I headed into this winter with the goal of running through the winter.  In the past I had stopped running and took the months of January and February off.  This took any of my progress I had accomplished over the year and flushed it down the toilet and come spring I was starting at square one again. To me this was a waste, but I hated or at least thought I hated running in the winter.

So I headed into the winter staying with my running schedule regardless of the weather.  Some changes I did do was I would look at the weather and run at the  warmest time of the day.  Since I was progressing slowly into the cold temps as I ran my body became strangely acclimated to the cold and weather.  I started having guidelines that I figured out trial and error like wearing a jacket if the temperature was under 40 degrees and pants if the temperature is under 20 degrees. This may and probably would not be a fit for you but it worked great for me.

As I continued I was forced to run in rain and snow and honestly they became some of my favorite runs. The only issue was the clothing and equipment I had.  My jacket was a light wind breaker and let water come right through.  Don't get me wrong it served the purpose just fine and if you are just starting a running program don't spend a ton of money on the best jacket.  Get a cheap one at Walmart or some other store. Make sure it is light and bright so it is comfortable and easily visible.  I recently bought a new jacket that is wind and weather resist and and really really comfortable.  

Finally I had a lot of trouble when it was slippery out like when it was snowing or icy.  Some would say ok, don't run on those days but for me having run in a snow storm that was not an option. So today I bought a pair of  YakTrax and cannot wait to use them on a run in the snow.  They slip over your sneakers and are like running with snow tires on.  In the end somehow I have gone from a person who refused to run in the winter to a person who work his schedule so that I run when the snow is predicted to come down the hardest.

Why do I do that, because it is a blast and most people wont.