Getting ready for cold weather

Now, I'll bet that title gave you a start, didn't it? Meanwhile at least one of us (me) is sweating like a pig on every run she takes. But, I am worrying about what I am going to wear in the Twin Cities Marathon. Sally says it won't be "that" cold because they don't usually have their first frost until Halloween but I am leery of trusting the weather like that. Just thinking of the difference in the temp in the two years I ran Chicago has me pondering what I'm gonna wear. I've run in two or three cold races and I was a little chilly. You don't realize how much ventilation is built into these running shoes until you run in the winter and feel that cold breeze on your toes! And, despite having 5 layers on my torso and being fairly warm in most places, my fingers were frozen in the half marathon in 12/05. I've read somewhere that there is something you can put on your shoes to keep out the breeze so I need to find out what it is. And, someone told me my hands would be much warmer if I wore mittens rather than gloves so I need to look for some of those. He was a guy who grew up near Chicago and ran frequently, and, when it was real cold, he wore ski gloves to run in.

I'm not trying to get you guys to worry because I'm figuring Chicago will be a bit warmer than Minneapolis, don't you think? And last year in Chicago when it was so cold, the marathon was about two weeks later than it is this year so all should be fine with layers. Minneapolis just seems like it is much farther north but I'd better go look at a map.