This morning I landed back home in Europe after being in DC for a couple days. In doing so, I increased my environmental temperature by approximately 50°F….to approximately 50°F. Just think, if I did that again it’d be like being in the Caribbean.
And then I remembered that everyone else stateside is left in the cold. The windy, snowy, icy…generally miserable cold. For you in Australia, you don’t get to complain at this juncture about your warm temps.
Thus, in order to make the situation a tiny bit better, I figured a giveaway was in order. It’s been a little while since the last one. Actually, sorta way longer than I realized. Not exactly sure how that happened, but we need to get that fixed pronto!
The prize is simple: A $400 credit to to Clever Training to buy anything from the site you’d like. You can use it on anything they offer, from a Garmin watch to a PowerBeam trainer. If the item is over $400US, you’ll simply pay the difference, shipping is free either way. The giveaway is open to all readers – including international folks.
To enter yourself in, simply leave a comment below with the following:
To Enter: Give me the lowdown on the coldest swim/ride/run you’ve had this winter – simple as that!
Got it?
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Entries will be accepted through Sunday night, 11:59PM Eastern time (February 2nd, 2014). I’ll be you giving one device worth up to $400US from Clever Training. Winner will be chosen at random and announced on roughly Tuesday (my Mom’s Birthday) or Wednesday (if I’m still celebrating the Seahawks win on Sunday at the Super Bowl). One entry per person. The winner can decide on which device after they win. Devices/gadgets/gizmos over $400, the winner can pay the difference.
This giveaway is sponsored by Clever Training, which I’ve got a great partnership with. As you probably remember, by picking up sports technology gadgets from Clever Training you support the site. And on top of that, all DC Rainmaker readers get an exclusive 10% off all products they sell (basically every sports tech company/gadget/device) using coupon code DCR10BTF. Even cold weather gear. And most of all, you support the site in a big way – so I appreciate it!
Note, if you’re US Active Duty Military – you can submit your entry via e-mail [entry period closed] instead. No bunny rabbits or chocolatiers allowed via this method. Mmmkay? Thanks all!
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Here in North Texas we don’t usually get the brutally cold weather of other places, but I’ve run several times in the teens with a wind chill factor much lower, and at times with ice or snow that made it a little tricky!
26 degree half-marathon.
January 11, nightfall. We had been working at our kids’ GS ski race (in the cold rain, just above freezing) and knew we had to run long in the evening. Night fell, but my wife and I laced up our shoes and headed out into the cold. The first 6 miles were nice, but then it started snowing and sleeting for the last 3. Regardless of discomfort, it ALWAYS feels good to get a long run in.
This whole winter’s been so cold.
All of them.
Our run group has been out in -20C several times this year. One word: snotsicle.
Single digit fahrenheit, in New York city along the Hudson river. North from Battery Park City to 14th st.
Earlier in the month, I tried to squeeze in a run before the snow piled high enough in NYC. It was my first time running while it snowed.
Was cold but the main thing is it was a storm. Took me and friends over 1:30 for a 10k because we had to push several cars out off ditch or that were stuck on street parkings. Most fun I had in a while!
Mostly in the teens this winter here in Kansas
It hasn’t really been that cold this winter, so far. I think the coldest run is still to come. (Keeping cycling and swimming inside these days)
I ran my 2nd marathon this past December the weekend of the polar vortex! It was the same weekend that Dallas Marathon had canceled theirs due to the ice, etc. It was so cold during the race I never once shed any clothing, and my gu’s and liquid lip balm were pretty much useless as they had seized up. Thankfully there was only one bridge we went over that was icy. My toes were numb until mile 4, and for most of the race, my hands stayed like claws, rendering them pretty much useless. Ahhhh…memories!
4 miles in 18 degree weather and 25 mph winds blowing me sideways.
January, 8 F plus windchill. It was brutal.
I live in MS. I actually swam while it was snowing outside this week. Go figure. Hotty Toddy
My last outdoors run was in the 30s (Fahrenheit). Sadly, the sidewalks in my neighborhood are covered in packed snow that has turned to ice and I don’t get home until after sunset, so I’m slightly afraid to run outside at the moment.
I don’t think you would call mine a bike ride. More of a bike slide. Did a 25 mile ride during our recent snowpocalypse here in Alabama. It was actually fun other than falling 3 times. Just a different experience for a southern boy.
In UK so whilst it has got a bit chilly, I’m not going to be able to compete with the polar vortexed Americans for cold. Wet on the other hand – wet, however, I could be very competitive – to the extent that the bridge on one of my main cycle routes has been washed away by flooding.
Jan 21 in DC, a trail run through Rock Creek Park while the snow and sleet was coming down. Pretty, but pretty cold too.
I’m a fair weather runner/cyclist, and I live in Dallas so I can pretty much just wait for bad weather to pass. I think the coldest temperature I ran in this winter was 30 degrees.
Earlier this week in Chicago. Temp started in the teens and dropped like a rock. Wind chill below zero.
Last Wednesday night running intervals in 15F weather. My lips were so cold that no one could understand what I was saying.
Forgot to check the exact temperature, but not too long into my run I had nothing to drink because all of my water/Gatorade bottles had frozen.
This is an easy one! Living on the lake front in Chicago offers lists of scenic lake front running trails but come winter they turn into a vortex of freezing wind. 2 Saturdays ago I was fed up with my indoor training and wanted to get outside. So I put on my winter gear in prep for my weekly long distance run. 14 miles, grappled my hand held water bottle and took off. 7 miles in my body was COLD in my rush to feel the fresh air I forgot to check the windchill…-15!!! Holy moly!!! I went to go take a sip of water…my bottle was frozen Solid! And I was only half way done! But I shook it off powered through and finished my run holding a very heavy chunk of ice. It may have been the worst run to date weather wise , but it was also my favorite!
Just before the first snowfall of the winter. Freezing Montreal winter bike ride ended up having to stop at random shops to warm up my frozen toes. Not fun.
-20 windchill for 6km. Got a membership to an indoor track the next day.
Running in Mexico City at -2 celsius.
We had frozen slush, sleet, and then 33deg rain in CT a few weeks ago, and I was determined to meet teammates for a road training ride. Decked out in ski clothes and goretex, I slid out and went down on the first corner. Picked myself back up, put the “exploded” electronic gadgets back together (batteries from the light scattered all over the road, garmin, etc…) and kept going. 20 miles later got back home, soaked, sweaty, and alive. Turns out the ride was the next day when it was 40 and sunny. Doh!
Anytime I’ve had to go to the pool when its single digits outside it’s a “cold” swim. But for actual outdoor training I had a brief 3 mile run in 9°F. Better than the treadmill? That might be debatable.
7 degree hour and half run. Underdressed.
Not one damn workout outdoors yet this year- lots of snow and cold – Did 2 of my swims with the outdoor temp hovering around 0F. The deck colder than the water, had a nice fog coming off the indoor pool. Also did a bit of casual snowshoeing on the lake somewhere around -10F.
Montreal, January 13th, 6:47 am. Run to the metro station, back home to get the monthly pass, and again to the station. -27ºC, -41ºC with wind factor.
-14°C way back in December 2009 right after temperatures dropping by around 30°C within a week or so. Man, that felt cold.
Rode 90mins on the trainer in garage ~14F on January 22. Long Island, NY
trail run in the wicklow mountains (ireland) nice and pleasant at the foot of the hills, about -4 at the top.
I live in the northwest, and it doesn’t get as cold as it does in other places in the country. I went for a 9 mile run freezing 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Previously I have ran weather for colder than that, but this day I could not stay warm! I had all the necessary gear, layers, hat, gloves, etc, but my feet felt like cold bricks and my right hand was frozen the whole run! Why just my right hand? Don’t know! Worst cold run this far!
-5 C, 1 hour run. My skin was red like never before. Running on treadmill the next week.
Coldest ride was when I started at the base of mt. Wilson it was overcast skies. Being in Los Angeles that doesn’t mean much but by the time we hit the summit it was snow capped. Not expecting that much change in temp lets just say that was the coldest descent ever.
5k race on Jan 18 in Michigan, temp was 12 F with wind chill taking us to sub zero F. Hands were numb till mile 2 with the winds coming off the river…toasty when I crossed the finish line though.
Jan. 18 – North Myrtle Beach, SC temp was 32F with winds coming off the ocean. I wasn’t prepared and only brought shorts, a l/s tshirt and compression socks. My legs felt like I had needles all over.
Ran 2 miles in 19 degree weather. I promptly turned around and went home.
3h road ride with average temperature of 2°C, nothing extreme… :)
Like many others, living in the South we don’t get a lot of extreme temps. I did a 10-mile trail run when it was 24 degrees Fahrenheit not too long ago.
Not too cold, around 35 but with a south wind at about 15 mph. Hands got a little cold but rode hard and warmed up nicely. Meet a family from our bike club for a slow ride on a trail and got really chilled and it took about 10 miles of hard riding to warm back up.
It’s been a crazy winter. Here in South Carolina, we go from 50 & 60s to teens and 20s in less than 24 hours. My coldest run was in 26°F which wouldn’t of been so bad if I didn’t run in a tank top and shorts two days prior when it was 62°F.
18F during 1st Run in Lowell, Ma. January 1st. Toasty! :)
Not a fan of winter. While things are pretty mild in Europe right now, the day before Christmas was pretty darn bad though; near vertical rain, head-on! I cut my workout short after 7km or so.
On January 24th I ran 2.78 miles in Atlanta with 10F weather. Learned that I needed warmer socks. :)
Christmas Day in Indiana… went for a little trail run in single digit temps. Nothing like Florida!
Photo here >>>>> link to instagram.com
Great thing about running in the cold… nothing hurts!
I live in Ireland so the weather never really drops below -1 or -2 Celsius. It’s the wind and rain that’s the killer though. Coldest run this winter was by the sea with the wind and rain battering me. Soaked to the bone. Hot shower after felt like being stuck with 1000s of tiny needles.
swim in freezing highland 10’c
It’s a stiff tie between getting to the pool with fog so thick rolling off it that I couldn’t see the other end (which makes for a really creepy dive into the water), and running into a headwind so strong that a full minute was dropped off my pace on the way back.
Dec 28th 34 degrees. Got to the meeting location of a suppose to be a 30 mile ride. Upon arriving it started to rain but we started the ride anyway. Got down the first hill and decided with the cold rain and wind we needed to cut the ride short only did 10 miles that day and all extremities were frozen
Milwaukee had a high of -18 F a couple weeks back. I took the garbage to the curb then headed to the Y where it was probably in the 70s for a run on the treadmill.
Last run in snow at 0 C.
We enjoy an unusual warm and dry winter this year in Belgium. This morning’s ride was the coldest so far with … 1°C and a thin sun shining. No excuse not to build up base kms :-)
In the middle of the great polar vortex that threw all of the eastern US into sub zero temperatures, I had a 50 minute Z1 run to complete and no treadmill access. So, outdoors it was. My legs wouldn’t bend; I felt like I was running on two-by-fours. It was so cold that at mile 3-ish I swear I had a fart freeze!
25mi ride back in december. garmin said 34F but my feet think it was colder. still pulled off a KOM I was aiming for
Coldest bike commute ride this winter probably hasn’t happened yet given the weather so far. But, so far this winter, I finished a ride when it was tapping on about 30 F – it was night and rain was in the next day’s forecast. Its not as bold as some folks I’ve read, but for Charlotte, NC, its cold enough.
10 degrees and snowing on 28-Jan-2014
What was supposed to be an easy one hour zone 2 group ride, turned into 2 hour zone 3/4 ride in 20 degree. Toes were still numb for hours after even though I had thick wool socks and shoe covers on.
Commuting 3hrs each way on bike to/from San Francisco. It’s been a pretty mild winter, but with occasional drenching rains in the dark just above freezing for hours on end, definitely less than pleasant.
The coldest run this year I have done is on Jan 5th at Chavis Park, Raleigh when the Temperature was 27F (Felt almost like 20F). . The first 20 min was very challenging till the body started warming up. I did this 9 mile run with the Raleigh Galloway group
I have 2 – I run a group here in rochester – http://www.trailsroc.org and we just had a group run when it was -25 last week – had 8 hardy souls of our usual 30 show up – Fantastic time with frozen hats – frozen beards – and amazing sense of accomplishment –
Just also had a run while in Lake Placid this past weekend where the air temp before windchill was -11 – nostril freezing kind of cold –
As you say, It’s cold because it’s January – This is what happens – we run through – Last night was 28 felt like spring – wore shorts :)
Ran a 15k along Lake Michigan in the middle of a snowstorm. That was fun.
Last winter when i was running in the snow with the club. The road’s where slippery because of the ice. One of my collega’s lost his balance and ended up in the ditch. I was cold but I can imagine how cold he was. Brrrrrr..
Had a run after class one day and when I got to school it was -15 celcius so thought itd be beautiful.
However by the time I got out it was -30 without winchill and -42 with. Half way through my run I couldnt feel my hands and it took me 45 minutes in the shower to defrost. The joys of living in Northern Ontario.
I did wuss out on the 5k in December that was -8 F, so I can’t talk about that… But I went for a 5 miler in about 15 F with some pretty unpleasant wind last month. My face was numb halfway through and I couldn’t feel my fingers for about 10 min after I got home.
I’m soft when it comes to cold weather, so after it gets cold, I spend my time in the garage on the trainer. Yea for TrainerRoad and the Sufferfest.
Last outside cold run was on Dec. 21 with a 14 deg temp and 6 deg. wind chill. Since then I’ve only been able to run outside 3 times on milder days but the norm lately has been sub-zero temps with the wind chill at 20-40 below. Got to love Minnesota for the summers but hate it for the winters!!
Checking my record, it was only 32°f, but it felt a lot colder. After about 50 minutes running my hands started hurting – too bad I was still a few miles from home. I was glad my feet were fine. Or so I thought – once I started working some feeling back into my hands I realized I couldn’t feel anything in my feet! At least they didn’t hurt so bad to thaw out like my hands did!
Week after thanksgiving here in Denver. Never got above 10 degrees F that week. That was the week my marathon training started.
20°F running is the coldest i’ve gone! brrrrrrrrr
Worst was a 9.4mile trail run -1deg C through frozen mud and slush here in North Yorkshire.
Sealskinz can only help for so long :-(
The lowest I’ve gone is 25F; I’m a wuss when it comes to running outside. It’s the treadmill or weights for me!
Suffering from Reynauds Syndrome makes even relatively mild weather a bit tricky. I might not be cold but my cycle commute in November can still result in losing finger tip sensation.
I live in Kansas, so I’m no stranger to cold running. However last Sunday it was a balmy 50 degrees when I left for a quick run before dark. About 40 minutes in the wind started howling. By the time I made it home, temps had dropped by 20 degrees and I was running into a 30mph headwind.
10 mile run in -18F with wind chills -35F to -40F
It’s been a very cold and snowy winter in Chicago, aka hothcago. My coldest ride was on my surly pug during a below 0 wind chill. Spring can’t come soon enough!
This Year wasn’t that cold: -9 till now. But last year -15 (for running). Skiing sometimes even less – especially the feeled temperature if there was some strong winds…
So far, just a 12deg. F. mid-day lunch run. I’ve certainly had opportunity for single digit runs but the treadmill seems to appear less hateful as the outside temperature approaches zero.
Ran a 10K Thanksgiving morning. It was the coldest day of the year… at that point. I was not a happy camper. Did grab 4th in my age group though… only because the smart people stayed home. :)~
The coldest run I did this year was a half marathon back in November that was really the first freezing day of the year so it felt much colder!
Don’t get much cold on gulf coast of Texas. Maybe low 20s and it was a training run
3 miles in 10 deg F with -5 windchill before the dog was too cold to run outside any more.
Well that had to be today, 23°C and chilly! I was tempted to wear an extra layer, but knowing that it might be 32 and 95% humidity before I finished, I chose not to. Happy birthday to your Mom from Singapore Ray
Apostle Islands sea caves, on frozen Lake Superior, Wisconsin. Air temp was decent, above zero, but the wind across the ice was, shall I say, invigorating. Kind of fun to look at the GPS track too — entirely on “water” and listed as a run.
Hill repeats in the single digits in Boston. Made the lungs burn!
2 minute brisk walk from the car to the door of the gym. It was brutal.
A 5 miler at -13 with a -30 wind chill here in tropical Green Bay, WI.
7 miles while on a weekend trip to Denver. I think it was 20 degrees.
-10 C here in Poland & still running :)))
run to 18c in January in barcelona, seeing the calm sea
Coldest run for me this winter was a 14 mile run in NJ a couple weeks ago (~20 F). I’ve been doing a lot of running on the treadmill this winter :-(
14 miler in 14 degree temps.
Last week in SC!! Thought it would be warm, thankfully brough all my bike gear from up north – 35 degrees with 25+ MPH winds made it miserably well into the teens! Feet were fine – hands and nose just about froze off. I can just about feel them again today…
I live in Georgia, so my coldest run wasn’t very cold at all (around 30F)! I switched out a t-shirt for long sleeves and put on a hat.
2 hours of Lactate Threshold Intervals on my bike in 25 deg F a few weeks back.
PS. I know diving isn’t swimming, but I’ve been diving in 39 deg F water in the local quarry….
My coldest workout was probably the Thanksgiving Wild Turkey Run in about 45F. Yep, not impressively cold, I know. And I have been a wimp since then, pretty much working out at the local YMCA all the time. Although I do have a 5K snowshoe race coming up in another week at which I am sure I will be sweating icicles. Thanks for the great reviews and thanks to CT for the giveaway.
I’m in Chicago and I don’t have to tell you this winter has been brutal. Last run was in -20 degrees F and when I jumped in the shower I had to sit down cause the pain was that bad in my toes once blood flow returned. This is also the first time I was forced to learn about and buy “wind blocking” underwear. Ouch!
I decided to run outside during the first ‘polar vortex’ with -40 windchills. Dumb. Moved it inside to the treadmill after my face and beard had ice in it.