As we hit the cold, wet days of early winter, these last couple of weeks has seen an upswing in heavy rainfall. If you’re anything like me, at this time of year your weather app gets heavy usage as you hunt for any dry window in a day to go for that training run (and if you’re really like me, hang that washing out!). But what if the rain doesn’t look like letting up? The desire for many runners to ‘just skip this one and wait it out’ is strong (full disclosure: I’m one of those runners 🤫). Here are 7 quick tips (from experience) on how to make yourself lace up and go for that run in the rain.
1. Keep your starting temperature feeling like it did in summer
Ok, I don’t mean those really hot summer days, where you start already too hot. I’m referring to the nice temperate summer days 🙂.
Starting with a light jacket or other long-sleeved layer can fend off the chill of cool/cold water hitting you before you’re warmed up. You can drop the outer layer as you get into your run and heat up beyond what feels comfortable.
Keep this layer on the outside of a t-shirt or vest so it is easy to remove. Wearing a long sleeved layer under a t-shirt or vest makes removal harder!
2. Wear a showerproof or waterproof jacket
This might sound obvious, but I see so many people trying to stay dry by wearing long sleeves (like the pics above 😆), even if its a cotton or technical layer. These are more designed to keep you warm than dry, which is often not the main issue with early winter rain running.
A showerproof jacket will keep you dry in light rainfall. You might need to go full waterproof for heavier downpours – invest in something that is still light to wear/carry.
3. The same applies to other non-showerproof/waterproof clothing (e.g., buffs, gloves, etc.)
These are good starters to keep you feeling less exposed to the cold rain to start with. However, as they absorb the water they will only serve to make you feel colder, especially if you keep them on once you stop running. So strip them off and carry them/stow them away once they lose their heat providing properties.
A good excuse to shop for water repelling options? For example, there are plenty of waterproof running gloves out there. This sort of gear tends to have thermal properties too so not always the best option on warm wet days but, in Scotland at least, we are past that point anyway.
On wet but not very cold runs, I’ll often employ a cycle of gloves on/gloves off/gloves off/gloves on approach. It’s not as annoying as it sounds.
4. Remind yourself you are waterproof
You’re precious, I get it, but seriously, you won’t dissolve by running in the rain 😉
5. Embrace the soaking!
Whether you are running trails or road, the chances are you are encountering big puddles, and often at the mercy of vehicles ploughing through puddles as you pass by on the street.
Don’t waste energy trying to avoid all of this. Get into a ‘bring it on’ mindset and let the water splash up as well as tumble down! Channel your inner child – we all loved a puddle splash when we were young!
Really don’t want to get splashed by every car that drives by? Try to dodge soakings by employing a Fartlek training approach. This is where you frequently change up your run speed in a single run. So go ahead and race that van so you get past the puddle before it gets to it, or intentionally slow down so to let the bus go first. The odds are high that you’ll not notice at least one puddle though and you and vehicle shall pass in the eye of the very tiny tsunami 🌊
6. Warm up before you go outside
Jump on an indoor bike. Do a few minutes of running on the spot. Fire out some squats. Annoy the neighbours with a few rounds of jumping jacks. Do whatever gets the heart rate and body temperature up and you might find getting out into the rain positively inviting.
7. Think of it as potential race day training
In Scotland we are used to training and preparing to run races and running events in all weather conditions at ANY time of the year 😅. A bucket of rain during a sunny June race is no more surprising than it is in the dark depths of December.
If you avoid running in the rain during your training, you are depriving yourself of a valuable resilience and character building opportunity as a runner. This is something I have to tell myself all the time 🫣
Bonus tip: Get a running coach
A running coach is unlikely to let you off the hook with training just because it’s raining! You will still have runs scheduled that you have accountability for completing. Do you really want to confess that you didn’t do it because there was some drizzle in the air? Nah, didn’t think so!
Want or need that accountability? Check out our run coaching plans and apply to become one of our esteemed run coaching clients. We can help keep you running in all weathers, even when you ‘don’t want to’!
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