Fitness: Winter Motivation General Fitness and Running

One of the hardest parts about living in a 4 season area is the dilemma of keeping up with your running schedule during the coldest season of the year, Winter.  I have had to battle the Winter cold the last few days as the temperatures have dropped to 0 (in combination with the wind chill).  I don't want to give up my running, but sometimes you have to give a little when the weather won't cooperate with you.  I hope that this will just make me more motivated once spring rolls around!

In the meantime, I want to keep my fitness up, and I thought long and hard about how I can do this.  I want to keep running a part of my life, especially since Winter break is coming up, and I will have more time in my schedule to run.  I think some of the running will be replaced with cross-training, though.  Luckily, the month of December I will be visiting the suburbs, where I will have access to a car that can transport me to the gym during my break.  I was thinking of ways to increase my motivation during the cold weather season, and I felt it would be helpful to share with you all!  Here are some tips for both general fitness and then some for running! 

Staying Motivated during Winter:

• Get yourself a gym membership as an early Christmas gift! Don't wait until after January 1st for your New Years resolution.  With the Holidays approaching, now is a great time to keep your fitness in check so you can enjoy the holidays instead of feeling guilty for indulgences.  Indulging is apart of the experience, so even it out by sweating it out!
• Endorphins will help you mentally!  The winter-time will lower your Vitamin D levels since you aren't exposed to the sun, so you may feel a bit moodier at this time.  Release some stress by increasing your endorphin levels through exercise.
• Attend exercise classes.  Looking forward to Zumba or Spin is a great way to keep yourself wanting to go to the gym.  Having a favorite instructor can also help; it almost makes you accountable if you know they look forward to seeing you, too!
• Grab a buddy!  This way, you and your friend will make sure you don't skip out on Yoga or Thursday or Spin on Saturday morning.  You'll motivate each other and bond!
• Incorporate some strength workout with your cardio!  If you do not have time to devote hours to the gym, making sure you get a little of both is important!  Then, you burn fat and can build muscle.  Increasing your strength while working on your endurance is a great way to prepare yourself for when athletic season comes along again.
• Eat healthy!  When you feel well through nutrition, you'll feel well enough to work out! Plus, the better your nutrition, the less chance you'll come down with the flu or a cold and will have to take time off.

Winter Running Motivation:

• Hot beverages are a weird and simple motivator.  During my run yesterday, all I could think about was hot chocolate.  It actually worked!  It was the first thing I made when I got home!
• Spend a pretty penny on some running clothes.  Winter running gear is worth the splurge.  I keep it hanging for specifically runs, and wash them every 2-3 runs.  That way, I get the most out of my money and don't have to have 1 million pairs of everything.  If you spend the money, you'll want to make use of it.
• Sign up for a 5K or 10K!  Things like the Turkey Trot give you a goal that isn't too lofty during the wintertime.   
• This can also offset some of that holiday pie on Thanksgiving, since Thanksgiving morning is when the Turkey Trot is held(;
• Don't forget to layer, also.  Here are some winter running essentials that help me.
• gloves (that have the smartphone touch screen sensor, so I can change songs on my IPod)
• Hat
• scarf, face wrap
• long sleeve shirt
• long sleeve sweatshirt
• winter running jacket
• running tights
• running socks (thick and for cold weather specifically) 
• I want to get a ski mask, too.  The wind is getting to be too much.
• If you're running outdoors, the pure cold has been motivation enough to keep moving.  
• Use that treadmill when it is too cold!  Put your gym membership to use.
• Allow more cross training!  Spin is a great example.  It uses a similar type of endurance and gives you a great workout, especially if you only have a 30-45 min session to spare.  
• Try interval work.  Gives you the best workout in a short amount of time!  You want heart-rate manipulation to get the most effective workout in small increments of time.
• Swap out speed work for distance work when running outside.  As much as I love distance running, I do not want to spend hours on end in the freezing cold working on my distance endurance.   I created a winter goal for myself instead: increasing my speed.
• I do interval workouts outside.  I run normal pace for 3 minutes, then I increase my pace for 1 minute.  This makes my run go by pretty quickly, also.  
• If you are looking to keep your distance in check, save the distance running for the treadmill.

What keeps you motivated during the cold weather?  Comment if you have any tips to share!