It is unseasonably cold in Tennessee right now. As it's usually not this cold until January/February, I don't have winter running gear yet. I asked for it for Christmas, thinking I'd be fine until then. Oh, so wrong.
I've been running in normal work-out pants & then layering on top with a long sleeved shirt & a big, thick hoodie. I quickly learned this summer why wearing dry-weave running clothes are important, but I thought the main goal in the winter was to stay warm, dry-weave be damned. Yeah, not so much as it turns out.
The problem with cotton in the winter is that as you sweat (yes, you still sweat in the winter), your clothes get wet & keep you cold, whereas dry-weave, cold gear pulls the moisture away from your body, thus keeping you warmer. Unfortunately, dry-weave, cold gear isn't cheap, especially the good stuff. I'm talking to you, Under Armour...
On Wednesday night, it was 29-ish degrees outside. Yeah, cold. And it was my least favorite East Nasty route because the last time I ran it, I had a really hard time keeping up & not getting lost. And! During the run last week, it was so cold that I could hardly finish due to leg cramps, which I've never had before. WTF? So on Wednesday, I kept thinking I'd just skip it because what if my legs cramped up again, or I got lost, etc. But alas, I went.
I put on my normal, thin-ish work-out pants, my fancy, long-sleeved Lululemon shirt & a hoodie. I knew my legs would be cold, but my core was pretty warm. A) I totally went HAM on the run & not only didn't get lost, but I ran the whole thing & stayed with the front of the pack. B) I think I got frost bite.
When I got home & took my work-out pants off, I was bright red from the waist down, like raw bacon red. I looked sunburned. It was pretty ridiculous. So I put on my flannel reindeer pajamas that John LOVES (not really) & set about drinking as much hot chocolate as it took to return my skin to its natural pallor. I woke up with normal looking legs, so no harm, no foul. But I did immediately set out looking for warmer pants. Again, I've asked for some fancy schmancy running tights for Christmas, so I just needed a cheaper pair to get me through. Ahhh, Target, how do I love thee, let me count the ways....
Purchased at Target: 1 pair of base layer running tights for $24.99 & 1 base layer fleece pullover for $14.99. I ran in this outfit, plus a dry-weave long-sleeved shirt yesterday morning & was snug as a bug in a rug. Plus! No raw bacon legs. Score!