Fitness for life
Elizabeth and I decided to make a quick run to Santa Barbara during the holiday week. Part of any get away for us is getting out for an early workout. Here is my write up from the day.
Rainy morning so we decided to make the morning workout a walk. To spice it up we picked two spots on either side of town as our destinations. First Helena’s Bakery for tea and scone, then up to Handlebar Coffee Roasters for coffee and muffins. Such a fun morning.
We are officially half way though 2021. Now is a great time to do. “”Map Check” on your ‘21 goals and objectives. Are you on track, in the weeds and need to course correct, or ahead of plan?
Take a minute to evaluate and maybe even scrap the old plan and create a new one. The point is check in, evaluate, determine if you are where you want to be and then do something about it.
For me, I am happy with where I am at the halfway point of the year in my health and fitness. I am on track to get 1,200 run miles and 6,000 bike miles which are my ‘21 goals. I have made a huge effort to foam roll and stretch this year and it has made a significant difference.
Take away- do your personal map check and make necessary adjustments.
By Elizabeth —
When Ralph and I have an opportunity to participate in a run or bike ride that is also a fund-raiser for a favorite charity, we are delighted. And when good friends also join in, it makes it even better.
That was the case this past weekend. Our local Meals on Wheels chapter in Alameda County hosted Wheels for Meals Ride, an annual bike ride fund-raiser through the Livermore vineyards. We’ve done it two years now. It’s a win-win-win: a beautiful bike ride with friends to raise money for this vital meal service for local, homebound seniors.
Meals on Wheels is particularly close to my heart. During the last few years that my late grandmother was able to live independently, she relied on her local Meals on Wheels program for nutritious meals. It was such a huge relief to know that my beloved grandma was regularly receiving nourishing food from a friendly visitor. I believe she was able to stay in her apartment longer because of this great service.
She was in North Dakota and I was in California, so there was little I could do to help provide meals for her when she was no longer cooking for herself. This was in the early 90s, well before the world wide web and myriad online resources and mobile apps that now make it so much easier to provide long-distance help to an elderly family member. I will always be grateful for the vital assistance provided by Meals on Wheels.
My grandma is always in my heart so she was with me this glorious Saturday for a fun ride! We rode 35-miles with friends and were happy to see many bike-riding friends also out supporting this fund-raiser. There were three ride options: 15 miles, 35 miles and 70 miles. Afterward, the ride sponsors hosted a delicious barbecue for all of the riders.
This year, Ralph set up a fund-raising page for Team ClubSport when he signed up and we sent out the link to our friends who ride. (It’s still live if you’d like to contribute!) At the end of the day, our team raised $1,455 and the Wheels for Meals ride raised nearly $106,000 for our local chapter. It is heartwarming and gratifying to know countless seniors in the Bay Area will continue to receive a hot meal and a friendly visitor!
By Ralph
One of the things I love about my job is the opportunity it provides to meet with leaders in the fitness industry throughout the country. This month, I had the good fortune of meeting key members of Total Gym and working out with their master trainer on their latest equipment. What these type of business trips also give me is a great opportunity to explore new ground on what I call adventure runs.
The morning before my meeting, I planned a run tour of San Diego. I was staying at the Marriott in the Marina, which is a great starting point for a run. Because I have been to San Diego many times, I knew about where I wanted to go, but the night before I went onto Google Maps and planned an 8-mile route.
This route hits many of the major sights in San Diego, and with the emphasis on Balboa Park, I saw a few new places. And that, by the way, is one of the main things I look for when I plan an exploration routes.
I started out running clockwise along the harbor. The energy is great in this area, with lots of runners and walkers out, and the USS Midway is always amazing to see.
Once you hit the airport, Harbor Drive gets less interesting, so I made a right up Laurel St. This is the connector to the park and a really nice climb, about 1.1 miles and about a 250-foot climb. Laurel runs you right into Balboa Park and that’s when the fun really begins. I just let the sights take me wherever and I ran around exploring. Here are a few of the cool things I found.
After the park, I headed south down 6th street toward Petco Park. This ballpark seems to be one of the few I have encountered that has pretty good pedestrian access all the time. I always get a kick out of running around ballparks. There are usually some cool statues, historical monuments and interesting architecture to see.
6th street from Balboa Park to Petco is pretty much all downhill, giving you back the elevation gained on Laurel.
After my round there, I hit the Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge getting me safely over Harbor Blvd and right by the convention center. From there it’s a straight shot back to the hotel. Or it could have been. A pretty good flight of steps at the Convention Center caught my attention. Naturally I was compelled to do a couple sets on the steps before finishing up my tour of San Diego.
The whole route was 8 miles and I had a great time.
Welcome to the active lifestyle blog of Ralph and Elizabeth (i.e. RE-active). We are active people who make every effort to incorporate fitness into our busy daily lives. Our goal with this blog is to share our fitness activities and healthy lifestyle, both at home and when we travel. We hope our stories will inspire you to stay active, live healthy and explore new places.