MN training tips?

This last winter was particularly bad for running with how much snow we got. The trouble I had was finding cleared trails or sidewalks to run on and not on the side of the road. With the snow piled up, running on the road can be hazardous. I'd recommend finding access to a TM, I did half of my miles on one last winter. The cold isn't too bad for me. Just throw another layer on, cover your mouth, and you're good to go.

The bike commute may be tougher to keep up in winter, but good for you if you can handle it. 40-50mpw would be doable but with the biking and possible 60 hour work weeks you might have little spare time.

The good thing about winter training is how good you feel once spring rolls around. You'll never be happier to see clear sidewalks.

Neighbor here from S.Dakota, a few training tips for running in the real cold weather (-10 and lower) is to layer clothes with 3 layers on top and bottom. A beard or of you can't grow a decent one is to get a running mask and hat. Thickish gloves but not too thick. If your colder there then pull your hand into your sleeve, makes it a lot easier to stay warm. The two most important areas are socks and junk area. Two thin pairs of socks or one thick pair. On the junk a glove would be recommended. Feels weird right away, but the pain going into a -30 windchill headwind is unbearable!!! The relief you feel when you check if everything is intact still down there is indescribable. Of course you can run indoors on a treadmill but that's for chumps. Choose your days and times to run wisely, earlier in the day and later in the day you get less wind usually. When it comes to running in blizzards the middle of the road is the best plave to go. Getting mileage in before bad weather comes is also recommended. Final advice is clothes management, make sure all clothes are moisture free before heading out, the winter"s up here are MEAN and depressing.

Where are you going to live and work specifically? A lot of it has to do with what parks and municipalities you run in. Minneapolis parks are cleared well, the streets and neighborhood side walks suck. Edina clears their streets very well, same with Saint Louis Park. It just all depends. If your bike commute is on one of the LRT/Greenway trails you will have great bike commuting year round, flat, clean and almost no street crossing to slow you down.

Make sure your bike commute is safe in the winter -- in mid winter you've got 9 hours sunrise-to-sunset and with 9-12 hours at work and 1-2 hours on the bike obviously you'll be out there in the dark on possibly slick surfaces. Btw you need to have a backup plan for your commute anyway because sometimes it just snows like crazy and it will take a while for the trails/roads to be cleared. On the bright side if you skip the winter bike commute you'll have more time for running. You'll figure out proper layering from biking in the cold but as the other poster said, several *dry* layers and junk protection or you will be struck by a horrifying fear of losing it to frostbite.

Do yourself a favor and learn to nordic ski if you don't know how. Give your body a break from pounding the pavement, develop a lot of all around strength, and learn to love the snow instead of hating it. The twin cities area has a very strong skiing community that puts on tons of good races. There are also a lot of parks with good grooming through the winter.

Man, I love going to theodore wirth and elm creek for a good workout.

Oh, and race the Birkie.

Thanks for the advice guys! Really helpful. I´ll be living in Loring Park, so that little area should be alright for putting in a few miles...the Greenway is a great idea too, I ran there a few times in the winter when i was visiting this past december, definitely doable.