Get outside (more on Rule #3: Move by 3 p.m.) – Laura Vanderkam

This week in the Tranquility by Tuesday Challenge we’re focusing on Rule #3: Move by 3 p.m. Getting ten minutes of physical activity in the first half of every single day can do wonders for the average person’s mood and energy levels.

That physical activity can be anything, but if it’s possible, getting that activity outside is a bonus. Just as physical activity is a known mood booster, fresh air is a known mood booster too, so combining the two is particularly magical.

I know lots of people are aiming to get 23 minutes outside each day in 2023 as part of Gretchen Rubin’s challenge. People who’ve read TBT will recall Amy Bushatz’s goal of being outside for 20 minutes a day (she’s done it for years!)

Getting outside is an easy goal if you’re at the beach in lovely weather. It’s a less easy goal if the weather was like it was this past weekend in much of the northeastern U.S. We dipped into single digits overnight with some significant wind. The mountains in New Hampshire posted some new record wind chills!

You probably should skip the outside time in well-under-zero (Fahrenheit*) weather. But! If it’s simply under zero Celsius…that is a different matter.

Or at least that’s what I told myself this past weekend. I’d planned my weekend long run for Saturday morning, which dawned at about 11 degrees. I am not really a cold weather person at all.

I have some circulation issues, and when my temperature drops quickly or I get wet I can start shivering a lot and breaking out in hives (fun!). But if I’m bundled up and prepared I can manage it.

I moved things forward two hours or so and started running at 9:50 a.m., when it was a balmy 16 degrees. And it turned out to really not be that bad! I wore a wool long underwear top under a winter running jacket, and I wore my fleece Athleta pants. I had an ear covering, and a little neck covering, plus gloves. Once I got started that made me more than comfortable (it helped that it was sunny, and the wind had died down). Later that afternoon, my husband and I went for a walk when it was a downright tropical 25 degrees. I put hand-warmers in my pockets and with normal winter gear we were fine outside for an hour.

If you manage to get physical activity outside in extreme weather (cold, heat, wet) I’d love to hear how you manage it. What gear do you use? (Or, if dealing with heat, maybe it’s about changing the time of day?).

*Turns out I had been spelling this word wrong.