Ever fall victim to the “dreadmill” on rainy days? If so, you’re not alone. While it’s often hard to take the first step in less-than-perfect weather conditions, as long as you’re not facing a dangerous thunderstorm or tornado, running in adverse weather can be quite rewarding, even beneficial. Here are five reasons to splash through puddles on a rainy-day run:

Running in the rain could help you run faster. Did you know that when temps are even just a couple of degrees warmer your performance can suffer? That’s because you’re body temperature rises as you run. The warmer it is, the more you have to sweat to cool off. Throw humidity into the mix, and you’re up against an even greater cool-down challenge. However, when the sky opens up, rain acts as a natural air conditioner to keep your body temperature down so you can keep your effort up.

Running in the rain will help you deal with adversity. While it may feel ideal to run on a beautiful sunny day, challenging yourself to run in adverse conditions like rain, help you to better let go of factors you can’t control. This will help you not only successfully complete workouts and reach your goals in races, but also deal with adversity in the rest of life. After all, daily life is rarely a perfect, cloudless day. (Safety note: Refrain from running in dangerous conditions like thunderstorms or hail storms.)

Running in the rain helps to relieve stress. Water is cleansing, and the sound of rain is relaxing … as long as you’re not running in a near-freezing downpour. If you can let go of your rainy-day dread, you might just finish a wet spring run in a more mindful state than you started.

Running in the rain can boost your confidence. Ever notice how the whole world grows deserted during a rain shower (unless you live in the Pacific Northwest)? Rather than folding from the weather, get up and go. We guarantee you’ll feel all the more gritty for splashing through some rainy solo miles.

Running in the rain could help you burn more fat. If the rain is cool enough that your body has to work to stay warm, you end up increasing your metabolic rate after a period of adaptation, and therefore burning more fat during exercise.