One of the reasons I had taken up running last year was because I knew I would be in England for Christmas and with no bike or kettlebells for 3 weeks and surrounded by amazing food I knew I’d have to be doing something to ensure I didn’t come back a lot heavier than when I left.
So running it was. It worked out pretty well too, well once I got over the shock of the cold.
Instead of the nice 5 minute warm up walk it was straight out the front door and run. It was too cold not to.
The run itself took me towards town, then across a kids park, past the school and into The Thicket. The thicket sounds like such a wonderful British countryside word, and it was. A tree and shrub lined slightly overgrown path that had the river on one side and a series of houses or fields on the other side. I often wished that each time I went for a run I’d remember to stop and take a photo of how pretty it was, but I always forgot until I made it back to the house again.
The cold was my biggest challenge, I kept starting out too fast and then the cold would catch my breathe and I’d have to slow down and regulate my breathing to ensure I could keep going. If I stopped to walk I cooled down straight away and got cold so I really needed to take to steady so I could breathe consistently.
It took a few goes to get my layering of clothes right, gloves and a beanie were essentials but I often took my gloves off about halfway through the run and put them back on as I exited the The Thicket (the trees really helped cut down the wind so it was great to run prtected from the elements a bit).
Oddly enough needed far less clothing than I thought I would. The act of running gets your body heat to enormous levels so if I wasn’t careful I was in danger of overheating.
In the end the layering went
singlet run top (with built in bra)
long sleeve sports wool top
lightweight gloves and beanie
long slightly brushed running tights
socks
Nike Gore-Tex sneakers
Occasionally I’d add my running jacket to the top of all this but only till I was warmed up and then it would come off and get tied round my waist.
Will be running again next time we are there but this time am remembering to take photos!
