Why is winer running so hard?

Winter is coming, dare I tempt fate with the fact that it’s not here yet though? Which means winter running is just around the corner. Here’s the thing winter runs are still great runs they are just a little less great than other times of year. You might find that you are slower in the winter, that you can’t go as far and it makes you more tiered. Here’s the thing in the winter you need to be going easier on yourself. If you know all about why winter running is so hard it’s a lot more likely that you will feel less critical of yourself. So these are at least some of the reasons winter running kinda sucks, (but it’s still better than no run at all.)

Temperature

Let’s get the big one out of the way and yes this does influence a lot of the other factors on here. Actually really all of them. But… the temperature on it’s own is a hard one. It’s hard to want to go outside, to dress in all those layers and to cover your neck and maybe mouth and nose just to deal with it. When it’s even a little bit cold out I want to put on my warmest PJ’s, tuck in under a blanket on the couch and knit something fuzzy. If I do have to go outside I would like to wear, I kid you not, 2 pairs of socks and pants, ski pants, one shirt a sweater, neck warmer, a puffy jacket and occasionally 2 hats. I would ideally like to trap several layers of air between me and the outside world to insulate me and keep me warm. So why do I tell you all this well, when you go running you can’t really wear all your clothes. You have to step out and be cold at first. Even though you’re shivering at first and you’ll be warmed up in about 5 minuets but initially stepping out there in to the cold is still brutal!

Lungs

When you first start your running journey you might remember that feeling where your lungs were on fire while you ran. Well in winter even though you’re much better conditioned now that terrible feeling…