"Just Go Do It!" by Kari Crowell, Gold's Gym Member

Has the recent cool weather had you guessing when summer is coming? It has me, but on Sunday I found myself outdoors actually glad it was a bit overcast. I’ve been wanting to get out and take in some training advice given by a friend, “go hiking, it’ll help build your cardio.” So, I invited another friend to help tackle Sage Hill trail. (I’m embarrassed to admit, until just recently I didn’t know this hike even existed! What rock have I been living under?)

With our “just go do it” attitudes, we set out from Broadview where we dropped a car with the intention of making a loop back to my house at the bottom of Horselake Road and driving back for it. (For those of you who don't know, like myself, the trails are not marked. I suggest looking at a map prior.) Feeling not to confident with our directional abilities- we figured if we kept heading north, by north- even when north went straight up a washed out, deeply rutted trail for more than 400 feet, we’d find our selves in my driveway by dark. With no worries, we enjoyed fun conversations and the possible thrill of getting lost so we could have her husband rescue us in a helicopter, he’s a medic. It would have been a great photo-opportunity for the scrapbook! We did find drama toward the end of our journey. How to get past a huge, stubborn, sunbathing snake in the middle of the dirt road. It brought on the giggles as we tried to maneuver past him to our safety! We both hate snakes!!! Not letting that bother us, it was a perfect day to be outside building up my cardio and confidence on a 6 mile hike. We enjoyed the views of our beautiful valley and the sweet aroma of the vast amount of wildflowers in bloom. We found ourselves at the end surprisingly not exhausted, legs still strong and ready to hike back up to Broadview to get her car! (HA! We decided that final hill would have pushed us over the limit, we drove!)

My advice before the weather changes, invite a friend, get outside and get mov’en! After all, what are all those buckets of sweat in the gym for? For me, it seems the hours spent inside the gym are allowing me more time outside to enjoy the offerings life can bring and the ability to try new adventures! Hope to see you out on the trails this summer!

Week #3

Walk/Run: 9.5 miles

Bike: 51 miles

Swim: 2 hours