Pre-season triathlon base training includes running outside in the winter and if you live in an area with cold winters like I do you want to have the right type of clothing to stay warm. One of the essential components to staying warm while running outdoors is a good pair of winter running tights. Running in Minneapolis this winter was frigid, the temperatures were low and the brisk winds were always there. This review will focus on 3 pair of winter running tights from 3 different manufactures (Craft, Pearl Izumi, Under Amour ) I tried out this winter to stay warm.

The testing occurred in various degrees of cold, from a low of around 4 to a high of around 27. Each product was tested the same way but on separate occasions. The lengths of the runs varied between 6 to 9 miles. I always tested these products out with a pair of Craft Gore Wind Stop Gunde Boxer underwear.

Each product had similar characteristics like front panel wind barrier fabric, water-resistant protection, lower leg zippers for easy on-off access and a tight fit around your ankles. They all have breathable / moisture management rear panels, which works but the downside is if you have a brisk tailwind while running your behind and legs are going to get cold. The Craft and the Pearl Izumi products had a thin fleece lining while the Under Amour product did not.

Winter Running Tights Review

Craft Storm Tight (MSRP: $109.99)
- I liked the nice fit of these tights, they were comfortable, perfect length and warm
- The articulated knees give the tights the proper flexibility when you are running
- Reflective piping on the front and back for early morning and early evening runs
- The one thing this pair of tights was missing was a key / credit card pouch
- These Craft tights are a bit pricey but now I know why, they are well worth it when trying to stay warm while running outside in the winter.
 
 
Pearl Izumi AmFIB Tight (MSRP: $99.99)
- This pair of tights unlike the other two has a patch of the windproof and water-resistant material on the rear for additional warmth which is really nice when you have a brisk tail wind while running.
- These tights had a tighter fit; they were still comfortable and kept me nice and warm.
- These tights did have a key / credit card pouch on the inside.
- The cut on the front of the tights made them feel like low riders or like they were coming down while running, every so often I would pull them up because I thought they were falling down.
- The tighter fit seemed to cause the tights to come up a bit. These tights did not have any special fabrication around the knees like the other two pair of tights.

Triathlon: Ironman 70.3 Florida
Date: Sunday, May 20, 2007
Location: Orlando, Florida (Walt Disney World Resort - Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground)
Website: www.floridahalfironman.com

Weather: At the start of the race it was nice and cool, in the mid 60’s. Once on the bike, the sun came out but it was covered by clouds on and off. The winds were light with forecasted winds of 13 to 18 miles an hour. The sun was out in full force on the run, but it did cloud up every so often, the forecast for the day was 86 degrees. These conditions were way better than last year when the temperature was in the 90’s.

Swim: The swim course was a big “U” loop. On race day the water was nice and calm but too hot for wetsuits. The water temp was in the low 80’s. They did have plenty of buoys but the initial straight away didn’t seem too straight. The beach was nice and had plenty of room for spectators. They had plenty of support personnel along the course. It was kind of an early start for the swim, the first wave of male pros hit the water at 6:20 AM and every wave after went every 4 minutes.

The swim to bike transition was long. It was nice to see that they did manage to put carpet down on the wood chip path. Funny thing is they were about 30 to 40 feet short before reaching the grassy area of the bike transition, so we did have to run on the wood chips at one point.

Bike: The bike was one loop. The initial and final portions of the loop had us riding through the Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground roads, which were nice and didn’t have any traffic. Once off the Disney property there weren’t any closed roads, but in most cases we did have one lane to ourselves or we were on the shoulder. In some cases they were controlling the amount of traffic on the road we were on, which wasn’t too bad for a Sunday morning. There was one stretch of road that seemed a bit intimidating. There was no shoulder and the cars really didn’t know what to do, I passed 3 or 4 cars as they crept along. The course was well marked and had lots of support from the local authorities. It was flat with a couple of small hills and then some rolling hills just past the midway point, the course had lots of turns, one of them being a tight 180 turn. We had plenty of headwind and crosswind to deal with, but not much in the sense of a tailwind. They had marshals on the course but there seemed to be some drafting going on from what I saw and from what others were saying. At one point I came across a penalty tent and there were 4 or 5 people stopped there. My bike computer had me almost 2 mile ahead at mile marker 45 and when I finished it was over 57 miles. Some people stated that the bike course changed and that they liked this course much better.

The bike dismount to the transition area entrance was not that far but they had you running on crushed / packed gravel, but it sort of woke your feet up stepping on the rocks if you were just wearing socks. We did have to go out this way from T1 also.

Run: The run was 3 loops. The run starts on a paved trail and then goes to a paved road closed to normal traffic. It goes out and comes back and just past the 1 mile mark it turns left on to a grassy trail. The trail section was flat but uneven at times, with lots of grass and dirt. This trail section was long enough to support 3 aid stations before getting back on the paved road of the resort and then the paved trail. There was really no shade along the trail and it seemed that the heat increased a degree or two when you were out there. The paved trail was nice because it was like running in the woods, it seemed cooler when you were on it. Along the way there was plenty of room for spectators to cheer you on. In talking to others that have done the race before, this was a different run course and they all said it was better, way better than running through a portion of a golf course like they had before.