Reasons to Love Running in the Cold

To be fair I am hardly an expert on cold and this is probably a pretty disingenuous post if you live anywhere above that much maligned Mason Dixon Line.  Who do I think I am? I live in Georgia and I post "reasons to love running in the cold."  Let me clarify.  Cold, like running, is a wholly individual experience to each person.  Ask someone from Tampa when they pull out the sweaters and they will say 75.  To be fair we have seen snow a few times in the 30 or so years I have lived here.  Probably would not run out of fingers counting those, given the good fortune to still possess all 10 of mine.  Cold weather, and let's go all out inclement weather, is more fun here.  I mean they don't name every snow or ice storm in Pennsylvania.  Not true in Atlanta.  Did you live through Snow Jam 1993?    Anyway, cold being highly interpretive, I enjoy the relief from the oppressive heat and unbelievable humidity that marks summer in the south.  Also for the record the whole thing about thinning blood is an absolute scientific fact so what is 50 to you may well be 37 to a long time resident of the south.

Why I Love Running in the Cold

1) Long sleeves and running tights means my nearly translucent Irish skin is fully covered.  No reason to explain that it is not a white reflecting body suit shining off the headlights in the morning: just my skin.
2) Compression gear.  It compresses, I am a woman, enough said.
3) Breathing, you totally undervalue this skill until May in Atlanta.  Then you really miss it until around October. 
4) Finally being able to sit through a meeting without having to run to the bathroom every 5 minutes.  There is hydrating for everyday running in the cold.  Then there is hydrating, as a survival skill so your post work 3 miler isn't actually the last time you will ever speak to your husband, even though the humidity dropped to just below 155%. 
5) Less people.  Let's face it a lot of folks are wimping it out on their treadmills.  Come on toughen up.
6) Running faster.  I need to rev my metabolism to warm my body up so I got to kick it up a notch. Plus see breathing above.  It turns out, if you can breathe you can actually run faster. File that under learn something new everyday.
7) Cold weather happens to coincide with the holidays and holiday eating so if I want to continue to look like this I better love running in the cold.  Among great philosophical questions should be: "Would I rather run in the cold or run fat?"  No need to ask right, Ladies?  That's why they make winter running clothes so cute.
9) I sweat less.  If this does not seem like a big deal, then you do not sweat like I do.  In fact in the winter my husband does not even run away from me when I come in from my run yelling "take a shower!"  And rarely has to pick up my running clothes with tongs.
8) This one is very important! Apparently cold helps you age more slowly.  So I could be warm on my treadmill but looking 10 years older or I could put on my cute winter running clothes and give myself nature's free botox. 


Hopefully all of this reminds you why you need to lace up and head out into the "spa" provider by old man winter.  That name is kind of ironic, huh?