I prefer running when it's cold. Is it because I started running in January? Is it because I grew accustomed to the cool weather during those first few months (an instrumental time when you’re trying to decide if a new practice is something you want to continue for the long term)?

(For the sake of clarity, let me be more specific when I say that I prefer running in the cold: I’m not talking about sub-zero temperatures. I’m referring to the concept of cold in northern Virginia. Also keep in mind that it hardly ever snows here during the winter.)

The reason I like running in the cold is because I don't enjoy being ultra-sweaty. When it’s cold, there isn’t nearly as much sweat involved. If I’m sweating, I want it to be due to exertion -- not just because the temperature and humidity are so torturous that the sweat starts to pour just because I’ve dared to step outside.

I'd much rather run with my ears covered -- and gloves on my hands, and being able to see my breath, and with a runny nose, and dealing with numb thighs and torso (because the clothes I was wearing in the dead of winter weren't quite thick enough sometimes) -- than run in the heat. So I guess that's saying something.

My body heat tends to rise quickly, which is one of the physical changes I noticed after I started working out regularly last year. This past winter I only wore a heavy jacket to work on a small number of occasions; on most days I wore a light jacket and gloves when I walked to the Metro in the mornings because I warmed up so quickly.

I mention these factors because it’s pretty freakin’ hot outside right now, and I find running in the heat to be quite miserable. I’m fine with temps in the 70s, but the 80s are pushing it. The temps in this area have been in the 90s since this past weekend, which means I've stopped running outside while the sun is shining. The heat has wreaked havoc on my routine, and I’m bummed.

So what are my options?

I belong to a gym, so there’s always the option of a treadmill. The thing is though, I'm not a big cardio-machine fan. If given the option, I'd much rather be outside. I didn’t mind using machines when I first started going to the gym last summer, but once I discovered how much faster the time flies by when I'm outside? Every minute spent on a machine inside seems almost torturous.

(Another factor with using a treadmill is that my current gym isn’t as close as I'd like, and traffic in northern Virginia is unpredictable from day to day. I’ll be reconciling this particular factor pretty soon though, once my current gym contract is up and I switch to a gym that's closer to where I live -- but right now proximity still plays a role.)

If I want to continue running outside, another option is to go during a different time of day when it’s not so hot. (My normal running time is right after I get home from work, around 6:30pm, and sometimes earlier in the day on the weekends.) This would mean altering my schedule to accommodate running during the early morning or late evening.

Problems: For months, almost every day, I used to get up at 6am to work out on an elliptical machine. I got used to it, but I never liked it. I try to do stuff now that I actually like to do, at a time of day that works for me -- and I really don’t want to change that. Running at night is another idea, but I’m afraid my motivation at that time of day would be greatly diminished (not to mention the increased risk of harassment). I did go out last night around 8:45pm, just as a test. Even though the sun had gone down, the air was still hot and stuffy -- so running at night might not work out that much better anyway.

Oh, what do to, what to do? I guess my best course of action is to try the treadmill again. Since it won’t take me as long to drive to the gym pretty soon, I might not curse the machine quite as much if I know I’m not spending half an hour just commuting to the gym and back home. If the treadmill is still unbearable, I’ll try adjusting the time of day that I run. After all, it’ll only be this way for a few months. Once fall arrives and the temperatures go back down to a more tolerable level, I’ll be right back outside.

Taylor Ryan prefers running outside to being on a treadmill.

Treadmill running tends to be boring and many lose interest quickly. While this is good in a sense...it also leads to laziness and just plain skipping out on it.

Also, running on the road offers benefits to your muscles, bones and joints you just can not get on the even constant black rubber belt of the treadmill. Running on the uneven pavement and terrain improves ankle strength and stability and makes you more aware of proper technique. You will also get a better shin and calf workout while you are at it. Also it is much easy to interval train harder outside then having to worry about pushing that button to make you go slower and faster.

Ali was injured and unable to run for a while. During her “first week of not running,” she made some observations at the gym.

1. What seems like a lifetime on an eliptical trainer, in real time is actually 3 minutes 27 seconds.

2. When you are having a tough run, you still have to get back, you either suck it up or walk. At the gym you simply get off the machine.

3. I am better in a class, where I feel trapped for an hour and can't leave.

Maria Kang at Fitness Cure gives "Top 6 Tips to start running in the morning." Here are a few examples:

2) Lay your workout clothes out the night before. Of course, this goes back to preparation, preparation, preparation! As soon as I get up, I take my pills, I put on my jogging sweats and I’m on the treadmill or outside within 10 minutes.

3) Don’t think, just Move! I don’t lay in bed for more than 2 minutes contemplating my day, my tasks or my dreams…I just say a quick prayer for strength and I GO! Sometimes we can OVERTHINK ourselves and then ALL OF A SUDDEN be pressed for time or become less motivated. Don’t think -- just go!

At the Runners' Lounge, a recent blogging prompt was dedicated to running in the heat. Amy Hunold-VanGundy shared 10 Good Things About Hell Heat. Here are a few of the reasons Amy gave for loving the heat:

10. Hot weather brings out compassion in others. In this heat, I turn to a red faced, huffing/puffing monster of a runner. I find that my state of almost dying brings out the best in fellow runners, bikers and walkers. I had three people stop me and ask me if I was ok. […]

8. It is a free body cleansing. All the unnatural impurities that I counted as food this week have been flushed from my body by an outpouring of sweat. The cookies, the beer, the cheetos, the Red70 and other coloring/sugar from kool aid.....all gone. No need to go to a sauna, hot house or have a body wrap. My body is as good as new. […]

1. Cookies and beer. And of course, if I did this bike and run in these miserable conditions, I earn an extra dose of one of my favorite guilt free pleasures. And boy, do they taste ssswwweeeeettt!

I started paying attention to runners a lot more when I was driving around this weekend, running errands in my air-conditioned car. It was hellishly hot, the sun was blazing down, and they were still out there, pounding the pavement. Heat-runners, I applaud you. I just don’t want to join your ranks.

Your preference: hot weather or cold?

(Zandria recently took a ride on a motorcycle for her birthday weekend. She blogs at Keep Up With Me.)