I work-out hard to stay in good shape and healthy. Monday thru Saturday I either swim with the Fresno Dolphins, I CrossFit at Certus CrossFit, I run with my husband or I do the DailyBurn.com when I am on the road for work. I also eat fairly healthy. I try to stay away from processed foods and added sugars and I also eat a lot of veggies and lean proteins.…………..Then Sundays come around and I UN-DO IT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We all need at least one weekly rest day to give our sore muscles a break, and a diet cheat day to keep our sanity (Just ask my husband what happens when I go without froyo for over a week…it ain’t pretty!), HOWEVER, there is a big difference between taking a rest day and GOING ON A MASSIVE COUCHING IT ALL DAY CAMPAIGN, CATCHING UP ON ALL REALITY TV RECORDED DURING THE WEEK, WHILE EATING EVERYTHING THAT IS IN SIGHT…day. The later tends to be me…most Sundays…whoops!
In order to break the cycle, hubby and I decided that Sundays should continue to be fun, sleep in, relaxed rest days, but not on the couch as per usual, but in nature. After all, we do live in the middle of a million of hiking trails, national parks, lakes, etc. so we might as well enjoy them as much as we can.
Last Sunday we chose Pincushion Peak Trail. I learned about this particular trail a couple of months ago after I saw an ad for the annual Pincushion Hill Climb race that San Joaquin Running organizes every year. It is a 1 mile uphill run that starts at the San Joaquin River Trail and ends at the top of Pincushion Mountain. I wanted to do it so badly this year! Running 1 mile all out, on a ridiculous steep hill sounded soooooooo amazingggggg!!!!! “Unfortunately” we were scheduled to be in India and Nepal in September when it was scheduled for, so I ended up trading the race for the Taj Mahal (not a bad trade really :D)..oh well, next year for sure!
The plan was to grab Starbucks, drive to the bottom of the hill, hike up hike down, be done, feel good about ourselves and then go see the new James Bond movie in the most comfy movie theater seats ever (holler Maya Cinemas!). And that was pretty much what we did…we woke up around 8ish, left around 9, and made it to the bottom of the mountain around 10:30ish (we stopped at Starbucks!) and enjoyed a beautiful peaceful hike while getting 2 miles of exercise and enjoying some quality time together.
The trail goes uphill from the very beginning and it is definitely steep. The plan was not to kill ourselves (at least not this time around) so we ran up a bit, walked a bit, stopped some, took pictures and sat at the top for a while to enjoy the beautiful view of Lake Millerton. It was an awesome and beautiful hike and a good active rest day. This trail is perfect for everyone and for every fitness level: there were people power walking it, some youngsters ran all the way up, others were going up on mountain bikes and families enjoying the day. Besides, it is free!!! For me, Pincushion Peak lends itself for the perfect tabata workout:
• Sprint uphill for 30 seconds – walk/jog for 15…over and over and over till you reach the top
To get to the beginning of the trail: Take Friant Road towards Millerton Lake then turn left to Sky Harbor. Follow this road for about 6 miles and park by South Finegold Picnic Area Parking Lot. The trail starts right there.
I definitely want to go back and run the whole thing one day…just not on a Sunday 😀
She lives in Fresno with her husband and two Boston Terriers, Babushka and Bambino who like to run after soccer balls just like their dad.
- Fresno Fitness: Favorite FREE Workout Spots - February 9, 2016
- Fresno Fitness: Hensley Off Road Races - February 2, 2016
- Fresno Fitness: Emergency Healthy Eating Ideas - January 26, 2016
Thanks for sharing this!
Thank you for reading it Gil!