Thursday, February 02, 2006
Don't Underestimate the Importance of Wicking Moisture...
Don’t underestimate the importance of wicking moisture away from your skin in cold weather!
I have been eating less the last couple days in an effort to shed another pound or two before my marathon in March. Well yesterday I only consumed about 400-500 calories throughout the day before I ran. As I started out at 4:30 p.m. it was -3C/27F, slightly windy and there was a thick wet fog. I also made the mistake of replacing my breathable fleece running shirt with a thicker cotton hooded sweatshirt right before I left the house.
So anyway as I headed out on my run I quickly dropped into an easy 5:45/K (9:15/M) pace and started heading out over the fields. The wind/fog combination quickly chilled any exposed skin (e.g. face). After a half hour of running or so, I also started to realize that my thick hood sweatshirt was retaining all the moisture that my inner CoolMax layers were wicking out. I was getting cold! Worse yet, I was running out of energy, I was starting to feel like I was going to "hit the wall". I kept getting colder and colder, but I was already close to the halfway point, so there was nothing to do but keep running. As I eventually headed over the last 12-15 minutes of the run, which were over open fields, it was pure misery - it felt like the wind had picked up, it was almost dark, and my upper body was soaked with sweat. I was freezing!
I was relieved when I finally made it home and elected to skip my cooldown walk and headed straight inside. I quickly shed my wet clothes and then did a cooldown and stretching. After a warm bath and some hot food I was good to go, but this experience shook me up a little. My average pace of 5:47/K (9:18/M) kind of surprised me – it felt like I had been running much slower – I guess I was in a hurry to get in the warm house.
This evening I am running the route again at marathon pace (6:00/K = 9:39/M), but I am going to enjoy a warm lunch in our company cafeteria – I don’t want a repeat of last night’s experience. Oh, and I already have all my “breathable” running clothes laid out for tonight – don’t underestimate the importance of wicking moisture away from your skin in cold weather!
I have been eating less the last couple days in an effort to shed another pound or two before my marathon in March. Well yesterday I only consumed about 400-500 calories throughout the day before I ran. As I started out at 4:30 p.m. it was -3C/27F, slightly windy and there was a thick wet fog. I also made the mistake of replacing my breathable fleece running shirt with a thicker cotton hooded sweatshirt right before I left the house.
So anyway as I headed out on my run I quickly dropped into an easy 5:45/K (9:15/M) pace and started heading out over the fields. The wind/fog combination quickly chilled any exposed skin (e.g. face). After a half hour of running or so, I also started to realize that my thick hood sweatshirt was retaining all the moisture that my inner CoolMax layers were wicking out. I was getting cold! Worse yet, I was running out of energy, I was starting to feel like I was going to "hit the wall". I kept getting colder and colder, but I was already close to the halfway point, so there was nothing to do but keep running. As I eventually headed over the last 12-15 minutes of the run, which were over open fields, it was pure misery - it felt like the wind had picked up, it was almost dark, and my upper body was soaked with sweat. I was freezing!
I was relieved when I finally made it home and elected to skip my cooldown walk and headed straight inside. I quickly shed my wet clothes and then did a cooldown and stretching. After a warm bath and some hot food I was good to go, but this experience shook me up a little. My average pace of 5:47/K (9:18/M) kind of surprised me – it felt like I had been running much slower – I guess I was in a hurry to get in the warm house.
This evening I am running the route again at marathon pace (6:00/K = 9:39/M), but I am going to enjoy a warm lunch in our company cafeteria – I don’t want a repeat of last night’s experience. Oh, and I already have all my “breathable” running clothes laid out for tonight – don’t underestimate the importance of wicking moisture away from your skin in cold weather!
# posted by Jack : 7:26 AM
Comments:
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It takes so little to make mistakes, doesn't it?? Glad you survived!! Hot tea, hot bath, hot food. You're good to go!
woah! careful out there, we don't want you getting weiner bite, let alone any other part of your body!
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