Winter Challenge - 2013

2 km in -14C today. Damn we are cutting this off to quick for us peggers. It has just been for the last week or so where it has gotten tolerable out there to post some miles. There is always next season, but I sure hope that's a long long looooong time away. Congrats Lee and Yvonne.
 
2 km in -14C today. Damn we are cutting this off to quick for us peggers. It has just been for the last week or so where it has gotten tolerable out there to post some miles. There is always next season, but I sure hope that's a long long looooong time away. Congrats Lee and Yvonne.
Yah, I think everyone knows that if Barefooting Bob lived in Iowa, he would be unbeatable. By my reckoning, just around Iowa's latitude is probably the best place to maximize bareable, qualifying temps Oct-March. I dunno, maybe Denver if you ran mostly in the mornings, cuz they don't get much snow.

In any case, if I stick to my plan of mostly running in the morning from now on, and don't go to the trouble of driving to the fairgrounds midwinter in search of drier surfaces, I'll definitely be out of contention next year, unless we have a mild winter like two years ago.

OK, this morning's snow has melted, sun's out, 36F/24F windchill, off to get in my last qualifying run/walk . . .
 
Thanks again YOW, for doing all the behind-the-scenes work!

Sorry though, no photos. Should've asked my wife to take one out on our street, but that would make her roll her eyes even more.

Comments: once again my tolerances improved, mostly temp-wise. I only got slightly better at running on compacted snow. The suddenness with which this winter came on in December got me off my game. There was almost no time to transition from above-freezing temps to really cold temps. Also, unlike last winter, there was almost no mid-winter thawing. For those of us who have trouble running on compacted snow, this made barefoot running almost impossible December through February, even when the temps were reasonable.

Next winter I will try to maintain my normal running routine, with no route or schedule concessions. It's just too much hassle planning runs around the weather and surface conditions. Maybe do more mixed shod and bare runs, as route surfaces vary, and let go of the idea that shoes are only for back-up--especially now that I've discovered the excellent Sockwa G4s, which have great groundfeel and are easy to slip on or off in an instant.

My best memory from this season will be those early morning, one-mile run-commutes in the single digits (about -15C), running at tempo pace in the cold, dark, winter wonderland just minutes after waking up, and the warm relief once I arrived at my office.
 
No pictures from me either. I also noted a improvement to my temperature tolerance. I'm good now to about -15C not counting wind chill, but on compact snow and ice the tolerances have not changed. Only good to -3C to -5C there, fresh snow I will not even attempt anymore as that's how I got frostnip a few years ago. All in all it does give me a sense of well being knowing that low temperatures can be tolerated in the right conditions. Also a big thank you to YOW for organizing this winter challenge again. :barefoot:
 
My tolerance for barefoot winter running also has improved over the 3 years I ran through the winter without VFF's. First year was 40 degrees F, second year down to 33 degrees, and this year down to 27 degrees. What I noticed is that my feet get red from improved blood flow where they used to be white. I still can't run in snow yet though, maybe next winter.
 
A big thank you to all you hard core winter barefooters...I usually stop barefooting thru the winter even though its mild here compared to the northern locations. I did more winter barefooting even though it was the coldest here I can remember...great thread for motivation to keep barefooting thru the winter.
 
I am a shutterbug, I love to take photos! Unfortunately my computer crashed about a month ago and lost my data :swimmingtears: . Luckily, I have a habit of boring my Facebook friends by posting pix from my runs etc :p, so I was able to download those for the BRS WC write-up. Now to figure out which photos, how many, and what to say o_O


I sent TJ the write up, but can you add them to the thread when it is posted. Please feel free to send me a bunch too.
 

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