A much-needed lovely day today, BlogLand. I got up this morning, checked the weather (a balmy 9 degrees...) and was still up and ready to go. I was off to meet a fellow Spartan Chick (Hi, Jessica! Aroo!) in New Hampshire for an afternoon of snowshoe adventures. Temperature and/or snow were not to be a deterrent... we were Spartanized New Englanders, after all!
I did wander around my room a bit this morning, trying to work out the appropriate layering for today's adventure, though. Snowshoeing is one of those activities I struggle with, as it is not always super-strenuous, causing you to have to wear heavier things, but it can get warm as you are moving, so you have to be able to un-layer, etc. Tricky. Hmm.
I settled on some new Under Armour gear I just got. (Review to come in the next few days...) I ended up geared like this:
- Moving Comfort dri-fit shirt (the one I love to run in!)
- (NEW!) Under Armour Cold Gear Tights
- Spartan Race (bulletproof, monsoon proof, blizzard proof) hoodie
- (NEW!) Under Armour AllWeather Gear pants (they're water resistant, etc.)
- mittens, neck warmer, wool socks
I crossed my fingers that this was appropriate layers, packed some "regular" clothes (just in case?), grabbed my CamelBak (hydration is important in the winter, too!) and headed out the door.
(As a random aside, I have come to the conclusion I am incompetent at filling my CamelBak; water everywhere, every time.)
The drive to Enfield was uneventful. A large regular Dunkin Donuts coffee in hand (a pre-req for any road trip, with me), I drove through the slightly slushy mess that we're accustomed to in January, in this part of the world. I swore at the out of state drivers, who kept hitting their brakes, and channeled my Masshole roots, as I gestured at them angrily when then did stupid things... like tailgate me in slippery conditions. (I do actually love road trips. hehe)
Arriving in a little town in scenic NH, I was psyched for today's adventure. I got to finally put a name to a face of a Spartan Chick that I've known (online) for a while, and have a buddy that was up to an adventure - despite the weather! YAY! I was really looking forward to the change from my usual solo WODs.
Jessica and I suited up and set forth, settling into some easy chit-chat about this, that and everything. She'd picked out a great trail for us to head out on - the Rail Trail, which is apparently an old railroad bed, made into a recreation trail. It looked like this:
Somewhere about an hour an a half in, and an undetermined amount of miles later, Jessica and I thought we should probably turn around. I turned on the GPS at this point, so we could get an idea of how far we'd gone. As we discussed our race plans for this year, commiserated on our t-rex arms and compared notes on training ideas, we trekked towards home. A little bit more slowly.
Why? Well. As anyone that has ever snowshoed knows, your gait is slightly widened. You have to walk a little weird, so as not to hit your own snowshoes, or step on yourself. This, as you might imagine, works a bunch of random muscles, despite the fact that you are "just walking." Our lovely hour and a half walk OUT, had suddenly reminded us of the fact that we were on snowshoes. Halfway home, my hip flexors made their presence *distinctly* known. This may be ugly tomorrow. (And sadly, the foam roller I ordered is not scheduled to arrive until Monday.)
As we returned home, I determined that my layering tactic for the day was perfect. Not too hot, not too cold, and Under Armour FOR THE WIN.
Total Trek: Just about 6.5 Miles (Jess gets a gold star, as this was even her FIRST snowshoe!), at a very steady, upbeat pace.
I think this was just what I needed, today. Life has been really weighing on me, of late, in various ways. It's been stressful and decidedly negatively effecting my training, despite my best efforts to prevent that. Today I got to get outside, get moving and enjoy myself. That, BlogLand, is a wonderful way to get your head back in the game and clear out the stress. It was also nice to trek along at a good pace and *not* be terribly winded. I can remember a couple years ago that I didn't enjoy snowshoeing anymore because, at 284 # and non-active, it was too challenging. I reflected a bit on that, in the quiet drive home.
I have come a long way.
I have a long way still to go, but I am on the right road.
One Day at a time. Tomorrow, it's back to Crossfit in the morning... and perhaps a bit of a run in the afternoon. It has been an inexcusably long time since I stretched my legs.
With that, I'll leave you with some scenery from today's adventures:
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| I totally EPIC failed at catching the beauty of the frozen dam. |
My Challenge to you, BlogLand: Get out there and just have fun. No watches, no GPS trackers, no nothing. Just get out there, enjoy your fitness and health (whatever level that may be).
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