charlotte Archives - Sweat With Stodds

Posted on August 2, 2020July 12, 2020 by Christine Stoddard — Leave a comment

Supporting Black-Owned Businesses in Charlotte

I won’t pretend to be an expert on all things anti-racist, but I know when it comes to creating change, the way you use your dollars counts. Buying black helps put a dent in the systemic racism that has oppressed BIPOC for years. Here in Charlotte, my husband and I have made it a focus to step out of our usual habits and seek out black-owned businesses with this in mind. For a comprehensive list of Charlotte black-owned businesses, check out this article from the Charlotte Agenda. I’ll focus on businesses we’ve tried lately to give you a little background on why we love them!

Two Scoops Creamery

To be fair, we loved and supported Two Scoops for 2 full years before learning anything about their ownership. They have the best ice cream in town and we used to live a very short walk from the Plaza Midwood location. It’s on my list to take any out-of-town visitors to.

My go-to order is 2 scoops on a waffle cone: batter up (cake batter) and cookie monster (blue vanilla ice cream with oreos, chocolate chip cookies and vanilla wafers). I also recently tried Stew Brew (coffee ice cream with caramel and oreos) and Tom Foolery (chocolate cake batter ice cream with brownies and chocolate cake piece). Both were SO GOOD!

Worthy + Badass

I looove this shop for minimalist designs with a great message: you are worthy + badass. It’s hard not to buy everything Justine makes, but I really love my worthy + badass necklace. I get an instant confident boost when I put it on!

Popbar CLT

Popbar is a national chain of shops that offer gelato on a stick, and our Charlotte location is black-owned. The first location is in NoDa but there’s a shop going into Camp Northend as well. The NoDa location is in a purple brick building, perfect to snap cute pics for the ‘gram. I got hazelnut gelato half-dipped in white chocolate with rainbow sprinkles and was not disappointed!

Coordinates Coffee

I learned about this coffee truck in the Charlotte Agenda. The truck travels around CLT, so be sure to check their Instagram for this week’s schedule and location. I pre-ordered on the cloosiv app and found it so easy to use. I chose a Lavender Vanilla Latte with Almond Milk and it was delicious (bonus: if you order in the social justice pouch, it’s a double!)

I have a lot more on my list to try (like Stats, which is right down the road from my house!) but we’ve admittedly been a bit limited thanks to our rising COVID cases here in Charlotte. What else needs to go on my must-try list?

Posted on July 20, 2020July 19, 2020 by Christine Stoddard — Leave a comment

The Best Charlotte Trails for Walking/Running/Biking/Rollerblading

Charlotte is known for its urban tree canopy. When viewed from above, tree canopy covers 47% of the city (as of 2020)–one of the highest canopy cities in the U.S. It’s one of my favorite things about living here. Everywhere you turn it’s green and beautiful!

This also makes for great parks throughout the city. During the COVID-19 pandemic (and my third trimester of pregnancy) my husband and I started getting out to explore more of these local parks. We live on the North side of Charlotte, so our explorations also lead us into Huntersville. Here are some of our favorites!

Jetton Park

This park is in Huntersville on the edge of Lake Norman. It’s my favorite park because it’s on the water, but also wooded. Everywhere you go there’s a beautiful view. You could make a day of going if you pack swimsuits for the beach area and bring food to enjoy at one of the pavilions or picnic tables. We usually head there for a 3 mile walk or run, which requires going around the entire park twice, and we always stop to take in the lake views.

Reedy Creek Nature Center

This wooded area is not too far from Uptown and has over 10 miles of wooded trails to explore. It’s amazing to me that this park is within the city of Charlotte, because it feels like you’ve stepped into a forest that you wouldn’t see in a populated, developed area. We’ve only explored 3 miles of trails here, but plan to go back and explore more. I particularly loved the pond trail!

Freedom Park

Another park that’s close to Uptown, Freedom Park is a popular destination. Colin and I actually went here when we visited Charlotte before moving down. This has a much less wooded feel, but has multiple playgrounds, fields and open areas to hang out in. Freedom park is a great spot for a walk, run or to meet up with friends. There’s a good amount of parking available, too.

Little Sugar Creek Greenway

This greenway was pretty close to where I used to live in Plaza Midwood, so I would run/bike/walk along it often. It has a very urban feel since it weaves through a populated area of the city, but the creek, statues and greenery are all still a nice touch. I particularly loved biking along this trail because I didn’t have to pack up my bike to take it somewhere, but I was still able to get off the main sidewalk and main roads of Charlotte where cars and pedestrians could interfere. If you take this far enough, you’ll also end up in Freedom Park, which is nice! One con might be that there’s not a lot of parking options unless you park at Freedom Park to pick up the trail. It was convenient for me since I lived close by, but I have rarely been back since moving.

Toby Creek Greenway

This has a similar feel to Little Sugar Creek Greenway, but a little less urban. To get to this walking trail, we park at UNC Charlotte. The trail is about 2 miles long and is meant to connect Mallard Creek Greenway to the campus and nearby shopping areas. We love that the trail is wooded, not super busy, and nicely paved. We’ve only ever walked it, but it looks like a great spot to bike or rollerblade.

The Rail Trail

Even more popular than Freedom Park, the rail trail is almost guaranteed to be busy on a nice day. This trail runs alongside the light rail in South End and extends into Uptown. There are bars and apartments and shops all along it. Since South End is a popular place to live, this means it’s almost always occupied. Again, this has a very urban feel, but it’s nice to get outside and walk/run/bike along a designated pedestrian area. You’re also likely to see cool street art and run into someone you know! One thing to note: this is not someplace you can easily park and walk along (unless there is a parking area I’m not thinking of). You may need to street park and pick up the trail at a random location.

Still on our list to try..

Whitewater Center trails – I’ve been to the whitewater center many times now, but never ventured through the numerous trails in the daylight. I did once run a nighttime trail race there, which was fun, but means I can’t speak much to the views!

We’ve been to (and loved) local-ish hikes like Crowders Mountain, Stone Mountain and South Mountain State Park, but wanted to keep this list a little more local to Charlotte.

What are your favorite Charlotte trails and parks? What else should be on our list to try?

Posted on October 20, 2018 by Christine Stoddard — Leave a comment

3 Reasons I Love To Work For My Beer

One of my favorite things about this city is the overwhelmingly popular beer fitness scene and all of the balanced living enthusiasts that come with it. That’s why when I heard about Work For Your Beer – Charlotte’s hub for all things beer fitness – I knew I had to get involved. There are few (if any) things that I love more than a nice adult beverage after a workout! So what exactly is Work For Your Beer?

Work For Your Beer is the place to go if you’re looking for beer fitness classes. This site serves as a guide for pub run clubs, brewery yoga classes, bootcamps that end with beer, and more (there are even dance classes — Twerk For Your Beer, anyone?). Outside of the super-helpful calendar that provides details for more than 100 beer fitness events/week, they also post interesting content. The blog shares beer releases and reviews, Charlotte-specific events, and topics that balanced living enthusiasts would relate to (read one of my personal favorites here). PS – if this sounds like your thing, sign up for the weekly brewsletter–you won’t be disappointed!

Like this shirt? Enter code: christine15 at checkout on the Work For Your Beer site for a discount!

So, why am I so obsessed with being a Work For Your Beer brand ambassador? Find my top 3 reasons below:

The workout variety. So many workouts, so little time (and money!). I love that the beer fitness scene allows you to vary your workouts, commitment-free, for a small price tag. Many of the pub runs are free (you just buy your own beer afterward), and classes are around $5 (which sometimes includes a beer!). So, you get to experience lots of different trainers and exercise styles for much cheaper than a membership or drop-in fee at most boutique studios! The variety of options is great for someone who likes all different kinds of fitness.
The craft beers. Beer fitness is a great excuse to try different craft beers! In Charlotte, there’s no shortage of brewery options. Within walking distance of my apartment, I can go to Legion Brewing, Resident Culture, Catawba, Pilot, and more. It would be easy to fall into a rut of going to the breweries closest to me – but the fitness events offered at other breweries get me out there, trying new things! I’ve since figured out that my fave Charlotte beers are Birdsong Jalapeno Pale Ale and Wooden Robot Good Morning Vietnam.
The community of people. Beer fitness events provide a great way to get out and be social on weeknights. I love being able to connect with people who I already know share two of my biggest loves! And meeting new people is so important to me, being new in town. To all my fellow beer-and-fitness-loving Queen City residents: message me to meet up at a class together!

I’d love to hear your favorite beers, breweries, and beer fitness events (Charlotte or not) in the comments!