Running in Circles – Part 2

In an attempt to help those of you who get bored when running, this small series of posts has been created. Perhaps you may find a little pearl of wisdom that gets you going again. Here is Part 2

Whatever the Weather

Are you a fair weather runner? Do you only go out in the still, dry, daylight? Here’s how changing your habits can get you up and running more often and help you to weather the weather.

One of my absolute favourite things is running in the rain. Preferably when it’s a bit cold and dark too although as long as it’s raining I’m not too fussed.

Now, I can’t control the weather so I have to take the rain when it comes which isn’t as often as I’d like even here in the North East of England!. So when it’s not raining I need to find variety to keep me and my mind fresh.

Often I will go running at the very edges of the day such as 6am or 9pm. As we now approach the winter this means that more often than not I am running in the dark. This used to bother me (see Dark Thoughts) but now it’s actually quite nice. I have the pavements to myself and the cold of the morning is the ideal time to go for a quick half an hour run with just shorts and a t-shirt to wake you and totally refresh you too.

Running in the howling wind is also a great change and you can have great fun running with the wind at your back and pushing you and you’ll have a challenging, intense run when running into it.

Snow can provide an excellent running environment too. Be careful on ice for obvious reasons but with the right technique it can totally change your running style which may work some less used muscles. Running through the snow itself is labour intensive and therefore works your muscles harder. Find a couple of hills to slide down on your way around and it’s like being a kid again.

The point of this post is to demonstrate that weather and time of day needn’t stop you running. As long as you go out with the right mindset and a positive attitude you can definitely make the most of it mentally and get a lot out of it in terms of fitness too. If anything you will find a lot more opportunities to go running. Give it a try. The next time it rains get your running shoes on and go for it!

As an aside, I waved goodbye to my old running jacket last week as the zip disintegrated after 4 years. This forced me to run cold for a week until I replaced it. No bad thing and it kept me on my toes! Don’t be too quick to be comfortable again.