National Take a Hike Day

It's National Take a Hike Day and to celebrate I hiked our little neighborhood trail.

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mrC is on a trip and I was expecting a delivery (that had a mandatory signature required), so I set out early to be back in plenty of time for the delivery window. This round-trip hike to Lookout Point is about 3K and takes about an hour (depending on how much time I take at the top or taking pictures along the way).

I like this trail because it is a loop that I feel comfortable doing on my own and it's challenging enough to be a good workout. The challenge is all in the beginning on the way up. I forget how many steps there are, but it is about a 200 meter climb.

Like many trails in Hong Kong, it is maintained. The steep path to the top has been reinforced with concrete to help fight the erosion process.

While I was hiking I thought about the things I love about hiking (that also sound a lot like the things I love about running).

1) The journey - Every hike that I do is a journey. It's almost always a fitness journey, but usually something else too. Maybe it's a journey to meet new people and break out of my introvert shell. Sometimes it's a journey to challenge myself to do something I didn't think I could do. Often times, I don't know what the journey is until it's over and I can feel that I've been changed in some way.

2) The solitude - When I hike alone I enjoy listening to only my footsteps, hearing only my breathing, letting my thoughts wander. It's not lonely (especially for someone like me who needs time to recover from social activities), rather it's peaceful. I like not having to worry about holding a conversation. It's an easy way to work through things that are weighing on my mind. Hiking alone can be very therapeutic.

3) Nature - I love being outside. When I'm hiking, I get a chance to see (I mean really SEE) all the things that can often become a blur when we speed by in cars or buses or when we're running: the new colors, the new blooms, the sounds, the smells. There's something strangely calming about the wildness of nature. Coming upon a waterfall, birds bursting from a tree or even a lone buffalo sitting on the trail, you just never know what you're going to see.

4) Relationships - opposite of hiking solo, it's fun to hike with a group, meet new people and get to know them. For me it is easier to bond with others while I'm doing something with them ---> maybe this comes from always being on a sports team? Working toward the same goal means we are instantly in it together and there for each other. I've made good friends this way through running, and now hiking.

5) Rewards - Of course I love what I get out of a good hike. The best rewards are the views from the top, but the views along the way can be equally breathtaking. My favorite views are of water, but there's something about looking back at how far you climbed that is just as beautiful. Then there's also the feeling of accomplishment at the end of a really hard hike. The kind of hike that leaves me feeling like I should have earned a medal for completing it. It's hard to top that feeling.

One nice thing about hiking close to home is that you don't need much. Even though it's November, it was still 74 degrees at 7am, so water and a sweat towel are a must. I like carrying lighter hiking gear in my Athleta drawstring bag (affiliate).

Will you be hitting a trail today? If so, where?

I'm linking up with Lacey and Meranda and Rachel for the Friday Five 2.0!

Go With the Flow and My Weekly Wrap

Today I woke up with a lot of energy.

I had a quick cup of coffee with my morning reading and then jumped right into day 2 of my month of yoga flow. There are a lot of different types of yoga (described well in this article), but flow or vinyasa is my favorite type of yoga. Which is probably why I like Yoga with Adriene so much.

Today's video class focused on some of the vinyasa basics. It was short and sweet. Perfect for a Sunday morning.

After yoga, I went out to hike Lookout Point Loop because it was an absolutely beautiful day to do it.

The hike can take under an hour to do if you don't stop for pictures or pause at the top to enjoy the view ---> I don't know why people would want to skip that part, but they do. I shared my hike on my Instagram story, posting as I went, but I also kept moving at a pretty good pace (which is why you can hear my heavy breathing in the videos). Since I was hitting up the grocery after the hike, I stopped my watch before returning to my apartment but I hiked the 1.67 mile loop with 676 feet elevation gain in 46 minutes.

This week I'm trying something new and linking up with Tricia and Holly for the Weekly Wrap!

Monday - Super fun bike ride with a group of AWA members on the outskirts of Hong Kong. It was a great activity.

Tuesday - I had a meeting in Central for an AWA committee that I'm working on and then mrC and I ran errands. Running errands in Hong Kong means a ton of walking even when we take the ferry and the MTR. Days like these that mentally feel like I didn't do much are actually pretty good LISS days. 

Wednesday - I had another awesome interval run with mrC around the neighborhood. I'm so happy that I can get out and run/walk. It's looks different than it used to a couple of years ago, but at least I can do it. Doing it makes me happy!

Thursday - mrC had a trip, it was still gray and icky out, so I took a great big rest day. I did unpack and put away the groceries that were delivered from our shopping on Tuesday. And I also rearranged the furniture just for fun. So I guess it wasn't a great big rest day after all.

Friday - Worked off as many calories as I could at Bodystep: 597 calories GONE. My body craves this class every week. If I'm lucky I can go twice, but since it is only offered on Monday and Fridays, I often have conflicting activities. 

Saturday - My second run of the week ---> so cool that I can do this again ---> and the best run of the week: 4.72 miles. I finally had a sunny day for running and I'm pretty sure I was smiling the whole time. It turned out to be my longest run so far this year. In fact, the last time I ran anything close was in December 2015, the last time I ran a race, in Shenzhen.

Total miles for the week - 8.86

Tomorrow is the big day. I'll be starting my bad ass burpee challenge: 30 burpees a day for 30 days. There's still time to join me and then we can be bad ass together (or crazy)! Downloadable calendar here. If you join, give me a shout out @runningescapade #30for30burpees

And that's a wrap!

What was your favorite workout of the week? Mine was definitely my runs ;)

Hiking Discovery Bay: Lookout Point

One thing we've heard about Discovery Bay is that there are a lot of hiking trails. They even publish free guides.

Since we enjoyed our hikes up Nanshan Mountain in Shenzhen so much, we were anxious to find a comparable hiking trail here. Using the information in the guides and our keen observation skills, we easily scoped out a trail entrance off Discovery Bay Road which is the main road in town (it helped that there was a big green sign). The trailhead is across the street from the playground on the corner of Seabee Lane.

I have to admit that we were a little spoiled in Shenzhen with paved steps leading to the top of Nanshan. The trail to Lookout Point is a steep climb over various types of terrain. 700 meters (roughly 4/10 of a mile) going up, up, up feels a lot farther than on flat land.

The views along the top are amazing though. You can see all of Discovery Bay, HK Disneyland, Peng Chau Island, and even all the way to Central on a clear day. And just like all the other hard things we've done (run a half marathon under-trained and injured, climb a volcano in the dark), the reward makes it all worth it and you forget the struggle.

The top (the very top) is a great place to take a little water break and even rest your legs on a nicely placed granite bench while enjoying the view of Discovery Bay and beyond.

From the (very) top, we hiked down a little ways to Lookout Point where we found a roomy pavilion and viewing compass.

The hike back down is mostly stairs that lead right into Parkvale Village. Then you just have to follow the road or take the pedestrian stairs the rest of the way down to Discovery Bay Road. There is also the option to hop on a bus if you time it right.

This hike is short and sweet. It's challenging going up, but relatively easy coming down and takes just over an hour to complete.

Since we were so close to the plaza, we grabbed a coffee before heading home for some breakfast.

Other hiking posts I've written:

Exploring Chiwan, Shenzhen

Shenzhen International Garden & Flower Expo Park

Dragon's Back and Big Wave Bay