While some places and people are experiencing unusually cold weather, we’ve been basking in balmy weather and sunshine. (Don’t worry- we’ve already had our fair share of winter and I’m sure we’ll have a few more months of it!)
For someone who is always cold and avoids the treadmill at all costs, this is great news! Yesterday my favourite training partner (my husband, Kelly) and I set out for a run in minimal layers of clothing.
What we assumed would be a fantastic run didn’t turn out that way. Along with warmer temperatures comes melting snow, which in turn creates ice. The first part of our run was fine but a lot of it was treacherous. Miraculously, neither of us fell or hurt ourselves!
Here are some of my tips for running on ice or in slippery conditions:
- Don’t! Suck it up and run on a treadmill, or take a day to cross train.
- Wear a traction aid on your shoes to help grip ice or slippery patches.
- Slow down. Running on ice or slippery sections can cause you to change your gait. Instead of changing your gait and risking injury, use it as a recovery run and slow down.
- If you’re on a sidewalk, run on the sides where there may be some better traction from snow clearing tread. If grass is sticking out, even better.
- Run on the road if it’s quiet and safe. Roads most likely have salt or gravel or have been cleared. Face oncoming traffic so you can see what is coming towards you.
I didn’t want to pass up warm outdoor running and couldn’t wear a traction aid since sidewalk was showing in lots of places. And the route we ran is pretty traffic heavy. So, we slowed way down and just enjoyed the run and conversation.
Do you ever have to deal with icy runs? What’s your ideal running temperature?
Change of Pace 
hi there… completely agree with you… ice and running don’t mix… i even topped it by running at night, which is nothing i would recommend to anyone… just had to be done… 🙂
Darkness would definitely make it that much tougher!
Wouldn’t recommend it… I got home safe so it can be done… is just not as nice as running in spring 🙂
Happy running…
Those traction aids just seem like they would mess up your form, but who knows? I certainly don’t. Yeah, ice is scary! I would do the same as you though because the treadmill is miserable.
They’re not too bad, as long as they fit snug.
Haha I love your first piece of advice!! I just hateeee the treadmill with a passion… My ideal running temperature, is probably in the 40-50s. Fall is the best, warm enough so that you don’t have to bundle up like crazy, but still cool enough so that it feels great!
Fall running is pretty great!
So yes, I have dealt with icy runs, as a fellow Canadian! But I joined the winter treadmill club when two winters ago, I was out running with one of my dogs. She saw a rabbit and went for it as we happened to be crossing an icy patch. Well, as soon as she pulled on the leash (she’s a Labrador Retriever aka pretty big), I fell to the ground and broke my ankle! Not wanting to miss a planned run turned into no running for six months! Yup, that sucked.
That’s a horrible story! You have to watch out for those rabbits when you’re with a dog 🙂
I’ll run in just about any weather, although I’m learning to prefer hotter over colder. I found that screwing my shoes gives me the same traction on ice as normal shoes on dry pavement. Had a little accident on ice yesterday on my bike – maybe I need to figure out how to put screws in my road bike tires!
Yikes- hope you’re ok. Have you seen the studded tires? They sell lots here, but maybe they don’t even offer them in Texas?
I’m pretty sure they don’t sell them in Texas. The roads were perfectly clear when I crashed, with the exception of the roadway in front of a certain major fast-food restaurant chain that decided to water their landscaping (and half of the road) when temperatures were below freezing. By the time I saw the ice, it was too late to stop and there were vehicles beside me so I couldn’t swerve. There’s a city ordinance (and $2k/day fine) for watering when it’s below freezing. I may or may not have sent a strongly worded letter to the local restaurant and to their legal department at the corporate headquarters!
This is exactly what has been going on here…so warm that you’re dying to din outside and then you notice the ice! You are so right, the treadmill is the best answer if you don’t want to end up hurting yourself!
Such a tease!
ooooh I was dealing with this last week with the melting snow. I’d love to try out traction aids to see how well they worked!
When I was running through it, I definitely slowed down or tried to run on the roads a little bit when it’s very quiet!
I run so much slower in winter, too.
Ha, I love your first tip. Don’t!
I realize it’s not really a tip, but it’s the best piece of advice on there!
Yeah, ice is pretty much the worst element to deal with for a runner. I do feel pretty safe, most of the time, if I put on Yaktrax, though. Knock wood, we are still awaiting our first snow or ice here in Maryland. It’s coming, though, I’m sure, and probably on a day where I need to run 22 miles! (I hate winter!)
I can’t believe you don’t have snow or ice there yet! Hopefully you didn’t jinx it, and hopefully it stays away for a while longer.
I used to hate running on ice, it’s just NOT fun! Completely agree with the first tip.. dont do it – go to the gym or wherever you have to go, jump on the treadmill and hammer out some kms there. Plus, its nice to be warm inside instead of freezing outside!
Nice that you don’t have to deal with that as much (if ever) in Victoria!
Yikes! this makes our cold weather look like child’s play. Haha! Thanks for the icy tips! If I’m ever in colder weather, I will definitely remember this (i.e. don’t do it!).
Weather is all relative!
I hope you never have to run in ice or snow!
I know it’s bad but I hate the treadmill so much that I risk it all too often with running on the ice. I try to stay on the side where the snow gives a bit more traction and go slower, but I’ve had many close calls! If it was 60 and sunny out, my run would be perfect!
It’s tough to make yourself run inside or cross-train, but sometimes it’s the smart thing to do!
Remember last year when I busted a**? It wasn’t even super bad out. hit one spot, slipped, and still have a wicked scar on my knee. This is a great reminder to be careful!
That’s brutal that you even scarred your knee. (At least you have something to show for the bad fall!) Take it easy this year!
I REALLY needed this post about two weeks ago when I was in Crested Butte, CO and I ran on ice. I ate it so hard and my tailbone hurt for like a week! Hopefully you will save some other poor soul from doing the same thing 😉
That sounds brutal! I generally fall at least twice a winter. I’m still at 0 this year (while running), so I’m waiting for the first one!
I love that you and your husband can spend time together running! My hubby isn’t a runner but we do walk a lot together. I am definitely not a cold weather runner. I prefer hot and humid over cold any day! Thank goodness for my treadmill or winter would be unbearable!!
Walking together is such a nice way to spend time together, too!
When I lived in MN, I used to run on the snowy grass next to the sidewalk to avoid slipping. It worked out okay. Where I live now, it rarely snows, but when it does, it’s nearly impossible to run because no one scoops there sidewalks! It happens so rarely that people don’t own shovels!
It seems so foreign to me that people don’t own shovels! I guess it doesn’t make sense when it rarely snows, but it’s still weird!
Can you believe it? We’ve actually got snow down here on the south coast. I thought with our move we’d escape it! 😉 Oh well, hit the gym and the dreadmill for some intervals instead.
Hopefully the snow was a one time thing! Impressive that you still ran intervals!
I used to roll my eyes at the advice of “don’t run on ice”, but when I slipped (not running) and fell very hard on my tail bone a few years back….whoa, I’m a new ice-fearing girl! Worst part of that story? I was leaving my mom’s house, she saw me fall, came running out after me, and ….. fell. Worse, she broke her wrist. It was awful!!!
That is an awful story! I can’t believe your mom broke her wrist when she was checking on you. No wondering you’re ice-fearing!
I run on ice all the time, out of necessity because I live in the Midwest and don’t own a treadmill. I’ve found streets to be WAY safer than sidewalks and country roads are actually the best of all. Plus, in the country with little traffic, I run right in the lane where it’s almost always clear of ice.
Sounds like you have winter running down to a science!
Great tips. I am super paranoid to run if there is a chance of ice. I know a runner that broke their tail bone slipping on ice!
That’s a horror story, too. I bet they were out of commission for quite a while.
Pingback: Banishing boredom and taking my own advice | Change of Pace
I’m a whimp–got to be over 30F with no ice. But oh, the dreadmill! 🙂
It would be nice to always run outside in above freezing conditions!