You shouldn't need a race as an excuse to get out and run in the cold. Colorado Track XC file photo.
In case you hadn't noticed (or you live west of the Front Range where the real cold hasn't yet penetrated), it's been rather cold around these parts lately. And, for many of you, that means your will to get out and run is approaching low tide. Think of this as resetting the frame of your perspective. You know you should be running, now here are 10 good reasons why:
10. There’s an old cliché that says, “Champions are those people who’ve made a habit of doing things other people don’t like to do.” As much as I’m weary of seeing that quote at the bottom of people’s e-mails, it does happen to be true. The people who get ahead in life, any aspect of life, are generally those who purposely endure prolonged discomfort to get there. Running one day in the cold won’t make you a champion, but habitually ditching the run when it gets cold outside will definitely keep you from becoming a champion.
9. That sting on your face goes away after a while. The worst part about running in the cold is getting started in the cold. Once you get working, most of the burning sensation of the cold goes away in a hurry. This is what people of a former generation meant when they said, “The great thing about chopping wood in the winter is that it warms you twice.” The sting on their faces when they started chopping was just as real as the burn on your face when you start running.
8. Although it is a pleasure known only to males, there’s no feeling quite like finishing a run with an icicle beard. The mere thought of having one again is almost enough to make me want to regrow my beard. An almost-as-cool substitute for those who can’t grow a beard, or can’t grow one fast enough for the occasion, can be produced by wrapping a thin scarf around the lower half of your face for the run. Tuck it in under your stocking hat in back to help keep it in place.
7. Nobody ever felt bad about themselves after conquering the elements for an hour-long winter run. Once you stop telling yourself it’s not fun, a curious sort of enjoyment of the experience starts to settle in. It’s actually quite similar to the feeling you had the first time you realized that running is as much fun as it is work.
6. The benefits of aerobic exercise are not solely long-term benefits. One of the first things a run does is relieve stress. And that benefit works just as well in the cold as it does when things are warm outside, maybe even better.
5. You have all that cold weather gear in your closet and dresser, anyway, so why not use it? You forfeit all the warrior points you thought you earned for buying the stuff if you never put it on and put it to good use.
4. You see the coolest things on a cold, winter run. I’ve seen weasels, deer, elk, mice, moose, coyotes, fox, rabbits, and just about every species of bird imaginable on cold, winter runs. I’ve seen mouse tracks stop in the snow at precisely the point where two wing prints brushed away the snow on either side. But I’ve never negotiated trail ownership rights with a cantankerous rattlesnake on a cold, winter run. The world is a different place with a blanket of chill and a mantle of snow.
3. There is a vastly disproportionate number of accomplished runners in this nation who come from the northern tier of states than from the southern states. And, I would remind you that no team from a warm-weather state has ever won the NXN girls race. There’s something special that happens to people who consistently brave the elements to get their runs in.
2. Running in the cold will not make you sick. It is a great myth that refuses to die, but sickness is not caused by going outside in the cold. Never has been, never will be. If you were just plain stupid and went outside and spent all your body’s reserves shivering to try to stay warm with little or nothing on, you might become more vulnerable to sickness. And you could potentially die from hypothermia or exposure. But sickness is caused when people exchange germs and viruses in close contact in warm, crowded places. Please, before you die, disabuse yourself of the notion that being outside in the cold causes you to get sick. Do you want to stay healthier during the winter months? Spend more time outside, not less.
1. Cold weather is adversity. Make a habit of conquering adversity in your life instead of complaining about it. You’ll enjoy the crowd that starts to gather around you.