Welcome to running in cold weather. All your months spent complaining about the intense heat of summer, are now quickly being replaced with woes of wind, ice and cold. Since we know running is mental, let’s re-frame winter running in to the perfect time to exercise outdoors.
All right perfect, might be a stretch, but here are some surprising reasons to get your run on outside this winter and it’s more than for great base building.
Is it good to run in the winter?
HECK YES. The running in winter benefits are numerous!
According to the American Chemical Society’s journal Environmental Science & Technology, as little as five minutes of exercise outside in winter can provide you with all the health benefits I’m about to share!
10 Benefits of Running in the Cold
Thus far winter has been hard core here in Denver, starting with 3 snowfalls of 10 inches in October and then 16 in November.
If your morning rung or night run just can’t be done outside, consider a short walk at lunch for the mental benefits of getting outside.
You 100% know that I LOVE using my treadmill as part of training year round.
But if you’re avoiding the cold weather running all the time, it turns out you could be short changing your training.
Of course there is the mental side of getting yourself out there when it’s uncomfortable, but there are also some other benefits you might not realize come with braving the elements.
Winter running does NOT NEED to be miserable. I’ve gone through my favorite winter running gear, especially winter running jackets and guarantee that spending a little there is going to help you enjoy these runs a whole lot more.
1. Cold Weather is Actually the Ideal Condition to Run
This why the majority of marathons are held during October and November. Originally it meant a lot of races could be held around 40 degrees…I’m so sorry for everyone getting the 70 degree days now!
According to an extremely in depth study, the best race performances appear to happen around 40 degrees and for every 5 degree rise in temperature, performance drops by 2.7 seconds per mile. This was based on the top athletes, so it’s likely higher on the rest of us.
2. Winter Running Means Faster Recovery
We know that putting ice on an injury is NO LONGER the ideal scenario because it slows healing, but when it comes to your workout you might just be creating less inflammation during a cold weather run and thus speeding up your post workout recovery.
WOHOOOO. Better recovery, might mean you feel less fatigued later in the day, it might mean you have more energy to make your strength happen OR that you simply feel ready to run again the next day.
3. Running Outside During the Cold Can Boost Mood
Unfortunately, many of us suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) as the temperature drops and the days get colder/darker. SAD is what it sounds like, our mood gets kinda blah.
But, fortunately, running helps release hormones such as endorphins (and endocannabinoids) that can help give you a boost when the lack of sun is taking a toll.
A study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology that people who exercise outdoors consistently reported increased energy levels, decreased levels of depression, and were more like to exercise regularly.
4. Running in Cold Weather Means Faster Paces with Less Effort
Minus any tricky footing, most distance race speed records are set in the colder weather.
Exercise physiologist and author of The Marathon Method, Tom Holland, explains this: “The colder the weather, the less heat stress on the body, which makes it significantly easier to run.”
This is in contrast to running in the heat and humidity which can be extremely taxing on the body.
When the weather is hot outside, our body’s blood flow increases to the extremities to help us sweat and cool our bodies naturally. But the opposite is true when the weather is cold; this gives us more central blood volume.
This allows you to run at a lower heart rate for the same pace during cold weather, and this can be up to 15 beats per minute fewer. You’ll end up feeling less fatigued after your run and may be able to play around with speed workouts more.
Not only might you feel it’s easier to run faster during the winter, but it could be the reason for so many spring PR’s.
It turns out that the shivering, the searing lungs, all that is training your body to use oxygen more efficiently!
CAVEAT: There is a point where you will start to see diminishing performance in the cold! Find out how cold is too cold to run??
5. Winter Running Boosts Your Immune System
Researchers Rachel and Steven Kaplan found that being in nature resulted in a “restorative experience”.
It offers a means of getting away from stressful situations, while green spaces with natural light and shadows can also put in you in a reflective mood making your more reflective and open to options to resolve your situation!
A few other awesome study results:
- Women who spent 6 hours in the woods over the course of two days had an increase in white blood cells, hello improved immunity (Tokyo’s Nippo Medical School)
- Nature provides a break from the stimulus of our daily lives, improving focus (Psychological Science)
- Walking in nature improves positive feelings and reduces levels of depression (University of Michigan)
6. Vitamin D for Mood and Energy
You need it, the sun provides it…you gotta get outside to absorb it.
Per the above health perks of nature, one reason many believe it’s so good for our mood is Vitamin D.
A surprising number of people in the US are deficient, which can cause weight gain, moodiness, lowered immune system and inflammation. All things that are going to slow our great running!
7. Helps Prevent Winter and Holiday Weight Gain
Our bodies tend to store more fat in the winter which can slow down our metabolism, especially when accompanied by a decrease in exercise levels.
This was proven in a study conducted in Massachusetts in 2006 that followed participants for a one-year period. People not only ate more, but they exercised less as the temperatures plummeted. For this reason, our weight tends to peak in winter months. Similar studies have been conducted in Brazil and the Netherlands demonstrating the same results.
Combine that with all the delicious food we tend to eat during the holidays, and it explains the yearly articles about American’s gaining weight.
Running in cold weather can help the body combat these seasonal issues. It’ll prevent your body from metabolic slowdown and help you maintain a healthy weight all year round.
If that’s still not enough to convince you, I’ve got another great calorie burn associated benefit for you:
8. Enhanced Calorie Burn from Winter Workouts
Do you burn more calories when you run in the cold? YES!!
If running for weight loss is a goal, then let winter give you an extra boost!
Your body expends more energy attempting to raise your core temperature, which results in a higher calorie burn than an equal workout indoors.
Additionally, though I hate to say it winter weather is also often accompanied by wind, which again requires more effort and can thus increase the burn.
“If you are making athletic-level effort — cycling hard, running at a training level — you are burning 10 to 40 percent more calories in the cold than you would in more temperate temperatures,” according to Jo Zimmerman at the University of Maryland.
9. Cold Weather Running Helps Change Your Body Composition
Another surprising finding is that brown fat is activated in the cold, this is the good fat..the kind that burns off the fat you don’t want covering your hard-earned muscles!
Remember this higher calorie burn means you could run through your glycogen faster and need fuel sooner.
But that’s not all, we also have something called white fat in our body which is the ‘unwanted’ body fat that folks are often trying to burn off. There’s increasing scientific evidence to suggest that exposing our bodies to cold temperatures actually turns white fat into brown fat!
This means that cold weather running can not only help burn your calories, but also help change your body composition!
While running for weight loss is not a consideration for many, the truth is that it’s exactly why a lot of us got started. It’s certainly what made me start in 2002 and I won’t apologize for that. If that reason hadn’t gotten me going, I wouldn’t have found all the other incredible benefits of running and how it could change my life.
10. Magical Silence of Winter Running
Last but not least, there’s something magical about being out in the quiet of an early morning winter run or even an afternoon run!
We’re surrounded by chirping phones and dinging emails, shutting all of that off and having a moment just to enjoy the silence is rejuvenating on many levels.
Truly this is one that can be overlooked. When life is A LOT…and when is adulting is so much more than A LOT, well some time to think is one heck of a gift.
The benefits of running in the cold are so obvious, but I’ll be honest I still need the reminder when I look at the temps and start to think about all the necessary layers.
I’m very lucky that in the winter I can push my runs a bit until the sun comes out, which mentally makes me believe it’s warmer!
Otherwise, I’m no stranger to doing speed workouts or long runs on the treadmill with a smile because darn it, I’m still running!
More Winter Running Tips
Need a little more help? Checkout this Winter Maintenance Plan for runners >>
Other ways to connect with Amanda
Instagram Daily Fun: RunToTheFinish
Facebook Community Chatter: RunToTheFinish
Sign Up to Receive a Weekly Newsletter with Top Running Tips
