The mission statement of Happy Valley talks about the transformation that is meant to take place in the mind as well in the spirit while being surrounded by a beautiful environment. The interns have allowed this idea of transformation to influence our lifestyle while we live here for the next two months.
In other words, we’re ready to GET FIT, CROSS FIT!!!!!! NO PAIN, NO GAIN!!!!
In all seriousness though we have decided to be more mindful of the exercise we are getting while living here. This is mostly based off the fact that without it we are all going to gain 300 pounds from everything the kitchen makes. All of the fresh bread, baked goods….*wipes drool from mouth*
One of the first days that we got here Nelda, (one of the fellows that works with us), showed us the trail that she runs almost every day. The trail has a lot of short cuts but basically the first half is all uphill. I was out of breath and sweating just from walking so I had a hard time imagining running up. every. single. hill. The reward for this hike is the view at top where the trail ends.
Since that first walk I have now gone for a run on that trail three different times. This is a pretty big deal for me because I don’t usually run unless someone is physically chasing me or there is a candy bar waiting for me at the end. The first time I did it I thought I was physically going to have to crawl up to the top but each time I feel a little bit better and a little bit stronger.
Here are some pictures of us at the top:
This view is one of my favorite parts about Happy Valley, and the best part of the run is after this because its all downhill and you just run as fast as you can and feel out of control. Along with running, we’ve been doing Jillian Michaels videos for abs and yoga. Sometimes they are a little ridiculous but we laugh through the harder poses and the interns motivate each other to stick with it.
Another person dedicated to fitness that we work with is Cross-Fit Jeff, who is named so for his Cross-Fit t-shirt collection. If you don’t know what Cross-Fit is then you should consider yourself lucky because it is intense. The other night I was crazy enough, along with the other interns to do one of the “easier” workouts with him. I could barely walk the next day, and my thighs are just starting to feel normal again.
When were not doing videos or running the interns do laps in the pool. My hope is that by the end of the summer I will be in better shape then I was when I first got here. I can already start to feel a difference and am excited to see what kind of torture…err I mean exercise we can take on next.
-Brooke.
