Winter Running

   Hey ladies! I've got this great guest post for you all today, written by Stephen on behalf of Wynsors. It's about running during the winter. It sounds crazy - who would want to do that? - but it's probably the best time to do it. During the summer it's just too hot to get motivated, because you're probably already sticky just from thinking about working out in the heat. But during the winter, that problem doesn't exist, for most of us, and though Stephen points out how hard it can be to get motivated even then, at least you can keep yourself warm and comfortable while doing it! Not to mention it'll be quieter outside, with fewer judging eyes on you. In fact, people are more likely to salute you with respect from the comfort on the other side of the their windows.

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Winter workouts - The perfect time to start your training?

For many of us, getting out there and exercising is a tall enough order. But now the winter rolls in, the wind’s whip lashes through the streets, the rain mercilessly hammers the grounds on which we once paraded a summer shirt and sun-glasses, and the icy-cold forces its way through window panes, duffle coats and gaps in the brick work…. and you want me to run in that?!

It’s safe to say that winter is not the easiest time to get motivated to be active, but there are ways to beat the chill and stay on top of your fitness, even in the sub-zero temperatures and miserable conditions that is the British wintertime. Here are a few hints and tips to get you started:

Have a goal in mind

The reason people do anything is generally because they want to achieve something: a goal. For example I don’t boil the kettle because I love the way the steam swirls in the still air of my kitchen, it’s because I want a darn cup of tea, and I want it pronto. The philosophers call this a telos, meaning ‘an end’ or ‘a purpose’; the kettle exists because of the tea, the tea is the telos or the desired end result. This philosophy should be applied to running.

For people like me (and maybe you as well) running isn’t a joy in and of itself and as a result it can be all too easy to just see it as ‘something I should be doing for some reason or other but I forgot why’ –  but this is futile and destined for failure. Without a goal we have no focus and without focus we are doing nothing more than ambling along. Remember that it was once said that the successful person is nothing more than an average person, focused.

I suggest focusing completing a specific race (ideally a 10k) like the great north run or something similar and if you can, focus on it with a friend. That way when you wake up early on a Monday morning, rather than focus on the horrific prospect of running in the freezing half-light, you are focused on why you’re doing it and this is far more motivational. 

Have a plan to achieve that goal

Once you’ve decided on what you want to achieve, the next step to sewing up your success is planning how you’re going to get there.  Northern footwear retailer ‘Wynsors Shoes’ have taken some time to put together these training guides that cover several major distances including the 10k as well as an extended guide that goes into loads of other stuff you might not have thought of such as road safety, thinking about your diet and how to approach race day. If you open up the 10k training plan, you’ll see that it’s broken down into 8 weeks, so make sure you give yourself at least that much time to prepare for the race.

 The plan itself is structured for a beginner focusing on simply finishing the race rather than achieving a specific time, so don’t worry if people you know are running faster than you or anything like that. Just focus on your own personal goal of finishing that race and the anticipation of the sense of achievement you’ll get when you do it! And you will do it! Start today!

Remember that when you hit that obstacle first thing in the morning and you can barely open your eyes and really do not want to do it... “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” – Henry Ford