Training in Wisconsin for a Spring Race
It’s in the middle of winter. The temperature is in the single digits, and your body is telling you to keep warm until it’s nicer outside. People say that training for a spring race is the hardest race to train for because of the less-than-stellar weather that goes around from November all the way up until March for most years. It’s very easy for a person to look outside at the wintry Wisconsin weather and tell themselves, ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’. Saving the run for another day will make it even more difficult to get yourself out there where you put it off until it’s too late and you’re not fully trained for your upcoming spring race. There are several things you as a runner can do to make training for a 5k, 10k, half, or full marathon in the spring months a lot easier.
The first thing you can do as a runner is to make sure to bundle up and gauge the weather the day before. Grab your hats, gloves, sweatpants, compression shorts/shirt, wind jacket, and more! It’s best to prepare yourself for the weather. It’s often where you begin to run and you’re becoming too where you may need to take off extra layers such as a hat or gloves. It’s always better to overprepare for a cold run than underprepare. You’ll only feel cold for the first few minutes when stepping outside. Be mindful of the weather on extremely cold days (such as days that are below freezing). On these days, it’s recommended to stay indoors for a workout such as utilizing resistance bands, free weights, bodyweight workouts, or utilizing treadmills as a couple of examples. To get your body to become warm, always be sure to do a dynamic warm-up (various movements such as the Frankenstein, Duck Walk, Cherry Pickers, Lunges, and much more). Not only will you get your body warm, but it will also help you become less stiff and less likely to cramp up during the run. Doing the first training run, especially when it’s in the middle of winter, is always the most difficult task to help you prepare for your big race. Once you complete your first training run, the next several over the course between then and race weekend will become easier. It will never be easy to get out in the cold and run, but you’ll feel more motivated when you look closer to the race weekend. At the end of each training run, it’s always important to stretch out. Whichever muscles you worked on, those are the most vital ones to stretch after a run. If the muscles in your body go untouched after a run, you are much more likely to feel stiff and sore in the following days which will most likely negatively affect future runs where you may last as long or may make your body feel even more sore than before.
Over the course of your training season, you may find some days more challenging than others and some runs may get lonely to do. Running with your community or running with your friends is a great way for you to keep going with your training and to stay motivated to keep going. Wherever you look, there are a lot of running communities across the state of Wisconsin. It’ll be good to give them a go! It helps to run with other people with some people even being in the same boat as you, training for the same race. You will get a ton of support from other people and work on your pacing as well. Another key piece of training is getting essential equipment that’ll help you succeed. For example, getting fresh new running shoes will be the key to success in finishing your race. Breaking those in will help you get used to how your feet feel on race day. Also, testing out some running nutrition can be beneficial such as Honey Stingers and Gu. It’s always best to test these out prior to a big race so that you’ll know what your body responds well or not well to while on a run.
Training for a spring race in Wisconsin is almost all the time an uphill battle but is easier with these guidelines to help you succeed in training in harsh conditions. Make sure to bundle up, grab your friends, and hit the trails! The running possibilities are endless in the state of Wisconsin!
By: Eau Claire Marathon Ambassador Caleb Kolell