The Queen is Headed North!

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Linda

Yes it’s true,  the Nordic Walking Queen is headed north to spread the fun and fitness of Nordic Walking along Lake Superior.

In just 2 weeks I’ll be in Duluth and Grand Marais for some Tastes of Nordic Walking and free community walks.  If you live along the north shore be sure to join us for some great Nordic Walking.  A big Thank You to Lake Superior Magazine and Molly Hoeg for the write up in the February/March issue. She provided the motivation to follow up the article with some actual Nordic Walking events.

We’ll be at the Duluth YMCA on Friday morning, Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply Saturday morning, the Grand Marais Community Center Saturday afternoon and finally Boulder Lake Environmental Center on Sunday afternoon.  Full details are on my calendar. We’ll have poles for use at all programs.

Help me spread the word!  Can’t wait to head north out of cities

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It’s a Nordic Walking Week

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Linda

If you’re looking for Nordic Walking in your neighborhood chances are that we’ll be there this week 🙂  It’s the first full week of Nordic Walking programs, just look what we have on the calendar!  Don’t forget that we’ll be in Duluth and Grand Marais next weekend.

Monday:  St Louis Park Nordic Walking Group 10am, Nordic Walking Lunch and Learn at 3M, Spring Apparel presentation and Nordic Walk with Three Rivers GreenFit program this evening

Tuesday: Hoigaard’s Nordic Walking Tuesday along the Mississippi River downtown Minneapolis

Thursday: Nordic Walking Taste at Founders Ridge, Presbyterian Homes in the morning and Parkinson’s Friendly Walk with Capistrant Parkinson Center in the afternoon, Nordic Walking for Body, Mind and Spirit class begins at Normandale Community College tonite

Saturday:  Parkinson’s Friendly Walk at Wolfe Park, St Louis Park at 9am

If you have a corporate wellness program, know someone with Parkinson’s, know a senior who would benefit from walking with poles, want to take a class, or would like to set up a private close encounter with Nordic Walking email me today!

Details for most of these programs are on my calendar,  please contact me for more information on specialty programs.

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Sunday Morning Walk

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Linda

Just back from a delightful Sunday morning Nordic walk with my hubby. After the rain yesterday the trails are finally clear, the redwing blackbirds are singing in the wetlands and the geese and ducks are swimming along the edges of the ice on the ponds. What a delightful way to start a Sunday off!

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Let the Season Begin!

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Linda

This week is the official beginning of the Nordic Walking Season here in Minnesota.  We kicked off the week with the new St Louis Park Walking group on Monday morning and ended the day with a Taste of Nordic Walking at Normandale Community College.   Added a lunch and learn on Tuesday with Park Shores Senior facility with about 40 interested walkers, and then stepped out with the first Hoigaards Nordic Walking Tuesday at 6pm, 14 walkers. Wednesday showcased Nordic Walking at a local employee fitness fair today and the first free intro is 9am Saturday at Hoigaards.

It’s a busy week and it’s only the beginning. We’ll be Nordic Walking all over the cities before the end of the month. Many days will feature 2 or more walks.  I’ll have no problem getting my 10,000 steps each day. Be  sure to check out my calendar to try and keep up with us.  Hope to see you on the trail!

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Last Day on the Mountain

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Linda

Today is the last day of skiing for our 2013 Ski About.  It’s been wonderful!  Woke up this morning to fresh snow and it’s clearing off so we’ll see the sun, yea!  It’s back to reality tomorrow but first a few pictures of our adventure.

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Nordic Walking at Big Sky

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Linda

We’re taking the day off, after an awesome day in deep snow and trees at Moonlight Basin it feels good to be a little lazy.  But I can’t just sit around so I grabbed my poles and went for a Nordic Walk around the Big Sky area. The roads are snow packed but I did not slip thanks to my Get a Grips on my shoes.  I used Map My Walk to check the distance at the end,  3.66 miles.  Nice to know that I can average 15 minute miles even on slippery roads at altitude!

here’s todays view of Lone Peak, a warm and cloudy day so not much visibility.  Altho a view of Lone Peak in any weather is a pretty good view to have while walking.

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Spring Classes On the Calendar!

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Linda

Winter got you down?  Miss walking outdoors with your poles?  Spring is just around the corner!

Follow up on your resolutions to get outdoors more and enjoy a new fitness activity.

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Unplugged in Big Sky

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Linda

It’s the end of my first week of five in Big Sky Montana. Yes, I’m one of the lucky ones able to negotiate 5 weeks off to go to the mountains. Thank you Hoigaards!

This is the third year that we’ve been able to do this. Each year gets a little easier. Packing for 5 weeks isn’t easy. You want to limit what you bring but I learned the first year that I like a few more options for what I wear both on the hill and in the condo. I also have favorite kitchen stuff that needs to come so that cooking and baking is easy here. But it’s the toys that take up all the room, multiple pairs of skis, boots, snowshoes and of course a Nordic Walking pole bag.

One of the lessons from the first year is that you have to find your balance here. Even tho it’s a “vacation” you are living your life each day. You don’t get to completely disengage from real life for the whole time, but there’s definitley more time to play.

I am trying to unplug from all the usual time I spend online. Amazing how programmed we are to check emails, messages and websites all thru our days. I’m staying in touch with family but trying to minimize
the rest of my digital connections. Not as easy as it sounds but I think the end result is worth it.

The mountain is in great shape! We’ve skied 4 days in a row and planning on taking today off and perhaps throwing in a snowshoe instead of skiing. Quiet time on the trail 🙂

I’ll update with pictures and stories as the weeks go on.

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Winter Indoor Encounters

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Linda

Saturday morning was brisk and sunny, but it was warm and dry inside Ridgedale Center.  It was our 2nd morning of indoor walking and 14 people showed up to walk.  It was such a fun group!  There were HOW, Hoigaards Outdoor Women, members that I hadn’t seen for almost 2 years, new walkers from the intro last week, regulars from our summer walks, some who had gotten poles for Christmans and several who brought friends along to try Nordic Walking for the first time.

We took over the mall, walked for an hour and were off for our day.  It’s 1/3 mile around the mall, almost too easy to get in a good morning walk.  No slipping, no mittens and no hats required 🙂

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Wherein lies your inspiration?

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Linda

While on my walk I found myself pondering the difference between motivation and inspiration this week.

After googling for definitions and other’s thoughts on it I came up with this:

Inspiration is that which fills me with life, energy and passion.  It guides my decisions each day.  I would agree with most that it comes from outside of me.   Motivation comes from within me and is what moves me to action based on my inspirations.

I’m inspired by a vision of a healthy world, people living in balance with nature and each other.  To that end I am motivated to make healthy choices around food and activity.  It doesn’t mean that it’s always easy, we all have our days of being totally unmotivated.  When that happens I have to go back to my inspiration, my vision, and renew my commitment to the end goal.

If your inspiration is to live a long and healthy life here’s a little motivation for you:

Daily walking has the power to reduce symptoms of depression by 41%, chances of colon cancer by 31%, chances of coronary heart disease by 36%, chances of a stroke by 43%, chances of type 2 diabetes by 30% and chances of dementia and alzheimer’s by up to 27%.

You can replace walking with any other physical activity each day, allowing for a fun variety of options.  Biking, skiing, snowshoeing even playing at the park with your kids is an option, how fun would that be?

Be inspired by a vision of a strong and healthy body, mind and spirit, then be motivated by all the goodness of being outdoors.

Have fun out there!

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