Cold running Monday November 29th 2021 Lachine Canal, Montreal

Cold running Monday November 29th 2021 Lachine Canal, Montreal

I had a glorious run this morning. 8am at -10 Celsius 11k run no hat, gloves, shirt or socks but with my beach shoes and shorts. My learnings / technique? I run the first 7 minutes with my shirt and windbreaker on to warm up. Then take them off and focus on 3 things, I relax every part of my body, keep regular breaths and stand tall my chest sticking out. I run 20x 3 minutes at a pace of 180 steps with 30 seconds walking pause in between. I monitor my body, never name 'cold' the sensations and as long as I feel and look rosy pink I don't worry about frostbite. Visualizations are supposed to be helpful, so often I stoke burning logs in my belly and imagine a bubble of warmth surrounding me. If the wind picks up, I think and say out loud "I'm so hot". At one point the skin on my arms felt cold, but I wasn't cold or shivering, so I focused my breath on them, told my mitochondria to turn up the heat, and imagined lava flowing in my veins. Within 10 seconds my arms and fingers warmed up. I marveled at this and felt even more secure. I carry socks, gloves and hat in my pocket just in case. I never ran in my youth and only started last year at 61, discovered shirtless and barefoot this summer, and naturally kept on going as fall came to Montreal. Wondering how long I could go I discovered Wim Hof 2 weeks ago. This is all new to me. I'm also looking into tummo breathing now. After my hour run, I lingered outside as I felt so warm and good, feeling guilty with the passersby hidden in their thick parkas. The bright healthy feelings last for 2 days, I've found my new winter sport, bear running!! I love you all and have an awesome day xxx Guy

Video here and on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgQWAxmsa1E