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In Depth Product Reviews
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Read My Sports Gadget Recommendations.
Here’s my most recent GPS watch guide here, and cycling GPS computers here. Plus there are smart trainers here, all in these guides cover almost every category of sports gadgets out there. Looking for the equipment I use day-to-day? I also just put together my complete ‘Gear I Use’ equipment list, from swim to bike to run and everything in between (plus a few extra things). And to compliment that, here’s The Girl’s (my wife’s) list. Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!
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My Photography Gear: The Cameras/Drones/Action Cams I Use Daily
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The Swim/Bike/Run Gear I Use List
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My coldest run was this week. The windchill was -16F. My eyelashes & eyebrows were crusted with ice.
Today’s temperature seems only -8 celsius but last saturday was -14. I started running only last winter so not so cold as some of the cycling rides from earlier and colder winters. Finland is the location :)
A pic of me @ -23: link to i.imgur.com
Running the Modic Trail on New Years Eve a few years ago, woefully underdressed.
I am from Florida so one time I went on a run in 60 degrees- it was horrible! Thought I was going to freeze. :)
My coldest run recently was at minus 17 degr. C close to the Lake of Constance in Germany at 6 am and in darkness (before the family woke up). I was sort of prepared with a face mask, double ski gloves and a bottle of warm tea which froze after an hour. Going to Finland next week at warm minus 7 degr. C ; ) would love to join you for a run when next in Paris. Best wishes, Martin
Definitely my coldest run was in Horsens, Denmark. I went there for an exchange program during college and it was the first time I ran in the snow. By the end of the 10k I couldn’t feel my fingers or toes. Yap, it was verryyyy cold.
I have been running in -20°C some weeks ago. I came back with an impressive ice-beard. I guess it was very appealing for the ladies. Everyone was looking at me anyhow. :-)
You must get one for yourself when you arrive. It is more or less mandatory here in Sweden.
I was teaching english in eastern Slovakia a few years back, and went out for a ride in February. My water bottle top froze shut in 10 minutes and my cyclo computer died 20 minutes later, I took that as a sign and headed back.
my coldest run was probably last week when it was -10*C in Holland and I nearly lost a toe or two..
My coldest run included freezing rain, blowing wind and temps below freezing (can’t recall the exact temp). I’m not sure the ends of my ears have recovered yet and that was a couple years ago!
Thanks for the awesome giveaway!
just finished today a 70.3 race in Israel in Eilat mountens that called – the IsraMan – one of the competitors was Chris Lieto. it was freazing cold due to bight differenceses and the run was one of my hard ones – my leg toes frozen.
Yesterday was genuinely my birthday (not the reason to win the watch) and the snow of Britain is still to melt. Having only recovered from injury i was puffing hard and my glasses were steamed up. I should have cleared my glasses but I saw a red light through the blur and decided to chase it down the path. I finally caught it and found out it was a bike not a fellow runner. enjoyed the ego boost.
I’d much rather run in 95• degree hear than cold. I was even cold after an 8 mile run on the treadmill at the gym the other day! Yet, every year, I do a little Valentines Day 5k with friends – because it was the first race I ever did – when I first started running – and even though I don’t run with that training group anymore, we like to meet up, race, and catch up afterwards. I think it was under 30 at the start last year. Way too cold for me!!
I rode 18 miles each way to work in -7C temperatures for a week a few winters ago…. and got pneumonia! Never felt so bad, but was back on the bike 2 weeks later.
Ran a 20 mile training run in 0C 2 weeks ago and was very comfortable in running tights and t-shirt – it must be the wind on the bike that causes the problems.
My coldest run: this would be 2012 Ljubljana Marathon 10k run, with lots of snow, and i was running without goretex :( totaly wet shoes, legs…..etc and i couldn’t feel my toes
And this where my running starts… and nevertheless i’m still running, especially if it’s snowing, and bellow zero. Best times are in those conditions :)
Oh wow, how fitting!! I am still trying to warm up from last Sunday’s long and painful run in -17C where half of it was done with a 50kph headwind. I ran for 1h15 and 11.6km, I pushed myself like this in memory of a friend who passed away the day before and who never hesitated to go out there and face the elements, no matter what. RIP Ron.
Coldest runs? I live in New England, the bulk of my runs are cold ;)
The coldest cycling I have done here in Australia was around 0 Celsius which is probably nice spring weather for you guys in the northern hemisphere. But growing up in the north east of Iran, I vividly recall a particular morning that was reported to be -32 Celsius morning with strong snow blizzard. That morning I woke up to be greeted with very bright white windows covered almost to the top with snow. I was stunned thinking we had had a heavy snow fall that covered the house to the roof! But when I tried to open the windows, I realised it was just a thin veneer of snow from the blizzard. No one can have more fun in snow than children can.
My First Adventure run this year was in Smarde (Latvia)19.01.2013. The weather was (-15.. -19 C). The Terrain was very brutal (swampy and virtually no roads). The only moving way was by foot or snowshoes..because the snow depth in some place was 20cm – 40cm (swamp lowland) but on the frozen bog lakes, beneath the snow was ice free water as – wet feet guaranteed!!!…but after a few seconds from water is not no sign becauce running shoes has been transformed into a frosted ice cube who gives the feet addition unnecessary kg..
Overall withal this run / walk i was pleased because the most important thing was for me not to die in these harsh weather conditions, what I feared the most..
My coldest run was last Tuesday on our local mountain bike trail.
Just yesterday I ran in 15 degree (feels like -1) temps, and I’m about to head out for an hour in 10 degree (feels like -3) weather. New England is taking some getting used to….
Coldest run was about 5 years ago. It was one day in February and about -15C.
Right at the end of 2011 when coming back from an injury. The weather dropped to -8C overnight with an early morning half marathon..
Despite putting on those layers, standing around at the start line meant it took the first five kilometres before I got any feeling into my gloved fingers. Of course, as these things always go, I was completely overheating during the finishing sprint before freezing on the painful walk back to the car. The only saving grace of the whole event was the massive hot chocolate with cream!
Just this past Tuesday in the St. Louis area – a 10 mile run in the mid teens with a mild head wind. Hopefully the weather on the day of the marathon in March will be warmer. :)
Out in Chamonix a couple of years back late at night, minus 20, headtorch on….ran past not one, not two but three pairs of ‘eyes’ looking at me in the forest that scared the s*** out of me. Never knew what they were and never run a faster time… :-)
Sunday morning 8:00 am chain ferry to Studland beach. It is February and I have the hangover from hell after too much ale.
The tide is in which means the run starts with 3 miles of soft sand and a bitter easterly wind blowing sleet into my face. By mile 2 my face is frozen, at mile 3 we leave the beach and start the climb towards Old Harry, exposed to the elements for another 3 miles before turning with the wind behind us. I am now hangover free, cold and happy.
Since we don’t really have extra cold weather here in Israel, I can tell about my wettest run. It was a 15KM run which started at around 5:00AM. It was a cool morning with a very light drizzle at the start of the run which changed back and forth to light rain.
As soon as I was out of the city, with no place to hide, the skies opened and heavy rain started to fall. In minutes I was soaked, my shoes were all wet as there was nowhere on the road without puddles.
I turned back and headed home only to find the streets over flowing with water like small rivers.
After about 35 minutes I got home dripping from head to toe.
Last time I go out on a run without checking the weather forecast…..
+15c is not numerically cold by the standards of this thread, but swimming in an English channel relay (no wetsuit) took some serious warming up afterward.
My coldest run was -15 Celcius (5 F). That was a perfect (slow) run. Dry and crisp snow make a fine noise that keen you running in tempo. Now with temperature below -25 celcius (-13 F) here in Montreal (Canada), I’m suffering on my Bushido !
my coldest swim was in march last year. the water was about 15*C. my coldest bikeride was on a mtb I think. about -5*C
My coldest run was probably 10 years ago with the best group of running buddies in MD. I think we were all in denial because the day was beautiful, but less than 10 degrees out. We ran bundled up, but only made it a mile out when we noticed everyone’s eyelashes and eyebrows were iced over. Crazy! So we turned, headed in and celebrated with hot tea and cocoa. Win win!
My coldest run was during Agentinian winter last year 6 AM in Buenos Aires. It was dark and cold! 4 degrees Celcius, very windy. I was training for my first IM and woldnt miss a run !
My coldest run was in Brunswick, Maine back in 1991 or 1992, when it was -5F with 20-25 mph winds, I ran 3.0 miles and wished that I hadn’t. Yesterday it w -5F with 10-15 mph winds and I got smart and went to the gym and ran on the treadmill ;-).
Cold ass day at -17C and I went out for a long run and the last time I ever did that at that temp. Water in fuel belt became slushies and the sweat from my head dripped down my headphone cords and made huge icicles which everyone in the elevator pointed out when I got home. Looked way too funny.
Well, living in a pretty hot country like mine, the cold we experience is not really cold… but i remember once, i run a race in a really cold weather… so cold i had a cold!!! (pun intended) but dispute being sick i got 4th place with only 8 minuets off my personal best.
Mid-January training run with a friend in -10°F, with a 30mph wind.
It was on the training schedule, and neither of us were too bright.
What started as a light snow turned into freezing rain and sleet by mile 6…and of course this was an out and back. I was completely drenched by the time I got home, and of course freezing. Not my best memory of track and field conditioning!
This was on the 28th of December in Montreal after a 50 cm record breaking snowfall . Temperature was below -13 with some chilly wind. A great memorable run with a lovely sunrise. I had to run on the road as sidewalks were not cleaned up yet. Great time jumping in 1 m thick snow to let the cars pass over me ! In such situation I love my Salomon Speed Cross 3 CS.
Last Sunday – 2* C and snowing and icy. My hour long run was my first ever really in cold and snow. Surprisingly fun actually.
My coldest bike ride (not a runner) was probally a ride in Sweden on a training camp (lives in Denmark). Around -10C and some wind.
running here in my country was simply amazing. its not cold and not hot. only warm but still hazy out there which kept me from running :)
oh ray, i wish i can have that fr910xt lol.
This Friday gone, about freezing and snow and Ice everywhere, my fel running shoes seemed to work a treat though :)
In south Quebec, Canada, the last few days, i have been running in the coldest weather ever. it is minus 30 celcius (windshield – 48 celcius). This weekend we are doing the Hypothermic Half Marathon and with an afternoon start it should be a “warm” minus 15C.
My coldest run something about -15. But not so long also because of that. Trees were beautiful and way not so slippery. I love winter
Running thru Karkonosze mountain range 25miles in -25C.
Last week at minus 7 °C probably was one of the coldest…
Rock Springs Wyoming – a 6 mile run in -22 celcuis when a snow storm came on heavy. Luckly for me a familiar golden arch provided some restbite from the whiteout conditions
I’ve mostly been running on the treadmill this winter, but when I run outdoors in the winter it’s typically over my lunch hour at work. My coldest outdoor activity was back in college when the high was -21F, the university didn’t cancel classes, and I had to walk 2 miles to class. There was a hill in the middle of the route, so yes, I really did have to go uphill both ways.
Brrr, I did a freezing mountain bike ride up to Mt. Mitchell in early January.I had to practice some ice skating skills on some of the trail.
I was heading out to run the Frosty 5k in February a couple years back. Central North Carolina isn’t known for being cold and I showed up to run in shorts and a singlet. As we all stood around to start the race it started dragging on. Turns out the start gun had frozen, instead the race director yelled “BANG” into the megaphone. Turned out when I got home it was 6F without the windchill. It took hours to warm back up again.
Nobody has equipment to clear roads of snow where I live in the southern US, but it snows here occasionally. Once the snow stuck for a week and I got to run some icy patches that just wouldn’t melt. Would have been a rare occasion to try out Yaktrax if I had some! I have friends up north who deal with worse and still manage to run, so I don’t have any excuse when it’s “cold” here.
I run next to Lake Ontario all-year round. The wind whips in off the lake (the day before yesterday it was minus 28C with the windchill – I hit the treadmill!) so you get some ‘interesting’ conditions especially when the days are short. A few years ago I slipped on black ice and managed to concuss myself. All I remember is trying to figure out why I was lying down looking up at the sky. I walked around in a fog for days.
Ha. I don’t run if its cold (I’ll never reach my full potential). However last week on the bike I came off on black ice. Never saw it. Next I felt my head hit the ground luckily wearing a helmet. Cracked it right through.
So sitting on the ice waiting for vision to correct itself and hoping I’d not broken my head was my coldest!
running whole winter long in my youth, down to minus 10 without problems.
A few weeks ago i tried wintertraining outdoors and BAM got a fierce cold immediately, last “cold-training” for me, i switched back to indoor trainers. ;o)
Running in Toronto, Canada. It has been cold this week. Did a night run and icicles started to form on my eyebrows.
Since I´m from Brazil, I don´t have a too cold story to tell. But the coldest one was cycling, and I was so cold feeling the wind in my face that morning I almost got to cover my entire head with my jacket´s hood (only eyes and nose uncovered). After that I started considering running as well (since I don´t get the speed to have trouble with the wind LOL). Now I cycle and run, pretty much thanks to that day.
Until recently, I lived my entire life in the suburbs of Seattle (Holla Issaquah!) so I’ve had my share of cold runs. My coldest was not a run, but a hike up to the top of Mailbox Peak, which is along the I-90 corridor just outside Seattle’s Eastside on the fringe of the Cascade Mountain range. Expecting temps in the 40’s and 50’s, I packed one light jacket and no gloves. It is an almost vertical hike, and a little over 3 hours of climbing later, I reached the top with icicles on my nose. I had been to mountain peaks and canyon valleys, but had never been as cold as I was that day. Moral: Be prepared! Silly hikers! :)
I feel cold even in 10C! So many runs in December around that temperature..brrr..!
It was so cold my eyelashes froze. That’s cold!!
The 2009 Chicago Shamrock Shuffle 5k was for me the worst. It snowed heavily overnight then peaked above freezing just before sunrise. I stood with 14k of the 40k registered runs who dared to show at the start line. I remember standing in piles of snow and slush for over an hour in my running shoes until I could no longer feel my feet. My wife there to cheer me on was in her ski gear.
By the time we started running I was not alone. The entire was crowd was screaming/yelling in amazement at the pain of collectively running on what felt like peg legs with no feet attached. It certainly improved my a mile or two in and we enjoyed the rest of the run in the frozen city.
Weekend in January in Wales, was about -5/10 with a good bit of snow down. Off-road shoes, winter kit on and hit the hills. Nothing for miles around and absolute bliss!
I’ve had lots of cold runs. Last weekend it was 15ish and i had my best 10 miler in recent memory even tho i was worried about how it would be.
Jerusalem…. Marathon and I have a dream – Sub3. On the starting line it start to rain, on the 10K i am already soaking wet. The wind it trying to stop me and and my short pans were definitely not the best decision ;-)
On the 25K the hail starts… The worst part was the after i finished since i had nothing worm to wear – this was COLD !
Our friend was leaving to go back to school so we decided to do one final ride. Well we live in Florida but of course that morning it was 40 degrees and we were totally unprepared. 3 layers was not nearly enough to keep the chill from invading our bones.
never did real training in the cold, but last spring we started the openwater swimming quite early, this felt damn cold, even with surf hood
Hmmm, depends on whether it’s how cold I felt, or the actual temperature! The “Run to the beat” half marathon in London started at about 4C, all of us waiting around in shorts and t-shirts for the delayed start. But I’ve gone out bundled up in long sleeves and leggings with ice on the ground…
My coldest run was this morning, 25F and windchill 15F and snowing. Still managed a 6:50 pace for 6 miles.
My coldest run was last year in the first days of January at about -12°C. I went for a 20km run and just at the turning point it began to snow and storm that much that I had to focus more on the way than on running. No fun.
I started running last summer and I did not want to train indoors for the winter (Quebec, Canada winter…-20oC….). I got the right gear and clothes to run outdoors. My coldest run was yesterday’s…at a lovely -25oC! It was great and gave me the right to brag!
I can’t say that I’ve done too much running in the cold lately. It was 25F here the other day when I went out for a quick run. It was a bit chilly, but pretty manageable with all of the sweet new gear my wife just got me. I did do a MTB ride with some coworkers a couple of years ago that started when temperatures were in the teens. More body parts were numb than not at the end of that ride. Why do the same temperatures never seem to be as cold when you go skiing?
Mine was actually a few days ago. It was 0 degrees F in Chicago and I thought it’d be cute to try for a short run by Lake Michigan. When I stepped outside it was very cold but not totally unmanageable. As I approached the lake however… All I can say is ICE WIND! I don’t know what the wind chill was by the lake but it must have been -20F or worse. I retreated inside to keep my face from falling off. Treadmill time!
Easy: running in New Haven, CT. Winter 2009. -13 C. Unforgettable.
My coldest running session I conducted when I was 16 years old. I was pretty poor at the time. My club mates had given me old running gears so I could train with them. However – I had only one pair of shorts. That day it was -5C. I conducted the session in shorts… The legs were nicely red afterwards. The week after I got a couple of discarded pants.
Welcome to Sweden.. next week will be a bit warmer (we had -17C in Stockholm, Thursday :0)
-17 C in december, no feeling in my fingers :-O
We don’t have winter here in the Philippines unlike most of you guys, but the coldest run I ever had was yesterday morning, before dawn – but nothing (I mean nothing) compared to those negative temps above this comment.
I think in DC about 3 yard ago! Literally the snot was freezing as it was draining out of my nose! My eyes were to cold to blink! I think it was like 19 degrees and the wind chill made it feel like it was 5! Burrrr!
This morning I went for a run in the Dutch dunes (Schoorl) covered with snow, -8 (Celsius), no wind and full sun. Beautiful.
I am from and live in north Florida so cold to me is most likely warm to a lot of you. My coldest run was in the mountains of North Carolina. The temp wa13 degrees and as a new runner I did not have proper cold weather gear. That is the coldest I have ever been.
It was 18° and windy. And my wife’s first attempt at the roughly 5K loop through the neighborhoods surrounding our house. Knowing that we would warm quickly once we started running, we opted to forego the extra layers and heavier insulation. It has been colder. And I’m pretty sure we’ve, since, run in single digit temperatures but, when her knee gave out at mile 1.7 — leaving us sitting, ever-so-slightly sweaty, and wearing gear designed for warmer weather, on the sidewalk with almost a mile and a half between us and home; well… the ensuing trek was about the coldest we have ever FELT on a run. With the wind gusting, the moistened clothing helped wick away any warmth so efficiently that, even under the effort of carrying her, fireman style, I couldn’t generate enough heat to keep the numbness from creeping up my arms and legs. Almost an hour of alternating between carrying (which lasted about a block) and hobbling later we made it home and spent the next half hour — knee injury temporarily superseded by cold — thawing out in the hottest shower we could tolerate.
I am from and live in north Florida so cold to me is most likely warm to a lot of you. My coldest run was in the mountains of North Carolina. The temp was 13 degrees and as a new runner I did not have proper cold weather gear. That is the coldest I have ever been.
Riding with a friend 25f outside did 70 miles and sun started going do and it got colder very quickly. Guy I was with kept stopping to shake his hands to warm up. I thought he was going to kill me. I waited for him but didn’t want to. We eventually made it to a church 5 miles from home and he ran to the door and it was open. No one was there but the door was open…….So I called my wife and she came got us.
Cycling home from work in London a couple of years back but walking the last 500 yards to try and work out how I ended up how I got out of my pedals and was standing over my bike which had ended up flat on the ground after slipping on the ice.
I’m from Portugal. Here the climate is mild, but even so, I felt I almost froze my lungs as I ran. The only thing to distract me from the intense cold was the strong winds that almost made me take off
My teammates and I went out for some hill repeats just as a really large blizzard was hitting the area. 1 hour later, as we finished up, there was about a foot of snow accumulated. Snow much fun!!
The night before my 12k cross country run mother earth decided to drop about 20cm of snow. That combined with -10°C was a pretty cold run. But very beautiful though!
So far the coldest run was 16 degrees. Hoping that will be the coldest!
The cold runs/bike rides arent so memorable, but the getting in the hot shower afterwards and feeling like you’re toes and fingers are burning gets me every time.
Ran this winter at -16° C late in the evening. Apart from the cold air, it wasn’t _that_ bad. Well it was bad, but I make myself believe that it wasn’t, or else I wouldn’t be able to continue training for the HM in April.
My coldest triathlon was at 31 degrees, we all hung out in the lake, because it was warmer in the lake then the out of it. Had to put on a winter cycling kit, t1 was like 12 mins, not so smart
Coldest run I’ve ever had was in high school, in upstate NY. Final race of the cross-country season, the first week of November, and a freak storm brought lake-effect snow down upon us. Temperatures were in the 20’s, and we had to run in our race uniforms anyhow (shorts and a singlet). The only real shelter available to us was the bus that brought us to/from the event (which, naturally, we packed into before and after the race). Brr. There’s a reason I’m happy to live and run in Florida now.
Coldest *athletic* thing I’ve ever done was skiing in New Hampshire on a day when the windchill was reading negative 50-60 depending on the gusts. Very, very glad for layering, and I could still feel the cold seeping in through the zipper of my jacket. Double brr.
My coldest run was in Curitiba, Brazil. I usually do my workouts in a nice park near my house: Park Barigui. And that night the temperature was around 4C. Sometimes the weather gets colder, but I’d rather stay home.
-4 external, swim in lake… beautiful !
My coldest run was a few days ago when it was 15 F and really windy. I had to turn around after a mile because my face was frozen to the point where I couldn’t move my lips.
My coldest was a -12°C run, not so extreem, but I had to screw some 20 small screws under the soles in order to be able to run instead of ice-skating
Runs @ -5c are all I have done, not too bad as long as its not windy however swimming in my nearby lake @ 11c was total ice cream head…not fun.
My coldest run? A guess the annual polar bear plunge on Jan 1 here in Tulsa – 3 mile race requiring three swims through pools, then getting your medal from the bottom of the third pool. Brrr.
Riding my Fat Bike on the beach in single digits with 30 mile an hr headwinds for about 3hr…It was freezing but great at the same time….
Coldest run is a 5k I ran a couple of years ago. It was 0F and snowing. I loved seeing all the runners with ice covered eye lashes.
January, – 15. Night run, 5k and back home !
Riding my bike at dawn, with temperature 22-24 degree Celsius, this is the coldest ride I have right here in Malaysia.