Oh the weather outside is...

I have a love-hate relationship with winter.

This time of year it's kind of inspiring--the first snowfalls of the season, the excitement of the upcoming holidays, the warm & cozy sweaters...(notice I'm omitting the foods...)

Of course it also puts a damper on exercise (and motivation in general). Whether outside or inside, there is no bone in my body that craves exercise in cold weather--my bones are craving couch time and comfort foods.

However, when I do get my butt in gear, I find exercise in the winter can be invigorating. As long as it's not cold & rainy anyway. Then I am dragged outside kicking and screaming.

There are fun outdoor sports like ice skating & skiing that I like to partake in, and I plan to at some point this season, but I'm not used to really pushing my workouts outdoors.

Last night I went jogging. It wasn't ridiculously cold--probably in the 40s. High 30s maybe? And I layered up & was perfectly comfortable. But it was hard. My body felt every cold step, my knees were aching, my ankles felt pressure, and there were a few times where I thought I might pass out from how my lungs were dealing with the cold. Even though my body was technically warm, it was still fighting against the cold and struggling to adjust.

I'm glad I went and I did feel good once I finished. I could see myself doing this every once in a while on a sunny winter morning or relatively mild evening, but I'm wondering if there should be some extra steps I should be taking to prepare myself for the winter outdoor exercise. I know most days I won't be pushing myself to brave the bitter cold, but I want to take advantage of the natural gym as much as I can.

How do you guys handle outdoor exercise in the winter?

Tonight is dropping into the 20s. It will be an indoor fitness night :)

Until next time

Cold and thin

It's cold. And when I say cold I dont mean like, I need an extra blanket cold. I mean like shiver me timbers-I can't feel my body parts-why are my eyes randomly tearing up even though I"m not crying-cold.

But on the other hand, since I am in a city I want to explore, it's a good thing. It encourages me to walk fast.

During my time in Providence and the conference, somehow I managed to go over my daily and even WEEKLY points. I am not really sure how. I wasn't by any means gorging in food, I was passing on (most of) the high-fat or sweet snacks they had with meals. And I flocked to the healthier options of vegetables, lean meat and I even passed on eating (most of) some REALLY yummy Creme Brulee. Twice! Just a taste to get the sweet satisfaction. I can't say that I was all good...I did drink (quite a bit of) hearty beer when out with the after-party crew. Go Guinness. And I also couldn't pass down the very creamy Rhode Island Clam Chowder. Though I just ate half the serving. So my points were a little out of control.

On the other hand--I rocked my plan to exercise while I was there. Both Wednesday and Thursday after meetings I headed straight for the fitness center and walked and ran for at least a half an hour each day. I also stepped outside for a couple walks while I was there to get a breath of very fresh and very cold air between meetings. And anywhere we went, we walked. On top of that, I spent my free day yesterday walking. I went on my own Providence walking adventure, hitting up a Museum, the Brown University campus, and lots of shops. Mind you this was mostly UPHILL and I was walking fast to keep my blood warm.

Then yesterday evening I arrived in Boston and did even MORE walking. Walking to the convenience store with my friend, walking the 10-minutes to the train to get into Boston proper, and walking between locations. And our frigid walks were even speedier than normal to cut down on the wind chill--or rather merely to arrive at our destination quicker.

If I had a pedometer (I don't because I don't want to be that person), I would have probably clocked anywhere between five and 10 miles yesterday. Rock on.

Which is why I didn't feel a bit guilty when I had the very hearty burger and fries for dinner last night. Bacon and cheese included.

So as I sit here typing away, I'm prepping myself for another really cold day of walking. While my body is telling me "NO!! Stay in bed and stay warm! You're too tired to walk around the city another day!" Alas--that will not be so. There is too much I want to see and do - nothing will stop me. Not cold nor rain nor sleet nor snow. No wait--that's the Post Office. Well--Call me Postal, but it will be so.

Until next time.