Hello everyone! I’m writing to you with sore calves and quads, and for once, the soreness is for good reason rather than “Oh yeah, I work fulltime from home and forget to get up and sometimes six hours goes past and I haven’t moved.” I’m preparing for my big walk this weekend (EEEEK! But I’m not nervous, more just excited!), so I really have been trying to kick up the physical activity this week.
Starting last weekend, I flew up to San Francisco to see my friend Sarah and Emily. Sarah and I decided to walk the Define Brave 5k together, and we grabbed her adorable Westies and hit the trails early on a Sunday morning. (Well, I thought it was early at 8:30 but in Sarah’s terms, at that point we had ‘slept the day away!’) Check out the Define Brave 5k if you’d like to participate in a fun virtual 5k — you get a cute shirt, awesome empowerment bracelet, special medal, bib, and a portion of the proceeds go to charity.
Then, this weekend, I met up with a quarter of the Double Chin Divas, Monique, to do a nice long training walk. Our walk ended up being more of a hike, and we hoofed it about five miles through the beautiful Wildwood Park in Thousand Oaks. We climbed up into an Indian cave, jumped across stepping stones, sat in a teepee, and challenged ourselves with hills. I definitely felt the burn and am hoping my walk in San Diego is less hill and more… flat.
Lastly, tonight Matt and I ventured to an ice rink! I was offered complimentary admission to Woodland Hills Ice in exchange for coverage on my blog, so Matt and I bundled up and headed to the rink. I used to be a good ice skater but let’s just say my talents now lie elsewhere. However, we had a blast teetering around the ice (I may have had to hold the wall the whole time) and dancing to the music. It’s also humbling to see little six year old kids whiz past you like pros.
Admission is $15 for adults and includes skate rental for a two hour session. Kid’s prices are $13 though kids under 3 get in free with a paid adult. The rink also sells pizza, burgers, and hot chocolate and is right in the Westfield Mall parking lot — perfect if you want to squeeze in some holiday shopping. Even though I may have fallen flat on my butt right after this photo was taken, I loved the immediate calorie burn I felt from just a few minutes on the ice.
They’re open late, sometimes as late as 11 p.m., so if the urge strikes you, get thee too Woodland Hills Ice to lace up and skate!
So, that’s how I’ve been keeping active lately, in addition to nice long walks. I can’t believe come Friday I’ll be lacing up for my first part of my 60-mile journey. I’m feeling a little bit undertrained, but I know if I do the best I can, it will be great!
Now: if you and I had to exercise together, what would you want to do: Walk, Hike, or Skate?
First, I grew up hiking around Wildwood! Such good memories there…
and we need to go ice-skating. There’s a place in Pasadena if you’re ever out in my neck of the woods! And finally, good luck on your 3-day! You can do it! xoxox
You’ll do great this weekend! All this prep will pay off 🙂 Sending a hug to the DC Divas. Also, I went to the Woodland Hills rink for my birthday this year and I too clung to the wall. I DID NOT fall at least… but I didn’t really skate either. It was fun though. 😉