Five days into the New Year (and barely a week into “winter” here in the Northeastern U.S.) and I’m starting to adjust to a new training routine that balances running and skiing (and gym workouts) with all the other parts of family & work life.

dragon waits…

For example, I couldn’t get out to start my long run on Sunday until after 5:00 pm. It was, of course, already dark, and snowing pretty hard. I put on the microspikes, harnessed Dragon for some canine companionship, and set out for a slow and steady 12 miles.

Slower than usual in part because of the double (& triple) workout days I’ve been logging this past week to take advantage of the new snow and keep ramping up the running mileage.

Stretching the training hours through the darkest days of the year and in all sorts of conditions has also given me plenty of time to think about being named one of Vermont’s Top Ten Athletes of 2015 by Vermont Sports Magazine.

It’s a huge honor–and pretty humbling–to be on a short list with athletes including Kasie Enman, Andy Newell, Kelly Clark, and Hannah Kearney.

Being on this list has also challenged me to think about what it means to be an athlete (and father and husband and teacher and more…), and it’s given me the chance to share the story of Climate Run and the idea of climate resilience with everyone from skiers to college students to 13-year olds studying climate science.

As much as I cherish all the hours I spend running, skiing, and training for the coming year’s adventures, even more important are the many conversations I’ve been able to have about endurance, vulnerability, resilience, and our individual roles in the face of climate change.