Training for Adventures Ahead

I read somewhere that the holidays between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s partly became commercialized to help us get through the cold winter. All the festivities certainly distract me! I do not feel like myself during the winter months when the days are dreary, the winds are strong and the days are short. 

As we enter into March and the sun angle feels brighter and the days are growing, I am ready to soak in as many adventures as time allows.

Here’s my grand plan. How much of this I adhere to or accomplish is dependent on P.S. & Co. All of my plans go out of the window when I get sucked back into daily operations, but there is a solution! I can’t blame my work as an excuse. I have been gradually sleep training myself to wake up earlier. I haven’t reached my goal yet, which is to bounce out of bed by 5am and get moving, but I’m getting closer.

During an ideal week, I plan to have a mix of the following activities for 5 weeks, one week with fewer activities or take the week off, repeat. Focus on different skills and movements every 12 weeks with the goal to help me build strength, endurance and mobility, without getting injured. Excited to try periodization training!

1. Wake up and be moving by 5am.

2. Hikes with shelter dogs from ACCT - 1x/week

3. Long wagon walks with Tuffy - 5x/week

4. Bike rides - bike to/from morning yoga 3x/week

5. Iyengar Yoga with Gabi Sigal - 5x/week

6. Practice my own stretches (splits, straddles, backbends) - 3-5x/week

7. Strength training and home workouts with a periodization program by Summit to get me ready for my first mountaineering trip later in the year. 5x/week

8. Learn how to rock climb - outdoors - with Valley to Summit on the weekends throughout the summer, but first train for one month indoors at Cliffs Callowhill to learn the basics. 1x/ week outdoors, 5x/week indoors

9. Eat for nutrition and performance since I’m not experiencing cravings or hunger lately.

10. Lights out and asleep by 9pm.

My ideal way to spend a day is the above: being active all day, in nature, with Tuffy, ideally experiencing something or somewhere new, and spending only a few hours generating an income. The shop is not the way to make money though! High overhead, inventory and high cost of labor eat into profits and being able to scale, but we are testing other models to eventually replace the brick and mortar business! 

I experienced the most water fasts during the month of January this year (2023) - and felt incredible. I felt strong, vibrant, energized and my knee was 95% healed from my MCL sprain (skiing accident from December 2022). As I was preparing for our Lunar New Year feast to celebrate the end of my 7 day water fast and also to celebrate the new year, I caught a nasty cold that turned into bronchitis that lasted for 3 weeks. All the good feelings built up from water fasting were overshadowed by feeling lethargic, irritable and tired from the bug I caught. Worst part was that I did it to myself. I remember walking out on that cold Sunday, without wearing my puffy winter coat, thinking I’m just popping in/out of places all day; I feel amazing….I don’t need to layer up like usual. That night I was starting to fight something. This is why I usually overdress and stay as warm as possible. I rarely catch germs from other people, but I will get sick when I’m underdressed! I was too confident about my health and the universe taught me a valuable lesson.

February is my birthday month. I didn’t want to indulge in my usual food tours or even enjoy birthday cake. What an unusual feeling. Since the start of my cold until today (March 06, 2023), I have not had an appetite or felt hungry. Sounds great, right?! The complete opposite is true. I’m actually overeating since I’ve lost my hunger and satiety cues, and food doesn’t taste as good when I’m not hungry or craving it. I always thought, if I could control my hunger, it would be so effortless to eat only what my body needs. So much about modern eating feeds our state of mind instead of our body’s needs. I want to break that habit. I don’t like the way losing my hunger makes me feel, and overeating is causing my brain to feel foggy and tired. My body is inflamed, bloated and missing that oomph or motivation that helps me do all the things. Business has been stressful, and water fasting helped me recognize that I more often eat out of boredom, feeling frustrated and the comfort of a routine. If I truly ate when I was hungry, which depends on my level of activity, I may only eat once per day on a rest day or frequent meals on a training day, or skip a day of eating after indulging in outside restaurant food because all the salt, oil and sugar makes keeps me fulling very full.

I believe overeating is contributing to many of our chronic ailments and stress. I actually feel as incredible water fasting as I do when I’m hiking in the mountains all day. I’ve been trying to restart another prolonged water fast since my cold infection, but I can’t seem to get past 36 hours. It’s not even because I’m hungry, but food is soothing and comforting me from stress. It’s like a vicious cycle, and today my mind will do what is right for my body.

 

I’m about to embark on my first adventure trip of the year: dog sledding in the wilderness of Alaska for 7 days. I’m joining a local family business, Bush Alaska Expeditions. They are not accustomed to preparing plant-based and gluten-free fare, so I told them, no sweat! I prefer to bring my own sustenance. I’m using the extra insulation I’ve accumulated the past few weeks to help me thrive during my week of running and sledding. I usually lose my appetite at high altitude or when I’m doing any endurance sport. I won’t be at high altitude in Eagle, Alaska, but will be out on the trails all day. I want to keep up with the dogs on this adventure. I learned from reading about the legendary ski mountaineer who passed away last year, Hilaree Nelson, she used to overeat and gain weight before summiting mountains because it’s difficult to eat at high altitude because you lose your appetite. To prevent her already lean body from wasting muscle away, she purposely overate before a big climb.

My trip will not be at altitude or as strenuous, and I’m neither as lean or strong as a professional mountaineer (that could be a goal!), I do love experimenting with my mind and body. I have a luggage limit on the local propeller planes to rural Alaska and can’t bring my usual bonus suitcase of food. I will bring a week’s worth of dehydrated soup packets, dehydrated vegetables and textured vegetable protein for sustenance. These are very light and compact. All the bonus calories I’ve ingested will come in handy as fuel! I’m looking forward to returning more focused and pumped to be ready for the next adventure after Alaska: our Adventure Wellness Retreat in Chamonix, France!

 

I can’t wait to take you all on the type of adventure trips I love to create for myself. If you’re interested in joining me on a mind/body transformation in the French/Italian/Swiss alps, please email us at info@psandco.com with any questions or concerns. It will be a trip of a lifetime and unlike any other wellness retreat. I can’t wait for you to feel the joys and wonders I feel when I push myself beyond what I thought was possible.