There is no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. -- John Ruskin
>> 29 December 2009
Do you like bad weather?
Do you like rain, fog, gray drizzle? Do you like humid and cold weather conditions?
I used to dislike that kind of weather very much.
It curls up my hair. I have to carry an umbrella, which tends to always be in the car when I'm in the office or vice versa.
People are aggressive on the street hurrying, trying to get past me into the dry and warm safety of the next shop. Malls are over filled with people escaping boredom at home. I am cold and wet when outside and too hot and sticky when inside.
People are often in a bad mood. And even when they are not, they are still complaining about the weather.
I used to be one of them.
Now I have come to like this weather. I don't love it to pieces, but I really appreciate it.
How come?
Well, I started running.
And with a busy schedule and hence limited time to run, I have the choice sometimes between running outside in the rain or in the basement on the treadmill.
I used to choose the treadmill: no need to put on 3 layers of clothing, no coming home all wet and muddy, being able to stop when I felt like it (which is usually a lot earlier than what a good exercising plan recommends), being able to watch tv or listen to an audiobook while running... The advantages are numerous.
But it is also very boring to run inside and especially on a treadmill.
And I have come to like the diversity of running outside in all kinds of weather.
I ran through a snowy landscape a few days ago. The wind was blowing snowflakes in my face. The fields were a different kind of white depending on whether they were pure soil, or grass, or left over weeds.
It smelled like winter. Like Christmas. Like holidays when I was a kid building igloos in our back yard.
I ran through icy rain today. Just a slight drizzle, putting a layer of little droplets on my lashes.
The ground was still frozen solid in certain places and I sometimes had to walk, or escape onto the grassy and less slippery side of the road. I could not run at my usual pace, but it gave me a whole new and different workout.
In the forest it was dead quiet except for those big raindrops that gather on a leaf and fall off when the load becomes too heavy. When they hit your face it's like someone dropped a goblet of water on you.
There was absolutely noone around and I felt alone, but in a good way.
When I get home from a run in the outdoors, I feel good.
The kind of good you felt as a child when you had been playing outside, climbing trees the whole afternoon.
The kind of good you feel when you have accomplished something and are proud of yourself.
The kind of good that can make you go on for another 5K, climb a high mountain, master an almost impossible task, do what you thought was impossible.
Yes, that kind of good.
And that is why I like bad weather, because in some weird way, it makes me feel really good.
Oh, and it also has the added advantage of making you less bored and aggressive :-)
And we could all use that...
So next time the weather is bad, and you're bored and feeling kind of edgy, go outside and brave the elements.
I guarantee you that you will like it. And if not, if it did not make you see things from a different angle, let me know and I will send you a free gift that will.
