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What? Me? Train? What would I train for?

Well let's just stop and think about what Spring Training is for. Our local Mariners meet every spring in a warm, dry climate to start preparing for opening day months ahead. Why? Well could you imagine if everyone just showed up on the field on opening day, undertrained, overweight, and unprepared for the first pitch? The season, not to mention the first game, would be a disaster! The purpose of Spring Training is to prepare physically, mentally, and even emotionally for the season ahead. It is to work on areas that need improvement, set goals and start training for meeting them, and for perfecting skills that have been developed over the year behind them.

So why NOT host your own Spring Training? Think about your next season...no, not swimsuit season. You KNOW how I feel about that if you read my article I'm Breaking Up With My Magazines. I'm talking about Summer! Do you dream of summer and think about hiking, gardening, cycling, kayaking, and playing in the sun every year only to find that after a Winter and Spring of hibernation, that play is actually hard work? 

Well that's what we're training for! Start thinking NOW what you want to do this summer? Do you want to tackle a ride down a local Rails to Trails bike ride with the family? Do you want to swim across the lake? Do you want to try out kayaking? Well start training for it now. Don't let your fitness routine become routine. Give it a purpose. Find a picture of you and family or friends "playing" in the sun and post it where you will be reminded why you're lifting those weights, getting on the treadmill, or getting up at o-dark-thirty to swim in a pool!