In November and December winter is kind of awesome. The snow seems kind of magical, serenely blanketing everything in a layer of bright white. The cold air feels crisp and invigorating. The first few snowfalls put my holiday spirit into overdrive. Running through fresh powder makes you feel like a bad ass.
And then January comes. And suddenly living on the ice planet
Hoth sounds less than ideal (nerd alert). Runs are missed because the windchill is -15 and there is 8 inches of fresh snow. Or there is an ice storm and the sidewalks are now an ice rink. It's okay though, because spring is right around the corner. Right?
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| Yes. Feels like -24. That is frost on my hat. |
No. February sucks too. I think February was actually colder than January this past year. And by this point I am so exhausted from the constant piling on of layers and rearranging my training plans that it is just easier to say, "Nope! I'm staying inside." Motivation is at an all time low. Winter sucks. I hate it. And we still have to get through March.
Two years ago I tried to combat this by doing the
Holiday Running Streak from Thanksgiving to New Years. I thought, that will get me through the holiday parties and then New Years resolutions will keep me on track while I get my half marathon training started. Nope. Didn't happen. I hated the running streak. HATED. I will not do one again. It turned running into a chore and when January hit I had zero interest in running.
Last year I discovered the
Winter Running Game. I love, love, LOVE it! Basically you get points for every run that you log. The longer the run and the worse the weather conditions are the more points you get. The site explains how the points are rewarded, but the built in calculator does all the work for you. Just enter the time spent running, the feels-like temperature, and precipitation (if any).
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| Earning those points! |
The game started on Monday, but you can join anytime before 12/13/2015. If you want more information you should check out
this thread on Runner's World. It really helped keep me motivated last year and I am hopeful that it will do the same this year. If you struggle with the motivation to get outside during the winter you should definitely check it out.
...aaaaand then there are those of us who are training for marathons during the winter. I assume it wouldn't be fair for us to participate in the game? :-)
ReplyDeleteI've never had trouble being motivated to run in the winter. Bundling up does get annoying, but I don't mind the cold and the snow. I have a much harder time getting motivated to run during the summer when it's 80 degrees and 90% humidity.
Actually there are three divisions to choose from based on your mileage/weather conditions. If I recall correctly from last year there are plenty of other runners running 60+ mile weeks.
DeleteDon't forget you also have the benefits of an indoor track and the treadmill when the weather is super bad. I can't afford such luxuries, lol.
I find January and February really de-motivating too, and I'm not even a runner so I can only imagine what kind of willpower it takes to get outside during those months! This winter challenge sounds like a fun idea!
ReplyDeleteI think dealing with January and February was worse when I wasn't a runner. Being stuck inside all of the time sucks.
DeleteThis is such a good idea! I'm crossing my fingers that the weather here doesn't get too bad. We definitely won't get snow, but we have gotten really bad ice storms which makes it impossible to run outside.
ReplyDeleteYeah when ice storms roll through there is really nothing that can be done. We usually only get 1-2 a year so it isn't too bad. I used to have family in NC and I know they got a lot of freezing rain/ice in the winter.
DeleteI just clicked over to look at the points system. It's extremely possible it will never get below 50 degrees here so I probably won't be earning any points :D
ReplyDeleteNow if we could do a summer version of it where I could earn points for every run over 90 degrees before the sun rises I could rack up the points! haha
I actually think they changed it so that any run over 30 minutes gets you 2 points, regardless of the temperature.
DeleteBut yeah, it really isn't set up for someone in Florida :)
Ummm that is the greatest idea EVER! I'm currently injured but I live in Alaska and could see this being a huge motivator for me. Although last winter and the start of this winter were both warm and icy which are the worst conditions for outdoor running so we'll see how much I get outside in the next month. I draw the line at ice, there is no way I'm going to risk getting hurt!
ReplyDeleteOk not to creep back here, but I just signed up! I'm RunAwayWithKK and I'm in the windchill division (cold but a moderate runner). Even if it takes me a while to get back to running, I'm looking forward to logging lots of miles in 2016!
DeleteI'm in windchill too (as shoesrun50 or something). It is on!
Deletejk :)
I won't run on ice either. It just isn't worth the risk.