Recreational activities are always different at night than at daylight. We considered four main threats, that might impact our comfort and performance during running. In addition, we listed some tips to avoid these traps.
1. Cold
There can be a substantial difference between night and day average temperatures. Recreation in colder nights exposes our body to the stresses with which our body cannot always cope. Possible inconveniences are feeling of extreme cold and moisture, attrition of the immune system, and perhaps even injuries due to insufficient warming up. We need to be ready to tackle this as well as possible. Along with effective warming up and the right clothing protection, it is also important to plan our activity in advance. We should spend as little time as possible in cold conditions.
2. Wind
Wind can significantly increase the overall heat loss of the body and cause its premature cooling. Night jogging is therefore always advisable to start in the opposite direction of the wind, i.e. with the movement against the wind and the return in the opposite direction.
In this way, we will primarily facilitate the return because we will be stopped by the wind gusts only in the first half of the workout. We will also avoid prolonged exposure to the cooling wind in the moments when our clothing will contain the maximum level of moisture – this is usually the highest in the last minutes of our training.
3. Clothing
In accordance with the nature of our activity, we need to carefully select and adjust the thickness and functionality of our garment, in order to comfortably enjoy the outdoor environment. At the same time, we need to pay attention to our satisfactory level of isolation and avoid retention of moisture in the fabric of our clothes. Several layers of correctly selected clothing enable very good isolation. It is important that the internal layers successfully transfer the moisture to the outside of the garment.
Primary decision-making criteria should be the comfort during activity, i.e. the stage when our body is already fully warmed up. “The active” must, therefore, resist the tempting selection of the over-dressing, which can lead to excessive retention of sweat in clothing just after a few minutes of movement. It is better to start as ‘cooler’ than continue and finish as ‘too hot’. Too many layers of clothing quickly lead to overheating, which requires the unnecessary undressing and explosion of the overheated body to harsh weather factors. Too much sweat within the garment often destroys even the good qualities of underwear and we quickly get cold.
4. Visibility
Obviously, it becomes worse as night falls down. As runners, we are less visible to other traffic members, i.e. cars, bicycles, scooters, and others. While we might see them, they very likely do not see us, if we are not equipped well. You can read on about 8 Essential Tips When Running at Night.
