by Martha Muzychka
Many parts of my country are experiencing cold weather snaps (I’ll ignore the parts that aren’t as it has been a weird winter.). I’m in Canada and cold is pretty darn freezing when the polar vortex moves in.
Recently I spent three days in a cold Northern community this past January. “It will be minus 45 with the windchill,” said the weather reporter a little too cheerily. “Frostbite in minutes!”
Now I wasn’t going to be running in that kind of cold, where the snow squeaks and your face feels like old playdough, all stiff and weirdly splodgy. But the sky was blue, the sun shone brilliantly and the relatively clear sidewalks and a free hour beckoned for a mid afternoon walk.
However, I have to be careful if I workout in the cold. I get cold-induced asthma. As I have a tendency to breathe through my mouth instead of my nose, this means more chilled air entering my lungs faster often resulting in prolonged coughing episodes on reentering my home.
How to protect myself? I remembered I had brought a couple of fabric masks with me along with my N-95s. The fabric masks are perfect for walking outdoors as they are breathable and they protect not just your nose and mouth but a goodly amount of your face. I plucked it out and off I went.
My walk was very brief – about ten minutes in minus 45 windchill might be ten minutes too long – but I didn’t have to worry about freezing my nose or ending up with a cough, and I did get some very fresh air and some Vitamin D.
I didn’t always enjoy working out in the cold. However, years ago, I had a fabulous mentor who encouraged me to run in all kinds of weathers. On this one occasion, our group was meeting in Winnipeg at the end of January.
“Bring your running clothes!” she said in her email. “But I don’t know how to run in minus 35 C weather,” I replied. “Layers,” she said, “Lots and lots of layers.”
So I did bring lots of layers: tights for under my winter running pants, and three layers under my windproof jacket including a silk undershirt I had bought on a whim because it was on sale for $10.
The layers worked but the best was how she showed me to use a scarf to protect my nose and mouth. The light covering over our noses allowed us to warm the Arctic blasts we were inhaling.
I did find that scarves after a while get unpleasantly damp and soggy if you are out for a while. That’s where fabric masks come in. Most people don’t wear masks much anymore, and if they do, it is usually indoors in crowded spaces.
Wearing a mask outdoors is great wind protection and it gives you more time to warm the air you breathe in. I had gotten in the habit of putting my mask on in the car before heading indoors during the peak of the pandemic winter waves and I was really pleased at how well the mask worked in keeping my face warm and reducing the risk of coughing.
So if you wondering what to do with your old fabric masks, fish them out and get your fit on, even in our very cold Canadian winter weather!
Martha Muzychka lives in Canada’s easternmost province.
A silk undershirt sounds divine!