First hike of the season

After a long, snowy weather, April has been wonderfully warm and sunny. I’ve been itching to get up to the Gatineaus for a walk, so this past Sunday I headed up to one of my favourite trails.

While all the snow had melted in the city, I should have realized that it is rarely an indication of the situation in the Hills. When I arrived at the trailhead, I was somewhat surprised to see so much snow still on the ground. The trail I headed out on was a cross-country ski trail; I figured there was little chance of meeting skiers since the conditions were not good for skiing.

At first, I regretted not bringing my snow shoes but overall the snow was packed down enough to make the walking easy. Not long after I started out, I crossed a snow bridge created by a stream that had overrun a culvert under the path, which was below about 3 feet of snow. From where I stood, it was difficult to tell how thick the snow was above the stream, so I moved quickly across the area. Unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough and my left foot when through the snow bridge. Luckily, I was able to keep moving and my foot didn’t get anywhere near the flowing water.

After about half an hour, I was about to cross the Parkway; I was thinking that the snow would likely have melted and it would be better to walk along it rather than continue on the path. I was surprised to found the Parkway covered with snow, and even more surprised to meet some skiers — wearing shorts and nothing else!

What a great start to the season!

Walking with Sticks

At the SWEET event last week, I met Heather Pardon. She was one of the speakers at the women’s only evening. Her topic was “Women Empowering Women” and she spoke about how other women she’d met had turned her on to mountain biking and helped give her the courage to start her own business — a B&B. In addition, Heather is a personal trainer and teaches Urban Poling, otherwise known as Nordic Walking.

Nordic Walking incorporates poles, which increase your stability, reduce the pressure on your knees and provide your core with a better workout than walking without poles. Unlike trekking poles which have metal tips, Nordic poles have rubber tips that cushion the impact and reduce the sound as you use the poles on pavement.

So, I signed up for a Nordic Walking clinic with Heather. Bright and early (ok, it was 9 a.m.), we gathered outside Bushtukah. There were about 8 women and 1 token man (one woman’s husband). After spending a few minutes learning about how to use the poles (which several of us had purchase just minutes before), we headed off to practice. Walking up and down a section of bike path, we circled Heather while she gave us pointers on how to improve our technique. Then, we took a short tour to one of the few hills in the neighbourhood to try out our skills going up and down a hill.

During the 2-hour session, I learned techniques that I could use on my own. In addition, I had an opportunity to meet a number of nice women who shared my love of the outdoors.

I have always been a big fan of walking; really, it’s so easy — all it takes is a comfortable pair of shoes. What a great way to be outside and get some exercise. Now, with a set of Nordic Walking poles, I can walk around the city and get an even better workout. I highly recommend it!

S.W.E.E.T.

This weekend, I attended an event at a local outdoor shop. It was a women’s only event called SWEET, which stands for Sporty Women’s Empowering Evening of Tips and advice. The event was a smashing success, with about 450 women descending on Bushtukah on Sunday evening.

The evening included inspirational speakers, a fashion show, food and giveaways. I applaud Bushtukah for focusing specifically on the women’s market. While the fitness industry does address the women’s market with products and marketing, the outdoor industry is slower to get on the bandwagon.

I was also pleased at how the event was executed. The evening used real women to inspire other women from a variety of aspects, including:

• A fashion show which featured store staff of all shapes and sizes
• Advice from experts who were female small business owners
• Words of wisdom from three inspirational speakers: an Olympian (who ran the first women’s marathon in 1984), a breast cancer survivor (who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro) and a road cyclist turned mountain biker and B&B owner.

The women who attended ranged in age from 10 to 60+ and included couch potatoes as well as Iron(wo)man Triathletes. I’ll write more about the wise words provided by the speakers. In the meantime, I think an event like this point out that you’re never too old to get and stay fit.

Welcome!

It is now only 4 months until a milestone birthday. This fact provided me with the impetus to reflect on what's important to me. Good health is something we all take for granted until we don't have it any more. I've been fortunate to have been healthy so far and I'd like to keep it that way.

For me, the key to good health is staying active. I love the outdoors and doing things outside is how I keep active. In this blog, I hope to share some my ideas and experiences for getting fit in the great outdoors.