Weather to run?

The single thing that has had the biggest impact on my running over the last few months has been the weather. Today when I was thinking about my run, amidst all the fuss about snow bringing the UK to a standstill, I couldn't help wanting to write about the snow and ice. But then I looked back at some of my old posts and see that I have already talked about running when it's too slippery, running in the rain, mud and wind. Nevermind becoming a running bore- I'm now a dull weather whitterer too!

I'm sure I didn't used to find my running affected by such extremes of meteorology, but I am not sure if it is because I now live in the countryside, rather than the city where conditions are muted by street lights and warming traffic, or because the weather has been so extreme for everyone this year, or even if it is because I have become more of a wimp. This last one is quite a possibility, as I am finding it much harder to get motivated in my training for my second marathon and could be subconciously using the bad weather as an excuse. I wonder if our country's reaction to the recent conditions is partly due to a collective increase in cowardlyness? We are so used to being comfortable it seems like too much of an inconvenience to got out in the cold and wet.

An elderly lady on the news this evening was moaning about schools being shut this week as "children should learn that you go out and face the day", instead of crying off when it's too nasty outside. She definitely has a point; In other countries children traverse dangerous ravines and avalanches to get to school, and even in this country a good portion of people grew up having to walk miles to school on their own, wearing woollen shorts regardless of the climate. And there are runners who are used to persevering in harsher situations too, in countries from truly chilly Scandinavia to the scorching sub-saharan. I really have nothing to complain about! Time to get running again.