Getting more excercise

[jambongris]

I love winter running. The weather just turned here in Ottawa a week or so ago. I find it so invigorating. For me, running seasons in order of preference would have to be autumn, winter, spring, and summer. 

Running while it’s snowing is one of my favorite experiences. The falling snow, the sound underfoot, the tranquility.

[Linea_Norway]

Today I did half an hour of intensive pilates.

I first tried to display the previous link with 20 minutes of easy pilates on my phone with screen mirroring to the TV. But the video didn't want to start on my phone and complained about not having an internet connection, which is just nonsense. So I googled "video pilates" and used the first result.

The 30 minutes felt like a very long time. It was a pretty hard session and I am sure I will feel it in the nest two days. The was one exercise I couldn't do (yet), and another challenging option I didn't do.
Next time, I should take off my socks to not slide away with my feet.

And it was hot! My traing trousers are made of thick cloth and the living room is at normal room temperature (20C). Way too hot. But the colder hallway upstairs is currently occupied with DH's indoor bicycle setup. No room for an additional training mat. But once on TV I saw there exists a thing called "hot yoga", performed at really warm temperatures. So why not. Opening the window is not an option with the current high electricity prices.

My conclusion from doing the 2 pilates videos is that the exercises are pretty similar to yoga, but without all the mindfullnes in between. And some of those excercises are even older, from the time we just called it gym.

[GuitarStv]

I'm a generally a fan of exercising in heat.  It's a little more stress for your body, but you'll adapt.  If you're really getting cooked, grab and aim a portable fan on you for the workout - this can work wonders.

[Linea_Norway]

It has snowed, about 25 cm of very wet snow. The driveway is cleared by a tractor, but our turn around point, plus everything around the car, the front door, the garbage containers and the entrance of the driveway need to be done manually, without snow blower, as we don't have one.

DH did it together. It was not great for my knee, it is the tirning around that is sensitive. DH hurt his shoulder a week ago and is still bothered by it. I wonder whether we should invest in a snow blower now to save our bodies. But in general, the winters are getting shorter. We'll see. At least, this was a workout today. We might go skiing soon. For now, the closest prepated trails are quite a bit driving away.

[Metalcat]

Today I did half an hour of intensive pilates.

I first tried to display the previous link with 20 minutes of easy pilates on my phone with screen mirroring to the TV. But the video didn't want to start on my phone and complained about not having an internet connection, which is just nonsense. So I googled "video pilates" and used the first result.

The 30 minutes felt like a very long time. It was a pretty hard session and I am sure I will feel it in the nest two days. The was one exercise I couldn't do (yet), and another challenging option I didn't do.
Next time, I should take off my socks to not slide away with my feet.

And it was hot! My traing trousers are made of thick cloth and the living room is at normal room temperature (20C). Way too hot. But the colder hallway upstairs is currently occupied with DH's indoor bicycle setup. No room for an additional training mat. But once on TV I saw there exists a thing called "hot yoga", performed at really warm temperatures. So why not. Opening the window is not an option with the current high electricity prices.

My conclusion from doing the 2 pilates videos is that the exercises are pretty similar to yoga, but without all the mindfullnes in between. And some of those excercises are even older, from the time we just called it gym.

Pilates is all about form.

So I strongly suggest starting with the gentler routines first, perhaps even finding a video that walks you through the desired form for each exercise.

Take your time with it, it's all about targeting stabilizer muscles.

[Linea_Norway]

This morning we went 1,5 hour cross country skiing, starting just 3-4 km from home.

[Linea_Norway]

Today I took a day of rest. But walked to the shop and back, cleaned some more snow and did some arm exercises.

[wenchsenior]

Again, you inspired me to do some strength training this week.

Unfortunately, the combo of several months of layoff from ab work + no swimming has devolved my ability to do crunches back to 15-20. Usually my abs build fast, but it's disappointing, given that when younger my abs would often be up to 25 crunches even with zero training, and now they get so weak so much faster.

[TreeLeaf]

I did some full body kettlebell workouts yesterday for the first time.

I ran today but my legs were so sore from the kettlebell workout it made running challenging...I should not have been skipping leg day at the gym.

Pilates is now on my list of things to try when my legs recover from the kettlebell. The local YMCA has a pilates class but it was 100% women. So I was confused at first if it was a women's only class, lol. But no, it is open to everyone according to the YMCA staff.

[Linea_Norway]

Again, you inspired me to do some strength training this week.

Unfortunately, the combo of several months of layoff from ab work + no swimming has devolved my ability to do crunches back to 15-20. Usually my abs build fast, but it's disappointing, given that when younger my abs would often be up to 25 crunches even with zero training, and now they get so weak so much faster.

That is why we need to do this type of workouts. And I don't think we need to expect to become as fit and strong as in our best years. But to make sure our bodies keep functioning well.

[Linea_Norway]

I did some full body kettlebell workouts yesterday for the first time.

I ran today but my legs were so sore from the kettlebell workout it made running challenging...I should not have been skipping leg day at the gym.

Pilates is now on my list of things to try when my legs recover from the kettlebell. The local YMCA has a pilates class but it was 100% women. So I was confused at first if it was a women's only class, lol. But no, it is open to everyone according to the YMCA staff.

Maybe take it a bit easy on yourself in the beginning. Like wait until your legs are not sore before you start running. It is easy to damage a knee or an achilles. I already did while I did nothing extreme in my opinion....

It doesn't surprise me that there weren't many men in the Pilates group. Same with yoga classes. But it is good to do for men also.

[Linea_Norway]

Today I was completely uninspired, as the weather outside is grey and wet: rain, fog and melting snow. But I did change into sports clothes and a rain coat, put on my headphones and went briskwalking for an hour and 15 minutes. It was not even so bad at all. I saw lots of other people, either walking their dog, or elderly women briskwalking without dog.

A friend yesterday told me about an app where you can register as a dog sitter. That could be something for me, as I actually like walking a (well trained) dog. We cannot have one ourselves because of DH's allergy. But doing this now and then as a service to others could be a thing.

[TreeLeaf]

I did some full body kettlebell workouts yesterday for the first time.

I ran today but my legs were so sore from the kettlebell workout it made running challenging...I should not have been skipping leg day at the gym.

Pilates is now on my list of things to try when my legs recover from the kettlebell. The local YMCA has a pilates class but it was 100% women. So I was confused at first if it was a women's only class, lol. But no, it is open to everyone according to the YMCA staff.

Maybe take it a bit easy on yourself in the beginning. Like wait until your legs are not sore before you start running. It is easy to damage a knee or an achilles. I already did while I did nothing extreme in my opinion....

It doesn't surprise me that there weren't many men in the Pilates group. Same with yoga classes. But it is good to do for men also.

Yes ... my legs feel even more sore today and just walking hurts so I'm going to rest today. Also it's raining outside today. The soreness from the kettlebell workout definitely took me by surprise. It feels like I used to recover faster when I was younger.

I am definitely going to try pilates once I recover. Should be fun.

[weebs]

I am definitely going to try pilates once I recover. Should be fun.

Good luck and have fun.  I'm curious to hear how it works out for you.

It's snowing for real here and the trails are crap, so I'm biking very little.  My weekly mud season routine is something like:

* two days upper body strength.  First day focus is arms & shoulders.  Second day is chest, back and shoulders.
* one or two days on the spin bike (AKA 'The Hamster Wheel').  It sucks, but helps me maintain a baseline through the winter months.
* one or two days Vinyasa flow yoga
* one or two days hiking.  We live at ~7700ft and are within walking distance of open space with trails between 7500 - 8500ft.

I use the Peloton app for the above strength, spin and yoga classes.  Ski season is ramping up, which means replacing one of the spin days with a thruster workout.  That's not much fun, but it really helps skiing/snowboarding. 

[jambongris]

Went out for my Sunday long run today and continued on my CityStrides journey, trying to run as many streets in my town as I can. Got 42 more today.

I recommend checking it out if you’re an avid walker or runner, citystrides.com. It’s a really fun way to see every corner of your city. (My last two long runs were through an old Air Force base where only the streets and driveways are left. It’s eventually going to get redeveloped but for now it’s an interesting view into my city’s past.)

I’m starting to feel the effects of the increases in my weekly mileage so I’m going to take a down week this week and focus more on strength and flexibility.

[brooklynmoney]

Went out for my Sunday long run today and continued on my CityStrides journey, trying to run as many streets in my town as I can. Got 42 more today.

I recommend checking it out if you’re an avid walker or runner, citystrides.com. It’s a really fun way to see every corner of your city. (My last two long runs were through an old Air Force base where only the streets and driveways are left. It’s eventually going to get redeveloped but for now it’s an interesting view into my city’s past.)

I’m starting to feel the effects of the increases in my weekly mileage so I’m going to take a down week this week and focus more on strength and flexibility.

That’s really cool I’ll going to check it out for my town.

[jambongris]

Went out for my Sunday long run today and continued on my CityStrides journey, trying to run as many streets in my town as I can. Got 42 more today.

I recommend checking it out if you’re an avid walker or runner, citystrides.com. It’s a really fun way to see every corner of your city. (My last two long runs were through an old Air Force base where only the streets and driveways are left. It’s eventually going to get redeveloped but for now it’s an interesting view into my city’s past.)

I’m starting to feel the effects of the increases in my weekly mileage so I’m going to take a down week this week and focus more on strength and flexibility.

That’s really cool I’ll going to check it out for my town.

Nice! I don’t plan on actually completing all of Ottawa because it’s sprawled across a huge area. My stretch goal is to complete the area that is generally within the greenbelt. Even this should take me at least another year in the best case scenario - I’m about half way there I think.

[Linea_Norway]

Yesterday I was my old, lazy self and did nothing active. I just read a book and cleaned the house.

Today I did an hour of briskwalking again, in weather with snow flakes falling, while all the snow on the ground has just melted away. Maybe I will do pilates or yoga again later today.

[Linea_Norway]

Today I briskwalked for one and a half hour. I haven't felt my knee for days. I was just not at all motivated to go running today, therefore I walked. It was pretty cold and my legs felt really cold afterwards. Next time, wear long johns under my thick legging. Half of it uphill and from there of course downhill.

Amount of training per week this month, not considering intensity:
Week 24-30: 5 hours and 15 min.
Week 17-23: 5 hours and 20 min.
Week 10-16: 5 hours and 37 min.
Week 3-9: 4 hours and 36 min. This was the week I started the challenge on the 4th.

The number of hours was a mix of medium and high intensity. And I didn't even count all the arm exercises that we do often in the living room while watching tv. So I guess that I come close to my original goal of 150 min high intensity or 300 min medium intensity.

Whatever that goal, this is about what I can do reasonably. Although, I could have fewer days without any excercise. Now I had 5 of those after I started.

[jambongris]

I’m now officially signed up for 2 marathons next year. My first 2 marathons. Should be fun.

[wenchsenior]

I’m now officially signed up for 2 marathons next year. My first 2 marathons. Should be fun.

:SALUTES:

[TreeLeaf]

I have recovered from the kettlebell workout. :)

Yesterday I did 120 push ups. Interestingly I am barely sore from the push ups this time, where a week ago or so I did 100 push ups and was incredibly sore the next 2 days. Hopefully the kettlebell workout follows the same pattern.

I am planning on going for my usual one mile run this morning.

[Linea_Norway]

I’m now officially signed up for 2 marathons next year. My first 2 marathons. Should be fun.

@jambongris
Good luck. Running a marathon can indeed be fun, as there is usually a nice atmosfere among other runners and from spectators. Just remember to train enough. I ran one in 2010, in Amsterdam. I trained on average 8 hours a week. Sometimes 10 hours a week, but then I always got pain somewhere and had to reduce to 6 hours a week for some time. So 8 hours was perfect for me.

For my running excercises I was inspired by a book by Grete Waitz, which I think is called "Run your first marathon" in English. In the back of the book there are 2 schedules, one for beginners and one for advanced runners. I followed the schedule for advanced runners, but did only 4 running sessions per week instead of 5 as in the schedule. And I allowed myself to cherry pick any session from a 2 week period each time I went running. That worked for me.

Before the race, I had run many sessions of 3 hours (28,5 km) during training, with no pain at all. But during the marathon my legs started to hurt already after 19 km or so. Maybe it was the hard asphalt or the fact that I ran a bit too fast in the beginning. But I had a hard time from there until 5 km from the end when I passed a lot of runners again. At the final stretch we also got our first "hill", following a road under an aquaduct. I was happy to finally meet one of the many hills I had trained on, so I could just run. According to DH everyone alse around had to walk that part.

[Linea_Norway]

Today I did 25 min of pilates for beginners. This felt easy. Only I do this in front of the TV where I play an instruction video. Where I earlier almost kicked my legs into my chili plants, I now need to watch out for the christmas tree.

I also walked to the post office, 25 minutes. But I do this often, as the grocery store is also there, and usually I don't count it as training.

Yesterday evening I did more arm excercises and really nothing else.

DH read somewhere that a university discovered that you should rather train arm muscles excentrically. That means e.g. lifting a weight bar at normal speed and then moving it down slowly. This can be surprisingly heavy. Try for example to lift a 5 kg bar in each hand to a crusfix position (with your arms spread). And then slowly let them sink. Repeat 10 times.
This is what we now do with all our arm excercises.

[Metalcat]

Today I did 25 min of pilates for beginners. This felt easy. Only I do this in front of the TV where I play an instruction video. Where I earlier almost kicked my legs into my chili plants, I now need to watch out for the christmas tree.

I also walked to the post office, 25 minutes. But I do this often, as the grocery store is also there, and usually I don't count it as training.

Yesterday evening I did more arm excercises and really nothing else.

DH read somewhere that a university discovered that you should rather train arm muscles excentrically. That means e.g. lifting a weight bar at normal speed and then moving it down slowly. This can be surprisingly heavy. Try for example to lift a 5 kg bar in each hand to a crusfix position (with your arms spread). And then slowly let them sink. Repeat 10 times.
This is what we now do with all our arm excercises.

I'm not sure what exactly you're describing, it sounds like delt lifts.

But yes, all reps are much harder when done slowly in both directions, you lose all of the momentum, so you engage your muscles continuously instead of just flicking weights about with bursts of muscle activity.

Or am I understanding wrong?

[jambongris]

I’m now officially signed up for 2 marathons next year. My first 2 marathons. Should be fun.

@jambongris
Good luck. Running a marathon can indeed be fun, as there is usually a nice atmosfere among other runners and from spectators. Just remember to train enough. I ran one in 2010, in Amsterdam. I trained on average 8 hours a week. Sometimes 10 hours a week, but then I always got pain somewhere and had to reduce to 6 hours a week for some time. So 8 hours was perfect for me.

For my running excercises I was inspired by a book by Grete Waitz, which I think is called "Run your first marathon" in English. In the back of the book there are 2 schedules, one for beginners and one for advanced runners. I followed the schedule for advanced runners, but did only 4 running sessions per week instead of 5 as in the schedule. And I allowed myself to cherry pick any session from a 2 week period each time I went running. That worked for me.

Before the race, I had run many sessions of 3 hours (28,5 km) during training, with no pain at all. But during the marathon my legs started to hurt already after 19 km or so. Maybe it was the hard asphalt or the fact that I ran a bit too fast in the beginning. But I had a hard time from there until 5 km from the end when I passed a lot of runners again. At the final stretch we also got our first "hill", following a road under an aquaduct. I was happy to finally meet one of the many hills I had trained on, so I could just run. According to DH everyone alse around had to walk that part.

Congrats on your marathon!

I’m currently holding steady at about ~7 hours per week right now with the expectation that I’ll begin increasing from there ~4 months before race day (first marathon is end of May).

Thanks for the book recommendation. I just finished reading Pfitzinger for the second time and I’m always looking for additional perspectives.

I’ve run two half-marathons so far and I’ve really enjoyed the atmosphere. The crowds of cheering spectators are such a delight.

[Linea_Norway]

Today I did 25 min of pilates for beginners. This felt easy. Only I do this in front of the TV where I play an instruction video. Where I earlier almost kicked my legs into my chili plants, I now need to watch out for the christmas tree.

I also walked to the post office, 25 minutes. But I do this often, as the grocery store is also there, and usually I don't count it as training.

Yesterday evening I did more arm excercises and really nothing else.

DH read somewhere that a university discovered that you should rather train arm muscles excentrically. That means e.g. lifting a weight bar at normal speed and then moving it down slowly. This can be surprisingly heavy. Try for example to lift a 5 kg bar in each hand to a crusfix position (with your arms spread). And then slowly let them sink. Repeat 10 times.
This is what we now do with all our arm excercises.

I'm not sure what exactly you're describing, it sounds like delt lifts.

But yes, all reps are much harder when done slowly in both directions, you lose all of the momentum, so you engage your muscles continuously instead of just flicking weights about with bursts of muscle activity.

Or am I understanding wrong?

@Malcat
From what I understood of it, it doesn't really matter how fast you do the push out movement, but the pull back movement is supposed to be done slowly.
But I didn't read the article myself and only have second hand information from DH.

[Linea_Norway]

Today I walked for more than an hour. Not briskwalking as usual, as it was a bit slippery. I might put on my spike shoes next time.

[Linea_Norway]

Today I did 30 minutes pilates. This time with DH in the same room.

[Linea_Norway]

Today we have sunshine! I went one hour running/briskwalking at lunchtime. First with spike shoes on, but had to return and switch to normal sport shoes. I really should have eaten first, as I felt quite empty for carbo at the end.

I didn't feel my knee at all.

[TreeLeaf]

I did the same full body kettlebell workout yesterday that I did before and also walked three miles. Today I am barely sore and feel like I can walk/run just fine. It seems like my body is adjusting to the additional exercise.

Today the goal is to attempt the pilates class with my wife, run one mile, and walk two miles. Should be fun. I can do 100 push ups but have the same flexibility and balance as a 2" x 4"...so some sort of pilates or yoga should be good for me.

[TreeLeaf]

I did the one hour pilates class with my wife at the ymca. Pilates is awesome - it is like a mixture of relaxation, stretching, and mild strength training of muscles which normally may not get worked out. I highly recommend.

Then I ran a mile and walked two miles.

Now I'm exhausted.

[Metalcat]

I did the one hour pilates class with my wife at the ymca. Pilates is awesome - it is like a mixture of relaxation, stretching, and mild strength training of muscles which normally may not get worked out. I highly recommend.

Then I ran a mile and walked two miles.

Now I'm exhausted.

Nice. Pilates is the shit.

[Linea_Norway]

Yesterday I combined shopping at a nearby shopping center with excercise. I let DH drop me off on the way to the center, as he wanted to do something else in the vicinity. And I briskwalked back with a full backpack, which took one hour.
Maybe I should have walked both ways, as I have done that before in summer, but I was not so motivated to do that yesterday. It was also quite cold. If motivation is not great, I always feel that doing something is already an accomplishment.

Today I will do pilates again, indoors.

We got a few cm of snow tonight. Not enough to think of skiing yet.

Edit: yes, 30 min pilates.

[Linea_Norway]

Today I walked 1 hour and 15 minutes.

[1FACTORY174!]

I really need to get up my amount of excercise to stay healthy. After the age of 40 your muscle mass reclines and during menopause it really deteriorates fast. I am not there yet, but I have not trained enough the last year or so. I do make trips, often foraging, but those are not in training tempo. So I need to do something more rigorous 3 days a week or more. Let's start tomorrow.

Current status is that I am healthy enough, but not in a great condition. I will start by briskwalking, and then run/walk when briskwalking is not a physical challenge anymore.

The challenge is 150 minutes a week high intensity or 300 minutes a week medium intensity.

Why  not cycling u get the heart rate up and  build muscle in your glutes and legs,buy a bike that "FITS"  you ,i grew up riding than racing bicycles non impact exercise..

Sent from my SM-A426U using Tapatalk

[TreeLeaf]

Yesterday I walked three miles. I did no other exercise.

Today I ran one mile. I will also walk two miles and do curls.

Interestingly posting here what exercise I will do for the day means I then feel an obligation to actually do the exercise. Social accountability works. :)

[Linea_Norway]

@curious_george

Yesterday I walked three miles. I did no other exercise.

Today I ran one mile. I will also walk two miles and do curls.

Interestingly posting here what exercise I will do for the day means I then feel an obligation to actually do the exercise. Social accountability works. :)

Good that it works for you.

I didn't write anything for yesterday and I also ended up not doing anything. Today DH went skating, far away with other people, the whole day long. That was not a group I could easily join, also because I don't want to skate the whole day. So I stay home and make do a long walk. And maybe do some pilates or yoga as well.

[Linea_Norway]

@1FACTORY174!

Why  not cycling u get the heart rate up and  build muscle in your glutes and legs,buy a bike that "FITS"  you ,i grew up riding than racing bicycles non impact exercise..

Sent from my SM-A426U using Tapatalk

I have a mountain bike that fits well. And I sold my racing bike years ago.

Currently it is -10C (14F) and not typical cycling weather. I don't have spike tires either, which you need in winter.

I grew up in the Netherlands, cycling to school, about 20 miles a day. I also did active racing cycling for some years. I have in the past cycled indoors in winter, with my racing bike clicked into a thing. But that is not a very inspiring way of training. DH still does this upstairs, watching a movie or so.

I have noticed that cycling isn't really my thing anymore. Although I still go on a multiple day cycling/camping trip with DH sometimes. Norway is not really a bike friendly country. If DH and I use cycle paths on our trip, they tend to be very short and just end somewhere all the time. You often end up cycling on the road between the cars, which is not relaxed. Yes, there is the option of riding on gravel roads in a forest or in the mountains. We do that and that goes a lot up and down. I save that usually for those longer trips and don't do this often for a normal trip. And this is only a thing to do in summer, as those roads are turned into ski trails in winter, or just full of snow, in the mountains.

But going on a bike somewhere local instead of driving or walking is a lot of fuss for me, much more than it used to be in the Netherlands. Like, my bike is in a locked shed, locked to another bicyle, so I first need to find the keys and open it (both the shed and the bike lock). The cycle lock needs to be taken along in a cycle bag or backpack if I want to park the bike somewhere, for example at a shop.
I prererably need to dress in cycle shorts to sit more comfortable. If wearing normal trousers, I need to bind up the trouser at my right ankle to not get it into the chain. As I seldom use my bike, my tires are often too soft and we have a cycle pump that doesn't work simply and is a drame each time I use it. I need to put a helmet on my head.

Back in my childhood I had a normal bike where I sat straight upon. It had a case around the chain and a lock integrated in the bike, and we all cycled without a helmet and in normal chlothes. We also had a flat country, which made cycling so much easier.

Just walking out of the door is so much more simple.

[TreeLeaf]

I have never been into cycling much. I used to bicycle into work, and ride as a kid a lot, but these days I only ride as a form of transportation.

It's far easier and cheaper to just put on a pair of running shoes and go for a run. Also there are sidewalks at my house, and outdoor dirt running trails within a mile. But mostly I do this because it's cheap and easy and I don't have to maintain a bike.

[Linea_Norway]

I walked for 1 and a half hour, in -10C (14F). I should have put on my normal winter coat which is long enough to cover my thighs, instead of a fleece lined softshell jacket.
I have often been cross country skiing in this kind of temperatures. Then, when it is really cold, I usually wear an second pair of long Johns, which I forgot now. But cross country skiing is a much higher intensity sport than (brisk)walking. So I was quite cold most of the time.
I did think of putting on mittens instead of gloves and that helped for my hands. But my thighs are still cold now.

I am wondering how DH is doing, as it won't be any warmer where he is. But he uses higher intensity when he skates (when the ice is thick).

[GuitarStv]

But going on a bike somewhere local instead of driving or walking is a lot of fuss for me, much more than it used to be in the Netherlands. Like, my bike is in a locked shed, locked to another bicyle, so I first need to find the keys and open it (both the shed and the bike lock). The cycle lock needs to be taken along in a cycle bag or backpack if I want to park the bike somewhere, for example at a shop.
I prererably need to dress in cycle shorts to sit more comfortable. If wearing normal trousers, I need to bind up the trouser at my right ankle to not get it into the chain. As I seldom use my bike, my tires are often too soft and we have a cycle pump that doesn't work simply and is a drame each time I use it. I need to put a helmet on my head.

The value of a bike that isn't used is 0$.  While it really does suck having stuff stolen . . . it would be better to leave your bike unlocked and try to use it more often than let the lock stand in the way of riding.  Do you have a rack on your bike, or can you rig something up so that the bike lock lives on your frame?  Then you don't really have to worry about it, it's just always there.  I usually keep my bike lock key with my house keys, so it's something that I always need when leaving home.

Buy a decent bike pump!  I strongly recommend this Topeak JoeBLow Sport III one - https://bicicletta.cc/products/topeak-joeblow-sport-iii-floor-pump-yellow?variant=32770218885183&currency=CAD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=CjwKCAiAv9ucBhBXEiwA6N8nYEAPnUibHP6hySZFWa4gwslpZsslYbquUv8OS1t_s2TfdqPEXOc5GxoCQ8sQAvD_BwE.  It has a great pump head that easily locks onto both presta and schrader valves without any fussing around . . .  but there are plenty of other decent bike pumps out there.

Your helmet can live on your bike in the shed . . . this way you never have to go back into the house to find it after forgetting it.  As far as the pants, usually I just pull my right sock up over the cuff if I'm cycling in civvies - shouldn't take more than a second.

These are all little things, but anything that makes you think less will help you incorporate using the bike more easily.

[jambongris]

I walked for 1 and a half hour, in -10C (14F). I should have put on my normal winter coat which is long enough to cover my thighs, instead of a fleece lined softshell jacket.
I have often been cross country skiing in this kind of temperatures. Then, when it is really cold, I usually wear an second pair of long Johns, which I forgot now. But cross country skiing is a much higher intensity sport than (brisk)walking. So I was quite cold most of the time.
I did think of putting on mittens instead of gloves and that helped for my hands. But my thighs are still cold now.

I am wondering how DH is doing, as it won't be any warmer where he is. But he uses higher intensity when he skates (when the ice is thick).

We finally got some more snow here. We had one snowfall last month but it was gone within a week. I love winter running. There’s something so peaceful about it.

Went for a nice run this morning alongside the river in the fresh snow. Looks like it was -6 °C. Only saw one other runner. Our numbers are thinning as the weather drops. Did see two fat bikes.

I took it slower than usual as I find that the transition from road running to snow running recruits a lot of additional stabilizer muscles that need to be woken up after the summer.

There are still geese in the river that haven’t gone south.

[wenchsenior]

After almost 3 months out of the pool, I got back in and did a brisk 30 minutes (although I was pretty tired after 20). Then I got home and since we are having our last stretch of short-sleeve weather before official winter kicks in late this week, I then went for a brisk 30-minute walk as well.

[Linea_Norway]

I walked another 1 and a half hour, in light snowy weather. The roads where the cars drive are getting slippery. But surprisingly the pavements and small roads where I walk are not.

My hiking sports shoes that have soles of soft rubber are getting flat profiles in the middle of the shoes. I expect them to be slippery, but so far it has gone well.
I ordered new shoes online for a good price on black friday, same brand, same size as my current shoes. But they were way too big. I sent them back to the shop and chose on the return website to swap them for a smaller pair. But instead, they gave me my money back. Maybe because the price of those shoes had doubled and gone back to normal. I am still hoping I will be able to buy some new shoes for another good price. Maybe in the Netherlands when I visit next week. Or otherwise during a next sale.

[tawyer]

I've started moving six miles on foot per day, since December 1. It can be multiple trips per day, some combination of walking (when the sidewalks are slippery) and running. Mostly errands nearby to help me get out of the house in the winter months.

[Linea_Norway]

Yesterday it snowed, but not very much. Just 10 cm of thin, fluffy snow. Today we went CC skiing for 1 hour and 15 minutes on minimal circumstances, on old skies. It was doable and the hills gave good training.

[jambongris]

Went for a medium-long run workout this morning since we’re expected to get ~20 cm of snow tonight which will make it hard to run intervals for a while.

I ran through a large experimental farm that’s right in the middle of our city - it's such a cool spot to run. Because it’s all open there’s no protection from the wind and it was howling this morning - averaged around 30 km/h from what I can tell.

Planning another run tomorrow morning during the snowfall since that’s easily my favorite time to run. I’ll grab my carbide tipped running shoes, my light-up vest, some warm clothes and create fresh tracks in the snow.

Hopefully this also means we can get our x-country skis out soon.

[wenchsenior]

I was bemoaning our highs in the low 40s yesterday until you all shamed me into going running anyway; and it was fine. :note to self:

[jambongris]

I was bemoaning our highs in the low 40s yesterday until you all shamed me into going running anyway; and it was fine. :note to self:

Awesome!

I always feel so badass after a winter run.