Yesterday morning I participated in the NYRR Jingle Bell Jog today; my first official registered “winter” run ever.
brooklynexposed.com
I was a bit nervous because this was a new race condition for me. My minute amount of anxiety concerning this morning’s run was not the location or route or whether I could finish, but… clothing.
I am not new to winter running but new to winter race events.
When Brett and I lived in Edmonton we used to run in the winter a lot; running on the packed snow in our section of the river valley, on the icy stairs up to cross the Rossdale bridge, then along the caked up sidewalk back to the condo. We wouldn’t have to worry about being warm enough or getting stranded because we literally would be running immediately from the entrance and end at the entrance. No chance to get cold en route to a run or afterward, and if we were cold while running of well! It was a short distance!
So my worry for this race was – will I be warm enough? Would I get too hot during the run? I needed to travel to Prospect Park, no big deal. Done that enough times, but I was concerned about the walk from the subway to the start and then back to the subway afterward. And I didn’t want to get too hot when running either. Well, I think I planned well.
The key: simple layers and bag check.
The gear:
- tech T-shirt
- long-sleeved tech shirt
- Nike Pro Dri-Fit semi-turtleneck-ish sweater
- regular gym pants (I opted out wearing the Dri-Fit pants because it wasn’t super cold)
- Uniqlo down jacket (squishes to fit in the clear bag check bag)
- headband and gloves
So here’s the warmth break down:
I was warm on the way to the park. I changed into my Dri-Fit top near the bag check area then checked my bag right away.
I walked over to the start area and was comfortable. I’ve become a good judge of arriving to the start at just the right time so I only had to wait a few minutes to begin.
During the run I was comfortable on top, although my thighs and butt were a cold. I probably could have opted for the Dri-Fit pants, but I was fine. I wore my headband and gloves for 2 of the 4 miles then removed them and clipped them to my belt.
Post-run – no problem! — The bag check was just past the finish line so I went right there after collecting an apple and hot chocolate (opted out of the red and green bagels). Once I got my bag, I swapped my Dri-Fit top for my puffy jacket and headed to the subway. Perfecto!
Thankfully the rain had stopped and it was nice enough out at about -2 Celsius, but it’s cooling down this week… Hope I’ll be warm enough for Ted Corbitt 10k next Saturday in Central Park!
Jibber Jabber & Happenstance 