How I Learned How to Stop Worrying and Love the Cold

Warm up and gently stretch a bit indoors, but save your real warm-up for outside. I just can’t hit the pavement cold. Some folks can, but what works for me is splitting the difference. If I get fully warmed up indoors, and then plunge into the cold weather, the temperature difference is too shocking to my muscles. Conversely, if the most I’ve done before I leave my apartment is brush my teeth and get dressed (a mildly aerobic activity, I admit, for cyclists at this time of year), I’m way too cold at first. I like to feel just slightly cold as I start exercising outdoors.

During my workout, I stay close to home and plan potential bail-outs. No pride/no shame. Okay, go ahead and work hard to stay on your training plan, but please, be reasonable. It’s freakin’ colder than a well-digger’s ass in Montana out there, and you’ve got a long winter to get through. If you’re running or cycling, pick a route that stays local, make a mental note of several pit stops where you can get some relief if you have to, and don’t expect to do the same mileage you do in June. Weigh the value of muscling through a workout in deteriorating weather conditions against the risk of injuring yourself, or just giving yourself a case of aversion therapy that will darken your attitude toward workouts in general. Just because all the other kids think an eighty-mile loop through snowy foothills will be fine and you’ll probably make it home before the storm hits, doesn’t mean you have to go and strand yourself with a flat on some lonely highway out there.

Having said all this, I remain true to my roots. My favorite winter workout is the one where it’s a balmy 80 degrees. I know a nice little stretch of road in North County San Diego just inland enough to avoid the coastal fog and just hilly enough to be challenging. If you can’t shake the winter blues in spite of your best efforts, remember that round-trip airfare, a rental car, and a house gift for whoever lets you crash on their sofa might cost a little less than another fancy cycling jacket. And while we’re there, if we want to see some snow, we’ll do an out-and-back up Mt. Palomar. Plenty of snow on top, even if it is a bit hot in the valley.