I have one favorite season. I call it "Not Winter". Heat? No problem. Humidity? Okey dokey. Rain? Bring it on. Snow? Ain't nobody got time for that.
Now, look. I've lived in the Midwest my entire life. You'd think that I'd either be used to or, at least, embrace the seasonal changes. But when we get that first rude awakening from that crazy old coot, Mother Nature, that winter is coming (cue the GoT theme song), I want to assume the fetal position and cry myself to sleep.
So I've decided to break down the three main reasons why winter running just flat-out sucks.
It's cold
You know what's dumb? Walking out the door and
having cold wind smack you square in the face. When it's summer, all I need is a pair of short black running shorts (all I own are short black running shorts), socks, shoes and sunglasses. I'm going to sweat my ass off whether it's 70 or 90 degrees. But, in winter? It all depends on how cold it is. On that particular day, it might be 30, sunny and not windy. Or, it might be 14, windy and sleeting. Then there's the wind chill that's a factor. Hence, reason #1 why winter can suck it.
It might be icy.
You know what's never happened in the other seasons (aside from maybe a freak late spring or early fall snowstorm)? Falling on your biscuit because of ice. Ice is the only thing worse than snow. And I loathe snow. And, it can be super tricky! Black ice is no joke. Maybe you're lucky and don't fall if you slip, but you look kinda silly trying to keep your balance. Reason two: check.
It's dark
"I love getting off of work at 5 pm and feeling like a run only to find that it's pitch black outside", said no one ever. And it's not like 6 am is any better. The days are short and sunlight is precious. So, you either have to run during the day (which is great, if it's an option), don a headlamp and hope you don't fall on ice (see reason #2), or treadmill it. To further the point of how much of a bummer the darkness is, we're not even putting up a pic of it. Reason three? You bet.
Given the two options of favorite seasons - "winter", or "anything but winter", what's your fave? Are you a cold weather runner, or do you prefer the heat like us? Weigh in with your comments!