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Hey Collegiettes! Hope you all had an active weekend. Today, as one of my work out days, I spent the day in Eisenhower Park. Its one of my favorite places to run on Long Island, because there are tons of different sights. Also, I found a super cool “trail” called the Nassau Fit Challenge.
Basically, the trail consisted of markers to help you navigate from station to station. Spaced about a quarter mile apart, each fitness marker gave you a strength-based or stretching activity to do which gave me a total body work out (and a rest!). Also there were two different plans of exercise; there was one set for beginners and one set for advanced. I even took one of my fellow fitness blogger’s (thanks Olivia!) tip of sporting a baseball cap while I worked out. I got to shield my sweaty face and support my fave football team – the Dallas Cowboys!
All in all, with the 14 different stations I ran approximately 3.5 miles! Being that it is about the end of week 2, I can feel SUCH a difference in the way I feel when I run. My stamina and endurance has definitely improved a lot since I first started my New Balance Plan two weeks ago. And now for your viewing pleasure, some pictures of the gorgeous scenery from a beautiful day in Eisenhower Park!
My favorite part of Eisenhower Park is the 9/11 Memorial which is pictured in the photo directly above. Whenever I run there, I find myself always stopping at the memorial and reflecting on that hardship our country faced. The Terrorist Attacks of September 11th hit Long Island hard, as many people have jobs and commute to the city every day. Its a very emotional experience to see all the names of Long Island natives that were lost, spelled out so permanently.
The best part about this “Challenge” for me was that it was new! And you can easily switch up your running routine too without having it mapped out for you at a park. Just pick a running route, and stop every quarter mile or so to do a strength or stretching activity. For example, you can run a quarter mile and then stop and do 10 push-ups. Then continue your jog and repeat with an new activity.
After my Eisenhower Park Challenge, I headed to the Hofstra gym for a little extra strength training, as Holly Perkins suggested I do once a week after my cardio workouts. With such a gorgeous day outside, it was hard to force myself inside to lift weights, but I convinced myself it was okay since I spent the morning outside.
So I challenge all you fearless fitness females out there to switch up your routine! You can easily spice up a boring run by adding a couple of strength and stretching activities in there.
Peace, love, and fitness
Andreya