Have you ever heard the saying “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing”?  This is a very suitable proverb for those of us living in good old blighty (the UK).

Not convinced?  Think about this… have you ever been skiing?  What was the temperature?  It was probably pretty cold, maybe even snowing, and yet you were there by choice, and paying for the privilege.  You were probably wrapped up well with special clothing, and the cold was kept at bay – hey, hopefully you even enjoyed yourself despite the cold weather.

Enoy the outdoors in almost any weather

So what if you’re scheduled an outdoors workout and it’s cold and/or wet (quite a regular occurrence in this country, regardless of the season!)?  The answer is to equip yourself with layers.  There are some excellent technical fabrics available now, so firstly, choose a wick-away top for close to the skin, as you don’t want to get sweaty and soggy.  On top of this layer, add wind and waterproof layers with maybe an additional warm layer in between if needed.  You may need gloves and a hat too if it’s really cold or wet, and don’t forget your legs – long leggings with maybe a second layer on your legs too.  Make sure you can move freely.  You don’t want too much clothing restricting your movement.  With this preparation you’ll be warm as toast.  A word of warning though, don’t wear too much or you may find yourself shedding layers as you run and get too warm.  Experiment, and you’ll get to know what’s right for you.

OK OK I will concede that there are some occasions when the weather really is against us.  For example the snow we had earlier this year where we had heavy snow, followed by a partial thaw, followed by a further freeze and more snow.  This made very tough conditions to get about, let alone run.  However, most days, the weather can be inclement, but with the right clothing you can easily get out and do your workout.

So, when you’re appropriately dressed, you can get out into the fresh air, and yes, even enjoy it.