The Snowpacolypse

Wow. If you've been watching the news or live in the greater DC area, you are aware of the great snowpacolypse, also known as "snOwMG."

It was crazy--we had snow falling for at least 24 hours and had up to 2 feet in snow. After I went to pick up Chadd on Friday night, we were glad to have no plans for the weekend. We went to bed late, then got up late to see at least a foot on the ground already.

After a breakfast of biscuits and gravy (I know, I know....), we went for a walk around the neighborhood, then up towards the zoo to see Rock Creek Park covered. A group had gathered with sleds, make shift sleds, and beers to go sledding down the steep slope.

We grabbed a cardboard piece with garbage bags wrapped around it. It actually worked pretty well. We'd rush down the hill and then trudge back up a steep slope, slipping a few times in the process.

All in all, we were probably outside for about 2 hours. And let me tell you--that wasn't 2 hours of easy walking. I have no idea how many calories I burned, but despite not working out Friday or Saturday, I think Saturday's 2 hours of playing in the snow count. My heart rate was up while I was chasing Chadd through the snow that had been plowed onto the sidewalk from one of the more major roads.

Which leads me to my thesis of today:
Look for exercise in places where you won't call it exercise.

I probably burned a couple hundred calories yesterday, just playing in the snow and climbing the sledding hill. You can burn calories doing your laundry--I pack all our laundry in an ikea bag, climb the stairs to the top and work my way down with the laundry in the bag, getting lighter.

You can take the long walk back from the grocery story carrying groceries, etc.

Exercise doesn't have to take place in the gym. So when your gym is closed due to incliment weather, take it as a cue to enjoy the storm.

As a PS....don't be one of those crazy runners who were out yesterday. I worried that each of them were going to sprain an ankle or twist a knee.

Pps--look tonight for my first cooking locally experiment! I've got locally raised pork loin, radishes, salad greens, grape tomatos, and locally made pasta. It's going to be delicious!