Cold Weather – using Vaseline as insulation

 

Last week, I said that I was going to provide some feedback on using Vaseline to insulate your hands and face against the cold weather.

Saturday morning I got my opportunity for a real test. The temperature was 22 degrees at 8 AM with light breeze – maybe 8 to 10mph.

Before my race, I coated my face and hands with Vaseline. For my face, I didn't provide another covering. Other than, I did cover my ears with a running head band.

For my hands, I used a pair of black thin Brooks's gloves.

By first mile, my hands were going numb. At two miles, I was pulling my fingers back into the body of the gloves and curling them into a loose fist.

For the next 10 miles, I ran with my hands curled into a loose fist. Around 10 ½ miles, I tried extending my fingers back into the fingers of the glove but they almost immediately went numb.

From there until the finish, I just kept them curled up in the body of glove.

My face seemed to fair much better. While we did hit a head wind at times, my face remained in pretty good shape.

So here are my conclusions.

For your hands, 22 degrees is way too cold for this test. Maybe, if the temperature was in the upper 30s or 40s, it may have produced better results.

For your face, Vaseline was huge help and definitely worth the extra effort to apply it to your face.

 

Tips from the Cool Down Runner