What do you do when it’s raining outside? There are a few schools of thought on the topic.
First is what I will call the “hardcore” school of thought. If you were planning on running outside in the rain and it’s raining, you run. There’s value in this thinking because the reality is when race day comes, you can’t control the weather, and it may be raining. If you don’t have practice doing what you’re going to do in the rain, you’re going to be caught off guard. Obviously, you don’t want to run when it’s lightning outside. That’s a no-go, even for a race situation.
The next school of thought is, “Hey, you know what? You got to be safe.” You have to modify your workout. Either bring it inside on a treadmill or modify the outdoor workout you’re going to go do, trying to keep the same level of effort, but changing the workout. I think there’s a lot of value in this line of thinking because when it rains outside, it can be unsafe. It can be very hazardous. It can be challenging for cars to see you. The roads can be slippery. It may not be the time of day when you want to go out there and do your hard tempo workout, or you want to do your progression. I think there’s a lot of value in that thinking too.
Finally, there’s a school of thought where it is better to run in the rain. It’s better to run in the rain, especially in the summer, because it breaks the heat and takes the humidity out of the air. It’s cooler. You can get some of your best workouts in the rain, especially at the track. And I think there’s value there too.
In summary, when you look outside, and it’s raining, it can be very de-motivating. Instead of giving up, give yourself some options.