The Importance of Adventure

Let’s not forget why we love to run.  I love to run because I like to be outside, enjoying nature and views. For a long time I thought that I liked to climb mountains and “bag peaks”… the truth is that I could care less about the peak, so long as the trip up is good. I sometimes don’t even get to the top of the mountain or to the final destination, but I don’t mind at all because it’s all about experiencing the great outdoors.

In that vein, I suggest that we add a weekly “workout” to our regular platter.  The usual suspects are the long run, the intensity, the hills/strength and maybe a few volume style runs.  Why not add an “adventure run” (or other similar workout) to the weekly training regimen?

This week my dose of adventure involved some ski touring.  We skied from Kicking Horse Mountain Resort to the ridge just north of the gondola summit (yes, we skied up).  We then ran a couple great lines on the bordering ridges before heading back to the truck.  In all it was about 5 hours of skiing.  This involve a great low-impact cardio on the way up (you don’t want to work into a sweat because that will make you VERY cold on the way down) and some crazy leg strength on the way down.  My legs were TIRED at the end of it all – the powder was knee deep in spots and fairly tracked up so we had to ski through “champagne powder” followed by some “chaucy” harder snow where people had made turns earlier in the week.

All in all, a fantastic day in the mountains!  I plan to have one of these weekly adventure days for the duration of 2013: ski touring, visiting new running or cross country trails, mountain running… there are lots of options for adventure!