Re:Why Do Rich People Love Endurance Sports? (2017)
by notacoward on Tuesday January 29, 2019 @06:49AM
(#19025577)
Cold tolerance seems like a very individual thing. I've been up and down the scale a few times in terms of my weight, condition and speed. It doesn't seem to have made much difference to my comfort levels in the cold. I think the coldest run I've done in regular shorts/shirt/shoes was exactly freezing. Even then I wore a thin beanie and gloves. Without those, I would certainly have been quite uncomfortable and might have been at risk for worse. Hypothermia is a real thing. I've seen it, and don't want to experience it.
I guess it would be nice if I could run wearing less, but I honestly don't think it would be safe for me. Your mileage obviously does vary. ;) As it is, I have winter shirts, undershirts, and socks that are all different brands, and I am keenly aware of which ones are better at which temperatures. There's a bit of an art to wearing exactly the right level of gear for the conditions, and I've simply had to become good at it.
After a few years as I had more experience, ran faster (and warmer), these issues mostly disappeared. Nowadays on winter I only run with shorts, a thin hard-shell, and thin shoes (sometimes five-fingers) with temps of -5C. Some days get much colder (e.g. -10 or -15 C) but when I've used some of the warm clothes I used in the first couple of years of running they've always felt too warm. The only thing that's still an issue is running in the dark. Independently of whether I know the trail, have a head-lamp, etc. I run slower in the dark than during the day, except on the track. So now when its dark, I always go to a running track to run. Most of them have lights on till late, and some schools, most universities, etc. have one and they let you use it for free.