Dressing for a cold-weather run
With the recent ice day, and cold and snow moving into our area this weekend, I thought I would talk a bit about dressing for a cold-weather run. How you dress for the weather can make or break your winter season runs. This doesn't mean you should pile on all the clothes possible to stay warm. It is possible to dress too warmly, and the result can leave you sweaty and uncomfortable. It happens a lot because of how cold you are at the beginning of your workout.
Some rules for dressing properly are:
1. Layers, layers, layers
Wearing several thin layers of clothing helps trap warm air between layers, keeping you considerably warmer than if you were to wear one heavy layer like a cotton sweatshirt. This includes socks; wearing two pairs of polypropylene socks keeps your feet warmer and drier than one heavy pair. This rule is especially true if the clothing gets damp or wet during the workout.
2. Wear the right fabrics
One area where modern runners have a huge advantage on those who started out in the running boom of the late 1970s and '80s is in the types of fabric available for running gear. Materials such as polypropylene, capilene and some wool/synthetic blends wick moisture away from your body and keep you as warm and dry as possible.
Avoid wearing cotton as much as possible, because it doesn't wick moisture and also has very little insulating ability, which will leave you wet, cold and uncomfortable.
3. Wear a protective outer shell
It's important that you wear some sort of waterproof windbreaker or shell to protect you from the wind and precipitation. Gore-Tex is the best material to wear as it does a great job of releasing moisture from the body while also keeping out moisture from the outside elements. Nylon also does a reasonable job for a lesser price. If possible, Gore-Tex is the way to go.
4. Cover exposed skin
Hats and gloves are absolutely necessary once the temperature dips below the freezing point. Your body will lose the majority of its heat through any exposed skin, so cover up as much as possible. If it's really cold, you can cover exposed areas such as your face with Vaseline to reduce the potential of frostbite, or wear a facemask.
Don’t let Mother Nature stop your winter training. Keep putting those miles in for those spring half-marathons. It's only nine weeks until the Seashore Classic Half-Marathon at Irish Eyes in Lewes.
State indoor championships
The 2015 DIAA State Indoor Track and Field Championships were held last weekend at the PG Sports & Learning Center in Landover, Md., with local teams Cape Henlopen and Sussex Tech among those competing. The Vikings girls finished in 18th place of 22 teams with 4 points, while the Cape boys were in 17th place with 10 points. The Ravens of Sussex Tech did not score on the girls' side of the action, but the Ravens finished with 8 points on the boys' side, good for 18th place.
Ravens distance runner Roxanne Ramirez finished 10th in the 1,600 meters with a 5:34.8 performance, while returning to finish 14th in the 800 meters with a 2:38.3.
For the Vikings, sophomore Dajonte Mackey finished fifth in the 55-meter hurdles final with a time of 9.13, qualifying with a better time of 8.93 seconds.
Senior high jumper Keren Rams was 11th with a jump of 4-feet-6-inches.
Highlighting the local boys were a pair of second-place finishes as Sam Young of Cape jumped 14-6 in the pole vault and Kani Kane of Tech tossed the shot put 47-9. The Cape mile relay team of Sam Young, Sam Nye, Augustus Nsiah and Kazuki Carroll ran 3:52.7 to finish 23rd. The Vikings did not compete in the 3,200-meter relay. DeAndre Sheppard finished sixth in the high jump at 5-8.
College track & field
The University of Delaware women's indoor track & field squad dominated the action Saturday afternoon at the Frank Coldren Invitational as the Blue Hens captured eight first-place finishes and won the team title with 207 points ahead of Lebanon Valley at Ursinus. Hannah Pepper, a Cape graduate, won the pentathlon with 3,171 points. Delaware will race Sunday, Feb. 22, at the Princeton Invitational.
Emily Ritter, coming off a personal best 2:14 800 meters, and her Riders team will compete at Monmouth Feb. 14, and the MAAC Championships will be held Feb. 21.
Freshman Austin MacElrevey of the USMMA competed last weekend in the 16th Annual DeSchriver Invitational, hosted by East Stroudsburg University. MacElrevey, a Cape grad, finished in 12th place in the one-mile run in 4:39.16, which is a personal best for his first college season.
Valentine's 5K
The annual Valentine’s 5K Run & Walk will be held Saturday, Feb. 14, at cold Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes beginning at 10 a.m. Awards will be presented to the overall, masters and top three finishers in nine age groups from 9 and under to 70 and over. Join us at the start for this event and get a kick-start to your spring running - dress warmly, and who is bringing the hot cocoa?
