QT: Too Cold to Run? Stay In and Still Make Progress (Best Of-ish)

This post was originally part of Episode 514 from January 2018 and is more or less copy and pasted from that post. The audio, however, is a new take on a previous topic.

Thanks, in large part at least, to climate change there is some seriously cold weather crushing many parts of the country at the moment. (Or at least there was the first time this topic was discussed…)

It’s been bad enough in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere in the past week or so, that even many of my hardiest of cold weather running friends and clients have been forced into the treadmill on more than a few occasions.

And the soft as butter Floridians? Yeah, they are losing their minds! 

#truthinmemes

Is It Ever Too Cold to Run Outside?

In a word, yes.

Ultimately, it comes down to the gear that you have.

As friend of the show Jenn Walton is fond of saying:

There’s no such thing as bad weather, just improper gear.

That said, even our friend from the Canadian prairie with proper winter running hear hit the treadmill a few times in the past week or two because it was below -40C (funny enough, that’s -40F as well) and that is where she draws the line.

Now, I’m not saying for a second that you should wait until is -40 to forgo running outside.

I just want to say, for the record, that each person has a point where it becomes too cold for them to run outside.

And that’s ok.

Make Some Lemonade

When it gets cold enough that you can’t safely run outside, what do you do?

Many people wind up hitting the treadmill to get their miles in.

You know where I stand when it comes to the treadmill. If you’re up for taking a spin on the hamster wheel and making a little treadmill lemonade, more power to you.

But if you’re not willing to suffer through a few miles on the conveyor belt and it’s just too cold to run outside, are you basically SOL?

Not necessarily.

Why not focus on some of those “little things” that so many runners either blow off completely or don’t do as much as they should?

Strength training. Yoga. Meal prepping. Foam rolling. Extra sleep.

If it’s too cold for you to safely run for the next few days and you’re not willing to run on the dreadmill, what are you going to do with the extra time?

Screw around on Facebook? Waste some time playing Candy Crush? Fall down the YouTube rabbit hole?

In a vacuum, there’s nothing wrong with any of those things.

But none of them are going to move you in the direction of your running goals.

Doing the little things will.

Next time it gets too cold to run outside, there are things you can do that will still keep you moving forward in the pursuit of your running goals.

What do you when it's cold AF outside and you don't want to go for a run? #runchat Click To Tweet

Which of the Many “Little Things” Do You Need to Focus on the Most?

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