Running outside in the winter in NE Ohio is never easy but, with the right motivation, it can be satisfying:
- No crowded trails!
- No kidding, who else is crazy enough to bundle up, face the wind chill and plod through the snow.
- Solitude.
- No mothers with their baby carriages three abreast blocking the trail, no dog walkers with 10-foot leashes to trip over and no rug rats running heedlessly across, around and in front of you.
- Awesome glory!
- Friends and family commenting “Wow, you actually went outside and ran today?”
- Burning more calories.
- Actually, this is a fallacy. Shivering burns calories but you dress properly and within 10 minutes you’re all warmed up. Oh well, its fun pretending. Ignorance is bliss.
- No need to be fashion conscious.
- Not important but even less so in the winter. For one thing, who’s going to see you anyway and secondly how can you possibly afford all those extra clothes to be matching?
- Clothes don’t smell.
- You can wear the same outfit 3 days in a row and no one notices! Can’t do that in the summer (at least not without offending someone).
- Get a daily dose of vitamin D.
- Save money. No need to buy vitamin D pills. You get all you need on a 45 minute run on a sunny day.
- A great antidote for SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).
- There is nothing quite like an invigorating run outside in the cold (despite a runny nose) to improve your mood and provide an energy boost.
