6 Ways to Feel Fitter on New Year’s Day

Thursday, December 30, 2010

GoLocalProv Health Team

It's been a great bunch of partying this holiday season, and no regrets, but now 2011 looms, and with it, some healthy habit-building. Jump start your healthier year with these January 1 fitness finds:

Plunge, Plunge, Plunge

Only RI would have three cold-water plunge swims for the hearty. Take your pick:
3rd Annual Seawall Splash, Warwick. Begins at noon. Oakland Beach. Proceeds go to restore a carousel at the beach. Advance registration required. Call 732-2727, or email [email protected] for more information.
35th Annual Jamestown Penguin Plunge, Jamestown. Begins at noon. Mackerel Cove. Swimmers risk hypothermia for charity. Call 823-7411 for more information, if you dare.
32nd Annual New Year's Day Polar Bear Plunge, Newport. Begins at noon. Easton's Beach, Memorial Boulevard. Folks from the local Polar Bear Club race to dip into the icy waters at Easton's Beach, all to benefit charity. After-swim party at the Atlantic Beach Club. Call 846-0028, or visit the A Wish Come True Web site for more information.

Work Out Family-Style

Kick-start your whole family on a healthier path on Saturday, when all seven branches of the YMCA of Greater Providence open to families from noon to 5pm. While there, consider joining in January and receiving $72 in Y bucks, applied to membership. The following Ys will be open:
Bayside Family Y in Barrington - 245-2444
Cranston Y - 943-0444
East Side/Mt. Hope Y in Providence - 521-0155
Kent County Y in Warwick - 828-0130
Newman Y in Seekonk - 336-7103
South County Y in Peace Dale - 783-3900
West Bay Family Y in North Kingstown - 295-6501

For more information, check online, here.

Run RI, Run Worldwide

Get out for your favorite local run on 1/1, but beforehand, go online to Virtual New Year's Day Run - Rhode Island and join a new, worldwide movement to be fit and share the virtual experience with runners all over the globe. You'll

download your own bib at www.runday.com, and you'll be asked to make a small donation to a charity to complete the day. Further, you'll be registered for World Run Day in November.

Ski a Sanctuary

Several Audubon sanctuaries are excellent for cross-country skiing, and there may well be enough cover left on New Year's Day this year for a 2011 tour of some of RI's finest unspoiled landscapes. The following Audubon areas are recommended for skiing (for more information on each area, go here).

Caratunk Wildlife Refuge (Seekonk, MA)
Fisherville Brook Wildlife Refuge (Exeter)
Fort Nature Refuge (North Smithfield)
George B. Parker Woodland (Coventry)
Touisset Marsh Wildlife Refuge (Warren)

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