Ash the Outdoors[wo]man

Lately I have been having a strong desire to want to get outside and do more "outdoorsy" activities. One activity in particular is hiking.  The interest piqued last year when I noticed one of my coworkers would talk about his various hiking adventures.  I suggested that the next time he go that he take me with him, but there was no real follow through. Well I guess the old saying is right: "if you want something done, do it yourself". With that said, I'm going to make it a goal to start taking advantage of the plethora of trails and opportunities to go hiking right here in my area!! Charlottesville has so many different outdoors activities to get involved in and I need to start taking advantage of them!

There is a slight downfall: having someone to go with me. As of right now, I can't quite think of anyone who would be knowledgeable and totally on board with wanting to accompany me in these adventures. I'm sure there are some coworkers I could ask or maybe join a group in town of people who enjoy doing these types of things. I probably should be proactive and start seeking that out. With spring being only a week away (thank God), I'm looking forward to spending some time outside and tapping into some new adventures!

For the hiking, I know I'm going to need a pair of sturdy hiking shoes/boots and possibly a backpack.  As for all the other gear, I'm reading online about useful items that would be great to take along on the hike. My sister and I are going to Los Angeles, CA in May and I already let her know that one thing I truly want to do while we're there is to hike Runyon Canyon! I'm not taking no for an answer so hopefully she is fully on board!!

                             

In case you didn't know, Runyon Canyon is a popular park in LA.  After doing a little research, I found that there are several trails that you can choose from that range in level of difficulty.  I suggested to my sister that we do this as a sunrise activity one morning during our stay. 

Some other things that I want to get involved in is to get back into running and sign up for a race for the fall. There were some advantages and disadvantages to training for a fall race though.  One main advantage is staying on track and keeping my body in check during the summer months! Being held accountable for preparing for a fall race will definitely make you stay on your game throughout the summer. A major disadvantage was definitely the heat! Last summer was a really hot summer with many days being well into the 100s or at least the heat index sky rocketed into those temps. I am interested in running the Hokie Half Marathon this year! It will be on October 12, 2014 which means it won't be too bad weather wise in Blacksburg during that time of the year. Not too hot and not too cold is definitely a plus when running races! I will also need new running shoes for this because the ones I wore for last year's half marathon are not in good enough condition to use again! 

And for my last outdoor activity of interest: river tubing!  A friend of mine offered to let me tag along with her family this summer as they get their river tubing on! I'm game! I've never gone tubing before (well snow tubing, but not river tubing), but always wanted to.  She's really fun so I'm sure it's going to be a great time!

These teaser days of warm weather are truly getting me excited for the upcoming spring and summer seasons! I'm so ready for Old Man Winter to exit stage left because it has been the coldest winter ever!! Bring on the warm weather and the culture of summer!!