Are You Overdressed?

Now that summer is upon us, we gotta talk about what you're wearing. Not about whether it's fashionable (who cares?), but about whether it's weather-appropriate. I have found that the vast majority of exercise-attire errors are made when people wear too damn much clothing.

Keep in mind: you are exercising. Hopefully at a moderate- or high-intensity, at least most of the time. Exercising = burning calories = heat generation. During an intense workout, you can wear clothes for about 30 degrees warmer than the current temperature. Meaning, if it is 40 degrees outside and you are doing a race, you can wear something you would wear to be comfortable if it was 70 degrees outside and you were just hanging out in a lawn chair. Many runners do not grasp this concept, and walkers are even worse because the thought "I'm just walking" makes them hesitant to dress lightly.

The number one thing to remember is, you should not dress for "hanging out in the start corral." You should dress for mile 10 (or in a 5K, dress for mile 2.5). It is actually very difficult to "under-dress" for a race, unless the temperatures are well below freezing. Even if you show up in a tank top and shorts on a 30-degree day, you will likely eventually warm up enough to be comfortable.

Here are two examples of races I have done and whether or not I was appropriately dressed.

A) I did a half marathon in suburban Illinois in late November. It was about 10 degrees and windy, and I was hoping to PR, so dressing light was important. I wore long tights, a support tank top, and a light jacket, as well as a hat and gloves. I was dressed WAY too light for the weather, for the only time in my walking career. It took me until mile 12 to stop shivering. As a result, my time was about 3-4 minutes slower than it should have been, because the cold caused me to tighten up.

B) I did the Chicago Marathon in October. It was in the high 30s at the start (supposed to warm up to about 50), and I was hoping for a HUGE PR, so again, I wanted to dress light. I put on capri tights, a support tank top (the same one as race A), armwarmers I made out of youth soccer socks, throwaway gloves, and a headband. I was dressed perfectly. Everyone else in the way-back corral was dressed heavier than me, most of them way heavier (we're talking two layers on bottom, three on top). I guarantee most of them had to throw away at least one layer, or tie a layer around their waist and Sherpa it back to the finish. The only thing I ditched: my throwaway gloves, and even then it wasn't until about mile 18.

So as we can see, it is very important to dress properly in fall and winter races in particular. And when the weather heats up, do not be that person who continues wearing long sleeves and long pants when the thermometer is north of 60 degrees. Being slightly cold for the first mile is well worth the dividends of being able to generate more heat and work harder in later miles. Very rarely will a person regret dressing light for a race. Practice before race day and remember, you are dressing for the last 1/3 of a race, not the first.