Day 1
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!
Good luck with the Primal Stride challenge! I’m going to check it out for myself. Snowshoeing is a great workout and a good way to get outside in the winter.
Comment by Kimberly Aardal — January 2, 2010 @ 10:45 am
Snowshoeing is great fun. I rarely get out and do it even though I have 100’s of acres of woods around me, so making it part of this 5 at 5 challenge for me seemed like a good fit. It gives me an excuse to get out there every day for 7 days.
Someday I may try to get out for a longer trek in Algonquin Park (or maybe even Colorado someday). But for now, jaunts in the local woods or with the kids at school (they have a wonderful ski/snowshoe program with an acreage right across the road from the school) is as much as I have time for.
Thanks for dropping by, and I hope that you find the challenge that Seth has set up to be worth joining.
Comment by LoneWolf — January 2, 2010 @ 4:37 pm
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by BARNABAS_INSPIR: PrimalStride Challenge — Five at Five (Day 1) | Howls: Encouragement. I’ve checked out some of the results.. http://bit.ly/8bkiAj…
Trackback by uberVU - social comments — January 2, 2010 @ 6:37 pm
1. I’m not a good person to play Monopoly with. My capitalist tendencies always get the better of me.
2. AMAZING videos! It made me miss the frosty joy of northern climes. Also, there’s no rule (at least I think there isn’t) that says you have to do the exercise and wake-up at the same time. If that’s a rule, I’ve already broken it. =)
I’m glad you’ve decided to do this. Thank you, also, for offering such amazing encouragement to others doing this challenge. I’m grateful.
Comment by Seth Simonds — January 2, 2010 @ 8:50 pm
Thanks Seth! I’m glad that you’ve put this challenge together. It is a wonderful idea.
I’ll miss the early morning trek during the week as it is quite nice to be out first thing in the morning, but the gap between sunrise and kidrise doesn’t leave enough time.
Comment by LoneWolf — January 3, 2010 @ 7:37 am
I was born and raised in Phoenix, AZ, and longed for snow and forests. Then I lived in Chicago…couldn’t play in the snow; it was just too cold from the wind. Now, in Utah, it’s all bliss. We live in the foothills of the Wasatch and have an awesome sledding slope (where I slipped walking into the driveway). Loved your videos.
Thanks for the support. It was a real boost.
Comment by Gina Fit by 41 Maybe 42 — January 2, 2010 @ 11:28 pm
I bet you have some amazing vistas to share. I hope that you’ll be bringing a camera on one of your treks so we can see the Wasatch.
Having lived in Southern Ontario for over 15 years, I learned why most people hate winter — they don’t get real winter! I grew up north of where we are now and when it isn’t damp and windy all the time you can really enjoy being outdoors. Around Lake Ontario there is very little snow (mostly slush) and the dampness gets through everything. You can’t stay warm. That is one of the main reasons we moved back north (it was either that or out to BC — that would be nice but too far from family).
Keep up the 5 at 5 Gina!
Comment by LoneWolf — January 3, 2010 @ 7:43 am
[…] 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 […]
Pingback by PrimalStride Challenge -- Five at Five (Day 2) — January 7, 2010 @ 12:29 pm
[…] 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. Let the Big Wolf […]
Pingback by PrimalStride Double Crunch Challenge — January 13, 2010 @ 11:21 pm
[…] 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 […]
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I really love the Snowshoeing workout! Good luck on the Challenge.
Comment by Jay M. Avery — July 27, 2011 @ 12:05 am
Do you have PrimalStride Challenge this year? I want to spend winter in Ontario this year.
Comment by defense base act lawyers — August 7, 2011 @ 9:31 am
2 km of snowshoeing is fun!
Comment by Louis Lagassé — April 9, 2015 @ 9:42 am