Rediscovering my winter kit

It snowed on my run this morning. Not seriously to start with, just the odd white flake blown past on a bitter wind. A mile or so in the flakes vanished, replaced by tiny pellets of ice needling my cheeks and eyelids, until they too were replaced by proper snow. Big, beautiful flakes whirling around me as I ran, turning a cold, grey run into something unexpectedly magical.

There is so much joy to be found running in different weather conditions, but only when we’re properly prepared. I think I got it right this morning – warm running tights, two long sleeved base layers, a light windproof jacket, windstopper gloves, and two buffs, one round my neck and one for ears and head. I started off cold, and wondered if I’d under dressed, but a mile in I was warming up nicely and was toasty by the time I finished. Truth be told, I was probably over dressed. I certainly would have been if I’d run for much longer, but for the short I run I had in mind I was just about right.

Winter makes for a hard balancing act – enough layers to keep warm and dry, but not so much as to overheat. In many ways it was the little things that were crucial today: my gloves have windstopper fabric on the outer face only, so my hands were protected but not too hot, while the two buffs kept my upper chest, ears and head warm and meant I had very little bare skin to get chilled by the wind. These are the last minute bits that are easy to forget when rushing to squeeze a run into a busy day, but without them I might well have come home cold and miserable.

As it was, being comfortable while I ran meant I could think of other things, and inevitably my mind wandered to the longer runs I’m still not able to do yet. They feel like they’re in touching distance now, so instead of just wistfully rerunning them in my mind, I find myself starting to plan. There’s something so exciting about coming home and getting my running packs out, checking them over. They haven’t seen much use since my injury back in September, but I’m not too far off needing them again.

I suspect they’ll come out at shorter distances than they might have done in the past too. Having being rather doubtful before I tried one out, I am now fully converted. I’ve got used to the convenience of it: space to stash some extra layers, knowing if I get too hot I don’t have to run with a jacket flapping annoyingly around my waist, and having snacks and water accessible as I try to get my body more used to eating and drinking while I run. It took a bit of fiddling about in the early days to get a set up I was happy with, not least with the bottle pockets on the front of the pack. It turns out that even soft bottles are surprisingly hard when full of water, which I found extremely uncomfortable pushing against my chest, so swapping to a bladder in the main pocket at the back and using the bottle pockets for gloves, buffs and so on has worked a treat.

I’ve been checking out my waterproof too, making sure the seams are still in place and seeing whether it needs a reproof next time I wash it. This time now, when the long runs are close but not quite there, this is the chance to get my preparations right, check that my kit is fully functioning and do any repairs or adjustments. Long winter runs are surely just around the corner now, they’re so close, and I need to know I can rely on my kit when I get there.