I was chatting with a friend a few days ago about adventuring, racing, fitness and this silly 10 day “challenge.” The conversation went something like this:

F: Can you average it to three hours a day? Four hours one day, two the next?
B: Nope. At least three hours every day. More if I want.
F: Well, how hard do you have to go?
B: Oh not hard at all. I draw the line at flat walking. Flat running is fine. Brisk, hilly walking is fine. Flat walking doesn’t count. But there’s no minimum heart rate threshold or anything like that to constitute “exercise.”
F: Slow and steady, then.
B: Exactly.

And “slow and steady” really is a great way to describe it. See, “slow and steady wins the race” is one of the most misguided expressions in English, and I bet whoever came up with it didn’t win very many races. Slow and steady does not win the race. Fast and steady wins the race. That’s why it’s so hard. Slow and steady is for when you have no business lining up on the front row in the first place, and are just trying to get out alive.

Day 4:
1hr 6min – Hockey
1hr – Momentum (circuit training)
1hr 14min – Bike ride

Day 5:
3hr 17min – Backcountry ski

Day 6:
3hr 6min – Hike on/around Sentinel

All in all, I think I’m starting to hit a stride a little bit. Day 4 was brutal. Day 5 was sleepy. Day 6 was just sort of numb. I think that’s a good sign?

I’m still working on the nuances of the new blog platform, but showing progress. Stay tuned for an actual plot of PLOD over time.