It seems like every blog is posting a holiday gift guide
this time of year. I thought I’d
get into the spirit as well, but with my own take on it. First of all, full disclosure: yep, I
do love gear and all kinds of “stuff’; but several years ago I decided that the most valuable things
to give are time and memories. I
no longer exchange gifts with Jason, family members, etc., but we choose
special things to do with each other instead. Here are some suggestions for “gifts” for the active people
in your lives.
The swimmer
A super-fun, yet challenging, swim workout. My most memorable swim was of course
swimming 100x100m with Jason in Hawaii. Another was last xmas when we swam the “12 Days of Christmas” swim: 78x75m (5850m).
We’ll be doing that one again this year together, but starting at 12
instead of 1. You see, the workout
goes just like the song, where you do 1x75, then 2x75 , then 3X75… so on. It didn’t take long to get the first 6
“days” out of the way (1575m), but the last 6 (4050m) took forever. This time will start with 12x75, then
11x75, then 10… same mileage obviously but mentally more fun to be counting
down rather than up.
The cyclist
How about a ride on a cool, out-of-the-way route that you
don’t normally ride? Get your
cycling buddies together for some flowy singletrack, or a sweet road ride on
backroads where you don’t have to worry about traffic and can ride in a group
and chat. Or create a fun
mock-cyclocross course through some local parks and share the laughs with your
best riding pals.
The runner
Meet early one morning for a long run, then head out to the
best brunch place afterwards.
Mimosas and carb-overloading feels soooo good after up to two hours of
pounding the pavement or trails.
Or maybe a shorter run, but try to find one of those Participarks to
play on the fitness circuit while running! Participarks may be a strictly Canadian thing – they were
built in parks around the country in the early 80’s to encourage Canadians to
get more active. It’s basically a
fitness circuit with 12-ish exercise stations, placed throughout a 2-3km loop
through a park or trail. Fun!
The water lover
Even though it’s wetsuit season here in the PNW, get out the
SUPs and go for a paddle. Find a
calm morning, or brave the afternoon winds and have some fun in the chop!
The hiker
Scout around the rumour mill for some off-the-beaten track
places and go exploring. The other day my friend Candace and I (and her dog Shadow) poked around an abandoned property
to find a fabled waterfall – involved some scrambling, climbing over fallen
trees, tall grass, jumping creeks, eating dirt… and was fantastically fun.
The multi-sport athlete
Do some chores or something to free up some of their time, which they could use to have a nap. 'Nuff said.
The special someone
Book a trip to a training mecca (Kona, Tucson, wherever…),
and up the mileage in this offseason by training like crazy and creating your
own triathlon training camp. All
it takes is the desire to swimbikerun every day in a warm, sunny spot, a comfy
couch to recover on, and some good food to fuel up with. And of course, time with the peeps most
important to you to create those special memories.
