After mid-October, the weather in the North East gets crummy for a while, displaying those nasty part-rain-part-snow mushy, bare tree, brown landscape, gray sky days. Sometime after the holidays, the snow arrives. In March and April, we are back to mush and mud. Envious are we, the Northeastern Wet Weather Dwellers, of the people who live in the arid West where the dry air allows sunshine. The ominous cloud shroud will cover out the sun for much of the winter, as if a giant plastic dome were placed over the whole region. We even receive more average rainy days annually than Seattle!
It's typically a good excuse to begin the hibernation process: cocoon in blankets, watch Netflix, eat hot comfort foods, read, and vegetate while wishing for clear roads, trails, and sunny blue skies.
Is that all we can do?
Seasonal depression is very real, and the lack of sun holds too much power over beings who don't need to photosynthesize. The school health center will even prescribe happy lamps and spending time outside to combat it.
Outside of skiing (which requires winter), hiking, running, and biking are the activities I enjoy most; activities best enjoyed on fair weather days....maybe? There's no reason why you can't do these things in winter, right?
Getting outside has been essential for combatting cabin fever and seasonal depression, but the hardest part is often just convincing myself to get out there. Getting the boots, skis, snow shoes, microspikes, winter jackets, pants, and hats....it's an ordeal. Then, within 20 mins, you have to begin The Shed: slowly removing the too many layers you wore and finding creative ways to wrap the fabric around yourself so you can continue doing your activity. It's not pretty, and it can be annoying, but I am always reminded that it is worth it.
In fact, skiing, snowshoeing, and going to the gym are activities that shine in winter. Cross country skiing on local trails is my go-to for getting the blood flowing. Hiking is easy: you strap on some snowshoes or microspikes, bundle up in layers like a puffy, mobile worm, and hit the trail. Even doing yoga and lifting dumbbells at home is a great way to move and give your cooped up body attention when the weather is too terrible to be outside.
I'm grateful to have joined a group called Club Foot which brings others together who are also craving movement and fresh air during the winter months.
Doing activities that I would historically set aside for a few months (camping, running, and biking) has been a great way to challenge my comfort zone and skills in winter. The main deterrent historically has been the cold weather, which I want to overcome. More than that, I'm not coordinated to run in snowshoes, and the road is challenging for biking because it can be covered in ice and slush. Drivers are not as coordinated either, and I'm also paranoid of rusting my bike.
Getting over being cold-weather shy has been slow, but with some success. We winter camped for the first time last January (accidentally in temps that reached -30F: we lived to tell the tale), on Christmas day (at 20F, we were shocked to be roasting), and then this January (miscalculated the cold and spent the night freezing, oops). It's been a scarily mild January, with temps between 30-45F, allowing for the bike and sneakers to get some attention. Listening to podcasts about winter cycling has been inspiring for braving the cold, and, even though my body rebelled, I managed a ski + run combo since the weather and terrain allowed for both.
Combating the winter blues varies based on the very temperamental mood of Old Man Winter. For me, it looks something like this:
On warm winter days: bike, run, hike, camp, or hibernate
On snowy winter days: ski, snowshoe, camp, or hibernate
On dreary, rainy days: gym, at-home workout, or hibernate
On lazy days: hibernate!
And, of course, make time to be with family and friends, go to coffee shops, play board games, and don't be too hard on yourself for enjoying rest and relaxation.
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