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February Flexibility

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I’m writing this on Monday afternoon instead of my usual Monday morning schedule. I had to be a bit flexible with my schedule to accommodate the needs of our child care provider. Flexibility was going to be my theme for February anyway so this morning’s schedule change was a nice coincidence.

The Challenge

My plan for February is to focus on increasing flexibility. My goal for the month is to spend at least five more minutes stretching every day than I currently do. I’m going to use the guided stretching routines that are available in the Peloton app. There are lots of other free apps available that offer guided stretching routines. If you need to improve your flexibility, join me in this challenge.

When I originally thought of this I was thinking about physical flexibility, but mental flexibility is important too. Five to ten minutes a day of deep, focused breathing could be what you need to get your mind sharp for the day or to reset after a stressful day. Or perhaps writing in a journal in for five minutes will get your mind in a place to flexible and sharp (that’s what does it for me). If you’ve never tried either of those things, give it a shot this month.

January Recap

How did you do on your fitness challenge in January? I had three slip-ups on the junk-free January challenge. I didn’t hit my goal of 31 junk-free days. However, I still felt better for trying it.

Good luck with this month’s fitness challenge. I’m pulling for you!

I Got Into Dirty Kanza 200 – What Did I Get Into?

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I spent most of Monday hitting refresh on my inbox waiting for one email. That email was the results of the drawing for entry into the Dirty Kanza 200. It’s a 206 mile bike race across gravel roads starting and ending in Emporia, Kansas. Finally, at around 4pm ET the email arrived. I got in!

What is Dirty Kanza 200?

Dirty Kanza 200 is arguably the biggest event in the U.S. bike racing scene today. It’s a mass start event and so many people want to do it that there is a lottery to get into it. Elite professionals like Ted King and Alex Howes are guaranteed entry, but the rest of us have to hope to get picked. Much like the Boston Marathon in running, the pros up front are trying to win and everyone else is in it to do their personal best that day (that’s me).

“What Have I Gotten Into?”

Judging by the social media posts of others who got into DK 200 everyone reacts to the news with a mix of excitement and “holy crap! what have I done?”

I’ve ridden more than 200 miles in a day before. The difference this time is that the riding will be almost entirely on dirt or gravel roads. That adds more challenge to the process. Riding on gravel is just generally harder on the bike (flat tires, dirt and mud in chains and sprockets) and on the body. There are water crossings involved in the course. There’s also the fact that this race is self-supported which means I have to carry everything I need and can’t accept outside help except at the neutral aid stations (there’s only three).

So what I’ve gotten myself into over the next four months is a whole lot of training. Rather than using my completely amateur guide to preparing for a 200 mile ride I’m going to follow a structured plan created by a professional coach. The plan that I’ve chosen is based on heart rate zones as well as power zones. I chose it because it’s something that I can start indoors and finish outside when the weather in Maine finally cooperates enough for outdoor riding.

Making more time for training is going to require being more efficient with my work time. I’ve reactivated the StayFocusd Chrome extension to limit my social media time to ten minutes a day. My leisurely 30 minute lunches at school will probably be replaced by working lunches.

There will also be some changes to my diet over the coming months. The biggest changes being the frequency with which I eat and making a better effort to stay hydrated throughout the day (less coffee, more water).

Why?

Some people have asked why I would sign up for this race and not something a little closer to home. As I mentioned above, DK 200 is kind of like the biking equivalent of the Boston Marathon. I want to test myself in the biggest event I could find. The bottom line is I’ve signed up for an adventure. I’m excited. I love adventure!

What’s It Like Inside the Race?

There is no shortage of YouTube videos about the race. A couple of the videos that I’ve enjoyed about are this one from Ted King that provides a professional’s view of the race and this one from GCN that has an amateur’s view of the race.

Wish me luck!

I’m going to need it. My goals right now are to finish before dark and have fun!

A Strong Finish to January

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Contrary to what the spring-like conditions on my favorite ski mountain suggested over the weekend, it’s still January. How was your weekend? Did you get outside for fun and exercise? I sure did and my body feels it today (I took a hard crash while skiing yesterday).

The Challenge

We’re into the last week of January. I started this month with the challenge of going junk food free for the whole month. As you can see on my calendar, I failed. I had three big slip-ups. The saving grace is that I didn’t let them become consecutive days of slip-ups which could have quickly become a habit. How are you doing on the challenge?

Whether you’ve kept a perfect record on this month’s challenge or you’ve had a few slip-ups, the challenge for the week is to finish strong. Make it through this week then start on a new challenge in February.

Two Ways to Create Online Sorting Games

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Playing a sorting game can be a fun way to review a set of vocabulary words and terms. This week I came across two templates that you can use to create your own online sorting games. Both are free and relatively easy to use. The first template is Vortex from ClassTools. The second template is Google Sheets template from Flippity called Manipulatives.

Vortex by ClassTools lets you create an online sorting activity that has up to four categories. You specify the categories and the vocabulary terms that players have to sort. Your game is assigned its own unique URL. Give that URL to students to play your game. Watch the following video to see how the whole game creation and play process works.

Flippity is a site that I’ve used for many years to find Google Sheets templates to make things like multimedia flashcards, word games, and timelines. Flippity recently added a new template called Manipulatives. The Manipulatives template lets you create an online sorting activity from information that you enter into a Google Sheet. Watch my video below to see how it works.

Bottom Line

Flippity’s Manipulatives template offers more flexibility and design options than the Vortex template from ClassTools. However, the ClassTools Vortex template does provide a true game experience with points and instant feedback for students.

Winter Scavenger Hunts

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Even those of us who love winter can sometimes get a little nutty if we don’t get outside frequently enough. The same is true for our kids. That’s why this morning I was happy to see my county’s Facebook page share a printable winter scavenger hunt sheet. The scavenger hunt comes from CBC Parents.

The CBC Winter Scavenger Hunt is a PDF that you can download and print for free. The scavenger hunt has four categories. Those categories are things to find (and pick up), things to look for, things to listen for, and things to feel. Print the sheet, put on your snow boots, and head outside to help your kids find the things in the scavenger hunt.

A Book of Outdoor Activities for All Seasons

When I was a kid a great source of winter activity ideas was The American Boy’s Handy Book. It is full of hands-on outdoor activities for kids. It was originally published in 1882 but is still in print and available on Amazon. It’s also available to view for free through Google Books.

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