Week 4 update

Thank you all for your generosity so far. It's been less than two weeks and as of this writing, a dozen of you have donated over $961. That's fantastic! Keep it coming! I plan to do a bucket drive at a local grocery store a few weekends from now. I'm also looking into setting up a Guest Griller night at a local BD's Mongolian BBQ. A certain percentage of the proceeds go toward my fundraising goal. I'll be sure to post an update when I have more details.

Anil continues to update his blog with notes on the various check-ups and tests he is going through. It's amazing how many he'll have to have before his chemo treatments start. If you haven't checked it out, I suggest you do so.

The training continues to go well. I ran intervals on the treadmill this week and plan to do slower inclines next week.  The group hike this week was at Pontiac Lake Recreation Area. We received several inches of snow this week, so the trail was quite powdery and the hills a bit slippery with loose snow.

Dressing for these winter hikes has been an interesting challenge. I've done pretty well gauging the appropriate attire for the hikes on the whole: a synthetic base layer of various thicknesses based on the temperature, a wind-stopper vest and a thin waterproof-breathable shell has worked out well. On the lower half of my body I generally wear long johns (synthetic or wool) under my convertible hiking pants. I've been wearing my normal hiking boots with various thicknesses of socks, though

Though I'm generally fine once we've been on the trail for about 15 minutes, I'm generally a little colder than what I'd consider comfortable until then. Today was particularly uncomfortable, with temperatures in the 20's and gusty. As much as I've loved hiking through the snowy woods, I have to admit I am looking forward to the approaching springtime weather.