Is the winter flying by for anyone else? It’s FLYING! Maybe going to Florida helped?

Jeff had another trip planned within a week of returning home from Florida. A friend of ours was turning 40, and that called for a guy’s trip to Whitehorse, Calgary, and Edmonton to have some fine dining, drinks, and a couple of NHL hockey games.

I’ve been working and hiking and walking, getting outside, working on my fitness. The Strava app lets you upload photos with every workout you add, so I have a lot of hiking selfies and trail shots on my camera! Here are some:

It’s been -20C or warmer most days so I’ve switched to running shoes (waterproof Keens) with the ice trax strapped on the bottom, since the trails are nicely packed down. Game changer! SO much nicer than hiking in boots or mukluks.

I went for a cross country ski one day too!

Hank and I got along pretty well while Jeff was away. Mostly I took him for walks that were over an hour long to make him sleep the rest of the time, but he still tends to come in my office at least once a day to do this:

I also joined a birthday dinner for our friend Susan who hit the 70 milestone!

We really don’t have that much snow this year. I keep thinking we’re about to get walloped to make up for it, but it’s almost Thaw di Gras already! I feel like I’ve shovelled as much as normal, but we haven’t had huge dumps, so there isn’t as much on everyone’s roofs this year, and not as much to strip from the streets. They’ve already started removing the snow from the roof of Gerties this week:

Overall, I think this winter feels pretty average. We got some cold temperatures, some snow, but nothing remarkable in any direction.

I’ve been wanting to add some weight-lifting workouts back into my schedule. I used to do Beachbody workouts, but they just weren’t suited specifically for me (6 days a week (too much!), overly-complex movements (why combine so many movements?), and indoor cardio (I’d rather be outside!)). I tried some online weight classes on YouTube, and over-lifted each time so I was so broken I didn’t do it regularly. Then I stumbled upon a personal trainer, James Smith, who has some fantastic, straight-to-the-point motivational videos on YouTube. I signed up for a free trial of his personal training app, the James Smith Academy. He has a team of personal trainers who chat with you, help you set goals, and they make a personalized training program just for you, and will continue to do so as you progress! I was looking for a 3x a week program, one that would help me with my hips (arthritis + pelvic radiation + desk job makes them stiff), and help me get stronger to complement walking and hiking. And they work with what you have access to – so if you have a gym membership, they’ll incorporate those gym machines. I prefer home-based, so I’ve been assigned 3 different routines (per week), with a mix of body weight, dumbbell, and floor exercises.

My first session was great, but also really hard! The walking lunges were challenging (but needed!) but then I made a huge mistake. Everything was set up with x number of reps, and all had 3 sets with a 60-second rest between. When I got to the last exercise, I misread it! So instead of doing a forearm plank for up to 30 seconds, 3 times, I tried to do 30 planks, 3 times. That’s 90 planks. I made it to 46. Let’s just say I was pretty broken the next day, but still hiked!

The second one had all different exercises, and they targeted different muscles, so I was able to do it two days after the first one, even though I was still pretty stiff and sore!

I’m going to subscribe to this training app and keep at it. Yes, I’m always working away at weight loss, but being active and healthy and strong is even more important to me. I’m still thinking about getting a bike to hop on and peddle a lap around town on my breaks this summer! I seem to last 6 months to a year on everything I attempt and then fade off it. So please expect that I’ll do the same with this one. I just promise I’ll keep trying and keep moving!

And soon there will be light early in the morning so I can walk before work again!

Did you notice all the sun we have now? The sun is setting at 8pm already! And rising at 9am. I adore my new office. However, the light filtering blinds I got for the summer sun were maybe not the best choice because when the sun shines directly on my windows in the afternoon, even with the blinds pulled, it is so bright I have to wear my new sunhat while I work to block the sun from my eyes:

Not too much else new! My next work trip is next month, to Asheville, North Carolina! (Look out Lori!) I don’t think I’ve ever been to North Carolina. I’m excited to see it!!