Continuing on with my Mondays in May, Get Moving series, today I wanted to talk about a mode of workout that is near and dear to my heart: OUTDOOR WORKOUTS.

I was lucky enough to grow up with parents who saw to it that we spent plenty of time outside. Camping, exploring, fishing, hiking, biking, running, and more. All were encouraged.

As I got older, I really got into my running game. I ran almost solely outside. A friend of mine and I recently compared notes, we both hit a wall on the treadmill at about 3 miles. Consequently, I hit the road.

This is not to say that I was EVER a high level runner. Never a pro. Never competitive. But I LOVED to RUN. I ran outside nearly every day.

A climbing accident my sophomore year of college put the brakes on my running for a couple of years. I shattered my fibula and cracked off the bottom of my tibia. After some extensive surgery and fancy titanium hardware, I now have a wonderfully reconstructed ankle.

After some intensive rehab, I continued running through my twenties. Completing one marathon and many, many 1/2 marathons, 10 milers, and more Saturday long runs than I can count. I logged countless miles with our Bob and double Bob strollers! (Truly wish I’d been better about using a pedometer just to have a record of the distance.)

I hit 30 and had to address the fact that my running days were over. I had a lot of pain associated with every step, and after longer runs my ankle would ache for up to a week. It simply wasn’t wise to keep pounding the pavement.

So the very same day my orthopedist told me that running probably wasn’t going to be my gig, my husband went to the local bike shop and picked out a sweet road bike for me.

Now let’s turn this toward the outside, shall we? The reason I touch on my running history here is that almost all of it was done OUTSIDE.

With the exception of a few aforementioned miles here and there on a treadmill in college when the weather was simply too frigid, icy, and snowy to run outside, I ran outdoors day in and day out.

Now that I cycle, I would say my ride time is split almost evenly between outside and the gym. I like it that way. I really love my gym classes, and the awesome workout they afford me.

But my heart was sold to the great wild long ago. I LOVE being outside to work, play, and live. (Don’t mistake. I also bless the name of indoor plumbing and hot showers.) One of the best parts of working out outside is that you can go wherever the wind takes you. Literally.

My friend Emily recently started hashtagging some of her outdoor workouts #outsideisfree. That’s “outside is free”, to the lay person. She really got me thinking about just how wonderful outdoor workouts can TRULY be! (Plus her pictures are fabulous, as well. Just makes me want to be running, riding, swimming right alongside her!)

Emily is an all-around athlete. She began her active career as a high school swim champ, but has since branched out into running, cycling, an all-around outdoors woman.

She’s always loved nature. I know that from our years as fellow graduate students. Her point is well taken. Gym time can be so needed, and really necessary for many climates. But if you want a great workout, look no further than that first step out your front door.

There is something so satisfying about escaping outside to get your sweat on. The wind in your face, the views for your eyes, the sound of your breathing and heart rate and hard work all happening en plein air. It is absolutely exhilarating.

So this Monday, rain or shine, heat or cold, wind or clam, I am challenging you to break out of your rut and hit the open road! Run, bike, swim, walk, skip, dance, saunter, jog, soft pedal– it doesn’t matter the pace you keep or the company.

Just go ahead and get outside. I think you will like what you see, how you feel, and look forward to the next time you hit the trail, street, byway, or thoroughfare!

Get out there!

XX, Megan

My dad is a rock hound. Some of my earliest memories are of nature walks in the Uintah Mountains. Dad has brought home rocks for his “rock garden” for years. It comes as no surprise that he wants to share his love of rocks with his grandchildren!

I don’t remember the occasion for which he gifted our boys these geodes, but we have been delinquent in slicing them open and checking out the awesome insides until this week!

My wonderful hubs got out his dremel and a small hand grinder. Because we didn’t have enough protective eyewear for all of the kids, cousins, and neighbor friends, we made them stand back and watch from afar. This didn’t seem to dampen their excitement one bit!

A geode is a geological anomaly that has sometimes perplexed scientists as there is not ONE known way that geodes form. Additionally, geodes can be made up of sedimentary rock, igneous rock, or both! They are formed through a process of chemical precipitation whereby dissolved silicates and/or carbonates are deposited below the surface of a gas or lava bubble (in the case of igneous rock), or in a hollow chamber of sedimentary rock. The chamber fills with deposits from groundwater or hydrothermal solutions over time, allowing the crystals to form.

The bedrock containing these geodes eventually weathers and breaks down through erosion or other chemical decomposers and the geodes nodules are left for us to find! (That is obviously a VERY cursory description of the entire process, but you can read more about geodes and their formation and discovery HERE.)

After Perry cut the geodes open, the boys wanted to share their treasure with everyone. Perry took a hammer and chisel and broke the first geode into smaller pieces. Plus, there was another tiny geode on the back side of one part of the larger geode that he unattached and cut open individually.

The excited eyes and exclamations of surprise at seeing the crystals and banded interior of the geodes was absolutely grand! Leave it to children to make every experience 10 times better.

Thanks, Umpa for sharing your love of geology with us and our boys! Here’s to continuing the rock hunt all over the American West for years to come (with a leave it where it lays, policy for the most part, of course)!

I truly hope you have a wonderful Friday and a fabulous weekend all around! Go out there and create your own Science Friday!

XX, Megan