Start Running Safely

If you want to enjoy the sport and avoid injury, you need to build up to the point that you will be able to run properly. That starts with walking. Since wintertime isn’t the ideal time of year to run, anyway – as snow and ice can make it dangerous – it remains a great time of the year to get outside and use your muscles, preparing yourself for warmer months.

Fueling Up

To use the winter to train to start running once the warmer weather comes around, start your day with a good breakfast. Focus on nutrition, with a proper balance of protein, carbs and even fat. Don’t overdo it but provide your body with energy.

Gearing Up

Next, make sure you have the right gear. You’ll need to wear boots that will support and cushion your foot, but that will do so while keeping your feet warm and providing traction on slippery and icy surfaces.

You’ll also want the right jacket, hat and mittens to keep the rest of you warm. Try to focus on options that will allow you to stay very warm at the start of your walk, but to keep yourself cool once you get going. Even in very frigid temperatures, you can sweat very heavily when you go for a brisk walk on snow for a half hour. Sweat can be a problem because it can freeze.

Scheduling It In

Try to get outside at least five days per week. Walk as briskly as you can, at intervals with a slightly slower and relaxed pace. A half hour should be your initial goal. As your route starts to become easier because you are building your fitness level, add more speed and distance when possible. Your goal is to try to walk quite briskly for at least a half hour without losing your breath by the end of it. To test yourself, try to speak at the end of the walk and see how easily you are able to talk.

Over the weeks, it will become easier, and your fitness will improve to the point where you will be able to start running at intervals with walking once the spring comes around and the sidewalks are clear again.

Be Realistic When You Start Running

Remember that when you start running for the first time, it’s very important to be realistic. If you’re not yet at the fitness level that actual running is appropriate, there is a lot to say about walking – particularly in snow – and about building intervals of walking and jogging. Pushing yourself harder than what is appropriate for your body won’t help you to reach your goals faster. Instead, it will only place you at risk of an injury that will lead to a setback. Err to the side of caution.

It’s also important to have alternate training plans ready for when the weather just won’t let you head out. It’s all well and good to start running in the winter, but it’s still vital to acknowledge that this season doesn’t always play nice. Sometimes, the cold is simply too extreme to safely head out for any length of time. Ice is also a factor that shouldn’t be ignored. Great shoes or boots can help a bit, but on extremely icy days, it’s best to stay off those surfaces until they’re cleared. It might be handy to use an indoor tack or treadmill when the weather is at its most extreme.