Winter Challenge - 2013

I will admit it's been a brutal winter this year, but who else just hates the word "Vortex"! I live in New England and honestly I think people forget we do have winters.

View attachment 3405
Yah, and people forget that winters have variety too. I tell my wife she's just about seen it all now. Since we arrived from Mozambique in 2010, it's been like this: 2010-11 winter, one of the snowiest ever; 2011-12 winter, one of the mildest (my first barefoot running winter too!); 2012-13 winter, one of the longest--snow storms in April, or was it even May?; now 2013-14 winter, one of the coldest ever, so far. All that's left is an early winter September snow.

Personally I like almost any word ending in -ex, but "Arctic Spike" or "Cold Snap" is what I think we used to call Arctic Vortices. But you got tattoos and a skateboard right? You should be able to roll with the new hip weatherman lingo :cool: .

Anyway, so far, three vortices/spikes/snaps in a single month, and a pretty dang cold December too. I can't remember a winter where we had more than two really cold periods, but I've fortunately been out of the Midwest most of my adult life, so it could be one of those childhood memory distortions, although those usually bias towards more difficult, not easier, right?

One thing's for sure, temps in the 20s feel positively balmy these days.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Barefoot Gentile
Just plain old average winter in my neck of the woods.

Nov: average 41F/28F -- this year 40F/22F (a little cooler)
Dec: average 27F/12F -- this year 22F/7F (a little cooler)
Jan: average 23F/5F ---- this year 22F/8F (a little warmer)
 
Just plain old average winter in my neck of the woods.


Historical Average °F This Winter °F
Month Max Min Max Min
Nov 41 28 40 22
Dec 27 12 22 7
Jan 23 5 22 8
According to Accuweather, we should be back close to seasonal averages in 10-14 days (mid to upper 20s). It will feel like spring, and if it doesn't snow too much, I'll be able to run bare more consistently.

We got six inches of snow yesterday, but I love how quickly it's removed around here. Almost all the streets and most of the sidewalks were clear on my morning run-commute. Still, I ran in my Neo Trails, which feel like heavy stability shoes in comparison to my Sockwa G4s. Would've gone with the latter if I had known how good conditions were. It's -6F, but no windchill, supposed to get up to 9F today. Yippee.
 
Update - Ground Hog Day

134 km by 12 runners this week. Yvonne and swoggis exceeded 2o km each. Can we make it to 5000 km by April 1st?

02-02_zpsaa1ffe11.png
 
I continue my drop in our rankings. Conditions continue to be outside my comfort zone. Too wet and thus too much salt. I only managed 8 km the entire month of January. This may be the first year we do not have a Canuck in the top 3.

Glad to see so many others racking up great mileage.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bare Lee
I was happy to be able to incrementally lower my 'dry pavement' limit down to 14°F (was 0°F windchill that day) and still be comfortable running in bare feet. I thought that was enough adaptation buffer to let me run 11 miles on damp, salty pavement at 27°F on Sunday morning. Wrong. I was fine during the run, but my soles were feeling pretty raw afterwards and are still mildly unhappy with me today. (No blisters at least...) Also, the wet pavement stains my skin in a way that can't be completely scrubbed off even with the Oxo brush. I think I'll try to stick to 'dry' days the rest of this winter. Of course, here in NJ, we just got plastered with 8" of snow, with freezing rain coming tomorrow, and more snow on the way this weekend, so who knows when the streets will be runnable again... :(
 
Ran in 5 inches of snow this morning for 3 miles, the last mile and a half I took off the vibrams and went bare. It was 25 degrees, felt great could of went longer actually. Not my first time running in snow barefoot, but this was the first time it was below freezing, and in wet heavy snow.
That's pretty Rad BG. Last winter I ran in just a half inch of fresh snow at 21F and got frost nip. I put my shoes on after 1.25 miles when I noticed three of my toes had gone white, but then kept running. Shoulda come straight home.

-3F / -18F WC this morning, but it's supposed to return to seasonal averages in about a week. I can hardly wait to start barefootin' it regularly again. Might have a window of opportunity this weekend though. Otherwise, I'm in my Sockwa G4s. With 1.2mm soles, they have the best groundfeel around, and provide just enough insulation, and trap just enough body heat to allow for sockless running in all but the coldest temps.
 
Bare Lee, i know doesn't take much. But for some inspiration, Barefoot Rick (Roeber), ran 20 miles on ice at at 16F, incredible.
Yah, ice is a slightly different animal than snow, because it stays below the foot, whereas snow kills me because it gets between the toes and on top of the foot, but Rick's accomplishment is very impressive. He's adapted very well over the years, but I also know he suffered a lot of frostbite along the way. And the Iceman, who can actually regulate his body temperature consciously, almost lost some toes while running his half-Mary up in the Arctic, right? My frostnip was very minor--about two hours of burning sensation and then another couple of days of minor pain, then my callouses molted. But that was enough to put the fear of god in me. I consider myself so lucky to still have a fully functional body in middle-age, I'm not going to take unnecessary risks.

Nonetheless, I had intended to push my adaptation in snow a bit this year. Last winter I could do OK on ice patches in the 20s, and in slush around freezing or higher, although I never ran more than 5-7 miles at a time, and usually less, because I was working through ITBS. This year I had a plan to test my limits a bit more while carrying back-up booties that I could slip on at the first sign of trouble. But it got so cold and so snowy so fast in December, that there wasn't really any time for transitioning. I think I ran 280-300 qualifying kilometers in October and November, in mostly dry conditions, but since then it's been less than 50 km, not counting the week I ran/walked/hiked in Southern California. For two months now it's been either too cold or too snowy or both. A real contrast with last winter, when it seemed like I could run barefoot about half the time.

But in about a week we're supposed to have highs in the mid-20s or better, so I'm looking forward to finishing out the winter strong. I may even try some shorter runs in snow if my cold-running adaptation comes back fast enough, but probably nothing more than a kilometer or a mile. I definitely don't see myself running 1.5 miles or more in five inches of snow! Course, you run much faster than me, so that probably helps . . .

Anyway, it's fun sharing experiences here. Most people think we're crazy to even think about running barefoot in the winter, so it's nice to know we're not alone. Thanks again YOW for setting this thread/challenge up!
 
  • Like
Reactions: rik
Monday I logged 3.7 miles 29 Degrees 25 mp wind chill for the first half of my run on blacktop and sidewalk, SUNNY warm on the inside. Wednesday 24 Degrees 3.8 miles I ran in West Valley Utah. I ran on the blacktop white line until a car came and then I got off the side of the road 3 to 4 feet still on black top but fairly new slurry seal from the summer. Rough but not to painful good training for winter as KenBob suggested. The sun was bright enough that It was melting some of the snow. Each time I run in the winter it is a little like running barefoot for the first time. Hey I can do this I remind my self my feet did not fall off and I don’t have frostbite or frost nip yet. And my feet are not yet numb or dumb as has been mentioned . I run on my lunch break from my place of work and about all 1200 people who work in the same building think I need clinical help. Most days I feel like I am THAT GUY . The only time I see bf runners is on the beach on vacation. No it is not getting more popular and that’s ok with me. I told my two young daughters today when I got home do you know your Dad runs barefoot during his lunch break ? I remind them I do it because I want them to know that it is possible to do hard things. As most of us know running bf is not the hard thing. The hard part for me part is making it from my desk to the gym dressing room to get ready for the run. Once I am out it lights out FUN ! Thanks to everyone for your post and motivation ! ~ In good medicine
 
Winter has been relatively warm in Western Germany so far. Most of the time since November, temperatures ranged between 0 and 5°C which is fine for me with barefoot running. I wouldn't mind if every winter was just like that:).
There will be a 10 k track run next saturday in the small town where I grew up. I have participated in this traditional event for maybe six or seven years now - always with shoes. This time I think I could try it with bare feet fot he first time.
The drawback of the current weather is that it is already too warm to count many of my runs for the winter challenge. Only the strong windchill allowed me, for example, to include today's test run on next week's track into the challenge.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bare Lee
Good to hear form you Yvonne. You're putting in some great winter mileage! Are you running on roads or trails?


Thanks! I've been enjoying the challenge and adaptation! I have been running on asphalt and chip-seal hilly country roads, recently did a dirt/gravel road with packed snow. Farmland around here, not really many trails nearby. Besides, we've had a lot of snow with our cold weather here, so trails would be too risky for me :wideeyed:
 
  • Like
Reactions: swoggis