Gear for racing in freezing rain?

I got this.

On body: COMPRESSION GEAR. You will sweat thru any clothing, regardless, so ditch the raincoat. Compression gear will not flop around when it gets wet, and will help stop chafing. Half tights on the bottom, long sleeved compression gear (or short sleeved + polyester arm warmers).

YOU DON'T WANT ANYTHING LOOSE-FIT. You will stay warmer than you imagine.

If you're really concerned, or not used to this, put Vaseline on exposed skin areas, or those areas that might get cold if wet. Think English Channel swimmers.

theJeff wrote:

I got this.

On body: COMPRESSION GEAR. You will sweat thru any clothing, regardless, so ditch the raincoat. Compression gear will not flop around when it gets wet, and will help stop chafing. Half tights on the bottom, long sleeved compression gear (or short sleeved + polyester arm warmers).

YOU DON'T WANT ANYTHING LOOSE-FIT. You will stay warmer than you imagine.

^^^^ everything this guy said is spot on. Everything needs to be closing fitting ( not necessarily tight tight) as possible, and breathable. You want water resistance, not water proof. Yes, you want to keep water out, but you also want to be able dry off, and wick water away from the inside, so that you can stay warm. If you can't dry off from the inside, or wick water away, then you will not have any warmth.

You can wear a windbreaker, but it needs to be close fitting and breathable. Most windbreakers are. Personally, I would wear a very thin close fitting windbreaker ( like the one Desi wore to win Boston, which was a rainstorm fest), and a long sleeve compression under that. That way you have a layer that is water resistant, helping to keep most of the water out, and another layer allowing sweat to wick away from the body, keeping you dry and warm.

My main concern would be shoes. If shoes get completely saturated, that's a wrap! Your feet will slip around in you shoe, and your run will be unstable and uncomfortable. So wear a running shoe that is very light and breathable. I have stopped several training runs because my running shoes got completely soaked.

To have freezing rain, it needs to be < 0 C. It sounds like you will be running in a COLD rain.

How long of a race? I would try to wear shorts if possible, and a polypro top under my bib. And gloves that have some water resistance. Maybe a retro painters hat to keep the rain out of your eyes.

theJeff wrote:

I got this.

On body: COMPRESSION GEAR. You will sweat thru any clothing, regardless, so ditch the raincoat. Compression gear will not flop around when it gets wet, and will help stop chafing. Half tights on the bottom, long sleeved compression gear (or short sleeved + polyester arm warmers).

YOU DON'T WANT ANYTHING LOOSE-FIT. You will stay warmer than you imagine.

Cool - any recommended products? I have half tights which I love for racing - some old nike ones that have stretch pockets for a gel etc.

There's a nike pro-sleeve training top for $40. Seems like a good bet?

Treadmill

Sounds like Boston.

I was pretty happy with my clothing decisions for Boston. Went with half tights to prevent floppy wet shorts and associated chaffage. Wore my best running gloves and headband, lightweight singlet to avoid too much water retention. Then I bought some super thin womens knee high socks at CVS and cut the toes off for arm warmers, they worked great as they held just enough water to be slightly warmed by my body heat, but not enough to get heavy. I do run pretty warm, so I err on the side of too cold rather than too warm.

plebe wrote:

theJeff wrote:

I got this.

On body: COMPRESSION GEAR. You will sweat thru any clothing, regardless, so ditch the raincoat. Compression gear will not flop around when it gets wet, and will help stop chafing. Half tights on the bottom, long sleeved compression gear (or short sleeved + polyester arm warmers).

YOU DON'T WANT ANYTHING LOOSE-FIT. You will stay warmer than you imagine.

Cool - any recommended products? I have half tights which I love for racing - some old nike ones that have stretch pockets for a gel etc.

There's a nike pro-sleeve training top for $40. Seems like a good bet?

Any of the Nike or even *whispers* Under Armour compression gear would be great. Just make sure it says "compression" and not just "fitted". Interestingly, I didn't see a single compression top on RW.

Also:

And definitely a visor or cap (to keep rain out of your eyes) plus an ear-warming headband:

Those two may only apply to me; my ears and hands get cold way before anything else. Just remember that mitts will always be warmer than gloves.

Lastly, as someone else stated, waterlogged shoes can be a problem. It would be a good idea to put just a little bit of glue on the bottom of your insole to make sure it doesn't slide around inside your shoe.

I seem to remember after Boston that people had pretty good results wearing cycling jackets or vests because they are both breathable and wind/water resistant. Not cheap though!

If you don't want go the compression route and I totally understand since it holds water and adds weight. I cant recommend the North Face better than naked jacket enough. Its built for runners and has a slim fit to it to avoid any excess room and its light not even 4 oz I bet arm warmers weigh more.

Sierra trading post has it on sale for $49.99

Bullet the Blue Sky wrote:

I seem to remember after Boston that people had pretty good results wearing cycling jackets or vests because they are both breathable and wind/water resistant. Not cheap though!

I think the perfect gear at Boston would have been surf gear. Very light neoprene gloves. Light neoprene skull cap. Very thin neoprene arm warmers, the thick kind just got soaked and useless.

Definitely half tights. Shirtless if you aren't super thin.

I just ran in freezing rain the other morning. Freezing rain the whole way of 20 miles.

I wore some medium thickness tights with my running briefs, U/A heatgear long sleeve, running vest, beanie cap, running socks, and my junk shoes. Worked out perfectly. My core temp was just right.

I do err on the hot side, but that's me. Everyone is different. I also prefer to dress a little more just in case something happens and no one is there to help you. Doubt you'll have this problem in a race though, but ya never know...

I'm a little skinny dude, 5'4" and weigh 110lbs wet so that don't help.

plebe wrote:

So projecting the weather out it looks like I could have 5c weather + 20mm rain for my race. That could be an abundance of suckfest. How to dress for that while still wearing a bib? And is there something plebeians can buy to be as effective during a race?

Normally I'd just do singlet + arm warmers - but my reg arm warmers are cotton and would weigh 100 lbs.

Bin liner to keep warm at the start. I didn't do this when I raced in similar conditions recently, and it was an error.

I stuck to "Be bold; start cold" and ran in singlet and shorts. By a couple of miles in (this was a marathon) I was plenty warm enough whilst moving (important point...) and what I was wearing was saturated enough that anything more would have just pissed me off.

When I stopped, I very quickly chilled down. Several people seemed to need medical, and it took me a while to get my core temp back up. If possible, get a foil blanket at the end and then as soon as possible get out of wet kit and into something warm and dry. The race itself is less of a problem because you're generating heat.

I have a Salomon s-lab running jacket from years ago that has been my rain go-to. Worth every cent. Even in legitimate freezing rain that forms a sheet of ice on the front of you.

The one thing everybody needs to learn about is durable water repellent (DWR). Buy a few cans of Kiwi CampDry or Scotchguard Watershield. Every so often, I hose down my jackets in this stuff. Downhill ski jacket and pants, regular casual rain jackets, running rain jackets, winter boots. All get the treatment. But the stuff wears off after a lot of use, so you have to spray another layer on.

manualf150 wrote:

I just ran in freezing rain the other morning. Freezing rain the whole way of 20 miles.

I wore some medium thickness tights with my running briefs, U/A heatgear long sleeve, running vest, beanie cap, running socks, and my junk shoes. Worked out perfectly. My core temp was just right.

I do err on the hot side, but that's me. Everyone is different. I also prefer to dress a little more just in case something happens and no one is there to help you. Doubt you'll have this problem in a race though, but ya never know...

I'm a little skinny dude, 5'4" and weigh 110lbs wet so that don't help.

That is a lot of clothing for a RACE, but perfect for an aerobic run, is my knee jerk.

Thoughts?

Bobby1 wrote:

Treadmill

+1

There's a lot of good tips on this thread - thanks everyone. I want to save this as reference.

I think I'll pick up a cheap UA ployester/nylon/spandex compression top for this race and throw my kit over it if it rains. I have good gloves to go with, and I think a brimmed/baseball hat works best.

Will definitely get a good shell for training.

theJeff wrote:

...

That is a lot of clothing for a RACE, but perfect for an aerobic run, is my knee jerk.

Thoughts?

I didn't think so, considering the conditions. I was perfectly comfortable and had no complaints.

Again, it's different for everyone. If I wanted to run that day in just running shorts and a long sleeve, more power to me.

Some can/like to run freezing cold, and some are the total opposite and would likely wear more if they could.

Me, I just like being comfortable.

It is funny though, some people have this phobia/hatred against tights and compression shirts. Like one of my XC coach's back in college. It wasn't until his daughter told him to try running a race in long tights and a compression shirt, boy, did he ever change his mind, he didn't know what he was missing. Lightweight, doesn't soak up too much water, and provides just the right amount of warmth.

No puns intended... believe it or not, I let women give me advice on running clothes, and so far, they know how to make things work...

Wow that's cold