took a walk, it was raining and 48 degrees. The cold wet leaves felt awesome, of course the feet get colder walking so I keep it short.



Our house is always cold in the winter especially downstairs, we don't have the greatest heating system going on but I still go barefoot

 

[jlubkoll]

Haven't worn any shoes 24x7

Haven't worn any shoes 24x7 except huaraches when policy required it or min running shoes when running longer distances the whole year yet. So trying to get my body to gently learn how to live with the colder climate.

In usual day2day so far no problems, the running for longer times is an issue in cold temps.

 

[NickW]

Today I ran at not my coldest

Today I ran at not my coldest temp., but my coldest temp with a wet ground. It was 40 deg F with 80% humidity which makes it feel colder. I was very glad I brought my Adams with me for this run. Usually my feet warm up in the first 1/4-1/2 mile. Today was not so. My feet hurt, and to make it worse a ton of leaves were covering the sidewalk and were extremely damp. As I got farther down the road my feet started feeling better. I didn't notice that the amount of leaves on the sidewalk was becomming less and less.

I hit the one mile point and my body was still cold, which is odd for me as I'm a very warm blooded person so I decided to just turn around and head back. As I started getting back into the leaves my feet started aching again. Finally with a 1/4 mile left I stopped and put my Adams on. I just could not take the pain anymore. Usually I am very happy and smiling when I run. Today not so, I was grimacing most of the run. If the weather stays like this I may not get to run barefoot much this winter. Today was the most pain I've been in when running. Last week I ran in a dry 31 degrees but I felt much warmer. This damp cold weather is miserable.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

The cold can be tolerable;

The cold can be tolerable; the wet will get you.

 

[jlubkoll]

When I was down in patagonia

When I was down in patagonia some years ago I learned that within the Beagle Channel there was a human population living on little islands. Given the temperatures down there (not much more than 15degC in Summer and much below zero in winter) together with a mostly constant wind of around 20-30km/h it is a harsh environment.

These islands are totally flat with just minimal vegetation on them. The humans were living in holes in the ground which kept them safe from the wind. The interesting part there is that they did not know about clothes, they were living naked covering there bodies with seals-fat to avoid dieing from the cold.

At the time I was there it was said that just one person from that gene-stream is still living today everybody else had died after the more civilized settlers from north came.

Why did they die ? Well they where given clothes, clothes get and stay wet. Wet on the skin gets people cold and they die.

So maybe the answer is to cover the feet with some fat or oil in order to keep the water form the skin.

 

[Peanut]

Some interesting

Some interesting observations.



Regarding the grease or oil; I put mentholatum on my feet one day before my usual Barefoot run. It was about 36F outside. It didn't help really at all and I just came home with leaves and such stuck all over them from the grease. It was messy and took a lot of soap to get off in the bath.

I have heard it working well for some.