What to wear on race day

Over the course of a long run many topics will likely be discussed. This keeps things interesting, and the miles pass much faster. I can vouch for this. 

One such topic was "what should I wear on race day?" from one my recent long runs. To put this in to a better context, we were discussing racing in the winter rather than summer. In the summer time, runners typically go with the bare minimum. Now, bare minimum varies from runner to runner but let's hold that thought for another post. 

So my answer to this question went something a little like this.

Two things go in to my clothing selection thought process: the weather and the distance.

Wintertime weather in the Carolinas varies wildly. The temperature can be 70 in the morning and 30 degrees in the evening with gusting winds.

The warmer the temperature the more I would dress lightly such as singlet and shorts. As the temperature drops, I start adding more clothes. In to the 40s, I might add an undershirt and perhaps some thin gloves. Drop it in to the 20s and 30s, I will probably add a heavier shirt and perhaps a beanie. Drop it below 20 for a race, and I will go with a good set of gloves and a thicker long sleeve shirt. And, yes, I have raced below 20 degrees. Once I ran a 25k when it was in the single digits. 

The trick to choosing the right clothing is looking through my running wardrobe and finding something that wicks away the moisture while keeping me warm. Any type of sweating on a cold day is the absolute worst. Turn in to the wind and this moisture becomes like ice cubes against your body. Never fun. 

I may have to further refine my clothing selection if I am expecting wind and or rain. Both can and will strip away my body heat like nothing else. Rounding a corner, I turn in to a strong head wind, and I often feel like it is chilling me to the bone. If I am expecting strong winds, I often wear a wind proof vest. They tend to work pretty well at blocking the feel from my core. If I am expecting it to rain, I will wear a rain jacket. I have several rain jackets. All do a fair job at keeping the rain out but keeping the water out tends to mean that they are sealed pretty well. Thus, I will get a little too hot. Nothing is perfect. 

Now  that we have talked about handling the weather, let's talk about distance. I like to think about it using a scale analogy. One side I have to consider the weight of the weather and on the other side I have to consider the weight of the distance of the race. I get the balance right; I am likely to have a good race. 

If the race is shorter say 5k or 10k, I can likely tough out the colder temperatures more easily by wearing less clothes. As the race distance grows, I need to think about keeping a steady body temperature. After all, I may be out there for 1, 2, 3, 4, or more hours. As I grow more and more tired, I tend to feel the cold much more. My legs especially my quads will tend to tighten up. Often, I will opt for my compression shorts over regular shorts. While my regular shorts hang down lightly touching my thighs, compression shorts wrap around my thighs keeping a thin warm barrier. In a few cases, I have gone with a full tights covering my legs but only if the temperate really dips down. 

Now, I just don't feel the cold in my legs when the distance grows but I feel it all over. Making sure to keep the core warm and dry as the distance grows remains key.  If I get too cold, my body will start to protect me by trying to keep my just core warm. I remember finishing one race where I was underdressed for the weather, and they had to wrap me in blankets afterward. I laid there on a cot for about an hour shivering. The experienced changed my thinking from that day forward. 

If you take anything away from this, take away to keep your core warm and dry. Remember, be flexible. There is no one stop piece of clothing for all weather conditions. At least, I have yet to find it. 

Cool Down Runner