Winter is coming, that's for sure. Winter can be challenging for those of us who enjoy spending time exercising outdoors. In case you did not know, I fall into that category. I am the kind of person that needs recess every 2 hours at the minimum. Otherwise, I get easily bored, distracted, and generally less happy than when I get fresh air, elevate my heart rate, and explore the great outdoors.
For me, my acceptance of the freezing cold weather, shorter days, and biting wind often depends on my attitude. If I have epic activities scheduled, I seem to have more energy to mitigate the cold grip of winter that can easily cause exercise paralysis. Let's face it, it is much more comfortable to simply stay indoors, eat comfort foods, binge some TV, and maybe try to spend some time on a creative project that does not involve gloves, hats, buffs and the delicate balance between being properly dressed, under dressed or over dressed.
As I get older, the cold seems to be more daunting. One thing I do to fight back is to commit to some big hairy goals, make the intention to properly prepare for the events, and to remind myself of the Swedish saying: "Det finns inget dåligt väder, bara dåliga kläder," which translates to "There is no bad weather, only bad clothing". It is a common proverb that encourages people to dress appropriately for the conditions so they can go outside regardless of the weather, and it is often taught to children from a young age.
As I mentioned, part of my process for staying active in the winter is committing to big goals and building a training schedule based on successfully attaining said goals. Also, I thought it would be fun to bring back my Blog for a while in oder to stay more connected to my intentions.
So, here we go, what's on tap for next year? These are some of my big hairy goals. I have committed to some of these events already. Before I dive in too deep, I am going to be continuing my recovery from the November 15th RVA marathon and start preparing my body to take on these adventures.
Date | Event/Activity | Type | Distance/Notes | Location |
January 4 | Snowy Owl 10 Miler | Trail Run/Hike | 10 Miles | York River State Park |
March 21 | Dogwood Dell Ultramarathons | Trail Run | 10 Mile Loop | Twin Lakes State Park |
March 30 -April 9 | Great Smoky Mountains AT | Backpacking | Week Long | AT/Smokies |
April 11 | James River Trail Runs | Trail Run | 50K - also options to drop back to 50k or even just 10 miler | James River State Park |
May 8 | Cap2Cap with Bill | Long Bike | 110 miles | RVA |
May 10 - May 17 | Trail Days | Festival/Backpacking | Multi-Day 40 to 50 miles | South Hosten Parking to Damascus |
June 20 | Night Train Ultra | Trail Run | Half Marathon | High Bridge Trail State Park |
Jun 28 | High Bridge Time Trial | Gravel Time Trial | 19 miles | High Bridge Trail State Park |
July 12 | Seven Bends Acqua Blaze | Run and Paddle | 7 mile (4 run/3 paddle) | Seven Bends State Park |
September 12 | Odyssey Trail Running Rampage | Trail Run | 50K | Douthat State Park |
TBA | Vermont Long Trail | Backpacking | Multi-Day | Vermont |
October 3 | High Bridge Half Marathon | Run | 13.1 Miles | High Bridge Trail State Park |
October 4 | Pocahontas Trailfest | Trail Run | 10K | Pocahontas State Park |
