Tips for Remaining Active in Gloomy and Rainy Weather

The Seattle area has a reputation for being notoriously gloomy and rainy, but I actually consider this a bit of a misconception. In the several years that I have lived here, I've learned that even though the forecast may call for rain, it's often for only part of the day, and frequently the clouds clear out to let some beautiful sunlight through. Our summers are sunny and gorgeous, and spring and fall are usually quite beautiful. Even during the winter months, I often find plenty of sunny or at least partially sunny days to soak up some Vitamin D.

That said, it has been a particularly gray and damp couple of winter months with average rainfall quite a bit higher than usual. Even though I'm a huge fan of the rain and don't mind the gloom for a few days in a row, I admit that this has been a tough winter and I am officially ready for some sunny skies.

Staying active is critical to keeping my mental health in check, and it's especially important with the dark and gloomy weather. So how exactly does one stay motivated to exercise when it makes more sense to hibernate with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book by the fireplace? I often talk to others about how difficult it can be to get yourself out the door with less-than-ideal weather conditions, and I feel like I have found some pretty good tricks for getting myself outside even in the worst of Seattle weather:

1. Create an activity/workout schedule. Write it down on your phone calendar, and use reminders that annoyingly chime at you when it's time to get moving. Carve time out of your day and set it aside for working out. Knowing the activity is planned and seeing it on my schedule makes it very difficult for me to ignore, and having a set plan really helps me be successful in getting out the door even on the worst of days.
2. Plan to meet a friend (or several). I cannot recommend finding a running group or a workout buddy enough. It's so much easier to get myself out the door when I know that my friends will be out there suffering in the pouring rain with me. Remember: misery loves company.
3. Dress for the weather. I've mentioned this on more than one occasion because it can make ALL THE DIFFERENCE between a good run and a horrible one. Invest in a good running jacket specifically made to handle the wind and rain. Get yourself a good base layer for those cold days, find yourself a decent pair of tech running gloves, and buy that dorky buff and running beanie to protect your neck and head from the elements. Embrace the running gear and accept that you're going to look a little ridiculous and mismatched sometimes. It's worth it for the comfort.
4. Sign up for a race (or several). In the middle of winter. Yes, just do it. Accept that it's going to be cold and likely a soaking wet set of miles, but having a goal gives meaning and purpose to those awful-weather training runs.
5. Cross train the heck out of the winter. Give yourself a break from the cold and find a hot yoga class to try. Accept that it's going to hurt and applaud yourself for doing it anyway. If yoga isn't your thing, try something else: CrossFit, Zumba, barre classes, swimming, tennis, a pilates or aerobics video, heck - even a stairclimber. There are so many options for cross training, and you don't have to break the bank or even leave your house to sneak a quick cross training workout in. 
6. Have a back-up workout plan. Running through a thunderstorm isn't a bright idea. Trust me, I've been that idiot. If severe weather hits during your planned workout, have an alternative plan ready to go. My backup is to either hit up a power yoga class or make it an impromptu ABS DAY. 

   

   My core was on fire, hence the constipated-looking strain
   on my face. Robot Capris and Crane Shirt by INKnBURN.

7. Follow the 10-Minute Rule. I wish I could credit the original brain behind this idea, but alas, I cannot remember where I read it. One of my favorite tricks on the 'but I don't want to do this!' days is to tell myself, "Look, Self, give it ten minutes. You can handle ten minutes of near-freezing rain and wind in your face. After ten minutes of this heinous torture, you can turn around and tell me 'I told you so'." Honestly? I have never once stopped at that ten-minute mark. Ten minutes is enough time to get your body warmed up and past that initial full-body moaning and groaning, and it's also enough activity to get those endorphins fired up, which totally fake you into believing that the cold torrential downpour you're running through isn't so bad after all. 
8. Give mud a chance. Don't be a hater. Everyone deserves a little love, even unattractive terrain. If you know it's going to be wet and gross outside, why not add a little mud to the equation? Find a trail, squeeze a pair of gators onto your ankles, and go splash through some muddy puddles. Consider it a right of passage and high-five your running buddy. Remember to take selfies. Bragging rights, y'all. 

   

   Obligatory trail-running selfie.

9. Plan a date. My weekend running group meets for coffee and donuts after our morning long-distance run, and the thought of a coffee date on a runner's high is often enough of a motivator for me to get my rear end out the door even on a miserable cold and rainy morning. 
10. Stalk your weather app. I'm a huge weather geek and always have one eye on my weather apps. Even though the prediction calls for rain, it often does not necessarily mean it will be raining all day. On most days I manage to find a mostly dry or light-rain spot predicted at some point. If you have a flexible schedule, have your running gear nearby and get outside when your app says there is a low chance of showers.

I'd love to hear your tips for getting outdoors when the weather is uncooperative. Some days I still struggle to get myself outdoors, so new motivation is always appreciated!

Eleven Days and Counting

I'm not entirely sure I trust the research that states a habit is formed in about 21 days because I feel it's a bit of a one-size-fits-all concept, but being ten days away from that magic number makes me feel somewhat confident that my New Year's resolutions of daily meditation and removing my sweat-soaked workout clothes from the bathtub once they're finished drying are actually sustainable goals.

To keep track of meditations, I have an app on my phone called "Calm" that I highly recommend. Each day, there is a 10-minute meditation that focuses on a positive message in addition to a ton of guided meditations that target whatever you feel you need to focus on at any given moment. One of my favorite features is a section called "Sleep Stories", which is a collection of bedtime stories that lull you to sleep. Yes, you read that correctly. I know it sounds weird, but it actually works really well for me. I've mentioned before that I'm a terrible sleeper, and I have noticed a significant difference in my ability to both fall and stay asleep when I listen to them.

I am so incredibly zen. Look at that, y'all!

My two resolutions were so simple that I inadvertently added a third one without giving it much thought: writing down my daily exercise. I prefer to get some form of exercise seven days a week, and a bare minimum exercise week for me involves five days of some form of deliberate activity - running, walking, yoga, strengthening, and dance - but I have never been very good about keeping track of it. Using my Runner's World Training Log, I decided to jot down notes about my workout every day, which I actually found extremely motivating during last week's illness.

Admit it. You're jealous of my desktop zen
garden featuring miniature Gnomie McZen.

While I was too sick to run my usual distances, I still managed to log over 15 miles between easy runs and walking. Normally, I would feel disappointed in such low mileage, but I'm rather proud of myself for taking it easy and substituting the running with walking and gentle PT exercises that were completely doable. Writing it all down helped me stay reasonable with my activity choices and still helped me feel accomplished.

If you haven't added a resolution or two to help you get the New Year going but you would like to try adding a positive habit to your life, I really do recommend giving the exercise log and/or daily meditation a try. Like I said before, I'm not a huge fan of resolutions, but I am really enjoying these two small changes to my life.

As for the pile of workout clothes... I still hate doing laundry, but at least my bathroom looks neat and tidy.

New Year's Resolutions

I dislike New Year's resolutions. There. I said it. It's not because I think bettering oneself is bad, though; it's because I find them a little depressing. We tend to often make resolutions only to drop that new life-changing diet or extreme exercise program just weeks after embarking on an optimistic journey intended to positively impact our life in some way that we feel is lacking. The failure to uphold the resolution leaves us disappointed in ourselves, and sometimes we fall victim to allowing the bad habit or poor diet to become an exaggerated form of what it was before we made the choice to change it.

Personally, I feel this issue happens in my own life when I attempt too big of a change without allowing it to build over time. Instead, I generally try to make very small life and habit modifications when the thought occurs to me: Oh hey, you know how you leave your sweaty workout clothes draped over the side of the tub until all surface area is covered in a mound of filthy laundry? Yeah, get your act together and just throw them in the clothes bin as soon as they dry off. Ideally, I recognize that my adult self is telling my bratty teenage self that it's time to not leave my crap everywhere, and I make the choice then and there to change a bad habit.

Though I am often Type A enough to change a minor habit on a whim, there are two habits that I recognize as ongoing issues that require more attention than a simple casual decision to change.

First, I wholly admit that despite constant recognition of my bad habit, I still leave sweat-soaked clothes hanging all over the edge of the tub to dry for days on end. So gross and lazy, right? I'm a tidy person, so this behavior kind of boggles my mind.

And second, my therapist has told me on more than one occasion that I need to adopt a habit of daily meditation to help combat my anxiety disorder. I believe her because I've done it and it works really well, but for some reason I have difficulty getting myself to make it an ongoing habit.

So what am I going to do about this? Insert Operation Step Outside of My Comfort Zone. This year I decided to make not one but two freaking New Year's resolutions:

1. Daily meditation; and
2. Daily cleanup of sweaty clothes.

Truth be told, I actually cheated and started doing both of these things before the new year began. I'm hoping that because both are relatively simple-to-achieve resolutions that my inner teenager can get past her rolling eyes and keep the trend going, and I'm also hoping that I will be more conscious of making these two changes by making them official New Year's resolutions.

We'll see. I'll keep you updated. 

INKnBURN Butterfly girl says, "Ooooommmmmm...."

Saturday Morning Treat

I have a bad habit, and you are welcome to judge me harshly. On Saturday morning, I often enjoy one of these bad boys from a family-owned donut shop a mile from my house as I sip a full mug of steamy black coffee.

Yes, I realize that my deep-fried and glazed blueberry donut appears counterintuitive to the concept of health blogging, but humor me for a moment. I am a firm believer that moderation is the key to my own personal health, both physical and mental. I also sometimes eat a donut on Sunday as well *gasp*, but only after running six to ten miles. And on half marathon days, I eat ALL OF THE THINGS.

I am a big fan of the podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin. If you have never read her books or listened to her podcast, I highly recommend giving her work some attention. Her second episode posed a fascinating question: "Are you a Moderator or an Abstainer?" Like many of her "get to know yourself better" questions, I was intrigued by the inquiry. Am I the kind of person who, despite best intentions to take only a few bites of a chocolate bar, eats the whole thing in one sitting, or can I enjoy just one square a day and feel satisfied? After pondering this for part of my morning commute (distracted driving = BAD), I realized that the dark chocolate bar actually sitting in the second drawer of my desk was the perfect indicator of my tendency. I can enjoy the chocolate bar over the course of a couple of weeks, which makes me a moderator. If I were an abstainer, my weekly donut indulgence would likely lead to a few-times-per-week or even daily habit. Thus, I would need to abstain from eating donuts all together lest I turn into one myself. Hey, you are what you eat, right?

It was through this realization that I was able to define why an occasional "bad" habit does not send me down a slippery slope of butter ending in a pile of sugar and lard that follow me throughout the rest of the week. I have no struggle enjoying treats in moderation, and my Saturday morning donut provides me ten to fifteen minutes of enjoyment and satisfaction that I feel I deserve after a week of intense activities and healthy foods.

I am curious about the eating habits of other runner/yogi/dancer/swimmer/active types. Do you prefer to follow a healthy diet 99.9% of the time, or are you comfortable enjoying an occasional treat?