I just ran 21 kilometers. It was nice when I started, and a stormy downpour when I finished. I did not have a jacket. On the way, I saw a man with an umbrella mounted to his head, and later on, reflected that probably most people would find it strange that a multi hour-run in the rain would be what someone does for recreation.

Another time recently, I noticed everyone other than me in an expensive area of the city clutching umbrellas as if they were liferings and scurrying from shop to shop with anxious postures. I was confused. Then I realized, oh right, it’s raining: and most people don’t like to get wet.

This fear of getting wet, if you think about it, is a nonobvious, distinctly grown-up attitude. It’s learned, and therefor, optional.

Have you ever noticed the expression on small boys’ faces when they splash through puddles in the rain in rubber boots? They clearly enjoy it. As a rule, children seem to enjoy the rain. I certainly did, and splashing through puddles with or without rubber boots was a favorite activity, and still is.

Being cold can be dangerous, but in the modern world, we are rarely far from warm dry places, and even when we are, we’re usually a phone call away from rescue if we need it.

There is, I think, a gradient between actually dangerously cold and wet, unmitigatably physically unpleasant cold and wet, and merely psychologically miserably cold and wet. Most people seem to respond to 2 and 3 as if they were type 1. But if you are reasonably young and healthy, jedi minds tricks and experience can make type 3 enjoyable, and type 2 endurable!

It’s possible that I’m in a universe of one on all this: I’ve always been cold tolerant, so there’s a chance this is another one of those “be like me it’s great” posts.

However, there’s a long history of people who say they have gradually increased their cold tolerance through practices like Wim Hof method or Tibetan Buddhist tummo heat.

More prosaically, I find it helps to:

1. Relax into the cold instead of tensing up
2. Realize that mild cold/rain exposure is harmless, toughens me up, and allows me to make use of opportunities that are “underpriced” because most people shudder at the thought of getting soaked to the skin (example: popular tourist spots are often deserted during a rainstorm)
3. Be able to run / do jumping jacks / stay moving if I get too cold, especially if I’m soaked to the bone
4. Ideally, have a plan for how to warm up
5. Wear Merino wool, which is warm even when wet!

Bluster about cold tolerance notwithstanding, when I’m out on a long winter run and discover that my hands are so cold that they fumble with buttons and zippers, and it takes minutes to open a clif bar, I take the hint.