Well, April has flown by and we’ll soon be enjoying a new season of fruits and veggies as spring produce comes to market … we can’t wait for these fresh and lively tastes! We also can’t wait for our fifth annual Splash Path on Saturday, May 19. Sign up today at splashpath.racewire.com.
This year’s Splash Path is raising funds for a new program we are planning, the Pathfinder Produce Mobile Market. This project includes outfitting a refrigerated mobile unit, so that one day, we can establish a regular route of Produce market stops in our local towns. Our goal is to get more great fruits and veggies to our area customers, and to create meaningful pre-vocational opportunities for our Pathfinder Village Adult Day Service members. We’ll share more on this exciting project in the future.
Our online markets for Morris and Edmeston are currently open through Wednesday, the 25th, at noon. We also hope you’ll come to the next delicious Pathfinder Produce market, which will be on Thursday, April 26 from 1 to 5 p.m. at our Edmeston location at Pathfinder Village Commons.
Below, my colleague Sally Trosset shares some great tips for all of us who are starting to train. Although the weather is improving, it’s still important to “dress for success” when you start your road work!
***
After a long month of thinking the sun was never going to shine or the snow flurries were never going to stop, it happened! The sun came out in full force on Sunday, Earth Day. The temperatures were in the 6o's. My 17 year-old daughter joyfully announced, "I love the sun! I love warm weather!" And how true that is, what a game changer! What a difference a sunny day makes after a long winter.
Social media had been funny leading up to this day. I read a post last week saying, "It's not the 18th of April, it's the 105th day of January!" Another said, "Hey, snow before Christmas, how nice!" And finally (and not as funny) a friend posted an article entitled, “1816: The Year without a Summer,” published originally by USA Today in 2016. What?! This one actually caught my attention. Did this actually happen? A year without a summer? I couldn’t even imagine. Like squirrels hoarding their acorns to have food through winter, many of us in our area breath in and store thoughts of warm summer weather to get through our long winters. Interestingly enough, this did happen and the story is worth the read if you can get through the first sentence, "Heavy snow fell in northern New England on June 7-8, with 18- to 20-inch high drifts. In Philadelphia, the ice was so bad every green herb was killed and vegetables of every description very much injured."
The article goes on stating there was snow in June, freezing temperatures in July and a killer frost in August affecting millions of people in parts of North America and Europe. It led to failed crops, famine conditions and disease outbreaks due to the climate change. There was a widespread migration of people looking for a better home, even religious revivals -- anything to help people make sense of what was happening. The gloomy weather even hit the literary world; this frigid summer inspired the plot of Mary Shelly's horror novel, Frankenstein. Who knew?
I only skimmed the rest of the article (the sun was out, I couldn't let this article ruin my great weather-related mood!) to discover that the cause of the earth's chill at that time was due to the biggest volcanic eruption in human history on the Island of Sumbawa, now known as Indonesia. It was said to be 100 times more powerful than the 1980 Mt. St. Helen's blast (ranked 7 on the 8 level volcanic index). For some reason I took comfort knowing it was because of an earthquake that this happened, thinking it was less likely to happen again. With the fact that we've had a solid 200-year run where it hasn't happened again, leads me to go with those odds that it will never happen again!
Speaking of a "solid run," and back to the real point of my topic -- the weather is turning; the sun is beginning to shine, and best of all? The Pathfinder Village 5th Anniversary Splash Path is just four weeks away. It is so close, but there’s still plenty of time to get outside, get active, prepare and participate in this great event. The die-hard Dash to Splash teams have been out faithfully every Monday afternoon in April training (in the cold and snow) and so can you!
While the sun is starting to shine, it's important to remember that during the early mornings and evenings, it will still be chilly. It is important to be aware of the cold if you switch your training to outside (no more "dreadmill" for the inside runners at the gym or at home!). According to a 5k training article, two very important and easy things to keep in mind are hydration and sweating while training in chilly weather.
Chilly weather can depress feelings of thirst, so even though you may not crave a big swig of water every 20 minutes like you do when it's 85 degrees out, your body still needs it. So drink up! Even if it’s cold!
Just like thirst, sweat happens too! Just because it's cold outside doesn't mean you stop sweating. Exercise = heat production = perspiration. This is where attire becomes important: If clothing becomes wet or dampened it loses its insulation properties. Through running, walking or just general outdoor activity in the cold, your body will start to sweat and you may not feel it, so proper layering is important. When you head out to train in the late afternoon or early morning, make sure you have layers that can easily be peeled off and tied around your waist. Also, important? A hat and gloves! We lose so much warmth through our head and hands being uncovered in chilly weather. This handy chart will help determine what to wear at certain temperatures.
What better way to get motivated for real spring and summer weather than an event like Splash Path. For more details about this awesome event visit, the Pathfinder Village website. Hope to see you on race day!
Happy trails!
Sally (and Lori)
