{5} Reasons I Don't Run in the Winter

I am very much a fair weather runner.  I don’t run in the winter/cold and I have reasons.  What I consider very good reasons.  At least good enough to justify my semi-laziness to myself and that’s really exactly as good as they need to be.

I hate breathing in the cold
It hurts my lungs/throat/chest to breath heavy in the cold.  People say you get used to that or it gets better…but I’ve never gotten to that point.  I just hurts to run in the cold.
         
I really enjoyed not scheduling my days around running
Over the summer and early fall I was running 4 days a week super consistently.  I started running in the mornings Monday, Wednesday, and Friday which meant with getting up, working out, eating breakfast, getting Luke around, getting some things done around the house, then running for 30-60 minutes, recovering, showering, keeping Luke happy…there went our whole morning.  We rarely leave the house after quiet time because I hate rush hour or shopping when other people are so if we don’t leave the house in the morning it’s probably not going to happen.  With working that left us one free morning a week for playdates or the zoo or whatever.  And it worked out but also, I really really really don’t miss scheduling my days around running.

I don’t want to subject Luke to the cold
I had Luke with me for almost every run I did this year, Sundays being about the only exception.  By our October and November runs he’d be pretty cold by the end, despite pants, a coat, and a blanket.  With the sunset around 5pm (when Matt gets home most days), if I were to run in the winter I’d pretty much have to take Luke with me and subject him to the cold.  And that just seems mean.  It’s ALLLL for his benefit…

It’s not swimsuit season – it’s pretty rare I wear a swimsuit between Labor Day and Memorial Day weekends.  Therefore, I don’t feel like I have to be in as good of shape.  I’m more ok with a few extra pounds hidden under clothes since I’m wearing clothes basically 100% of the time.   And about 4 layers at that.

We don’t have a treadmill 
Even if we could get one for free, and we could fit it down our basement stairs (around 3 tight turns), I don’t think we have enough clearance down there that I could run without hitting my head.  And I’m not willing to give up any floor space on our main floor for one.  So no winter running for me!

My last run was a week before Thanksgiving, when we had a couple of wonderful 70° days.  That’s exactly my kind of running weather.  Then we packed away the jogging stroller in the attic, moved the patio furniture onto the porch, and hunkered down for winter.  Which showed up, with snow, less than 12 hours later.  If we get any of those crazy 60° days right before Christmas, like last year, then I  might be dragging out a stroller and pushing Luke along on a run.  But otherwise, I’m done until February or March, or April, whenever the nice days return!  

How about you?  Can you tolerate running in the winter?  Do you find my excuses wimpy?  Are you going to tell me running in snow is fun? (I don’t believe ANYONE who says that.)