Category: Fitness

From the Pensacola Double Bridge Run on 2/5/11.

Alexander Park, Lawrenceville GA

I’ve been checking the weather forecast all week.  With a race coming up I needed to get in one more outdoor run and the forecast was for temperatures in the mid 60’s by Saturday, needless to say I was giddy with the prospect. So Saturday afternoon, with the temperature at 65 degrees I set out for Alexander Park in Lawrenceville.

Upon arrival the first thing I noticed was a lack of trees indicating that this park was fairly new. After further research I found that the park was actually opened in 2009.  The next glaring reality was that the park was packed and the parking, limited.  The main park entrance on Old Snellville Highway has a narrow paved lot followed by an unpaved lot and nearly all spaces were taken.
The front of the park has seating for performances and an open grassy area for kite flying, frisbee throwing and whatever else you can do in an open grassy area.  Next to it is a small children’s play area with swings, a slide, a big boulder for climbing and an interesting set up that teaches children how to read braille.  The play area was packed with children and their parents and could definitely be extended or an additional play area added somewhere else in the park for the children to enjoy.
The paved trail according to the website is 1.4 miles and you have to assume that this is the paved trail that is lined for two “lanes”.  I say assume because there are no mileage markers anywhere on the trail.  The outer loop of the trail, even without trees is a good one.  Starting out from the entrance and going right on the outer loop, it’s not particularly challenging, however the last stretch once you come back around to the entrance side is one long steady incline that burns the lungs and thighs.  I saw one woman stop and think about whether she would continue or turnaround, she continued and so did I.  That incline alone makes running here worth it.
As much as I enjoyed the run, and seeing the children, the pond (where people actually fish) and the challenging incline, there were a few drawbacks as mentioned above.  The parking situation leaves much to be desired and the children need a larger play area.  Yet the biggest draw back was the DOG POOP.  Every Gwinnett Park that I’ve been in has the “It’s your doodie” signs posted.  For some reason, some folks IGNORE those signs and let their dogs poop on the paved trail and alongside it.  The problem is especially troublesome on the back side.  I mean the smell of dog poop mixed with wood chips is a bad combination.  I’ll be contacting the Gwinnett Parks and Rec about this one.
Overall I give a thumbs up with some caveats for Alexander Park.  For running, walking and biking early mornings will likely be the best bet to miss the crowds and miss the heat during the summer.  Off hours would also prove better for parking.  If you’ve been to Alexander Park, I’d love to hear what you thought.
See you at the park!

This is the park where the goose was found with an arrow in him.  The goose was alive and was able to fly.  The arrow went through the tail feathers.  WSB-TV showed the story on the 11:00 pm news about the arrowed goose, but it is not yet posted on its site.  Trust I will be calling Parks and Rec in the morning. 

Lucky Shoals Park

A day off, temperatures in the 60’s, last day of the year all ingredients for checking out another of Gwinnett’s finest, Lucky Shoals Park.
Lucky Shoals on Brit Road just south of Jimmy Carter Blvd is beauty in simplicity with hills throw in for good measure. The park features, tennis and basketball courts, soccer and football fields, a childrens play area and best of all for runners and walkers a 1.14 mi paved trail.
The trail is entirely tree covered which I’m sure is welcome relief during the sweltering summer months. That shade is needed also to give some relief from the inclines.
I actually ran the course on Sunday with temps in the 40s and a bit of a breeze. The backside of the park is actually the high point so regardless of which direction you start the first half of the loop goes up.  Great for your cardiovascular system and sure to make buns of steel with repeated outings.
Lucky Shoals park has a great location bordering DeKalb and Gwinnett Counties, is easy to get to and is fairly well maintained. The trail is challenging enough to make you pay attention to your breathing. The only drawback is the paving. Certain sections of the trail have been repaved others have not. Runners and walkers should watch their step in areas where the tree roots are buckling the pavement.
For more information on Lucky Shoals Park see go to the Gwinnett Parks and Recreation website.

White River Club – Anderson, IN

Seeing that the winter weight had begun creeping on before it was officially winter I decided that when the holidays rolled around that I would halt the creep instead of adding to it.  I usually run whenever I come home (Indiana) but that’s generally during the summer.  This year I caught a break on a ticket, and headed home for Christmas.  Snow was on the ground and there was NO WAY any running would be done outside so what’s a girl to do when she can’t go outside?  Head to the gym.

I’m no stranger to the gym, it’s just that when it is warm out I’d rather be in the great outdoors which is much easier to do for a longer stretch of the year in the south.  Since I’m no longer winter hearty, I take it inside when it’s cold.  In years past during visits home in the winter I frequented another gym near my mothers home. This year was a different story.  I was seeking a more modern facility in which I felt more comfortable. After asking around and making a few calls I landed at White River Club.  An older gentlemen at the front desk answered all my questions, sold me a weekly pass and had someone show me around the club.  

During the tour, I saw a water aerobics class in session with seniors enjoying the class, several personal trainers with clients, staff checking the common areas and people getting their fitness on.  All of the equipment was clean and in working order.  Not one “out of order” sign was posted and all of the staff and patrons were friendly which was considerably different from what I’d experienced at the other club I USED to visit.  White River has a full slate of classes daily with something for every age and fitness level and their prices are definitely reasonable. The club is also GREEN.  The two national chain health clubs that I frequent in Atlanta don’t recycle, White River does.

If you’re in town to visit or if you’re a resident I highly recommend White River Club.  It’s one thing to have a full slate of classes and state of the art equipment, but without that customer service component, going to the gym can be a drag.  White River Club’s service and friendly environment take them over the top.

For more information please check out their website and Facebook Page.

McDaniel Farm Park

Ever on the lookout for a new spot to run and in need of some extra motivation I found myself one particular Saturday at McDaniel Farm Park in Duluth, GA.  This little heaven of a park is nestled amongst the chaos of  Gwinnett Place Mall, a multitude of car dealerships, strip malls, restaurants and ongoing construction on Pleasant Hill Rd.
Upon hitting the trail I met a nice couple who showed me the ropes of the trail and I took off (well not really as I’m more of a tortoise than a hare).  The particular route I was on has short inclines and dips, a nice mixture of shaded and unshaded areas and pedestrian bridges.  Some of the curves are sharp but not sharp enough to hurt yourself. All paved trails combined are approximately 3 miles and it seems as though there are limitless combinations that you can choose from and improvise along the way with the help of posted hard maps.
The main features for the tourists and history buffs are the farm buildings near the front entrance of the park.  This area has been restored to resemble a 1930s subsistence farm (cotton) in Georgia. During the spring through fall these buildings are open for tours and there are special events throughout the year.  There are also covered pavillions for large groups available by reservation.
McDaniel Farm Park has a little something for everyone and is at least for me, a bit of peace in the midst of  this part of Gwinnett’s madness. 
For more information on McDaniel Farm Park and other parks in Gwinnett County please see the county website.

Time to Face the Fear – West Gwinnett Park Aquatic Center

Some people have absolutely glorious, exciting things on their bucket list.  One of mine probably isn’t in the mind of many but it is for me and that is to learn how to swim.

We had mandatory swimming in high school.  To pass a beginner’s class all you had to do was swim across the shallow end, hold your breath and float. I passed but never got over my fear of “the deep end.” Especially after jumping in a friends pool one time and nearly drowning (or at least it felt like it). Now that I’m in a season of overcoming fear and on the recommendation of my orthopedist, who thinks I should incorporate something else into my routine besides running, I’ve decided to give it a shot again.

Today, accompanied by my new “swim coach” I toured the West Gwinnett Park Aquatic Center.  Located in Norcross the facility includes an indoor instructional pool and completion lap pools and an outdoor water slide and water play area.  There’s also a spectator area above the competition pool.   The facility is immaculate and the front desk staff was very friendly and helpful.

All aquatic centers in Gwinnett have the same pricing per day and for season passes.  Non-Gwinnett residents pay double and proof of residency is required.

I’m looking forward to taking the dive and learning something new.  Who knows, some day you might read about me doing a triathlon? Maybe I’ll add that to the bucket list.

MACON LABOR DAY ROAD RACE 2010 10K – MACON GA

Two more parks this week

This parks post is a bit different out of necessity. 

Graves Park is located on Graves Road in Norcross, GA. The parks site indicates that the main paved trail is 1.25 miles. The actual markings from my trek around it end at 1.14 miles. The park mostly consists of open fields for volley ball, has two tennis courts, pavillion, children’s play area and a really nice dog park split for large and small dogs.. Trail is about 50% shaded with some hills and inclines. The trail is just challenging enough but not so hard as to leave you gasping for air.  This park will definitely be in rotation for running and one in which I can take my shared custody dogs to 🙂

Mountain Park Park is located on Five Forks Trickum Road in Lilburn, GA and it has a LOT going on. Baseball/softball fields, football field, lighted tennis courts, batting cage, grassy shaded areas, a skate park and a 1.0 mile pave trail.  The trail runs close in to all the fields, so it might be a bit distracting for someone used to running on trails surrounded by trees.  There are some trees on the back side and the trail is really most conducive for easy run days.  I likely will not run in this park but will pull up in one of those grassy areas and read or chill or watch all the kids play.

Having taken an extra day off during the holiday I went to these parks because I made a promise to myself to change up my routine a bit after Peachtree and run in some different parks throughout my county.  Both Bethesda (visited on 7/5) and Graves (visited on 7/6) meet my criteria for good spots to run, enough hills, adequate shade, not too close to the other activities and so on.  What I found most disappointing was the discrepancy in the maintenance of these parks. Both Bethesda and Mountain Park were clean, trash bins empty and doodie bags (for dogs) stocked appropriately throughout the park.  Graves Park on the other hand had some trash on the side of the trail, the trash bins were full and there were no doodie bags in the stations along the route.  Norcross, in which Graves Park resides is in a majority Latino area.  So my mind really started racing at the point.  Instead of flying off the deep end altogether I contacted the Parks department to find out why the other parks were clean and this particular park was not and was told that the supervisor for that area was out as a result of an accident.  Now, the supervisor generally is not the one who cleans the park there are work crews that do this.  Even after the holiday it’s highly unlikely that not every single one of the work crews was off, which means the parks still should have trash picked up. Besides, is there not some sort of contingency plan for when people are out so that the work continues? It’s all too fishy for me, because even ignoring the trash problem, there is still an element of  maintenance in terms of weeds and grass and overgrowth in Graves that was not present in the other parks visited.  So the question in my mind is, is there willful neglect of parks that serve minority areas and those that do not?  I’ll be returning to the park to see next week and will be checking out more of the parks in the more heavily populated minority areas in the county.  My desire is to be presently surprised to find them all in pristine condition. My expectation however is that they won’t be.  Gwinnett County on the whole is a “majority minority” county but there are pockets where this is not the case.  If I find maintenance to be equitable, I’ll let it rest, if not I’ll be calling for back up.

Stay tuned.