As runners, we always hope and pray for a race that it perfect in all aspects. A great course, plenty of bathrooms, enough water stations, organization, and perfect running weather. But, since you never known what you’ll get come race day, I believe in running through the elements. Luckily, unlike many of my friends, I absolutely love running in the winter. Whether it’s running through snow covered trails or just seeing my breath as I dash through the city streets, there is something about it that is peaceful and refreshing. Or, maybe it has to do with my treadmill aversion these days.
Regardless, I’ve talked about winter running a time or two before on the blog as you can see from these two posts.
But, now it’s time to talk about running in the sleet and rain as yesterday I experienced a whole new type of winter running! Liz and I had plans to knock out our long run in Central Park or along the West Side Highway together yesterday morning before work as we had Friday night double date plans and wanted to sleep in Saturday morning. On Thursday night, as I walked home from the subway station with sleet pelting my face, I feared that Liz was going to cancel. I mean really, not many people crave winter running the way I do, especially when they are new to running. But, instead she texted me saying how excited she was and that she’d meet me bright and early. I gave her a few tips and said I’d see her soon.
At 5am, I heard a snowy, sleet mix pelting the windows and figured once again that she’d bail. But, at 5:45 on the dot I met her ready for a great run. 
The whole entire thing could have easily been a disaster as it was definitely wet in New York City yesterday whether you were downtown where it was slushy mix or uptown where the snow was actually accumulating.
Due to the elements, we altered our course to avoid the wind on the river. Instead, we headed up towards Central Park on Park Avenue, taking advantage of the quiet streets, and then ran through Central Park’s winter wonderland for 2.5 miles before heading back downtown. There were moments when running up Park Avenue felt like I was back in Switzerland running up the Saleve due to the wind gusts and pelting snow making it almost impossible to move forward. Less than half way through we both noticed how much we were engaging our core and quad muscles to ensure we didn’t slip.
I have no idea what pace we kept since my Garmin went a bit crazy due to the city streets and sleet. But, I do know that we completed 7.2 of our planned 8 miles and loved every moment of it! The run made us both feel stronger and more confident as we know we can take anything come next weekend when we run our half marathons. We were able to conquer a few more rolling hills than initially planned by getting into the park and the cold sleet made us sprint through a few of the intersections in the city as we had no desire to stand idly waiting for lights to change.
So, as Spring does it’s best to approach and you’re faced with less than ideal conditions, don’t give into the treadmill. Head outside into the elements and give it your best effort! I guarantee you you’ll finish your workout with a huge smile and feel like you can conquer the world!
Great post! I’ve run through the winter this year, including a bit of snow but today’s rain in my area almost scared me away. I went out when there was a break in the rain and actually made it most of my run without getting too wet. There were lots of puddles, but always a new running adventure!
Thanks Katie! I’m so glad you had a great run even though there was some rain. You have a great outlook- always a new running adventure for SURE!
Great tips Ashley! I usually dress in layers for my winter runs, but never included a waterproof/resistant jacket before. Lesson learned after eight damp miles a few weeks back. Now I’ll always have one ready to go.
Thanks Maureen! Yup, I learned the hard way and since then have dressed in layers with the wind breaker!