Harness the Elements

Cold weather is ideal for improving basic endurance performance. While running slowly, breathe deeply and allow the cold air to warm up on its way through your nose and throat. The colder it is, the slower your run should be, yet run as long as you like.

Although you do not lose as much water as you do in the summer, you should still make sure you drink enough. Start your training with enough fluids, and drink during the training if it lasts longer than 60 minutes. It is often advisable to carry your water belt under your running suit, so the fluids do not get too cold.

It is also important to drink a lot afterwards. Try fruit juice spritzers with a little salt added, or sports drinks containing sodium. When you sweat a lot, your body loses fluids as well as sodium (salt). If your drink does not contain any sodium at all, or not enough of it, the sodium level in your body will also be too low. In this case, your body cannot retain added fluids, which means fluids literally "run" through.

To combat this effect, prepare your food and drinks with a little more salt than usual. Take a water belt with you on long runs, and add a pinch of salt to your drinks (1 gram salt in 1 liter of fluid). When you drink fruit juice spritzers with low-sodium mineral water or tap water, add a little more salt, as fruit juices and tap water do not contain nearly enough sodium. No worries, salt is only harmful for patients with high blood pressure and not for athletes who sweat a lot. As a runner, salt intake is essential to your well-being!

Functional apparel that is breathable yet protects against wind and cold is a must in the winter. Be aware that you can lose a lot of body heat when your clothing is soaked with sweat. Membrane textiles with a high moisture transport capacity are preferable. As a general rule, choose clothing in which you feel a bit cold when starting your run- that way you will be optimally dressed when your body heats up. When it is really cold, you should wear gloves and a cap or headband. If you wear glasses or sunglasses, they should be made of plastics, because metal parts on the skin transport a lot of warmth away from the body. In intense cold, metal parts on glasses have been known to cause frostbite.