Zero

It’s zero degrees here this morning. That’s in Fahrenheit (why the US is one of the only countries to not use the metric system is just odd, isn’t it?). So, in Celsius, we’re about at a -17. And then, with the wind chill, they’re saying it’s -13 F / -25 C. We’re about to head out to the goats. I’m actually looking forward to it. Harsh weather, pain, discomfort—these are things not to be avoided at all costs, right? They make the sweet parts of life better and keep me resilient.

When I lived in Boston and everyone still commuted to work, in weather a little bit warmer than this, say around freezing (32 F / 0 C), I wouldn’t put the heat on in my car. It’s a 45 minute drive and you could see my breath as I drove. It was so very uncomfortable, and maybe slightly masochistic. People thought I was nuts except for a friend who totally got what I was trying to do. “Conditioning,” he said, “I get it.” I was thankful to have someone understand.

One of the books I plan on reading in 2023 is What Doesn’t Kill Us: How Freezing Water, Extreme Altitude, and Environmental Conditioning Will Renew Our Lost Evolutionary Strength by Scott Carney. Ed at Mountain and Prairie recommended it on his bi-monthly book recommendations email list. Figure I’m already putting in the pain, might as well learn about the other techniques to enhance my own small, limited experience with conditioning my own body, understand the benefits a bit better, and try to find other people that have a similar mindset.

But maybe middle age and a comfortable life will have me stopping before I ever really start.