Just a quick question. Today I did 8 miles at 7:15 pace it was -2 degrees outside. What is that equivalent to if say it was 55-60 degrees outside? Thanks you guys or gals!
Just a quick question. Today I did 8 miles at 7:15 pace it was -2 degrees outside. What is that equivalent to if say it was 55-60 degrees outside? Thanks you guys or gals!
Dress and footing slow you down more than cold air.
I'm not aware of any scientific formula that would calculate a cold weather time to a warmer weather time. However, usually running times are much faster in cold weather provided that its on dry conditions where footing isn't a factor. The reason is the body doesn't have to shunt blood away from the leg muscles to the skin surface to accelerate cooling reducing the risk of overheating. Intense exercise in warmer conditions reduces power output to a certain degree, so generally times are not as fast as in colder temps. Conversely, in cold temps the body wants to conserve heat with increased intensity levels keeping good blood flow to the working muscles.
Wearing heavy layered clothing might add extra weight and restrict leg flexibility somewhat slowing you down. In your situation, you might to run the same exact course at the same intensity at 55-60 degrees (whenever temps get to that point in your geographical area) and make a comparison. It could be near the same pace you did in the sub-0 temp run. I've run some PRs over the years in single-digit temps over dry courses, but I wore clothing more suitable for 50 degrees to reduced weight and not restrict flexibility.
My guess is there is very little difference as long as conditions (wind and footing) are equal. The layering and additional clothing may make a small difference though. It's been awfully windy in southeastern WI the last few weeks. There's a big difference between cold and cold and windy.
Anecdotally and based on my runs this weekend I'd say I'm running about 5-10 seconds per mile slower (at most) versus comparable efforts in ideal temperatures. I had cold weather but good footing and minimal wind.
We spend energy on thermoregulation and physical activity.
The temperature changes the balance.
If when you finish you have cold and red areas on your body, it means that you've spent an extra energy on thermoregulation.
Sometimes the pace may not drop, but you've spent more energy than normal.
Some doctor was saying on tv yesterday that the athletes build lactic acid much faster when the temperatures are very low, although the effort is low.
And to answer your question, I think that 15s/mile due to cold and 15s/mile due to gear.
George Ilie wrote:
We spend energy on thermoregulation and physical activity.
The temperature changes the balance.
If when you finish you have cold and red areas on your body, it means that you've spent an extra energy on thermoregulation.
Sometimes the pace may not drop, but you've spent more energy than normal.
Some doctor was saying on tv yesterday that the athletes build lactic acid much faster when the temperatures are very low, although the effort is low.
And to answer your question, I think that 15s/mile due to cold and 15s/mile due to gear.
Proper dress could address both those issues. It can make you perfectly warm, but not too warm for thermoregulation, and most tights or layers of tights are not going to restrict motion at all. After all, cross country skiers have to race when it's -2 F, and all that is slowing them down is the slower snow.
For training runs in the cold, I don't dress optimally. I like to be on the warm side, so I don't run too hard, or I'll get wet. I would wear less if I were racing (running or skiing), and it's fairly easy to get it right so that you are not hot and not cold. I also often wear clothing that restrict my leg motion in training. For instance, today at 10 F, I wore xc ski pants (over tights) that droop a bit because I don't do up the drawstring to make it easier for pee stops. I can feel the restriction on my legs, and the pants would probably start to fall off if I tried to sprint. But I could definitely avoid that for situations that matter with two layers of tights or one warm pair of tights.
Wisconsin Freeze wrote:
Just a quick question. Today I did 8 miles at 7:15 pace it was -2 degrees outside. What is that equivalent to if say it was 55-60 degrees outside? Thanks you guys or gals!
The pace in itself isn't the important part, it's the effort that matters. Dont stress the paces too much- different weather can affect different people to various degrees. Rather, if it is an easy effort run easy, if it's a tempo effort, run at a tempo effort, and so on. In poor weather conditions it is very important to listen to your body instead of trying to run some specific pace. So what did the effort FEEL like?
Today in Iowa it was 21 degrees with 5 to 10 MPH wind.
I hit the track and did 4 X 200 with 3 minutes walk recovery.
34, 31.3, 29.8 , 29.7 They were run as fast as possible with maintaining good form. I kept my light Nike wind pants on and a light top.
How fast can you do sprints in the cold temps? I am a 50 plus masters runner.
Wisconsin Freeze wrote:
Just a quick question. Today I did 8 miles at 7:15 pace it was -2 degrees outside. What is that equivalent to if say it was 55-60 degrees outside? Thanks you guys or gals!
Optimal muscle temperature to optimize enzyme reactions.
Today in Indiana it was 19 degrees with 10-15 mph wind.
I hit the track and did 5 x 200 with 2 minutes walk recovery.
33.5, 30.8, 29.4, 29.2. I wore a cooking apron over my normal running gear.
How fast can YOU do sprints in the cold temps. I am a 60 plus masters runner.
Wisconsin Freeze wrote:
Just a quick question. Today I did 8 miles at 7:15 pace it was -2 degrees outside. What is that equivalent to if say it was 55-60 degrees outside? Thanks you guys or gals!
It's equivalent to 8 miles at 7:15 pace, why would you think there's any difference?
OF course there's a difference. As soon as you get significantly warmer/colder than 50 degrees, your performance will be impacted (I'm talking distance). Why is 49 degrees the optimal temp for marathon races? How to quantify it is another story, but just like running in extreme heat/humidity, running in extreme cold will surely affect pace & times.....
kmaclam wrote:
OF course there's a difference. As soon as you get significantly warmer/colder than 50 degrees, your performance will be impacted (I'm talking distance). Why is 49 degrees the optimal temp for marathon races? How to quantify it is another story, but just like running in extreme heat/humidity, running in extreme cold will surely affect pace & times.....
Wrong. Running in weather does not effect pace or time. 8 miles in 7:15 in 30 degrees is the same as 8 miles in 7:15 in 80 degrees. 58 minutes either way. Weather does not make time move faster or slower.
Wrong wrong wrote:
kmaclam wrote:OF course there's a difference. As soon as you get significantly warmer/colder than 50 degrees, your performance will be impacted (I'm talking distance). Why is 49 degrees the optimal temp for marathon races? How to quantify it is another story, but just like running in extreme heat/humidity, running in extreme cold will surely affect pace & times.....
Wrong. Running in weather does not effect pace or time. 8 miles in 7:15 in 30 degrees is the same as 8 miles in 7:15 in 80 degrees. 58 minutes either way. Weather does not make time move faster or slower.
Donkey alert....
It is more the layers of clothing.