- While we all enjoy running in the perfect weather/temperature there are many benefits to challenging ourselves to run in less than ideal weather (ex: rain, snow, cold/hot) which include:
- Increases mental toughness: learning to endure different weather when running improves grit and ability to push through difficult moments in a run.
- Helps you for feeling prepared for any kind of weather on a race day: nothing new on race day applies to weather too, so testing out how to adjust your runs to different kinds of weather helps immensely in creating a good race day strategy.
- Lets you test out running gear that will allow you to adapt to weather: take the opportunity to try rain jackets, layers, gloves, different shoes to help adapt to the elements. This may take some trial and error, for example some running gear is great on a dry day but can be problematic in the rain.
- Encouraging overall consistency in training by not letting weather derail your plan.
- Benefits of running in the rain/snow: can help you improve form by forcing you to focus more on foot placement when encountering slippery roads.
- Benefits of running in the cold: improves endurance/cardiovascular fitness since your body doesn’t need to work as hard to cool you down and can help strengthen your immune system.
- Benefits of running in the heat: increases volume of plasma, improves VO2max, and can greatly benefit running performance when cooler weather arrives (fall PRs are often made in summer training).
- Important: while challenging yourself to run in less than ideal weather conditions can be helpful, safety is always the greatest concern. Never run in unsafe conditions including when there is lightening, roads/sidewalks are too slippery to be safe (ex: lots of ice), or when its too hot/humid/cold to run even with appropriate gear. Treadmill runs or an extra rest day are a much better choice than risking injury.
