All Things Winter Training

It’s finally looking like winter out there in our neck of the woods and my guess is it’s at least starting to get chilly in the mornings where you are. So, with winter just about here for the majority of us, it’s time to think about a few key tips for winter.

The basics:

-Always warm-up before runs, we like DRs “Wake-up Legs” or modified versions.

-Don’t run with cold feet! Rest shoes on your radiator before heading out the door!

-No straining, especially during hills, strides and workouts! Let speed come naturally!

-Embrace road running and avoid snow slogging! Road running offers athletes a wonderful short-cut to provoking neuromuscular adaptations and improving efficiency!

-Treadmills are great when the weather is tough! We generally recommend a 1-2% grade on the treadmill for easy runs and workouts.

-Focus on consistency! Even 20 minutes on a tough, cold day is better than nothing. It helps maintain adaptations so come spring you aren’t starting over from scratch.

Motivation:

-Motivate from within but don’t be afraid to draw on upcoming events and other externals to help you get through the daily grind. Good music, audio books, and podcasts help!

-Mood follows action. Not feeling like running is no excuse to miss out on deliberate practice. Get out the door and use the run to change how you feel.

-When in doubt, connect the daily process of training and deliberate practice to your long-term running goals.

-Visualize a roadmap, starting with your daily training, connecting all the way out to your intermediary goals and then A goals to get a visual sense of why the daily training is important.

-Revise goals if they don’t reflect your values or the way you want to train in winter.

-Goals, especially in winter, need to connect to your why.

-Embrace winter related activities every few weeks to help reset motivation!

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Listen to our latest community call on All Things Winter Running

Own your training. Trust the process.

TJ & The Microcosm Team.