Winter is Coming

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