I love the idea of Row 31 but I’m traveling this January and won’t have easy access to my rowing machine. Next year!
In other years I’ve kicked off the new year with Yoga with Adriene but not this year. Here’s the link to her January 2025 plan.
I like the idea of playful adventures but I’m pretty good at those on my own. I don’t resolutions to get out and have fun. But if you do any, please let us know and maybe guest blog about it.
On pasta quest and fun resolutions
So what am I doing?
Instead, this January, I’m re-upping what’s been working for me. I’m re-engaging with my favorite habit tracker and getting back to basics.
What’s new on the list?
Mobility instead of just physio. I still need to do physio exercises for my knees but I also want to keep some hip and back flexibility as I age. I figure since I’ve got good physio habits, I can just incorporate additional mobility moves into my knee physio routine.
I want to include the world’s greatest stretch. The world’s best personal trainer Meg taught me it a few years ago now.
Connection is also new on the list. I want to make more of an effort to reach out to people and maintain friendships.
And veggies! I’d like to eat one vegan meal a day and try to eat more veggies in 2025. That’s always a work in progress for me. A few years ago I tried for ten servings of fruits and veggies a day and recently I was shocked at a fitness blogger who wrote about eating 10+ servings of veggies at each meal. Yikes.
In addition for the first few weeks of January I’m focusing on decluttering and getting rid of stuff, and packing for my research leave.
My initial plans for today’s post were lost in the hubbub of pre-holiday traffic (a.k.a. my errands took so long that I ran out of time to follow my initial plan.)
Sooooooo…
I’m back to being a good example.
Well, ok, let’s just say that I am definitely an example of some sort and forge ahead.
Once I realized that I couldn’t do my initial plan and since I have promised myself that I will minimize feeling rushed whenever I can, I switched to my backup plan – figure out 3 things.
In practice, that works like this: I can’t follow my plan so what three things will let me call this post done?
Thing one: A self-kindness reminder
Thing two: A movement practice
Thing three: A mindfulness practice.
So, I decided to use my three things plan as my self-kindness reminder. Scaling back this post, accepting that I couldn’t follow my plan, and recognizing that imperfect but done is much better than perfect but unfinished are all part and parcel of me being kind to myself.
Then I searched for videos of practices that appealed to me at the moment, popped them in this post and added all the connecting bits. And I’m done with a few minutes to spare!
So, space making friends, if your day is getting a little out of hand and your time is tightening around your tasks (and probably around your brain), then I invite you to consider a similar procedure for your plans for today.
Acknowledge the need to change the plan, scale back to 3 (or so) things that will get the thing done, be annoyed at having to be imperfect but do it anyway, and be kind to yourself about the whole process and feel good about having done what you set out to do.
Wishing you ease and space today, no matter what procedures, processes, or plans you follow!
Sidenote: If the thing you were working on turns out to not be all the important, you also have the option to ditch it completely! Tell ’em I said you could!
Today’s movement practice is the happy result of a YouTube search for ‘fun dance workout’ This is Lift and Bloom‘s 10 Minute Christmas Dance Workout.
Still image is of a woman in exercise clothes and a pair of headband antlers, she is smiling at the camera. The name of the video is on a card overlaid on the left side of the image.
And for something a little different today, here’s a Movement Meditation from Living Bliss Yoga.
Still image is of a woman in exercise clothes standing on a yoga mat in between two windows in a studio. She is in motion with her arms raised to shoulder height and her hands in front of her.
The big change in my Zwift life these days is my move to the shared family living room. I could practically be Santa and stuff stockings while riding my bike on the trainer.
Previously Sarah and I had a back room Zwift set up, from the early pandemic days of Zwifting, but we’ve recently had an adult child move back home for a stretch while they’re in school, and another adult child come back for a few months between jobs.
That’s a lot of people in a small house.
In response to the space crunch, Sarah’s moved her trainer to the basement and I’m set up for Zwifting in front of the fireplace.
Thanks Sarah for setting my bike and trainer and big screen all up and making it possible. Thank you everyone else in the family for your support of my living room Zwift activity.
It’s like having a pit squad for dropped towels and turning up the fan. Lol.
This year we don’t even have a full size Christmas tree since the bike, the trainer, and the screen are using valuable floor space.
But it didn’t occur to me in all the squishing in to give up Zwift. It’s a big part of my life. In terms of motivation, it helps that my knees feel their best when I ride everyday.
This fall I’ve gotten back into racing a little bit. I’ve been racing with a women’s team for a change. I’ve joined ZSUN, Sarah’s club, and a women’s D team that’s part of ZSUN. They’re lovely folks and I appreciate so much the work that goes into organizing. Thanks Chantal.
ZSUN racing
Miss my TFC fellas but as I’m just getting back into racing, I can’t quite keep up with them yet.
I’ve settled into a pattern with Zwift right now and there’s really three things that I’m doing regularly. I’m doing easy going group rides. I’m doing workouts. And I’m racing, and that includes doing course ride overs with my team in advance of the actual races.
There are a lot of group rides and workouts on Zwift. Want some advice about where to get started?
Here’s mine.
Group Ride
Regular blog readers know that I love the Herd and their very punny rides. My favorite is the Thundering Turtles but there are others.
I also like the Herd’s Monday Morning Coffee Crew. It’s a great community and I love that they do what they say they’re going to do.
My new favorite Zwift workouts are the Baseline Camp series. You can read more about it here.
“Uncover your strengths and train smarter in 2025. Over six weeks, challenge yourself with six rides—three workouts and three tests—tailored to transform your riding approach.”
Endurance, attacking, versatility and sprinting
The workouts are challenging but not impossible and I like benchmarking and testing part of it.
Here’s the attacking test and my results.
Baseline strength report
Big Challenge
I’ve never done the Rapha 500 but every year I’m tempted.
“500 kms. Eight days. 24 – 31 December. A tradition like no other.”
It used to be an outdoor thing but now you can complete the challenge on Zwift.
“For your indoor rides, we’re serving up a calendar full of group rides to help you crush kilometers with friends worldwide. Choose your speed with five subcategories, each led by a RoboPacer.
Need a dependable wheel to follow on your journey to 500 kilometers? RoboPacers to the rescue. Join any Pacer Group on a free ride to help you go the distance and ride at a speed that suits you, with loads of RoboPacers to choose from!
Complete any Rapha Festive 500 event on Zwift, and you’ll unlock the in-game Rapha Festive 500 kit for 2025. Don’t miss out on your only chance to unlock this exclusive kit”
CW: some of my recommendations talk about body size, weight loss, fat phobia and weight discrimination. But luckily not all of them…
I love listening to podcasts in the car during my commute to and from work, and especially on long car rides as I go visit friends and family. Here are a few I’ve really enjoyed this year:
Weight for it— One of the panelists on the above-mentioned podcast is Ronald Young, creator and host of the podcast Weight for it. If anyone you know is fatphobia-skeptical, play them 5 minutes of this episode and they’ll be cured forever. It’s about weight discrimination by the airlines and airline passengers. I wrote about this abomination on the blog a while ago here. But you can listen to Ron and also Aubrey Gordon (host of great podcast Maintenance Phase) here: Into Thin Air
Field Trip— I blogged about this podcast last summer while I was driving to and from western New York State. I loved it so much, it convinced me to plan a trip to see nature in Florida this winter. And I did– I’m going to see manatees in February! More on this later. The episode about Everglades National Park is my favorite (obvs) but all of them are great. They illuminate the complex history and rich experience to be had in national parks.
Tested podcast by the CBC–this podcast six-part series is about sex testing in women’s athletics. It offers some historical information and tracks the stories of some elite female runners whose biology conflicts with (outdated and false) views about what women athletes should be. Definitely worth a listen.
Wiser than me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus–I’ve only listened to a few episodes of this podcast, but I’m lookin forward to hearing more as I travel for the holidays. In eachof them, Julia has long, satisfying conversations with older women who have important, funny and insightful things to say. From Nancy Pelosi to Jane Goodall to Patty Smith to Billie Jean King, there’s an interview to suit everyone’s interests and tastes.
Readers, do you have any favorite podcasts you listen to and swear by? There are so many out there, I’d love to hear what you’ve found.
Today is a good day to ask yourself three questions as you envision the days ahead:
How do I want to feel?
In an ideal world, what would need to happen for me to feel that way?
And, finally, since we don’t live in an ideal world…
What is the shortcut to feeling the way I want to feel?
While I know that I can’t necessarily control how I feel at a given moment, I always find it helpful to ask these questions when I am busy, stressed, or have a lot to do.
Focusing on how I want to feel (and how to create my best chances to feel that way) helps me to figure out my priorities. It helps me to identify key tasks and to make decisions about the other items on my list.
For example, on Friday, I had a get-together for a group of close friends and I had envisioned serving a few special snacks and making something really cool for our gift exchange.
Alas, my Friday went a bit sideways, as days sometimes do, and I found myself at 3:30 with a lot of tasks and not nearly enough time to do them.
So, I asked myself how I wanted to feel that evening and I settled on ‘relaxed.’
And I knew I wouldn’t feel relaxed if I tried to rush through my too-long list.
In fact, having lots of experience with trying to push through too many tasks in too little time (I don’t always remember to ask myself the important questions above), I knew that that would result in me feeling flustered, bedraggled and kinda cranky as the party started. And that is not a recipe for a good time – it is no fun having to ‘catch up’ to everyone else’s relaxation levels!
So, I thought about what I needed to feel relaxed and settled on the shortest possible list to create those conditions. I did a bit of tidying up, took the dog for a walk while I brainstormed a quick but fun thing for the gift exchange, decided on a quick supper and a shortened version of the special snacks.
And I got dressed for the party as soon as it was feasible instead of leaving it until the last minute. That way, no matter what else got done, I was already ready for the fun part of the evening.
It ended up being a really fun night that was made even better by the fact that I was relaxed right from the start.
Now, I recognize that my party example is pretty low stakes compared to some of the other things you or I might be trying to get done between now and the end of the year but I think that using ‘How do I want to feel?’ as a guideline could be beneficial now matter how complicated the situation might be.
You may not be able to generate the perfect conditions to feel the way you want to feel but I think you’ll be able to give yourself a little more space and to reduce your stress a bit.
Whether you start with the questions above or try something completely different, I wish you ease and lots of space for yourself today. 💚
Now, onto our suggested practices:
For our movement today, here’s Dr. Andrea Furlan with Senior Fitness Made Simple: 10 Minute Chair Routine
Still image description: the instructor, who is wearing exercise clothes, is seated in a chair and leaning over to one side to stretch the side of her body. There is an end table next to her and the exercise space has a wooden floor and beige walls.
Our mindfulness practice for today is a 5 Minute Meditation for Relaxation and Positive Energy from Lavendaire
Still image description: The instructor is sitting cross legged on a couch with her eyes closed, her face relaxed, and her arms position do that the backs of her hands are resting on her knees and one of her gingers is curled to meet her thumb. Everything in the photo is in a restful shade – grey, green, or white.
It’s the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and, as a result, I’m thinking about themes of rest, renewal, and stillness. Well, I’ve been thinking about those things for ages, really, but they are especially relevant today.
I was told this morning that the word solstice is the combination of the Latin words ‘sol’ (sun) and ‘sistere’ (cause to stand – i.e. stop/be still) and that it is connected to the fact that, to us, the sun seems to stay in the same spot (in its seasonal path) for these few days of winter before it appears to start moving in the opposite direction.
If the sun can take a little rest right now, surely we are justified in seeking the same thing, right?
I’m kind of making a joke there, making light of the fact that because of the ambient pressure for us all to work, work, work all the time, we end up feeling like we have to explain why we are resting. And using the sun’s rest as an explanation feels pretty justified, right?
I wish we didn’t feel that way since rest is actually part of the cycle of our lives, not something we have to earn.
We don’t actually owe ANYONE every minute of our days, even if the world at large tries to convince us that we do.
Yet, even though we know that rest is part of our lives and we don’t need to earn it, it’s still hard to actually rest in the midst of this busy time of year in our perpetually busy culture. Our to do lists are set, our plans are generally in place, and we have made commitments.
If you want to read and think more about rest and the social forces that benefit from pressuring us to work then Tricia Hersey‘s The Nap Ministry is a good place to start.
So, if we can’t just take the day off today, what can we do?
My suggestion is to start slow, to finish slow, or to slow down in the middle – a.k.a. scheduling a break that involves a low-key activity so my rest doesn’t feel like I am ‘sitting around doing nothing.’
Because that feeling of ‘doing nothing’ gets my brain churning about all the things I *should* (shudder – I hate that word) be doing instead. If I can tell myself ‘this is my reading time’ then I can usually shush my brain and take that rest.
For me, this might look like planning to spend the first 15 minutes (or more!) after breakfast just reading and drinking tea instead of jumping into my to do list right away.
Or it might look like choosing to do some yoga, to chat with my sister, or to do some drawing in the middle of my day instead of scurrying to the next thing.
Or it might look like getting ready for bed a little bit earlier so I have time to listen to some music and putter around before reading, drawing, or listening to a podcast to settle down before sleep, instead of trying to ‘just finishing this one thing.’
Making these spaces for myself, taking things slowly at a few points in the day makes all the difference in how flustered I feel. And when I feel less flustered, I can find more fun and satisfaction in the things I have to do and the things I choose to do.
Those spaces help me feel like I am living a life, not just trying to get stuff done.
I invite you to find your own way to take a break, to start slow, to ease your way into your day. Perhaps not calling it a break will make your brain more willing to cooperate.
Well, with that said, and with the hope that you can find some ease today, here are our suggested practices.
I have two Solstice-themed suggestions in each category because I couldn’t decide between them but feel free to also choose your own type of movement and your own approach to mindfulness. After all, you are the boss of you and you get to decide!
Still image shows the instructor sitting on a chair in a corner studio with her arms raised out to the sides and her eyes closed.
And here’s a longer practice Day 21: Winter Solstice Reflection Flow/ Merry & Mindful from YogaInMe
Still image shows the instructor in a corner studio lying on her back with one leg outstretched and she is holding her other leg folded toward her chest with both hands.
Our first mindfulness practice is a short Winter Solstice Mediation from Meta Moon Yoga
still image shows a drone view of a winter road surrounded by evergreens with soft snow on all the surfaces and the light is that soft blue that happens during a snowfall.
And here’s a longer Winter Solstice Yoga Nidra meditation from Ally Boothroyd.
still image shows a woman lying in the snow looking peaceful with her eyes closed, she is wearing a winter coat and she has grey/black hair that is resting on the snow around her face.
You’ll have to pardon me today, I’m having a moment. So too, apparently are “skinny” or “pencil” Christmas trees. I don’t mind developing home fashions for the holidays, but the conversation, I can do without.
I’m feeling fed up with the steady stream of judging, guilt-inducing and just bizarre language about the Holiday and Christmas season. This language is certainly not “seasonal” – it’s not restricted to only December. But I seem to have hit my limit with it. My limit? This headline, from yesterday’s Washington Post.
I think, really, it’s the “Treezempic” term – apparently a term developed in social media.
In Western culture, and perhaps especially it seems North American culture, we seem to have a fixation with monitoring our eating. There is even developing consideration of this fixation, sometimes called Orthorexia, in terms of mental health.
Although being aware of and concerned with the nutritional quality of the food you eat isn’t a problem in and of itself, people with orthorexia become so fixated on so-called ‘healthy eating’ that they actually damage their own well-being and experience health consequences such as malnutrition and/or impairment of psychosocial functioning.
Terms like “indulgent” food, “clean eating,” “pure” food… in my opinion, they all risk putting our mindset toward this kind of thinking.
This week, I was disappointed to hear a radio interview with a dietician who ostensibly was promoting eating well over the Holidays, but seemed instead to focus on ‘indulging,’ but “not too much,” giving yourself permission to “cheat” and generally not chilling out and instead thinking and worrying a lot about food.
This whole thing reminds me of “Skinny” or “Fashion” Santa, which apparently goes back to 2015 (but still seems new to me!).
The alternative? Well I think we should all just take a beat. Enjoy a holiday. If you celebrate over the Holidays, enjoy it. If you are not celebrating, perhaps enjoy the slow-down if you get one? (And if instead you are working hard to help those who do celebrate have time off, thank you!) And see if you can have something delicious without the fixation. Do it for me, do it to fight the dang Treezempic. Thanks
There are countdowns for all kinds of things going on right now and those countdowns can amplify our stress.
Please be kind to yourself and remember that those countdowns are largely arbitrary.
Yes, there are some things in our lives that have fixed times and dates but a lot of things can be far more flexible if we need them to be.
If you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed about your plans and tasks right now, please take a look at them and see which ones have fixed deadlines (i.e. a government application that must be submitted by December 31) and which ones are actually more flexible (the timing of a meeting or a meal).
Personally, I have shifted a couple of projects into the new year and moved some plans with friends from this weekend to next.
These changes were prompted, in part, by my therapist’s question, “What happens if these things *don’t* get done before the end of the year?” which led me to realize that I could actually let go of the feeling of urgency around many of my tasks.
So, Space-Making-Friends, I invite you to do the same thing.
Look for flexibility in the nooks and crannies of your to do lists and free up some of that energy for the tasks, plans, and projects that have more strict deadlines.
And yes, I know it is not always possible to be more flexible and if that’s the case for you then I hope you can find flexibility in your expectations instead. You don’t have to seek perfection – there are a lot of layers of really, really good imperfection that are worth exploring.
Wishing you ease, as always. Please be good to yourself.
Here are our suggested practices for today:
This movement practice is a little different but I really enjoyed this Energy Boost Routine from Brain Education TV – I especially love the instructor’s energy. (This video includes tapping techniques which may not be everyone’s thing.)
Still image description: a photo of the instructor, a woman in loose exercise clothes who exudes a welcoming energy, standing on an orange mat in a studio and reaching overhead with her right arm. The right side of the image features the title of the video in large white letters overlaid on the image.
Today’s mindfulness practice is 5 Minute Expanding Awareness Meditation (guided) / Interoception & Proprioception from Nathan Sellers – Heal. Grow. Become – This one is quite woo and I’m not sure if this actually will help with interoception/ proprioception but I enjoyed the practice all the same.
Still image is a photo from the shore of a clear rippling lake that is surrounded by tree-covered mountains on both sides. The video title is overlaid on the image.
Sam did a check-in on her list and I realized I couldn’t even remember mine! So I dug it out and discovered it wasn’t so bad.
1. Camp more at the cottage property ❌
I did get up a few times, but without my friend Mel, it just wasn’t the same. hopefully we can coordinate a longer visit next summer.
2. Start work on getting a cottage built there. I need everything from a building permit to a well to electricity and a septic system, and I have never done any of those things before. ❎
I have a cottage! I still don’t have running water or electricity, insulation, a kitchen or bathroom, but those are all problems for next summer. for now, I have a place to sleep, with a screened porch.
3. Get the canoe into the water and explore the lake ❌
Mel’s visit was too short to get the canoe out, and I really need to get some stairs built down to the water. Next year?
4. Hike some of the trails around the cottage area ❌
I was too busy with the construction project to go exploring, though I did spend time looking at maps. That counts for something, right?
5. Bike to Gatineau Park for a swim ❌
Hahaha no! I had grand ambitions to cycle 3,000 km this summer, but between retiring (no need to ride to work anymore) and constant knee/quad pain (more on that here). I’ll be lucky to hit 1750 by the end of the month. I don’t love riding to or from my part-time job in the dark or when I’m wet. Getting into that habit remains a work in progress. I did lots of cycling in Toronto though, and hope to repeat that adventure next summer, assuming there are still some safe bike lanes to use. I’m also seriously considering a few days in Montreal to explore all the bike paths and pedestrianized streets.
6. Read one book a month 🤷♀️
I’m on book 11. I might make it, but it will take work.
7. Read one magazine a week 🤷♀️
That’s 52 magazines: I’m on number 40. The stack of unread magazines is definitely smaller, but it’s not a complete success. I still have enough I could do another full year of this challenge, I think.
8. Cook one new recipe a week ❎
At last count, I was at approximately 90. This one is relatively easy for me now. I have been doing it for at least 15 years, which is a testament to the importance of building habits.
9. Weed and care for my gardens and hopefully harvest more food ❎
I let a lot of the grapes feed the birds this year, but managed enough vegetables to feed myself for several weeks this winter, as well as what I ate fresh.
10. Swim outdoors more ❌
This may be my big disappointment on the list. I just couldn’t get myself motivated to go to the local swimming hole most mornings. I did swim with members of my club at the lake about once a week, and I volunteered as a swim angel at an open water event again this year, and that was lovely; I have already volunteered again for next summer.
All the swim angel volunteers at pre-race training
The closest I came to winter swimming was helping a couple of people with their qualifying swims for the International Ice Swimming Association World Championships in Italy in January. My job was to help set the buoys – it was chilly work, and I’m impressed at the speeds my friends swam 50 and 100 m distances in butterfly or backstroke, plus a 200 IM. Aimee even did a 250 freestyle.
11. Make some gifts I have offered but not started (and there is a February deadline) ❎
I had to look up what I had made – turns out it was a nested linen shopping bag. I also made a little sewing kit with some handmade bone needles, for a later deadline.
12. Sew at least five outfits that have been lurking in my fabric stash and “to do” list for 4 years or more ❌
Huge fail here! The closest I came to sewing was acquiring more fabric.
13. Get back to crafting – I have too much stuff in my stash and don’t believe that the person with the most stuff when they die wins 🤷♀️
I’m almost done knitting a pair of socks, and I did a few other small things, but the craft stash is not noticeably diminished.
14. Couch surfing vacation to southern Ontario as part of Stratford Theatre trip with friends 🤷♀️
The Stratford Theatre trip didn’t happen, but I did manage a lightning weekend to catch up with many friends for a at least one meal in 5 different towns. I want to do this again at least once next year, adding in more friends and relatives I don’t get to see very often.
15. Volunteer more. I’m currently active with three groups but don’t spend as much time working with them as I would like ❎
I didn’t do much with the food rescue group, but cycling activism and social media dominated my year. I also took over doing social media for my Viking reenactment group and had a couple of lovely weekends brushing up on our presentation skills with them.
16. Visit my son in Toronto ❎
One good visit this summer, and another planned just after Christmas. I plan to do more next year – look out son!
17. Spend more time with my parents ❎
This became a pretty big one, but not for good reasons. Dad had some health challenges this year so I now spend a lot of time doing elder care.
18. Adventures on my new-to-me Brompton. More cycling generally, actually. 🤷♀️
The Brampton got a good workout this year, though I didn’t do any of the longer rides I had planned when I bought it. I don’t know that I did more cycling because I never recorded how much I did last year. However, I know I had done 1000 km by late May this year, so I definitely slowed down a lot, at a time when most people (including me) ride more.
19. Qualify as a lifeguard and swim instructor and look for a part-time post-retirement job. ❎
I qualified in April and started work in October. I love it!
20. Maintain some sort of yoga practice, still to be defined. Right now it’s a short video every night before bed. ❌
Who am I kidding? It’s all I can do to force myself to do my physio. I just don’t love yoga, even though I do fits and spurts of enjoying it for a week or two.
21. Empty my closets. I don’t buy much, but neither am I very good at getting rid of things I never wear. ❌
I’m edging a bit closer to success here, but the big purge hasn’t happened.
22. Be loud. This year I have discovered my activist voice and I like it. ❎
I did a lot of social media work for Bike Ottawa, wrote blog posts on various safety issues, presented to the Transportation Committee at City Hall, and helped with a presentation to the Committee studying Bill 212 (the one that will remove bike lanes in Ontario cities).
I even participated in a few safe streets protests (by bike, of course).
23. Relax. Deliberately spend time staring at trees, or lounging in the sun, meditating, or whatever. 🤷♀️
I am slowly learning that if I don’t get everything done on my long “to do” list today, I can try again tomorrow. That doesn’t stop me from continually adding to that list. I do spend some days lounging in bed.
24. I have no idea! This is a placeholder for whatever adventures might come my way, or new things I want to explore. ❎❎
I retired from my job in the public service. I became a grandmother. Retirement had been a nebulous goal, but I finally made the break and have no regrets. My grandson hadn’t even been a dream I dared to express, but once the kids decided they were ready, they were very efficient and he arrived in early December. I can’t wait to meet him.
