Gloves in Cold Weather

Try gloves made for cross country skiers. I have a pair that I originally purchased for XC skiing, but pull them out on the rare occasions that I have to run in sub-20 degree weather and they work great. They're more flexible than a thick glove, but warmer than a traditional running glove or mitten. They're also better at keeping my hands dry if the gloves get wet.

The brand I have is Swix, but I'm sure there are others.

Good luck!

Raynauds Help wrote:I'm having a hard tme with my hands, worse this year than ever before. I don't like to run with mittens, because I can't operate my watch. Does anyone have suggestion for warm running gloves that aren't too bulky, or other ideas? Thanks!

If you can't operate your watch due to your mittens, why not start your watch before you put your gloves on and leave it running until you finish? If you have to make some stops, just estimate how long you stop for. That beats having cold hands for hours. I would buy the disposable hand warmers as well. I have cold hands and use 2 pairs of gloves and a pair of Brooks mittens. Even with hand warmers my hands still get a little cold. I don't have a problem operating my Garmin with these on.

Take your watch off the band, or cut the band off, nestle it against your palm and acquaint yourself with the buttons, and wear a mitten over it. You could even do this with a light glove or liner on your hands as well as the mitten.

Theymake running gloves with a wind protective glove that compresses the fingers like a mitt. These gloves have rubber gripping that allows you to operate your iPod. I got a pair 4 Xmas and used them today. My hands actually got sweaty during my run today in 20 degree temps. I had to take them off!

I had a similar problem and I found that wearing two gloves actually makes the situation worse because it reduces circulation (in my case anyway).

If you go to an outdoor store, you can find plenty of warm mittens that "flip" into gloves, if you know what I mean. Google "glove mittens" to get an idea of what they look like.

I switched to big fleece mitts over normal running gloves and that has worked well. Good luck!

I second the swix skiing gloves. they make a lobster claw glove with two big fingers on each glove so, it's like a mitten split down the middle. this lets the fingers keep eachother warm, but gives you a bit of dexterity.

they also have different levels of warmth to their regular gloves, you can get ones that are just a leather palm and fingers and a lycra back, or you can get ones with a lot of insulation that work awesome. I had a mid weight glove but with my hand right next to the suede palm and fingers sometimes i'd sweat too much and get it wet, then I'd freeze, so if your hands get cold I would go with the lobster claws cause they're swix's warmest glove.

as far as the watch goes, if your hands are freezing, i'd worry about the watch last and wear mittens or something.

If you have Raynauds, then gloves or mittens themselves won't help. Clothes (including gloves and mittens) work by capturing the heat your body radiates. During a Raynauds attack, your hands aren't radiating any heat, so even the heaviest of gloves/mittens are of little use.

What works for me is layering:

a) thin gloves

b) disposable handwarmers (I'm a fan of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Hotties-Hand-Warmer-Pack/dp/B000JJP0UM

) held by your gloved hand.

c) boy's crew socks over the whole thing.

Yes, you're running with socks on your hands. But trust me, I have a pretty bad case of Raynauds, and this is what has worked best for me.

Lots of good suggestions above. Some additional thoughts:

1) Buy a thin pair of liner gloves to wear under your mittens. You can then take off a mitten to briefly operate your watch without exposing your bare hands.

2) If it's hard finding a store selling XC ski gloves, there are some good winter bicycling gloves, which may be easier to find. While you can always order over the internet, I think you'd prefer trying them before purchasing. Some XC gloves are pretty stiff, for example.

2 suggestions

1) CRAFT makes a glove called Active Mitten. It is part of their ski collection. Warmest glove/mitten I have ever used

2) Look for something with Gore winstopper on it. Having a true windproof glove helps

i feel for you. i live in northern california and i struggle with my fingers. i don't usually get rayanud's "episodes" when running in the cold but the raynaud's makes you more sensitive to cold. it's worse when running hard. while others are tossing their gloves, raynauds makes the blood shunt even further from the fingers rendering them pretty useless for sticking a key into a car door afterwards.

I found that liner gloves make the problem worse. My palms retain some heat so separating my fingers from my palms has never worked for me.

I go with 2 mitten layers. The first is made of powerstretch material that i got at REI a few years ago. they only make the glove version now. OR makes a similar pair but it's not as stretchy. I put some Hind windstop mittens over the top of these when it's raining. They are just a gortex shell. when it's dry and below 40, i have a brooks running mitten. i've also stuffed hand heaters in these.

I use ski goretex windproof gloves for winter biking, hasn't been cold enough yet to use for runs but should help you: http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302698971&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442627387

I have the same problem. I might be running shirtless in the 50's but need mittens on my hands. Even in my house I have to run my hands under warm water when I get home from work before running on my mill on cold days.

I wear mittens or thick socks - don't separate your fingers from each other. That makes it much worse. Gloves are usually useless I often will wear mittens with a thick Acorn sock on top of it. Reynaud's is a real nuisance. Even a thick Thorlo sock is better than any kind of glove. Not separating your fingers is the key. Your hands are much warmer if the fingers are kept together.

I don't have Raynauds, but my hands freeze if it's below 30. I wear goose down mittens and if it's below 20 I'll throw in a pair of charcoal handwarmers. You can get them on ebay for about 50 cents a pair in bulk. I ski the same way, with the mittens and handwarmers. Otherwise all I think about on the run is how cold my hands are.

Anyone find a hat that doesn't overheat your head?

There are some great suggestions for gloves/mittens, but I want to focus on improving the circulation in the arms, forearms and fingers so that, when you run, your fingers will stay warmer.

Here are 2 specific exercises to try:

1) Tennis ball - repeatedly squeeze and release a tennis ball. When squeezing, hold it for a count of 3 before releasing.

2) Forearm dumbbell curls - Sit, resting your forearms on your thighs, and holding a light dumbbell in each hand, palm up, and with the beginning of the forearm at the end of your knee. Let your hand drop over your knee, and Slowly lower the dumbbell by opening your palm and extending your fingers. Before it falls off of the end of your fingers, reverse and curl the weight up into your palm, and then curl the palm up as high as it will go - but don't move the forearm off of your thigh! This helps strengthen forearm and finger muscles as well as relaxing and warming them before a run. These are harder than the tennis ball squeeze, so they warm up the forearms and fingers much faster and have longer lasting results.

Other exercises:

Besides the above exercises just for the forearms and fingers, I find it helps to exercise a little before running. A set of light arm curls (fingers either underhand or overhand on the bar), a set of light side bends, a set of light hamstring curls, some alphabets for the ankles, arches and feet and some lightweight bench or overhead presses or pushups to warm up the chest and shoulder muscles.

Other tips that may help:

1) Soak your fingers and forearms in a dishpan of warm water on a regular basis to help flush blood through the area.

2) See if your parents will okay a low dose supplement of Niacin (B vitamin that acts as a vasodilator) taken 10-15 minutes prior to running.

i gotta find these acorn mittens..

I've been trying this when sitting in an ice bath.

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• Raynauds Disease

Natural Ways to Warm Up

Mary Kildare (not her real name) lived in Alaska and, like other 26-year-olds, she loved to ski and snowmobile. Then she developed Raynaud's disease, a circulatory problem that periodically triggers spasms in the blood vessels of the fingers and toes. At relatively mild temperatures of 50°F or so, Kildare experienced the kind of tingling and severe pain that most people feel in subzero temperatures. Her fingertips turned white, her toes turned blue and the pain was excruciating. She had to wear gloves to take food out of the refrigerator.

Having Raynaud's meant that skiing and snowmobiling were now out of the question. In fact, Kildare's symptoms were so severe that she couldn't even drive a car in winter. By the time that she got to the car and got it warmed up, the agony was incapacitating.

HYDROTHERAPY WITH A TWIST

Kildare's doctors tried the usual treatments for Raynaud's. First, they prescribed calcium channel blockers, medications customarily used to relax coronary blood vessels and treat the heart-related chest pain angina. But the drugs caused unpleasant side effects. Her doctors also tried rauwolfia alkaloids (Reserpine)--a drug normally used to treat high blood pressure, it controls nerve impulses along certain nerve pathways. The drug worked for four months, but Kildare's symptoms recurred.

Doctors know that Raynaud's disease sets in when tiny arteries in the fingertips constrict. With blood flow cut off, people get painfully cold sensations in their fingers and toes. Surgery can sometimes correct the condition, and Kildare's doctors considered it at first. But before going ahead, they sent her to the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine in Natick, Massachusetts. There, medical researchers taught Kildare an innovative cold-reconditioning technique that holds promise for men and women with Raynaud's disease.

Standing in a cold room, Kildare dipped her hands in 105°F water four times a day, every other day, for eight minutes. After just one week, she started to improve. She found that she could tolerate colder and colder temperatures without pain, and the constrictions were fewer and less severe.

Kildare practiced the cold-reconditioning technique at home on her porch. Every year, before the onset of winter, she repeated the reconditioning sessions. After seven years, she was still controlling Raynaud's without medication--and was once again able to ski and snowmobile.

Researchers who developed the cold-reconditioning technique, also called the submersion technique, say it works by training your blood vessels to relax (dilate) rather than constrict when exposed to cold.

The submersion technique may be somewhat time-consuming, but the results are worth it, says Murray Hamlet, director of research, plans and operations at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine. For best results, he advises doing it in winter when you can use a cold outside area as well as a warm inside area. Then follow this procedure.

* Fill two buckets or Styrofoam coolers with water of about 100°F.

Place one container in a cold area such as an outdoor patio and

the other in a warm room.

* Dressed lightly, in the warm room, immerse both your hands in the

water for two to five minutes.

* Wrap your hands in a towel and go to the cold area. Again put your

hands in the 100°F water--this time for ten minutes.

* Return indoors and put both hands in the 100°F water for two to

five more minutes.

* Repeat the procedure three to six times a day, every other day.

Many people who try the submersion technique experience remission of Raynaud's after only a few repetitions, notes Dr. Hamlet. Some people, however, may need to repeat the procedure as often as 40 to 50 times over the course of several days.

Wear a hat, a warmer jacket or extra shirt, and warmer socks. Your body is diverting blood away from your hands to keep your vital organs warm.

The Muni wrote:

Wear a hat, a warmer jacket or extra shirt, and warmer socks. Your body is diverting blood away from your hands to keep your vital organs warm.

so then you sweat more, which makes your hands wet, which makes them colder.

I have Raynauds as well as I use a pair of 180s running gloves/mitten combo. They are basically a glove with a mitten you can pull out and put over the glove. When it gets colder I either pull out my heavier 180s or I use the glove/mittens with those cheap disposable handwarmers. you hold them in the glove under the mitten, it works well for me.

Some great ideas....I have a pair of Asics mittens that are crazy warm. They have a fleece inner, and then a nylon / fabric shell that cover the liner. I don't wear them unless it's 10 or below because they work that well.