But when you hear the premise behind this workout you’ll find it makes a lot of sense.  To give you an idea of what I mean, here is an old song that we used to sing at camp (don’t worry, I’m not actually going to sing it).

The other day I met a bear.
A great big bear a way out there.

He looked at me. I looked at him. 
He sized up me. I sized up him.

He said to me “Why don’t you run? 
I see you ain’t got any gun!”

And so I ran away from there. 
And right behind me was that bear.

Ahead of me, there was a tree. 
A big, tall tree! O glory be!

The nearest branch was ten feet up. 
I’d have to jump and trust my luck.

And so I jumped into the air. 
But missed that branch a way up there.

But don’t you fret. Now don’t you frown. 
I caught that branch On the way back down.

This is the end, there ain’t no more

Unless I meet, that bear once more!

(Cute YouTube video you’ll like the extra verse they’ve added 8=)

The Workout

This song tells a story of pure panic.  How would you react if we were being chased by a grizzly bear?  By now you may be getting a hint of what this is all about — no you don’t have to jump into trees!

The basic idea is that we need to do bursts of running, cycling or another aerobic activity 100% all out.  Imagine that the grizzly is coming for you.  How fast would you run?  This is the mindset that you need for a burst of your chosen activity (30 seconds to a minute) followed by a few minutes of cool down.  Then, lather, rinse, repeat (well, you can skip later and rinse).  Voila — the Grizzly Bear Workout.

How do you know if you’ve done enough repetitions?  When you’re heart rate doesn’t recover during the cool down phase you are done.  This will be 2 or 3 times for most of us.  It may only be once if you’re just beginning.

How it Works

This workout is designed to maximize the effort that your cardiovascular system undergoes with short, intense bursts of activity.  These push the entire system to the maximum in a very short period of time.  With these bursts of activity (which mimic the activity found in most sports and childhood games) our heart, lungs, etc. are trained to handle higher stress activities and become stronger.

This is different than typical cardio workouts which stress longer periods of moderate activity.  There is increasing evidence to show that this actually weakens the cardiovascular system by training it to be more efficient.  The reserve capacity of the heart and lungs is reduced in favour of this efficiency.

How Often You Do This

This workout is to be done in conjunction with the Grunt n’ Growl workout that we learned about earlier.  The idea behind these workouts is that you need to give your body time to rest and heal.  You should never do a Grizzly Bear on the same day as a Grunt ‘n Growl.

Ultimately, you should do 2 or 3 of each of these workouts during a week (maximum of 6 workouts in 7 days) but your body will tell you when it’s ready for more.

If you want to find out more about these workouts you can check the following resouces:

• 3 Cycle Training by Rick Bramos
• Wellness and Aesthetics MD

Grizzly Bear image by Steve Hillebrand from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Digital Library

Grizzly Bear Workout is a post from: Howls

When you’re preparing for a round of golf, you may use a mental checklist to get ready before you leave the house.

• Clubs? Check.
• Balls? Check.
• Tees? Check.
• Spare pants in case I get a hole in one? Check.

And the list goes on.

But how often do you think about what you’ll be eating or drinking during the next 4 to 6 hours?  More often than not, we just plan on grabbing something at the half or from the beer cart.

We can do better.  We need to do better!

What we eat and drink can have a tremendous impact on our game.  Now this doesn’t mean that you can’t pick up something from the clubhouse or your favourite cart girl.  We just need to plan ahead and make sure that we’re eating and drinking wisely.

What Are Wise Choices?

What snacks and bevies are the best to chose before or during a round of golf?  I imagine if you gathered 12 golfers together and asked them that question you’d probably get 13 different answers.  But there are some things that we can avoid.  And there are some things that we need to include.

The Bad

Here are some things to avoid to maximize your performance and enjoyment of the game.

1 Sugar is bad.  There — I said it.  This is true in life in general, but especially true in the game of golf.  We consume far too much sugar in a typical North American diet.

Sugar messes with our energy levels, giving us wildly swinging highs and lows.  Both the sugar rush and the inevitable crash affect us mentally and physically.  During the rush we’ll be manic and wild.  Then the crash brings fatigue and even depression.

2 Caffeine is worse.  As much as sugar brings us high and then low, caffeine brings us temporary energy by stimulating a release of adrenaline.  Once again the rush is followed by a crash.

On top of that, caffeine has two added negatives.

Adrenaline is a stress hormone.  It triggers a response that is agitating and stressful — enemies of a smooth, repeatable golf swing.  It is also hard to properly concentrate.

Caffeine is also a diuretic.  That means that it removes water from our body.  That’s right, we’re drinking to make ourselves thirsty!

Caffeine messes with our mental game, our physical game and dehydrates us at a time that we need to focus on being more hydrated.

3 You’re going to hate me for this one.  Alcohol is another no-no.  Who doesn’t love a couple pops on a hot, sunny day?  (Well, me.  But I know that I’m the exception to the rule).

A couple beer or coolers during the round can be refreshing and relaxing.  But remember that alcohol is both a diuretic and a depressant.

Alcohol will also affect your co-ordination and timing.

Save it for the clubhouse after the round.  A nice cold beer is much better after shooting your personal best!

4 Fruit juices are a big step above sodas and other sugary beverages, but they still contain a high amount of sugar.  For example, orange juice has almost the same sugar content as Coca Cola (and the same amount of calories per serving) according to the nutrition labels.₁

5 Highly fatty foods can be difficult to digest.  Even though we need to have good fats in our diet, before or during the round is not the best time to get them.

Safe Bets

1 Water is the absolute best thing you can drink.  When we drink something other than water, our body needs to spend energy separating out the extras.  And we often need to use up some of our body’s supply of precious water to eliminate toxins that other drinks contain.

So drink lots of water, especially if it is very hot or you are walking (you are walking, aren’t you?) the course.  Just be careful not to drink too much at once.  Water sloshing around in your gut can be quite distracting.

2 Sports drinks, vitamin water, etc. can be a good alternative if you simply can’t drink just water.  They are far better for us than sodas, coffee or alcoholic beverages.  Just make sure that you find one without added sugars or chemical preservatives.

3 For hot drinks on a cold day, you want to avoid coffee and hot chocolate.  But tea can be a good alternative, especially if you drink teas with little or no caffeine.  A good cup of soup isn’t a bad idea either — chicken noodle soup is great and you can slurp noodles during your partners’ backswing.

4 Fresh fruits and veggies are great sources of energy if you don’t overdo them.  They are natural sugars so they can lead to the sugar rush and crash, but the nutritional value is much better than typical sweets.

Dried fruit is also good and is less likely to mess up your bag if it gets squished.

5 A light lunch is good.  “I like a mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, when the mutton is nice and lean …”  (Thank you Miracle Max).  A couple of sandwiches or wraps are convenient and nutritious if you stick with good, whole grain breads and a good balance of carbs, proteins and good fats.  Personally, I like a tuna salad or egg salad sandwich on 12 grain bread (not so big on the mutton).

6 The other day at my daughter’s karate, sensei suggested that a boiled egg is an excellent after school snack to provide energy.  It is very nutritious and easy to digest.  The energy release is slower so you avoid the rush/crash with carbs.  And they’re very tasty.  Although, my daughter doesn’t think so.

7 Granola bars or trail mix are also quick snacks but you still have to look at what’s inside.  Avoid chocolate (caffeine and sugar).  Try naturally sweetened with honey or stevia.

Other Tips

Try not to eat all at once.  Your energy levels will remain more stable if you spread your eating out over time.  More health professionals are recommending this as a lifestyle — eating 6 smaller meals rather than 2 large ones during a day.

It is very important that you consider you own body’s needs when deciding what to eat or drink.  Everyone is different and you will know your own body better than anyone else, so experiment with different food and drink to find out what works well for you.

It doesn’t hurt to look at what professional golfers do — especially those who’ve been consistently successful over the long haul.  Gary Player had a very radical diet and exercise plan that helped him play exceptional golf for over 5 decades.  He holds a record for 27 consecutive years with at least 1 tournament victory and is the oldest player to make the cut at both the Open Championship and the Masters₂.  He must have been doing something right!

So what changes have you made in your diet to improve your game?  What changes would you like to make?  Share your stories in the comments below!

Swing Doctor image by Jeff Bucchino — The Wizard of Draws

₁ Coca Cola has 30g of carbohydrates (all sugar) in a 250 ml serving (110 calories) while Tropicana Orange Juice has 27g of carbohydrates (23g sugar) for the same serving size (11o calories) according to the Nutrition Facts labels.

₂ Gary Player’s official web site has these and other amazing stats about his career.

Eat for Golf — How to Keep Your Energy Level During a Round is a post from: Howls

My doctor and my naturopath both have told me that I need to lose the extra weight, so I need to step up the intensity a little.  My naturopath has given me some guidelines to follow that should help.

High Intensity is the Key

The key to this workout philosophy is high intensity.  We need to stress the body to its limit (and allow sufficient time to recover).  There are two distinct types of workout that I need to work on — this article will talk about the Grunt n Growl and then we’ll follow up later with the Grizzly Bear.

Catabolic Workout

The secret of the Grunt n Growl is to push your major muscle groups to the max and beyond.  This is not done by completing a fixed number of repetitions or excessive weight.  You need to listen to your own body as the guide.

You must use about 75% of the maximum weight that you can handle for each exercise.  You start off with a light warm up set of the exercise and take a short break.  Then you do another set which is done to the point of muscle failure.  In other words, you do it until you can’t do it any more.  Then do one more.  This is where the name comes from as your last rep will have you grunting and growling as you force that one last effort out of the muscles.

Once you’ve completed one exercise you will move on to the next exercise/muscle group.  What this does is use up ALL the energy stores in the muscles.  There is absolutely nothing left.  Now the body is forced to turn to the long term stores of energy which never gets used when the short term energy is available.  Now we’re burning fat!

This is also a catabolic activity which breaks down the muscles.  This forces the body to rebuild (and it will rebuild stronger) and increases your metabolic rate.  This will help burn extra calories for days after the workout.

Anabolic Rest

Once the workout is complete, it is important to let the body rest for a couple of days.  You will be sore and as long as it is just muscle soreness then you are actually doing well.  If you feel join pain then you’ll need to change your exercises accordingly.

It is important that you listen to your body and don’t do another Grunt n Growl workout two days in a row.  In fact, you shouldn’t do more that 2 or 3 of these in a week.  If you’re still sore from the last workout, wait another day.  Pushing too hard will damage your body rather than strengthen it.

The Circuit

You need to do exercises that work the major muscle groups of the body.  My naturopath recommended the following cycle for me:

• Warmup with some form of aerobic exercise (bike, treadmill, walking) and light stretching
• One circuit of warmup reps (not to fatigue)
• One circuit of supersets (i.e. to fatigue)  You need to have one exercise from each of the following (example in parenthesis):
  • Legs (squats)
  • Push horizontal (pushups or bench presses)
  • Pull horizontal (bent over rows)
  • Push vertical (overhead presses)
  • Pull vertical (pull ups)
  • Core (crunches, planks, etc)
• Cool down

Diet

Along with this workout, we need to make sure that we supply the body with lots of good nutrients to rebuild during the anabolic phase (but don’t overdo the calories 8=)  My naturopath recommends that I try to eat at least 6 times a day and get plenty of good protein.  And drink lots of water!  Lots!

My Results

I’ve only just begun with this program, so I can’t give you any results yet.  I do know that my muscles were sore after this first workout, but probably not a sore as they should be.  I don’t have any weights at this point (on the to buy list) so I’ve been focusing on the weight free exercises.  Most of muscle groups can be pushed to the max with my body weight alone, but the pull horizontal and push vertical groups cannot.

I’ll post updates on my progress over the next months, so check back and see how I’m doing.  And if you’re doing a similar workout let us know what results you’re getting.

Grunt n Growl Workout is a post from: Howls

Dave Lair is the Orlando Golf Blogger

My good blogging buddy (and hopefully soon, golf buddy) Dave over at the Orlando Golf Blog is working on a new fitness program to get himself in shape for better golf.  He’s further along the process than I am and actually gets to play golf right now (although he was shivering during his last round 8=)

He’s managed to lose a couple of pounds this week (good show Dave) as have I.  The big difference is that I’m still almost 90 lbs heavier than he is.  I think it’s because I’m 9′ 2″ 8=)

So, if you want to get a look at someone who doesn’t have to resort to snowshoeing to get in shape, make sure you swing by Dave’s blog and see how he’s doing.  And cheer him along!

And I’ll soon be posting about the Grunt and Growl routine my doctor wants me to start.  It’s as tough as it sounds…

Orlando Golf Blogger Workout is a post from: Howls

The Story So Far

Vegetating

Six days in and I’ve been rockin’ the veggies.

• celery (with peanut butter — crunchy of course)
• broccoli salad at a pot luck dinner
• Sweet Mama’s World Famous Chicken Cesar Salad^TM
• chicken stew with 3 different greens in it (peas, beans and peppers) and celery (repeat) which I had 2 days in a row (so different veggies count for the different days)
• cucumber with Cesar Salad dressing

• Pumping

While I’ve had no difficulty with the green vegetables (there is still one day left in the challenge), I have struggled with the crunches.  The first day I took the weekly pass (I guess it’s the PSC equivalent of a mulligan) on the crunches, but had trouble getting 50 in on day 2.  I’ve managed to do more each day (I’m at 175 so far today in 2 sessions and I may be able to squeeze another 75 before bed — have to update this post tomorrow and let you know).  However, I’ve determined that 250 in 1 set is almost impossible for me at this point and I’ve had trouble getting more than 1 set in during a day.

There has been an improvement in the number of crunches I can do in a single session though.  From 50 at the start to 100 in a five day period.  And MizFit Online put up a wonderful video on The Perfect Crunch which helped me get the crunches done better.

And the 100 I did today was without pauses until I hit the low 90′s where the 50 on the first day involved pauses after 20 and 40.

Onward Towards the Future

So, despite not quite living up to the challenge, I have seen some tremendous improvement and I am encouraged.  Now I need to add in some other activities.  We’ve got one more day in this challenge and my goal is to do the full 250 crunches.  I also plan to begin work on the first (and possibly last) episode of LoneWolf’s Messy Kitchen as I whip up a culinary masterpiece of green vegetable goodness.

Watch this post for updates …

Five at Five Remix

I’ve also continued the 7:00 am rising from the Five at Five challenge, but the snowshoeing has been limited until repairs are made to my snowshoe.

PrimalStride Double Crunch Challenge is a post from: Howls

Goals?  We don’t need no steenking goals!

Fitness is an admirable goal and one that I often aim at in a general way.  New Year’s resolutions often revolve around fitness.  But I have difficulty in setting goals and tracking my progress towards them.  I imagine some of you may struggle with the same things.

Wouldn’t it be nice if there was something that allowed you to set goals and track your progress?

Solutions

Set the Goals

There are several different ways that we can approach our fitness goals, but the first thing we need to do is set some goals.

• What is our target weight or BMI?
• Are we going to use exercise, diet or both?
• What exercise plan will we follow?
• What diet plan will we follow?
• How will we measure success?
• How will we cope with setbacks?
• How will we stay the course?

Tracking

I’m not going to answer all of these questions in this post, but I will talk a little about tracking results.  Future posts will double back and cover some of the other topics.

I’ve found 2 different software solutions to the tracking issue, both with problems and advantages.  The first is the Wii Fit software for the Nintendo Wii.  The second is Weight by Date software for my PC.

Nintendo Wii Fit

We got the Wii Fit just after Christmas ’08.  This is an amazing combination of hardware and software that makes certain fitness activities fun for the whole family.  It allows you to set weight and BMI goals and actually measures and tracks them for you.  It is also designed to promote proper posture by measuring your balance and using games and exercises to help improve it.  The weight measurement seemed to be very accurate the few times I compared it to the measurements I get at the doctor’s office.  It is much more accurate than my bathroom scale!

The games and exercises are quite fun and you are encouraged to continue the exercises by the Time Bank which tracks how long you’ve been playing or working out.  At regular intervals you can unlock other activities.  You can also unlock more advanced levels of activities as you get better at them.

Each activity has a High Score section that lets you brag when you can finally beat your kids at ski jumping (although this will be rare 8=) making it a friendly competition.

Weight by Date Windows Software

I just discovered the Weight by Date software by Quite Healthy Technologies.  They have a 15 day trial download so I’ve taken advantage of it to see what it is like.

The main thing that I like about this over the Wii is that I’m on the computer every day (all day if you ask my family), so the fitness goals and data are at my fingertips.  It also incorporates more data but it does have to be manually entered.  It doesn’t weigh you like the Wii Fit does.

You can also set up diet information (it actually has some common diets preloaded for you to select) to track your caloric intake.

The most important feature for me, though, is the ability to schedule your workouts.  You can set up the exercises that you want to do and also log the ones you do.  It will also calculate the approximate calorie burn for each activity based on your current weight.

What’s Next?

I’m only on the first day of the trial with this software, so I have some exploring to do.  But what I’ve seen so far is promising.  I’ve signed on as an affiliate for this product as I think it is going to be a valuable tool for people like me who need a little help in getting and keeping focused with our fitness goals.

Watch for a full review in a couple weeks or download it yourself and share your thoughts in the Comments section.

Now, if only someone could write some software that would clean my office …

Thanks to arinas74 for the jogging lady image.

Fitness Software is a post from: Howls

Wake Up LoneWolf, Wake Up!

Snowshoeing with the SKs

LoneWolf’s eyes pop open.  It is dark.  It is silent.  The alarm has not rung yet — it is only 6:45.  “I’ll get up early,” he thinks to himself.  His eyes close for a second.  The alarm sounds and it is now 7:00.  “So much for beating the wake up time.”

We Like to Move It! Move It!

Now LoneWolf has a quandry.  Sweet Mama has taken the LoneCubs to school today, so the day belongs to him.  The call of the woods is strong … but the snowshoe is in no shape for travel today.  “I’ll figure out something,” he thinks.  “I wish that one of the cubs had skiing or snowshoeing today — I could use the school’s snowshoes.”

The phone rings.  Sweet Mama is calling.  It seems that LoneCub2′s class is going snowshoeing this afternoon and they need volunteers!

1:30 finds LoneWolf with his little cub and friends in the wild woods.  Yes!

What’s Next?

Five at Five is complete.  In the history books.  Time to move on.

“Seth,” calls LoneWolf.  “What else have you got up your sleeve?”

“How does Double Crunch sound?” Seth replies.

“Sounds like a breakfast cereal.  Bring it on!”

PrimalStride Challenge — 5 at 5 (Day 7) is a post from: Howls

Day 3

Up and at em’  — made the 7:00 am wakeup and then getting ready for church.  Snowshoeing had to wait.  Good thing though — it was very cold and the wind was whipping!  I got out in the afternoon and it was still very cold (about -20C) and the wind was screaming.  You can hear it on the video over my huffing and puffing!  I started off going up the toboggan run.  Then I broke some new trail in the powder snow.  That was fun.

The forest was breaking the wind, so I decided I’d go for the high point.  It turned out to be easier with the snow than it is in the summer.  Easy-peasy and I’m at the top!

I’ve got the video (and still haven’t sorted out my YouTube upload trouble) and want to thank Partners in Rhyme for the funky soundtrack loops!

Day 4

Nailed the wakeup once again!  It wasn’t pretty, but I was up.  Monday.  School.  Work.  Yikes!  It turned out to be a very busy day.  I’m volunteering as a coach for the Upward Basketball program at our church.  I’m coaching 2 teams this year:  Gr 3-5 girls (my daughter is on this team) and Gr 4-6 boys.  The practices are on Mondays for the girls and Thursday for the boys.  My son is also playing and his practices are on Fridays.  Makes for a busy Monday, Thursday and Friday.  Then there is game day on Saturday!

Given the busy schedule, I decided I wouldn’t snowshoe today.  “Boo! Hiss!  Quitter!”  Hold on — I actually did a switcheroo (my spell checker doesn’t like that word 8=).

Rather than snowshoe, I went to play ball hockey with the Man2Man group.  We get together most Mondays at the gym in the church and whack an orange ball (and sometimes each other’s ankles) with hockey sticks.  We go for 2 hours with a 20 minute break in the middle, so it’s an intense workout.  We usually have enough guys to make 2 lines and run 2 minute shifts.  Great fun.  Someday soon I’ll have to get some pics.

Day 5

Bit of a slow start today.  Missed the wakeup by 15 minutes (well, 20 if you count the 5 extra minutes it took for my feet to actually figure out where the floor was).  Got the 2km though, but not on snowshoes.  Tuesday and Thursday are karate for LoneCub1.  She started this last November and is loving it.  She’s pretty good at it too!

However, I knew that I couldn’t get in the snowshoeing after karate (the sun still goes down before 5) so I used the hour to walk downtown Huntsville.  I took the camera and I’ll be posting a “walking tour” of downtown Huntsville on HubPages sometime soon.  Watch for the link.

Also, I did almost 1km of walking in and out of the house to bring in a rack full of firewood.  Getting the “warms you twice” thing going on there.

Day 6

I've blown a shoe!

Got a great sleep and woke up right on time.  Actually felt good this morning — the rhythms are starting to shift a bit.

The snowshoeing was an easy one today.  My daughter’s class has cross-country skiing during the winter months (every 6 days if the weather is good) for phys ed.  They love to have parents volunteer to help them get set up and also to go with them on the trails.  I’ve been doing that as much as I can since she was in Gr 1 (she’s now in Gr 5). They all laugh at me for being on snowshoes instead of skis, but I’ve never liked the nordic skis — something about the way that the heel isn’t securely fastened to the ski doesn’t instill much confidence in a guy who did downhill as a youth.

So I got to meet my challenge, volunteer at the school and spend some quality time with my daughter.  You just can’t beat that (at least until tomorrow — LoneCub2′s JK class is going snowshoeing 8=)

It's come undo-o-o-one!

Unfortunately, I had a snowshoe meltdown.  One of the rawhide laces I used to repair damage from last year wore through (I’ll have to find another material to fix it) and then the original plastic lace down the one side came undone as well.  It held together enough to get me back to the school.

No more snowshoeing at home until I get it fixed (or replaced — to dream) but the school has some I can borrow when I volunteer, so that’s cool.

Keepin’ On

Well, I’m really loving this challenge.  While I doubt that I’ll continue the 2km every day, I’ll definitely be looking to do at least 2 times a week.  Once the spring hits it will be hiking in the trails (with mosquitoes) and the distance will go up.

I do intend to keep up the 7:00 am wakeup.  I may even try to push it further back, but I am a bit of a night owl and I do need my beauty sleep — lots of it 8=) so I doubt I’ll get much earlier than 6:30.  But you never know…

Shalom Striders.  Keep on keepin’ on!

Royalty Free Music and Sound Effects Download the music and sound effects you need for your multimedia project today at Partners In Rhyme.

PrimalStride Challenge — Days 3 thru 6 is a post from: Howls

Muskoka Sunrise

I’m tempted to listen to that growly voice, but I know that if I do 7 minutes will stretch to 15, 30 maybe 60.

So I shut off the alarm before it has even started and quietly stumble to the bathroom.

My head is pounding, the air is chilly and I can see from the tiny snowflakes in the faint twilight through the bathroom window that it is cold outside.  The big, fluffy flakes of yesterday are gone.  I’ll need an extra layer today.

The bathroom takes longer than normal — I’m moving slowly today.  I really don’t want to be up this early, especially on the last Saturday of the holiday break.  But I’m up.  I’m staying up.

Another 15 minutes until its light enough to venture into the woods, so I check the videos from yesterday that were uploading over night.  Everything went okay.  Enough stalling.  Let’s get out there.

Snow Gazing

By 8:55 I’m outdoors, and my suspicions about the temperature are confirmed.  It is cold (-21 C) with a mild wind from the north-west.  I suspect the windchill is below -30. The scarf is up over the nose today!  Still, the wind finds ways to break through and say hello to my neck and back.

I brought the still camera this time.  Better images and less time with the gloves off.  I set off at a brisk pace.

Reach for the Sky

Rather than following the ridge trail, I go over the ridge and out to the beaver pond — or what’s left of it at least.  The beavers have moved further downstream (downcreek actually) but the remnants of the pond are still visible and will take years to grow over.  A few snaps with the camera and I’m heading back.

I make a decision — rather than follow the main trail back up and over the ridge, I’m blazing a new trail up the high point.  This is fresh snow and a twisty path.  In fact, I wouldn’t make this trek without the snow to smooth over the roughness.  With the switchbacks and detours it takes me over 200 m to cover the 100 m distance.  It is much steeper this way, but the effort is pleasing.

Finally, I reach the top and after a brief pause, start heading back to the house.

Forty-five minutes after leaving, I’m back inside.  I’ve covered 2km or more and I was 10 minutes faster than yesterday.  Perhaps it was not stopping to video.  Perhaps it was the cold.  Most likely both.

Regardless, Day 2 is complete.  My head is still hurting but I feel good.  I’m looking forward to tomorrow.  The snowshoeing will be moved to the afternoon, after church, and I plan to go up by the toboggan run.  It will be fun.

See you tomorrow.

The nature shots are available full size on stock.xchg — click on the picture to go there.

Primal Stride Challenge — 5 at 5 (Day 2) is a post from: Howls

Well, I’ve completed Day 1 of the PrimalStride Challenge.  I’ve made some modifications as indicated in last year’s post and I was able to stick to my goals (almost).

My intention is to get up by 7:00 am each morning and do 2 km of snowshoeing.  This morning I was up by 7:20 (which isn’t too bad given I was up until 1:00 with Sweet Mama and the WolfCubs for our New Year’s Eve celebration).  I’m not sure who was winning the Monopoly game when we stopped playing, but the youngest had bought up 1/3 of the board.  I was the only one with a set though and had just built some houses — I think they were all feeling scared 8=)

But I digress — back to the events of this morning.

Sneaking around quietly, getting dressed, finding an elusive pair of socks and tiptoeing out to the garage to get dressed, I was out and strapping on the snowshoes by 7:45.  There was a gentle snow falling that had left about 5cm of fresh, fluffy white all about.  It was entirely calm and peaceful.  I had the woods and the new year to myself.

Fifty-five minutes later, I was back at the house after completing a 2+ km journey.  It was a wonderful way to start 2010.

Challenge Changes

However, I have discovered that I will need to modify my challenge even further if I’m going to be able to do the snowshoeing.  Including prep time, it is over an hour to complete the trip (and maybe longer as I expand the distances somewhat).  I need to get the Cubs up and ready for school around 7:30 to 7:45.  I would have to push the start time back to at least 6:3o or even 6:00.  While this is possible, being north of the 45th parallel means that sunrise isn’t until about 7:45 at this time of year.  Wandering in the woods in the dark is not something I plan on doing regularly (although it is quite enchanting during a full moon).

For that reason, I will have to move the snowshoeing portion to a later part of the day.  I will still have the 7:00 (or earlier) wake up.

The Video

As promised, I recorded some of the journey.  The video was longer than YouTube allows, so I split it into 2 pieces.  It will probably be quite boring for most, but here it is anyway.

Encouragement

I’ve checked out some of the results of others who have taken the challenge and I just wanted to encourage all the other PrimalStriders out there!  Keep it up.  And Gina, look after that knee.

God Bless you all!

PrimalStride Challenge — 5 at 5 (Day 1) is a post from: Howls