I miss a real winter…

Last Updated on: January 4, 2016

…more specifically, I miss an opportunity to exercise, without falling, without sliding, getting hurt or breaking a bone. Might have to reconsider this about going to a gym. 

Truth be told, it’s not that bad. Transitional periods are however the worst, climate slips into SNAFU mode, oscillating between a few degrees above or below freezing point. Rain, freeze, slush, melt, rain, slush, snow, ice etc… you can’t do much else than observe and wait for change.

Well there are options, one is that you can run light-footed and cautious on roads coated with snow, slush and ice, because…

Indeed, don’t let non-ideal conditions deter you from objectives, more often than not it’s just an excuse for putting it off. Few things feels more like a real accomplishments than tasks performed under sub-optimal conditions!

This year I did something as unusual as to pedal a round/lap on 1st new years day. I cannot ever recall having been able to do that.  Hardly any ice, temp around +5C. Statistically the fall/winter of 2015 was the mildest ever, but after that trip, literally while returning to base, it changed again.

Next day it was cold, and too icy for biking. Have decided that when i buy my next bicycle I’ll invest in two set of wheels. One set will have spike tires. Then I won’t have to worry so much about the falling which by the way I do have some experience with. Some years ago I limped home after a pretty heavy fall in a bend. Took a good week and a half before I was able to do anything.

Cross-country skiing is my favorite winter activity. It’s medically proven that no other sports, or way or exercising, gives you better bang for the buck. I can subscribe easily, returning from the first trips in a winter I am normally so stiff it take hours to stretch and regain composure. A good sign muscles have gotten their fair share of challenges!

But skiing conditions seem a long way off in my region although, with a few days of decent snowfall and temperatures consistently hovering around minus 2-3C or lower, things can change quickly. Below a picture from 2013 from my “neighborhood”, around this time of the year. Conditions are nowhere near these now. Last year winter was good for skiing for some weeks but little snow. 2013 is the last year conditions were near ideal.

Wintertracks

I have a route, or lap, which i keep returning to, every year, every winter. This might sound boring but I use it to gauge my .. eventual and/or hope top be, progress. If you don’t repeat exercises, develop certain patterns, it won’t be so easy to keep an (analog) track on how you’re doing. I know, it sounds boring but I find diversity even in repeated exercises.

So while waiting for winter to settle into a mode, which I am certain it will do at one point, I resort to running laps. It sort of does the trick… for now.

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