Strolling in snow

Lake walk

After almost  four months of skiing it is now becoming less exciting to pull on the ski gear and head up the mountain day after day. Don't get me wrong, I usually really love it once I'm up there, it's just the getting there that can be a struggle.

So I have taken to doing other sorts of activities during the day between morning and evening work. One of my favourite ways to chill out and relax is to go for a walk in the snow and I thought I would show you some of the photos that I have taken recently on my wanderings.

Included in my journeys was a walk up the 'Summer Road', which is a skiable piste and is entirely up-hill. It was a bit of a mission, but so worthwhile once I made it to the top. Also, although you get quite hot, you're still cooled down by the snowy temperatures which are refreshing and, when you've reached the top, you can simply catch a chairlift back down to the bottom again.

The only problem with walks like these is that I can't find anyone who is keen to join me. Somehow the lure of watching a film in bed seems to far outdo the opportunity to get sweaty and do some exercise. Fair enough I suppose.

In the walking 'zone'

So pretty

The lake in Les Brevieres

So. much. ice

Frozen waterfall

The Boisses bubble

A little bit warm

L'Eglise at Boisses

At the top of Boisses

This week we have the Winter X Games which are being hosted in Val Claret. They are set to be very impressive and I am really excited to get out there and watch some amazing skiing and boarding. We've been watching some of the pros as they practice over the past few days. If you get a chance to check it out on television, definitely do. You'll see some incredibly talented people doing things you never thought possible.

Le Villaret

Since we haven't been blessed with any new snow in a really long time here in Tignes, I decided to take a walk to Le Villaret, which is a hamlet near to Tignes Les Brevieres.

I was invited on this little adventure by a couple that I work with and I'm so glad I took up the opportunity because the views were gorgeous and it was great exercise!

Here are a few photos from our walk:

The lake in Les Brevieres

Me sitting next to a pretty water pump

The pretty water pump

A quirky house in Le Villaret

Some hand-painted handicrafts available for 5 euros each

The view from Le Villaret back down into Tignes Les Brevieres

A charming old door

The walk took around an hour and a half in total and was quite exerting on ascent, but much better descending the mountain on the way home.  Although there were sheets of ice and sharp thorns to avoid, it added to the adventure.

Le Villaret is a bit of an unusual little hamlet. When we arrived the village appeared to be deserted, with old buildings standing destitute, walls crumbling and wooden planks boarding them shut. However, we soon stumbled upon a sweet little table of handicrafts left unmanned outside a quirky house.

The house itself had a mannequin dangling from a rope at it's front - quite bizarre and somewhat creepy!

I did appreciate the little touches within Le Villaret though, like the hand-painted water pump and trough, which I imagine would look so gorgeous in summer, surrounded by lush grass and sunny skies. 

All in all it was a really enjoyable experience to do something other than skiing (or boarding) and I had a fabulous day, despite feeling the exercise in my legs the next day!

City 2 Surf

Today my family and I ran the City 2 Surf, at 14km, it's the largest running event in the world.

This year marked the 40th anniversary of the famous city to Bondi race and, with wonderful weather, it was a fabulous day.

I set myself the goal of running the entire course and I ended up walking for a little bit up Heartbreak Hill, but apart from that, I did manage to accomplish my goal. I don't know my exact time yet, but it was between 80 and 90 minutes.

The blisters on my feet tonight are ridiculous. They are on both feet and hurt so much, but it was well worth it.

The best feeling of the race was sprinting between the 12 and 13km mark down the hill into Bondi, with beautiful views of the water and Calvin Harris blasting in my ears. So much fun! It was also brilliant hearing a rock band playing on the roof of the Sheaf Hotel in Double Bay, and it was very cute to see all the little kids on the sidelines wanting to slap your hand as you ran by.

I have always been a fan of fitness and exercise, so it was special today to know I was surrounded by similarly-minded individuals, not to mention everyone running by encouraged me to keep a quick pace.

I'd definitely recommend the race for next year to anyone and everyone. Even if you just walk it, it's an experience you can't afford to miss.

Plus, the feeling at the end, when you cross the finish line and your legs feel like jelly, the accomplishment is just indescribable.

Images courtesy of: http://cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au

Body Attack.

Anyone who knows me relatively well will know that I am an exercise fanatic. If I don't do exercise I get grumpy. No really. I'm addicted. How can you possibly be addicted to exercise? It's called 'endorphins'. My most recent source of endorphins came this afternoon when I did my regular Body Attack class. This is a Les Mills class I do at Fitness First. According to Les Mills, "BODYATTACK™ is the sports-inspired cardio workout for building strength and stamina. This high-energy interval training class combines athletic aerobic movements with strength and stabilization exercises. Dynamic instructors and powerful music motivate everyone towards their fitness goals - from the weekend athlete to the hard-core competitor!"

The average calories burned in a Body Attack class is 700 - that allows for a pretty large hunk of chocolate cake afterwards.


The most recent Body Attack program has an awesome variety of music. This is the list of songs you'll sweat it out to:
1 Closer (Chris Crew)
2 Release Me (Agnes)
3 Gimme More (Mandy Brewer)
4 Rock It (Bhuvan Brothers)
5 Boom Boom Pow (Beat Factory)
6 Number 1 (Beat Bandits From Outer Space)
7 Put A Donk On It (Northern Accelerators)
8 Take Me To The Clouds Above (Global Nation)
9 Zombie (Andrew Spencer & The Vamprockers)
10 Wherever (Stafford Brothers vs. Hoxton Whores feat. Frank Stafford)
11 Goodbye (Jessica Friendly)
12 People Get Ready (Seal)

So I've painted the picture of what to expect in Body Attack, but I want to explore how exercise and endorphins work to create exercise fanatics, such as myself.

Endorphins are produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus in your vertebrates when you do strenuous exercise, get excited, experience pain, consume spicy good, and orgasm. Interestingly, endorphins resemble opiates (i.e. heroin) in the way they produce analgesia and well-being. Feeling sore? Endorphins are also natural pain-relievers. Oh, and if you're a bit of a language freak like me, and take interest in learning the origins of words (known as etymology FYI), you might like to learn that endorphin consists of two parts: "endo", being from the word "endogenous" - from the body - and "orphin" a short form of morphine - meaning "a morphine-like substance originating from within the body" (Goldstein & Lowery).

So I might not have a boyfriend at the moment, but it's good to know that I can receive that same endorphin release from strenuous exercise as can be achieved by other means. Body Attack is definitely my favourite way to spend an hour winding down after a busy day at work... If you're looking for a fun and high-energy way to exercise, I thoroughly recommend it.