Thursday, May 29, 2014

Lesson 4 | Brrr!

Icy.

That’s what hit me when I got out of the car at event number three of the Trail Series. I walked to the registration and coffee van in two layers, with a scarf. It was the Winter Trail Series after all. Even though the sun is up the air is still icy.

As it got closer to start time I realised that the weather hadn’t really warmed up. What to do? If it never warms up it would be a pain running in the cold, and I get colder quicker than I get hotter. My running kit at the time was very basic: road running shoes, shorts and a t-shirt. Nothing fancy. :) I decided to take my apple jacket and buff. My apple jacket is a lightweight water and wind shell. Not proof of either, but good enough. It can also fold up to the size of an apple, hence the name, and therefore not too big to carry.

Implementing all my previous lessons, we started out. Around 1km I pocket my buff, which I was wearing as a scarf at the time. Five hundred metres later I wriggled out of my apple jacket, while running. Folding it into the apple I wished it to be, while running wasn’t possible as the material is too light and got swept up by the wind, so I had to stop. Fortunately my shorts’ pocket was big enough to stuff my apple jacket in it, and I continued. This was very uncomfortable, as it banged against my leg. Eventually I ran with the folded jacket in my hand.

This time round the uphills were quite steep and I tried doing lesson 3, knowing that the downhill was coming, but eventually I had to walk. This also proved to be another lesson. The downhill was awesome and we got a beautiful view of the Hartebeespoort Dam.

Lesson learned: Pick the right gear for the distance you’re doing.
Firstly, I’m relieved I didn’t take more warm gear on the run, as it would have been frustratingly awkward to have had to run with more stuff. It was only a 7km run and the skies were clear, so it was bound to get warmer. Add to that I do get hotter when I run. From then on for short distances I just suck it up for the initial cold start, because I know after 1km it’s going to be fine.

This is just the tip of the iceberg (excuse the pun) when it comes to gear for runs, and as I gain more experience I will share it with you. Longer distance runs obviously require more planning and more gear, but short distances can be easily done with minimal gear, which makes entry level trail running awesome!

Feedback: Are you easily affected by the cold? Do you wear specific gear in the winter in spite of the weather or distance?

OK, it wasn't that cold! There was no snow.  / Youwall.com



No comments:

Post a Comment