REACHING THE SKIES

Bon día! 

Autumn has definitely arrived to Barcelona. Summer was long and hot so not feeling too sad to welcome some chillier days. I had my vacations few weeks ago so was anxious to escape the city. We finally went camping after thinking about it for a long time. Is the season of adventures in the nature and hikes on the mountains!

We packed our camping gear, loaded the motorbike and hit the road with destination: France! Haven't been in France since I lived there 6 years ago so was excited to go back. After a 3 hour ride we found a place for our tent by the mountain in L'Albère, France, on the border of Spain and France.

The first day we took a hike to the other side of the mountain. The trail was rather easy going by the side of the mountain in a forest. We reached the mirador with a breathtaking view of blue sky and mountains, just like a painting. Sitting on top of the rock looking over the surrounding mountains was when the time stopped. 

When there only exists the precise moment! Moments like these you will never forget which you remember when the urban life gets too heavy. We spent a night in a tent underneath the stars in the middle of nowhere. It felt amazing to see a sky full of stars that I haven't seen for a long time due the light pollution. 

 

The next day we chose a more challenging trail up to the mountain. Unfortunately we didn't reach the top but saw some amazing views in autumn colours while doing some great exercise. Route was half climbing rocks half forest. The ascent was rather steep which you felt with soreness of your feet. We walked around half a way to the top, more or less 500m.

I've noticed that thinner air on the mountains still affects me. Meaning it's a good excuse for more hikes, the higher the better. Breathing thinner and cleaner mountain air improves the oxygen uptake and therefore your performance i.e. in cardio or HIIT training. By breathing cleaner air helps to clean up your body physically and mentally. Clean air and exercise are keys to happier and healthier life along with nutrition!

The traffic and constant buzz in the city like Barcelona can be exhausting. I live in a city that never sleeps especially in the summer. Being 1,5 days disconnected from the world without internet let me breath and take a rest. Spending time with my favourite company in the nature surrounded by silence. Going for a hike when you like and traveling with moto I got a taste of the perfect freedom! It makes you forget all the problems in the world. For that one moment when everything is perfect. 

If you have the change, go to the nature or just to the closest parc or forest in your neighbourhood! Once a week take an escape from your everyday life away from the traffic and buzz. By listening the silence and sounds of the nature allows you to breath and reload. Nature gives you a change to stop and get more energy for the week by leaving all the stress behind.  

Nature and peace, that's all you need.
The hunger for more adventures has arisen!
Curious to see where the next trip will take us!
(about the trip after, next week on the blog)

PURA VIDA 

Until next time babes!
xxx -millamartta

STAIRS TO INFINITY

Happy Thursday!

Do you ever have the feeling when you get so frustrated about failing on something that you return by putting all the effort on that one thing to make it happen? I'm talking about sports obviously but this also happens in everyday life. It's called strenght or in Finnish we have a word for it: SISU (which means "never give up")!

This happened to me when I found stairs I couldn't defeat!

Barcelona is such a nice city for runners, who love the variety of routes. The city is surrounded by mountains, hills and parks. Therefore you can easily find the route that suits for you. Here some examples!

Uphill city tracks:

Parc Güell 
One of the most well known landmarks in Barcelona. On weekends busy with tourists so prefer early morning or evening on the week days.
You can find some great stairs and off road tracks within the hills.

Parc Guinardó
Just on the side of Parc Güell so it's easy to combine these two routes. There also appears many tourist due Bunkers del Carmel. It also includes some of my favourites routes. There are many to choose from. You can take stairs, run uphill or take a steep sprint on top of the hill. Besides you get some amazing views. Just before the Parc there is some great stairs in Can Baró.


Flat routes:

Barceloneta
If you wish to run something easier head to the beach!
There is a route from the Port Vell to the beach along the shore.

Parc De La Ciutadella
Daily a busy park full of tourists, yogis and just people relaxing or exercising. It's a nice lace to run. Take a run all the way from Arc de Triumph to the Barceloneta and have a dip in the ocean if you dare!

Tibidabo/Les Planes/Collserola 
If you prefer nature and offroad tracks choose the nearby natural parcs Les Planes or Collserola. You'll find them nearby Tibidabo.
There are plenty to choose from for every taste! Here you don't meet that many tourists but many locals having a bike ride, run a walk.
Be aware of boars which there are plenty!!
Encountered one eye to eye today while in Collserola

I love steep hills, stairs and off road tracks. I love to ge my heart pumping. 

This manner has stayed from my days of track and field. I'm still not a fan of long distances so you never see me running a marathon. I love running alone in a peacfull place within the nature. There is and always will be a Finnish heart in me that loves silence and nature.

When I moved here I aimed to find all the best stairs to run to. I started with the stairs oh Parc Güell until I got fed up with the crowds of tourists.

Then I stepped into the parc nearby, Parc del Guinardó, which I still love. Eventually I found the gem of all stairs! Called "Escales de la Font del Mont" up to Parc de Collserola. First time I saw these I thought I need to come back! One Monday evening we came here with a friend to try if we could run all the way up. The stairs won the first round. I've been back twice after alone. 

Yet been able to run the stairs only with some pauses.

Therefore I decided that it will be my personal challenge! I want to conquer the steepest and longest stairs that I've ran without stops! Not an easy one but doable with dedication and "SISU" like everything in life!

I will be posting my updates of my progress here on my blog along with the posts.

Until next time bbs!

xxx -millamartta

BLOG ON PAUSE

Buenos días!

Guys I've been absent for the whole summer!! I was already ready to give up with the blog as I had no time or inspiration to write a new post.

But I faced a professional/blog dilemma. By writing it down in words might help me to understand better. Along with the post I share some photos from my summer in Barcelona 2017.

The reason I haven't been posting lately is the anxioty of not having a proper camera. I would like to share some quality content which ain't possible at the moment.For that reason I've focused on my main channel: Instagram.

Beside that I have a specific idea in which direction I want my blog to been taken. But the lack of time, resources and therefore motivation haven't been able to reach that that. I want to share more workout posts and workout programs which I love to do. I will need to make a new plan how to make this happen!

Professionally I am not where I want to be. I started to rethink what is it exactly that I want to do! Where do I see myself in 5 years? I have an idea that has been with me over the years. But I feel like I've lost some of the passion and got caught up with life and other stuff. Yeah sure life doesn't always go how you want it to. Right now I am happy but if I want to reach my goals I need to start acting and stop being so lazy! No more postponing of the dreams!

But my question is: How to get there? How to reach my goals? Where should I start? There is nor right answer but I need to make a plan with the goal on top! The hardest part is to keep myself focused! By making it visual and placing it somewhere I can see my goal everyday as a reminder. The first thing is that I will start posting more on this blog. I made a promise when I started this and even though it might not be my thing is time to take some responsibility of my decision! Slowly but surely coming back to blogging!

PS: Can you guess what was my favourite outfit for the summer?

Hasta Pronto mi bella gente!

xxx -millamartta