The La Playa Stadium steps serve as an incredible calorie eater, especially useful during the holidays.
The newly constructed Luria Conference and Press Center overlooks La Playa Stadium
It’s a rare reprieve …
A temporary lull between high-caloric seasons.
Turkey DONE!! And with a zillion yuletide festive food gatherings about to soon kick in – it calls for drastic measures.
But first … it’s a delicious Sunday in Santa Barbara.
Top down on the convertible and cruising down Cliff Drive, parallel to the Pacific.
You get the picture …
It’s Christmas, once again, in Santa Barbara …
The classic holiday tune, by local song writer legend extraordinaire, Barry DeVorzon, is blasting over the radio’s airwaves.
It’s the perfect jolly warm-up for the most intense workout on the planet…
Stadium steps at Santa Barbara City College.
View to the Left
Straight Out
View to the Right
‘The Pain Zone’ with the ultimate reward – an immediate slice of heaven.
As in the ‘killer views’ from the top of the 10 flights of 84 really, really hard cement steps that are — literally and figuratively — to die for.
As the car veers into the SBCC parking lot, the massive stadium structure – also the absolutely best place in the world to watch a sporting event, there nestled into the coastal hillside — all comes into focus.
Then with the easy jog around the track – one can’t miss the abundance of life going on all around.
About two dozen runners and walkers — all different shapes, sizes and ages are all moving at different paces while ‘spaced out’ (in a good way) across the track.
Some are chatting with their partner. Many are solo. Some are with headsets.
The La Playa Stadium turf hosted a family-fun flag football game
On the school’s brand new, bright green synthetic football field with the red ‘SBCC’ decorating both end zones, there are touch football games. Some are kicking a soccer ball. A few people stretch.
“Go long,” is a play call overheard — one that launches memories of youth and playing with neighborhood friends another lifetime ago on natural turf.
Rounding the end of the field, momentum builds for the workout — zipping up the far flight of stairs.
From experience, it’s best to take two-steps-at-a-time going up for as long as possible.
And it’s critical to keep the head facing down. Once one looks up — no matter where you are – the remaining steps look like an ‘infinity pool’ taking off into the clouds.
Half-way up, the pace changes to short, choppy individual steps and counting the numbers embedded into the concrete, that now come more slowly.
At the top, it reads ‘42’ – HA!!
It’s actually 84 due to the extra cement step between each row of seats.
Takes a few seconds for ‘the burn’ to catch up and now comes the best part – the spectacular view on this crystal clear day…
WOW!!
The city’s beautiful marina is on the left.
The sun glistening off the ocean lies straight ahead.
Shoreline Park is just beyond Leadbetter on the right.
After a coupla breaths, it’s back down slowly, before lining up the next flight.
On the third flight up, a quick glance catches the sun’s reflection off the new SBCC ‘Sky Boxes’ — aka Luria Conference and Press Center, named after a prominent local benefactor.
It’s hard not to think that this is some sort of magical place of ‘higher learning.’
And since this is the first stadium workout of the holiday season – these old bones know not to push it.
Five flights are good and plenty today.
But one last magnificent, panoramic view from the top…
And the best part?
There is not a snowflake to be found.
It’s Christmas, once again, in Santa Barbara…
Hit it, Barry!!
Those steps are a killer–Great workout! Now I’m motivated to go work off some of that Thanksgiving overindulgence!