Category Archives: Lifestyle

lifestyle

Active and Passive Waiting

Passive waiting indicates defeat; active waiting signals hope, expectancy. The runner waiting for the gun to go off waits with positive tension anticipating a winning effort. The cyclist who commits to hours of endurance training does so with the expectation that race pace will be longer and climbs stronger

In the Christian calendar, Sunday, November 30^th was the first Sunday of Advent. A prominent theme of the Advent season, the weeks and days leading up to December 25^th, is WAITING.

In fact, to oh so many of us, the entire month of December seems to be a time of waiting. Waiting to give and receive gifts on Christmas morning, each day of Hanukkah, or for whatever gift-giving celebration one observes, is only a part of the waiting.

There’s the waiting for cookies to finish baking, waiting for snow to fall and when it does, the waiting for cross country ski and VAST snowmobile trails to accumulate enough to use without the aid of snow guns. There’s waiting in line, waiting for the car to warm up, waiting for the coffee to brew and waiting to get in gear the morning after a late night.

There’s waiting for Winter Solstice to finally turn the tide on daylight hours and, for some, waiting to get back outdoors for spring and summer sports.

Sometimes waiting seems like a monumental waste of time: waiting for someone who is late, waiting for your child to finally get dressed so you can take him to school, waiting for your daughter to finish her hockey practice and waiting for your elderly parent to painstakingly choose the perfect greeting card on a shopping trip.

However, I have recently been reading advice to make good use of time spent waiting. Athletes are known to resist the inclusion of recovery in their ambitious training programs. Perhaps waiting is a built-in recovery period. Yoga instructors ask participants to “be in the moment.” Waiting does that too, doesn’t it? “Slow down before you get hurt.” Have you heard that one? Rushing about frantically is a health hazard. When stuck on hold, breathe, reorganize and proceed mindfully.

When forced to spend minutes or longer in waiting mode, if we can practice settling, breathing, thinking and letting life flow through us, perhaps we can make waiting something positive instead of negative, something beneficial instead of harmful, a gift and not a punishment.

Like everything else we do, waiting is a skill to be practiced and the more we practice, the more we will learn about ourselves, the more we will seek and find, the more we will notice and actually see, and the more proficient we will become at doing so.

The holiday season is a time of mixed emotions. It is a time of intensities and extremes from very good to very bad, from the deepest happiness to the most painful sadness. Traditions magnify joy and intensify grief. From a baby’s first holiday or the happy couple’s anticipation of their June wedding to the terminally ill patient or failing senior waiting for the end to come, the range of emotions, memories and expectations of a holiday season are infinite and indefinable.

But no matter how we cut it, the month of December is here and it will return again in another calendar year. On the 31^st we will ring in the New Year and start all over again.You may even say “I just can’t wait until …!”

Perhaps a gift we can give ourselves this year is to learn to wait – not patiently with the lid firmly locked down on our enthusiasm, but in time spent alone with ourselves, our innermost thoughts, feelings, hopes, dreams, fears and expectations. In so doing, may we find peace. May we feel the strong bonds of community with family, neighbors, like-minded others and, in the long run, with humanity itself. May we learn the true value of waiting. After all, in waiting, we must have faith that there is something to wait for, something better ahead, something worth living another day, putting one foot in front of another, striving for. There are people with whom to connect. There are goals to be achieved. There is performance to be maximized. There is health and well-being to realize. If the waiting is active, not passive, it will support and sustain growth. Perhaps the real question is, “What are we waiting for?” And, “how are we waiting?”

Seasonal reminder of Maine moments and memories by Pam’s Wreaths, Harpswell, Maine

HAPPY HOLIDAYS. MERRY CHRISTMAS. HAPPY NEW YEAR. TO ALL.

Winter Hiking

Photo: Jeb Wallace Brodeur who knows plenty about winter hiking!

Temperatures are dropping, the white stuff is in the forecast and restlessness tugs against the temptation to grab a good book and settle in by the fire. With a few exceptions, most bikes, boats and summer gear are packed away for next year.

Then the email rolls into my inbox. “Hey, who wants to do some winter hiking?” What on earth does that mean?

It appears that there are two kinds of winter hiking. One involves multi-day excursions that are borderline tests of survival skills while the other is simply doing what you do in the summer but adapting to winter terrain and conditions. Let’s look at the latter.

To get outdoors to hike in the winter requires the same steps as doing so at any other time during the years, just more of them.

Establish a destination. Roaming randomly is not a good plan, especially when weather conditions are sometimes dangerously variable. Hike with others and be sure that friends or family members know that you are headed out, where and for how long.

Gear is important. Hiking poles are especially helpful in the winter. Layers of warm and warmer clothing, a shell that is wind and rain resistant, gloves, hat, good socks and footwear, and later a buff and maybe some handwarmers.

You will want to regulate your body temperature by shedding or adding layers as you go. While you’re at it, stuff a few dry items into your pack such as extra socks and gloves.

Also in that pack be sure to have a healthy supply of fuel. The usual fluids and snacks are good, but extras as well as a thermos or two of something hot are even better. Don’t forget that water in the hose of a hydration pack can freeze; so can solid foods. Because you will be gradually extending your winter hiking expeditions, you will learn what works and what doesn’t as you lengthen distance and increase hours on the trail.

HIKING FITNESS

Perhaps the best plan is to consider winter hiking as a continuum. Just as one season segues into another gradually (usually), adapting to the challenges of the outdoors should happen over time. Shocking the system with too much, too soon is endangering to health and safety as well as a sure-fire way to blight budding enthusiasm.

Hiking is an excellent way to increase and/or maintain fitness. Repetitive walking and climbing movements build muscular strength, while practice on diverse surfaces improves balance and coordination. The heart, lungs and skin adapt to the cold as a sense of well-being gains traction.

When you’re not on the road or the trail, spend some time training core strength and stability to help you deal with the additional weight of a pack as well as unexpected missteps and off-balance maneuvers along the way.

Flexibility exercises help to maintain joint integrity while preventing inappropriate muscle tightness that could lead to injury. Lower body strength needs are obvious, but it’s not all about the quadriceps. Be sure to balance all muscle groups by addressing the lower leg as well as the upper, back and front, inside and outside. And, of course, upper body strength is important for pushing and pulling, reaching, clasping and utilizing poles effectively.

Search engine results for “hiking fitness” are plentiful. A better approach might be to visit a fitness professional to design a program appropriate to you and your individual needs and goals. Beware of any training plan that is promoted as one-size-fits-all.

Remember, a hike is not a one-time deal. Begin with shorter, easier routes and gradually intensify the effort by finding longer and more difficult trails.

A hike is a hike. A simple winter’s walk on a class 4 road could well be the hike for you. More likely, however, trails will beckon and you will be drawn to greater adventures. As you build endurance and capability, and as hiking regularly becomes habitual for you and your companions, you will want to enlarge the boundaries of your initial outings.

WINTER WHITE

Snow is beautiful. It is also wet, cold, slippery and often unexpected. It can hide pitfalls or make them more navigable. Snow can cause or cushion falls, make you work harder going up or easier sliding down. It can blanket you in insulation or chill you to the bone. It can surprise you with dehydration and fiercely bounce the sun’s rays back to your eyes and skin. Bottom line – prepare and prevent snow hazards.

Watch the weather forecast. Wear appropriate boots, gaiters, and waterproof outerwear. Carry snowshoes for deeper amounts or shoe grips such as stabilicers or yaktrax for slick. Hydrate purposefully and apply sunscreen liberally.

Maneuvering through snow demands additional energy and effort. Beware to assess your ability realistically and heed signs of onset of fatigue. It is always better to turn around early than to get stuck far from your base, miserable and potentially at risk.

Even on shorter hikes of only a few hours, it is wise to be prepared packing with you a flashlight, first aid kit, waterproof matches and an emergency blanket. If your cell phone works, great. Don’t rely on it.

Fortunately there are ample resources for hiking in Vermont. For example, go to http://www.greenmountainclub.org/ to find hiking advice and destinations. Note that on the Long Trail, trail blazes are white and might be hidden beneath deep snow or difficult to see.

Winter is not a good time to get lost. Heed advice to carry a map (many are available at GMC) and a compass, and be sure you know how to read them.

By the way, when you visit the Green Mountain Club online, by phone or in person, be sure to learn more about what they do and what they offer that might appeal to you. There are group hikes appropriate for all levels, workshops, lectures and events. Granted, much of what you may learn is common sense, but even the brightest among us needs to have rational information organized and presented as functional and accessible.

MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL FITNESS

Vermont offers unlimited opportunities to explore the outdoors all year. Because of changing seasons, there’s always something new to see, even along the same path. Summer’s lush, green foliage gives way to an often drab stick season. While it is prudent to stay off trails during mud seasons, and be careful in the woods during hunting seasons, dirt roads and recreational paths offer unrestricted venues to keep the legs moving.

A hiker is often surprised to find distant views through bare branches. A narrow trail opens to expansive vistas that carry thoughts along with it. Changing light and shadows, snow cover, frozen brooks, sunrise, dusk, all take on new meaning.

Research proves that physical activity is a healthy antidote and potential cure for sadness, discouragement and even clinical depression. To work it’s magic, exercise must be performed regularly. Add to regular practice stellar scenery and good friends and you have a solid reason to get out and hike. Even in the winter. Especially in the winter.

PUNCH-LIST beginning OCTOBER 31

A punch-list helps you organize the season ahead and make sure you miss nothing. Create your own and see what rises to the top.

Be safe on HalloweenJ AND have fun! Take lots of photos. Text some to your mom. (If you can’t, you might not want them out there ………..)
Don’t forget to set your clocks back on Saturday 11-1 before dawn 11-2.
Then there’s Election Day. Hard to complain when we don’t make it to the polls. Your vote may be but a drop in the bucket on the National front, but individual votes DO make a difference here in Vermont.
Skiers – don’t get caught with your dull skis in storage and your gloves heavens-knows-where. Remember that broken buckle on your ski boot? Then there’s that lower body strength training you were going to do … Snow is already in the forecast. There’s just enough time to get it together.
Then there are snow tires to consider – but probably not yet.
Cyclists, hikers and summer sports enthusiasts – have you been easing back in October ready to play in November, and start base building over the winter for a spring ramp that will have you on the road or up the trail as soon as the mud clears? Surely you did not put your gear away muddy or leave it strewn in the back of the car.
Most everyone can agree on Thanksgiving as a holiday to celebrate. If you are local to Central Vermont, go to http://www.barrecongregational.org to register for this year’s 5k Gobble Wobble – 9:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving – perfect way to start the day before you start on the turkey!
I know, I know, we all like to buy local. But, check out http://www.pamsmainewreaths.com/. Wonderfully fresh and beautifully hand-constructed wreaths by an amazing woman who lives near my summer hangout in Maine and runs her beloved wreath business out of her home with lots of help from family and neighbors.
As the temps drop and we kick into high gear for the Vermont winter, it’s a good idea to look back over the months behind and carry forward that which sustains us. It is also the time to look around us and be good neighbors. If you have ever lived in a big city, you know what I mean when I say that city dwellers learn the fine art of avoiding eye-contact when walking down the street, have the fingers of one hand wrapped around a pepper spray as they approach the entrance to their apartment building, and rarely know the person who lives down the hall much less at the next block over. Here in Vermont we wave to passing drivers on our way to jobs and work to help supply those in need with everything from tires to warm coats to fuel and food. 10. As we segue into November, it is time to get real about shorter days and adapt accordingly with as little whining as possible. Don’t negate the beauties of a quiet hour in front of the fire with a book. (If you are saying, “yeah, right, in your dreams” – perhaps you should join me in reassessing what is busy about our lives and prioritizing that which is most important, yes, but also that which fills us with the satisfaction of sharing and living our moments meaningfully with family and friends. I love what I once read. Paraphrased – “Lose the word BUSY. It is a four-letter word. Instead say BLESSED or RICH WITH OPPORTUNITIES or POSSIBILITIES. And, if that doesn’t work, you are probably spinning wheels inappropriately.” Good idea anyway.

What can you add to this list? Or how can you adapt it for yourself?

I know that one thing I hope to do in the days, weeks and months ahead is to remain open to possibilities as well as to others. I have always believed that peoples’ paths cross for a reason. How often have you connected with another and some time later, probably within a different context, that person reenters your life?

Let me share with you a photo I recently received from someone who has become dear to me. It is a shot of the sunrise taken recently from the deck on which I sat for hours each morning last August.

It is a reminder that seasons change, kids grow up, parents age; but some things are always the same.

OCTOBER SUNRISE

OLDER FASTER STRONGER, Athletes Compete into their 70s, 80s and 90s.

Older athletes smash theories of the unavoidable degeneration and debilitation of aging. Are fit and even competitive seniors freaks or the answer to the growing health care crisis?

Who is an older athlete? According to research, the body begins to decline after the age of 35. Theories abound about the impact of genetics, (“I’ve just got good genes”), attitude, body type and socioeconomic level. Most theories are just that and fail to test conclusively. There are increasing exceptions.

With contemporary medical advances, if you are over 50, barring disabling disease or accident, you probably anticipate living longer than your ancestors. Living longer is fine if those latter years are years of physical, mental and emotional functional capability.

Perhaps Baby Boomers continue to challenge traditional expectations. As Baby Boomers age, they want to thrive. Furthermore, many are taking deliberate and educated steps in that direction. Though Kathleen Norris was not writing about physical fitness, her one-liner in “The Cloister Walk” is on the mark: “…the place of the very old is to teach about possibility.”

Given a clean bill of health and the time to dedicate to fitness, even competitive performance, with education, guidance, goals and plans to reach those goals, seniors are creating their own level playing field and working towards excellence previously unthought-of.

Often strength, speed and endurance gains are made relative to the age appropriate conditioning of the individual. But just as often masters’ performance challenges younger athletes.

Common knowledge has long been that as you age, mental and physical abilities decline: muscle mass is lost, bones thin and weaken, body fat increases. Muscle atrophy in seniors over age 75 may reach as much as 15% per decade. Not good news.

Much of that research, however, has been done on sedentary seniors. For example, in a recent study of highly functioning athletes from 40-81 years, individuals who ran, biked or swam four to five times weekly, it was determined that it is not aging, in and of itself, that causes the decline in strength and performance, but lack of use. The authors suggest that if more individuals stress their muscles and remain active as they age, the loss of physical capabilities and independence could be thwarted. (Wroblewski, A., et. al. “Chronic Exercise Preserves Lean Muscle Mass in MastersAthletes”, The Physician and Sportsmedicine.

While some experts warn that “pushing” to reach higher levels of performance is not only inappropriate but harmful, many others urge the inclusion of exercise in daily life. But it’s more than that. Yes, choosing to walk whenever possible, joining fitness classes, practicing flexibility and balance exercises and doing so on a regular basis are recognized as integral to protecting one’s health.

Take this a step beyond adequate activity into excellence it may be because of, rather than in spite of, maturity that the older athlete achieves. Is it because masters are those who have logged more miles or gained more competitive experience, are mature in their sport? Are older athletes those whose children are grown leaving them with more time and more resources? Looking hard and fast at the second half of one’s life may act as a wake-up call that summons the executive, retiree, or couch potato to a new enthusiasm for mobility or sports. Taking seriously the threat of a reduction in lifestyle and enjoyment puts teeth into the desire to move.

We know, or have watched, seniors outwit and outperform their younger competitors with skill and tactics that trump youth’s raw energy.

To achieve success in the areas of fitness and performance, as in all other aspects of life, there needs to be a plan, a means, education and training. Diligence is required as well as effort. Here one must think in terms of hours of exercise or training, not minutes; days and weeks and months, not just once in awhile; regular not random.

OLGA KOTELKO. June 25, 2014. www.globeandmail.com: “During her long, remarkable life, Olga Kotelko lived through a rugged farm childhood, an unhappy marriage, single parenthood and a long career as a beloved school teacher. Then, the Vancouver resident gained world fame as a track and field athlete, competing well into her 80s and 90s. Ms. Kotelko, who was hailed as one of Canada’s most accomplished athletes and held 26 world records in her age category, died Tuesday. She was 95.”

Think about that. Here was a woman who grew up on a family farm with physical work as normal daily existence. Later a school teacher and single parent, at a time where single parents were unusual, Kotelko attracted attention by her seemingly unlimited energy.

Later as an unassuming athlete who couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about, she was tested and studied to see what was working for her. Just weeks before her death she was still competing.

Her sports were: long jump, triple jump, shot put, discus, javelin, weight throw and various sprint distances all with multiple victories and records. In her 80s and 90s these were her sports. Think about that. Yes, endurance sports are understandable: putting one foot in front of another, one pedal stroke after another, one sweep of the oar after another; but power and speed? Kotelko’s athletic career, one begun late in life, demonstrates her modest claim that it is all about “moderation, exercise and a positive attitude… DNA, choices and exploration of opportunities.” “What Makes Olga Run?: The Mystery of the 90-Something Track Star and What She Can Teach Us About Living Longer, Happier Lives,” by Bruce Grierson, (January 14, 2014, Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.)

www.http://margaretwebb.com

MARGARET WEBB. Webb’s story has universal appeal. It is not gender specific nor is it about those singularly athletic or sedentary. Older, Faster, Stronger, What Women Runners Can Teach Us All About Living Younger, Longer, By Margaret Webb, (Rodale, 2014) is a story of hope, an offering of optimism. Webb presents the reader with the bad and the ugly: aging means more injuries, less lung and cardiovascular capability, loss of balance, coordination and flexibility, the nasty stuff about bone density, lean muscle mass and stored body fat. But then she debunks these as inevitable consequences of advancing years and chases her thesis that you can become even stronger and faster with advancing years.

With the help of her partner, sister, mom and a stable full of mentors and teachers, Webb employs every tool she can find from VO2Max testing to nutrition, heart rate training zones to yoga, strength to sports psychology. She loses weight, gives up cigarettes and booze, subjects herself to uncomfortable assessments and diligently follows her training plans.

Webb seeks advice, then takes it, practicing goal-setting, self-monitoring and celebration. She urges the reader to “find joy” in the pursuit. “Whatever limit you encounter, keep pushing against it,” Webb writes. “By doing this, you will have found, like many masters athletes have, a way to reach deep inside yourself, grasp the hands of your biological clock, and slow it’s forward rush.”

Webb suggests that those who did not participate in sports in their younger years may come to them with fresh legs, patience, a willingness to practice recovery as they strive to compete and then surprise themselves by the motivation that competition ignites. She tests, proves and further develops her findings.

There is much to be said about growing older with health and strength, stability and balance, grace and power, adaptation and potential, faith and optimism. What happens next, when the talking is done? Will identity be defined by the doing? That remains to be seen.

CONSIDER THESE ATHLETES GOING STRONG and LONG:

Jacinto Bonilla age 74, CrossFit competitor

Sister Madonna (“Iron Nun”) age 83, Ironman

Paul Tetrick age 83, Time Trial competitor, Cycling

Pat Gallant-Charette age 63, distance swimmer (a newbie having begun only 15 years ago), plans 2015 Great Brittain to Ireland and 2016 a repeat of the Cook Strait to right her failed attempt.

Louis Self age 73, Kiteboarding competitor

Steve Rounds age 85, 2014 World Indoor Rowoing Championship, “won his age group” but also set a world record

Tao Porchon-Lynch age 95, Yoga

Yuichiro Miura age 80, Mountaineering. May 2013 oldest climber to summit Mt. Everest

Arthur Webb age 72, Ultramarathoner, Finished Badwater 15 times since he turned 58

Jaring Timmerman, swimmer, only person ever o compete in 105-109 age group

Chuck Norris age 74, Martial Arts

(www.dailyburn.com)

Whose name can you add to this list? Your own? A relative, neighbor, friend?

Trekking or Hiking Poles Come of Age

photo Jeb Wallace Brodeur

For some reason I have failed to acknowledge the existence of hiking poles. Until now. It seems that everywhere I look this year, hiking poles pop onto my radar. As I speak with friends, expert hikers on unimaginably difficult terrain, I find that they are enthusiastic about their poles.

So, I went to work to see what I could learn and share the news with you. Of course, you may be way ahead of me, but if not, perhaps you will join me as I try hiking this fall using poles.

We will not be the first to do so. Consider this list of individuals often pictured with their walking sticks: Moses, King Tutankhamen, Louis XIV, Charlie Chaplin, Father Time, Old Man Winter and Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), to name but a few.

Hiking poles, two of them, look much like ski poles, usually collapsible, with a rubber or carbide tip, (sometimes baskets, but more on that later), and wrist straps on the handles. They are skinny and offer support but not the kind that invites leaning one’s entire weight on them.

Trekking poles, or hiking poles, seem to be most useful on irregular terrain where they offer stability and, by further engaging the upper body, help to alleviate fatigue to the lower body. Poles help the hiker to find a rhythm and to move forward and upward maintaining that rhythm. Once “in stride,” the hiker can touch the trail on either side and maintain an efficient, centered movement pattern that covers the trail with apparently less effort.

Poles increase confidence especially on tricky downhill segments, crossing streams and maneuvering among and around obstacles. Poles can be used to probe mud or water, help with balance across a log and, in some cases, even double as tent poles.

The learning curve for hiking with poles is short and easy.

Hiking with poles gets you outdoors and helps with balance and mobility. Poles protect your knees, ankles, hips and spine especially on downhills. Note that at the same time, being able to accomplish such descending safely acts as conditioning to strengthen muscles, tendons and even ligaments that support the important joints of the body.

Balance on the trails can be troublesome. Poles give that added touch that benefits equilibrium and creates the confidence to try for more.

Photo Jeb Wallace Brodeur

It is one thing to walk forward and backward, up and down, but lateral movements often tip the scale of balance. It is here that poles are especially helpful.

Hiking is a repetitive motion and executing each stride with correct form and technique is imperative to improve strength and coordination, speed and balance, and to prevent injury. Hiking poles help to execute steps with the pace and alignment of a good gait. Poles may keep the hiker focused and motion fluid.

Perhaps one of the best things to be said about using hiking poles is that they expand opportunities for all types of hikers encouraging the advanced to reach higher goals and those with physical limitations to explore the outdoors with security.

There is little said in opposition. While some environmental concerns are raised such as the scratching of rock by the pole tips, holes left in the ground or baskets damaging fragile vegetation (thus basket removal is recommended unless hiking in snow or snowshoeing), adherence to the principles of “Leave No Trace” means that users can find ways to avoid leaving behind any type of damage. Awareness is usually the simple solution.

Adjusting poles to the proper height, slipping the hand up through the loop and easily wrapping the hand around the pole’s handle while resting weight on the loop, and picking up the alternating coordination of swinging arms with leg strides, are about the only training points.

In summary, it is interesting to see that the “Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) estimates that pole usage rates on the Appalachian Trail vary from 90% among thru-hikers to 10-15% among day hikers.” (Saunders, Hipp, Wenos and Deaton, 2008). From what I have learned, I’ll just bet that 10-15% is much higher now, six years later. Shall we help to raise that percentage and join the trek?

HIKING DEMANDS AS WELL AS ENHANCES FITNESS

Hiking is an activity that benefits from prior conditioning. On the other hand, hiking itself builds muscular strength and endurance while delivering impressive scenery.

Fall hiking is often preferred to summer. Some hikers find heat oppressive and like the cooler temperatures. Bug nuisances are on the decline and falling leaves are not only colorful, but open views that remain unseen in summer’s dense foliage.

Vermont and neighboring states offer well-marked hiking trails for adventurers of any age and fitness level. Necessary skills range from new to novice, intermediate and finally advanced.

Casual and dedicated hikers agree to a list of benefits: fitness, stress relief, shared time with family and friends and fresh air. Trails with steep pitch and exposure provide excitement and technical challenge. While some speed-hike for training purposes, others take time to enjoy natural beauty or delve more deeply into the concept of journey.

Aside from the obvious “relax, just do it,” perhaps the most important piece of advice for anyone planning a hike is to do just that. Plan. Choose a designated trail that is suitable for your fitness level. Returning home stiff, sore, blistered, soaked or exhausted is a deal-breaker for more trail adventures.

Furthermore, lack of proper planning combined with basic commonsense could result in injury or misadventure initiating expensive search and rescue.

A significant piece of the planning component is time. If you are accustomed to walking, riding, paddling or running for extended periods of time, even though hiking taxes the body in different ways, you have probably built a good aerobic base and are ready to begin with a multi-hour hike. If not, by all means begin with something short and manageable that leaves you wanting more.

Once an appropriate distance is chosen, the next aspect is time of day. Never forget that temperatures and wind conditions vary and change dramatically at the top. Failure to dress in layers and carry along extra gloves, dry socks and perhaps a windbreaker, rain jacket or fleece, could ruin an otherwise happy hike.

Town forests provide excellent opportunities to practice walking on trails. Practice always pays off. Moving from sidewalks and even dirt roads into the woods requires alert attention to where you put each foot. Roots, stones, sand, washouts, up, down, wide and narrow complicate the process and, without due awareness, could easily cause one to trip or slip.

Walking or hiking mindfully means avoiding low-hanging branches that poke and jab, but at the same time listening and watching for interesting sounds and sights. Human voices travel through the woods, but when they are silenced, so do birdsong and the sound of animals moving about. Hearing often rewards with sighting.

Practice also means breaking in new trail or hiking shoes and experimenting with combinations of clothing that might keep you comfortable all day on a longer trek. Beginning with a trail that keeps you within easy reach of your car can save unexpectedly uncomfortable equipment or unanticipated fatigue. And, of course, as always practice carrying water and a snack and try them out along the way.

When comfortable with the easier stuff, it’s time to head for a destination hike. Traveling to the top of anything clearly challenges the cardiovascular system and makes demands on muscles and joints. Again, proper footwear and attire is a must as is good hiking and walking form. The addition of a daypack is not to be underestimated in importance or as resistance of even a little added weight.

Going up is one thing; traveling down is another. Watch your step, rest occasionally and listen to your body. Sometimes you will be on dirt, sometimes crossing streams or scrambling up rocks. Take your time and get the job done safely.

Above all, plan to be safe. Use the internet, your favorite sporting goods store, the Green Mountain Club (or any of their excellent guides and publications), books, maps and experienced friends for help selecting and planning for your hike. Anyone who has been there before is usually happy to give you hints and let you know what to expect.

Safety basics apply to hiking whether you think you’ll be out for an hour or all day. Hike with another. Carry a cell phone as reception is improving. Wear identification that includes medical information, if any, and emergency contacts. Let those at home know where you will be as well as your estimated finish time. Check the weather forecast. In the event of weather warnings, for heavens sake stay home and go another day. Beware of shorter days and earlier sunsets. Stay on the trail.

Even bright people do stupid things. Have you ever passed a silly person on a trail wearing flip-flops? Do you read of search and rescue teams spending the night scouring the backwoods for someone who has wandered off the trail to find an imaginary shortcut down? Stories abound of hikers who call for help because they are tired or cold or got lost because they didn’t have a flashlight. Search and rescue experts are eager to help those in legitimate need.

Moving beyond day hikes to multi-day trips is a quantum move up the hiking ladder and requires research and extensive preparation. Once you begin putting one foot in front of another through the woods, once you feel the exhilaration of scaling some ledge and reaching the top to see miles and miles of the surrounding countryside, once you have listened to the speedy brook splashing downhill or the sound of partridge that you have surprised, you may be hooked and want more.

Each time you hike, you have the opportunity to see different things, to grow stronger, more skillful and more confident. It is a sport that bears repeating and certainly improves with repetition. Are you ready to hike this autumn? Plan and prepare well. Avoid hunting season. Have fun.

Mt. Abraham.

Hiking with family on a perfect day in Vermont, 9-28-2014. The views were well worth the vertical challenge.

TRAINING AND SEASONS CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

Changing seasons remind us to keep training varied and balanced.

September in New England brings mixed messages of the advent of autumn juxtaposed on the lush remnants of summer. For many, colder temperatures, brisk winds and often gray days trigger the desire to spend more time indoors or, at the very least, move from the roads and wide-open spaces into the shelter of woods.

I find my passion for cycling declines proportionately to shorter days and the layering on of more and more gear. If motivation tanks, is that all wrong? Probably not. It is vitally important to change the scope and intensity of training throughout the year, perhaps to let the seasons themselves guide us into the next phase of an annual periodized training plan.

Joey Adams, M.S. Exercise Science, Metabolic Specialist, Coach Extraordinaire, and caring friend to his athletes, recently emailed this reminder:

Greetings Athletes,

Fall has finally fallen in Vermont and for many of us (except the cross country skiers) the “off-season” is beckoning. That simply means it is first and foremost rest and recovery time.Secondly, it is time to “change things up.Diversify your training – try something new – relearn something – challenge your body and your mind.Third, it means sitting down and writing out what went well this year and what are your opportunities to improve your training.Make your weaknesses your strengths.

This is where a test at this time of year will help you capture your hard fought fitness AND help you re-focus as you look towards your next season.The fall is often the best time to dial in your new zones … fitness should be a personal quest to become one’s best, based upon personal assessment and needs. www. intelligentfitnessvermont.com “Getting workouts on target and making your time count.”

If VO2Max testing, RMR or Watts measurements for your Power Meter are in your future, now is an excellent time to wind up one season and head into the next with structure and guidelines as well as legitimate (sanctioned?) time to rest, rejuvenate, play and have fun. If you ride – walk. If you run – hike. If you compete on water – head for turf. If you go hard – go easy. It’s a healthy refresher to go out unplugged now and then, walk the dogs, play with the kids and take a look around you – the arena in which you live, work and train. Training will not suffer; it will thrive. Even these athletes awaiting their turn know how to take a break. Tunbridge World’s Fair, 2014. Horse Pulling Contest.

To Vermont From Maine; the end of a month on the coast

It is important to recognize one chapter as it closes and a new one begins, to carry forward that which is recent past. Wellbeing springs from the small things, duly experienced, identified and remembered.

Today I am uncharacteristically undisciplined. At least that is the word some would use; I prefer to use words like structure, organization, commitment, etc. when I speak of my work and practice, my habits and lifestyle. In any event, it’s what I am, or am not, today. It is the day before I drive back to Vermont from my month’s relocation (another word I use instead of vacation which somehow signifies that I am still industrious, still doing something useful and not lounging around ineffectually – I guess).

Will I never learn? I counsel clients and write about the value of rest, recovery, regeneration. In my faith I strive to be silent, even if only for a few minutes. I read favorite writers who encourage me to do so – writers like Kathleen Norris and my newfound favorite Anna Quindlen. Yet I resist. At the hint of success, I become apologetic. But today I am giving myself over to mixed emotions that are wheeling around inside me like bumper cars in the boardwalk arcades of my childhood.

My to-do list is crowded: write my pieces for next week’s “Active Vermont” page, post a blog, do loads of laundry (but be careful of the whites that will turn orange with the rust in the water), pack a month’s worth of living on the rocky shores of an ocean Sound, clean and clean the cottage so there are no remaining footprints (or rather white hairs) from my two little old Jack Russells who have already indicated that they are as loathe to leave as I am, pick up trinkets for the kids and Christmas presents for friends, fill the gas tank, say goodbye to new friends, write thank you notes to old ones, take one last walk along the water and one final search for shells and seaglass.

I was meant to do a tempo training ride today. Not happenin’. It’s cool, overcast, windy and, most of all, I lack the motivation to do so. So my final ride for this summer as well as my final paddle are over. Missed already. I love to ride here. Sometimes I am fortunate enough to share these roads and surprisingly challenging hills with Teague and Tara or with my summer riding companions of Merrymeeting Wheelers out of Brunswick. Sometimes I ride alone but those rides, too, are satisfying and joyous. The roads here in mid-coast Maine are constantly being repaired and, though there is often no shoulder, it does not matter as the surface is good and drivers SLOW DOWN and observe the Maine 3’ safe passing LAW. The coincidence of good paving and considerate drivers is a blessing for which I am daily thankful.

Paddling is pure pleasure. We try to start in the morning before the wind picks up and often find ourselves heading out with the tide. Put-ins are plentiful if you look for them, and any starting point marks the beginning exploration of shoreline, cove, islands, rocky coasts, and a few beaches. Working dories and lobster boats, pricey pleasure and more pricey sailboats, a daily cruise boat from Portland and an authentic schooner (chartered) create my neighborhood as I remind myself with each stroke to engage my core, sit up and try to look like I know what I’m doing. I can’t resist pausing when I see a suspicious head in front of me that turns out to be a seal or to whip out my ever-present, waterproof camera to take a shot of a quaint cottage, a lobster buoy that catches the light, an osprey or once, and eagle. Today, however, I can only think about these things.

After saying goodbye to my husband who drove away this morning, I took the girls for a ride, or so I told myself. My car ended up parked in front of a store in downtown Brunswick and later at the tip of Bailey’s Island. Back at the cottage I unloaded my bags of goodies and realized that I wanted yet another cup of coffee and eat bagels loaded with peanut butter. (OK, I did stop at one organic, multigrain bagel topped with freshly ground almond butter from a wonderful natural foods market charmingly named Morning Glory.) I sat down to write and somehow ended up talking with my daughter and arranging shells and bits of sea glass that I have carefully collected over the past four weeks (paltry; how DO people find this stuff by the bag full?) and filling an antique replica glass jar to bring a bit of the coast home to my studio.

I think of my Maine friends: Sue, my favorite realtor anywhere; the owner of my cottage with whom I connect on important levels; the neighbor across from me who has the mind-bending job of working with the memory impaired and elders facing an already forgotten end; Jenn who tirelessly organizes and befriends each of us as cyclists and Pam. I just met Pam and she amazes me. There is no doubt that our paths were meant to cross. Pam exudes energy, generosity, kindness; a woman whose beliefs and trust have seen her through some tough times; a woman who does not shy away from very hard work or the needs of those around her, and, those around her happen to be her family. What a privilege it is for me to live briefly on the edges of an entire community that is comprised of various members residing somewhere on the proverbial family tree; a community that lives and works together and supports each other. (You might want to check her website: http://www.pamsmainewreaths.com. )

So I’ve given it up for today. The washer is going and my things are finding their way into piles to stuff into duffels and load up for an early departure tomorrow morning – but NOT until after I watch the dawn break over the Sound and have my morning coffee on the deck as the sun rises, watching the ducks dive for food and hearing the occasional slap of a fish who enters the water leaving expanding ripples on the surface. In a few hours I will walk the dogs along the shore of Potts Point as it juts into the ocean. I will go at low tide so they can walk on sand and not shoals. I’ll time it so that I can see the sunset and hope it will be a blazing orb quickly descending below the tree line on the opposite shore. I was here when the moon was spectacularly full. Now the last phase of it will appear late.

These are moments I will remember. I still rock slightly with the rhythm of my boat in the water. I hear the whirligig spin and watch the sailor in his yellow slicker row like mad to keep up. A distant buoy clangs, a hummingbird hurries past, a noisy squirrel sits in a tree next to the deck and taunts Lucy and Lola, the incoming tide splashes against the rocks and a snake that I do my best to avoid camps out on the steps to the dock when the sun is warming them. I did not read as much as I had planned, did not complete online courses that I hoped to finish, did not write or train more than absolutely necessary and did not really sleep late as I never wanted to miss fishermen in lobster boats motoring out to set traps. I did spend every possible minute outdoors, riding, paddling, walking, hiking and giving myself over to my family and the uncomplicated experience of being here. And why cannot I do that in Vermont? Vermont is the perfect bookend to Maine. Mountains of strength and spectacular beauty join an ocean of possibilities accompanied by reassurance that there is balance in the natural rhythms and continuous movement. Life between these two is sustained by heightened awareness, dreams to be dreamed and the promise of “thus far and no farther.” I CAN take it all home with me; take it home to be savored and shared; home to be lived and practiced; home to be loved; the essence of well-being.

Maine Moments

Sometimes regeneration comes when slowing down, not stopping, and seeing things through different eyes. The following appeared as: THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHILD, Rutland Herald & Times Argus, ACTIVE VERMONT, August 10, 2014

Surely I’m not alone. My heart resides in the mountains of Vermont, but a bit of my spirit needs the ocean. This is my fourth year spending some of my summer on the coast of Maine. .

At the time it seemed a stroke of luck, but now I believe it was meant to be. One winter I randomly opened a Down East magazine and my eye fell on a simple one-liner of a cottage rental on one of many fingers of land that jut out into the ocean. I characterize the place by saying that if I fell off the deck, I’d spill down the rocky bank and get wet. (OK, there is no crashing surf but the water is legitimately salty and rises and falls with the 6-hour tidal changes.)

What has become “my” cottage is perfect. Quiet, simple, off the beaten path, it is the place I go to recharge and play.

Last week I saw Maine through the eyes of a soon-to-be 10 year old new to it all. For one week we were unplugged: no computer, tv, radio, iPod or even heart rate monitor, only an iPhone to assure her parents that we were always accessible.

It all began when we packed my little Subaru with a month’s worth of work, play and living for me, a week’s worth for her, and two Jack Russells who needed as much gear and grub as we did. With kayak and bike on the roof, and Anne of Green Gables (unabridged) in the cd player, we embarked on an adventure that turned out to be as meaningful and fresh with discovery for me as it was for her.

When I unlocked the door, I was touched to see in her face the wonder and awe that I feel each time I cross the threshold. In an instant, I knew that we would share equally. If I could slow down, speed up or pause at just the right times, I would see anew. There’s only one first: one first time away from home, one first time to see a blazing sunset reflected on the water, taste the salt on one’s face after a day at the beach, measure the hours by the tides or glimpse a seal. To revisit that first time with a child is a treasured gift.

“Recovery is a Valid and Necessary Part of Fitness.”

How many times have I said this, sternly urging clients to balance their active training days with appropriate recovery, time for the body to regenerate and, in doing so, retain strength and performance gains instead of breaking down and diminishing. Do I listen to my own coaching?

Not once in 6 days did I unpack my gear bag, inflate tires, lace running shoes, lift a dumbbell or even think TRX or Bosu. I also gave my disciplined psyche a rest. We stayed up late, slept in, forgot to eat, then messed about in the kitchen scrabbling together whacky meals after dark. We let the sun’s position in the sky and our curiosity provide loose structure to our days. Can this only be done in the company of a child? Do we need permission?

This is not to say we were inactive. We walked, swam, scuttled over rocks, squatted, reached, pushed, pulled, hopped, skipped and jumped our way through the hours. But, the key is that we paused when we wanted.

And there were questions. Matthew Cuthbert’s halting “Well … Now … I don’t know” became a theme as well as a challenge to search for each answer.

At the conclusion of Anne of Green Gables, we segued to Cynthia Lord’s wonderful story “Touch Blue” (Scholastic, Inc. 2012). To our delight, Tess, a spunky 11-year-old, compares her family’s experience welcoming a foster child to their simple island home in Maine with that of Marilla, Matthew and Anne (“spelled with an e”) when the latter arrived at the little farm house on Prince Edward Island. Sweet serendipity.

Words we read became part of the fabric of each outing. One calm day we paddled (another first) from the mainland out to an island accessible only by boat. Residents parked their cars on the shore, walked to their dories docked nearby, loaded their groceries, supplies and usually a dog, and puttered off to the island to reverse the process. When her fatigue became obvious, I resisted the urge to paddle on and we simply floated in the gently moving water. Twenty minutes later we were good to go, but better. In that space of time we had shared dreams and closed our eyes to memorize the rhythms of the waves. I taught her how to paddle using more than arms and shoulders, how to employ the core by turning the upper body with each stroke and pushing as well as pulling the shaft. She got it. While abdominal muscles were at work on each paddle stroke, the ceaseless rock and glide of the boat became a part of our emotional core. (Mark Verstegen, who did ground-breaking work on functional training and the core, connects core strength with core values.)

Later we compared our sea journey with the Maine Atlas and Robert McCloskey’s classic “Time of Wonder” locating islands named Sheep, Pumpkin, Three Sisters and Birch. Words were more than read.

Power, Strength, Force, Balance

Though these words apply to physical conditioning, we found them on the beach too. To a child familiar with mountain trails, the ocean is compelling. Should it be feared or is respect enough? Does it represent work or play? I have a series of photos that mark the transition from first tentative steps to open-mouthed surprise when being tumbled. Cold, noisy, relentless, the rollers curl into breakers as the undertow buries feet in the sand and upsets the best balance.

We had driven to a beach some distance away in order to witness the ocean in all its glory. With only a few visitors, ocean’s edge became hers to enjoy with abandon. Unselfconsciously she jumped and fell, dunked and ran, sang and skipped and teased the waves as they did her.

“Touch blue and your wish will come true,” Lord writes. Despite daily trips to calmer beaches searching for shells and sea glass, we found only one smooth chunk of blue. Periwinkles we have by the dozens, scooped up by the handful and carefully washed and dried back at the cottage. We collected bright bits of shells, rocks that, of course, were more colorful wet than later dried but oh well, small pieces of driftwood and our sparse collection of glass. Just before packing for home, she filled several jars with scrupulously selected samples of each and tied a ribbon around the top to take home as gifts.

There was oh so much more. Perhaps what will most remain in memory for this sensitive child is a week’s worth of daily life on the coast and her sense of familiarity with the cottage and the dirt road loop we walked many times. Looking from her bedroom window she could watch the sunrise over water, hear the creaking of the floating dock, the coo of the doves and the shrill call of the seagulls. From the deck we watched cormorants stretch their wings to dry and the ducks dive for breakfast as we ate our own.

On the other side of the peninsula we watched sunsets so brilliant that, had an artist painted them, we would have scoffed at his exaggeration. The fragile new moon hung above the tops of the pine trees standing on a lump of land that was, at low tide, a short walk from the mainland, and at high tide, an island.

On the night we left to drive towards home, that same moon was bolder and turned a deep orange, leading us towards Vermont. Returning hours later, I unlocked the door to the empty cottage and stepped in to begin the next chapter of my Maine. There, on the table with a love note, was the piece of blue sea glass. I touched it and feel sure that our wishes will come true.

CYCLING NOTES FROM THE ROAD

Sometimes I pick up a book or a magazine that just seems to resonate with me or say just what I need to hear. This time it was a magazine.

Last Tuesday it rained. Somehow it often rains, or threatens to rain, on one of my favorite midweek afternoons. On Tuesdays my group ride, RoadSpokes 201, congregates at about 5 and heads out on the roads by 5:30 p.m. It is an amazing group of a variety of riders who join together simply to ride, to enjoy having company, and to train a little and/or learn a little.

Usually by Tuesday I have sent out an email with a suggested training plan or principle to think about and use. Or not. This time, however, it had looked like our ride was destined to be cancelled. On my way to the parking lot, I grabbed an August Bicycling Magazine that had just arrived in my mailbox.

Well, wouldn’t you know, it cleared up and by 5 riders began to arrive. I needed something to share. I opened Bicycling and found the perfect article on riding in the heat. Here is some of what I learned and shared:

1. A handy formula for riding in the heat and perhaps cutting back in intensity (giving yourself “permission” to do so?) is to add the temperature to the relative humidity. If the total is 130 or more, dial back. When we rode Tuesday it started out as 85 degrees with relative humidity of 55. We started with a nice ride out and then picked up the pace for a fun and fast ride. Great ride:)

2. When preparing for an event (like the OR Century), and especially if you anticipate hot and humid weather, consume fluids liberally throughout the entire preceding week.

3. Be sure to include a combination of carbs and protein in your post ride fuel – not only is protein needed for repair, but it also helps hold replenishing fluids.

In the Know How section, there was a great article, Keep It Simple, dispelling the myths of perceived hard and fast “rules” used by the pros. “Alison Tetrick of Team Twenty16 explains what makes sense in the real world.” For example: if you’re riding with friends and feeling great (or not great), ditch your training plan and enjoy the day.

“Ride for four or more hours multiple days a week. Do this instead. You probably don’t have unlimited spare time, and unless you’re training for a big-mileage event, you don’t need to put in endless hours of pedaling week in and week out. Maintain or improve our fitness by building high-intensity efforts into rides of an hour or two. Go to BICYCLING.com/intensity to choose from a variety of intervals that will make you stronger and faster.”

On the other hand, on another page, Bill Stickland quotes from a forgotten source: “Ride for at least 30 minutes a day. If you’re too busy to do that, you better ride for an hour.”

Perhaps my fav, however, is “Small Mercies,” a piece by Heidi Swift for her regular column JOY RIDE. In it she tells of incidents when she was struggling on a ride, being dropped or fighting wind. Each time another rider(s) returned to help her finish. Referring to each, she concludes: “…reminded me of my humanity-of our humanity-that who we are and how we behave on the bike is simply an amplified version of who we are in the world. That our bicycles can transport us and transform us-but that they can also crack us open and lay us bare and force us to be raw and honest and exposed. That we can choose in the worst moments to treat each other with compassion and that maybe, as cyclists just as with other people, we are really only as good as our last small act of mercy.”

For many, if not most, of us, riding is about so much more than being first. Performance matters. But it is the process, the shared dreams and goals and fears, the small accomplishments, the tiny victories along with the seemingly large defeats, and the people, that matter most.

Perhaps it is what cycling is all about. It is work, hard work. It is learning and training. It is exposing oneself to things that scare us, things that can break us. It is baring oneself to vistas and emotions that can only be seen and experienced from a bike. It is a climb, an opportunity to grow, to enlarge, to find patience and strength you did not know you possess. It is a downhill, a release, a shout of pure joy, abandon. It is motivation, dedication, endurance. It is real life played out on a small saddle on two skinny tires.

RoadSpokes is the proverbial pebble dropped into the pond. By meeting and riding weekly, we connect, make friends, find cycling partners for other times, other routes, other training. We adhere strictly to a no-drop policy. Encouragement and camaraderie flows freely, stories are swapped and advice is exchanged.

Yes, riding alone can be beneficial and a privilege; as one rider recently dubbed it, a “zen” ride. But there’s nothing like meeting up with, riding and then celebrating our sport and our friends. I wish you both, along with miles and miles of safe and happy memories.

Linda Freeman Fitness

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