The holidays are upon us: Year-end deadlines. Parties to attend. Gifts to buy.
When are you supposed to find the time to get out and play?
Last week on our Facebook page we shared a link to an Outside Online story on how to squeeze in a workout by condensing it. It covers a variety of pursuits with the theme of short (30 minutes) and intense (heavy on the interval work). I’ve been following it with my running and it’s been surprisingly effective, both physically and mentally.
What about when you don’t even have 30 minutes to spare? Try the next best thing: a little vicarious living.
Below are five stories we’ve read in the past few busy, rainy days that have at least let our psyche have some fun. The articles are good, the sources — Outside Online, Backcountry.com and Adventure Journal — offer a springboard to more escapes.
And if you’ve come across a good escapist read that might benefit the rest of us, feel free to pass it along, below.read more
Got plans for an adventure this weekend? Don't let a little weather get in your way.
The forecast for this weekend?
Wet.
And cold.
Here in the Triangle, the high is expected to drop from a high near 80 today to 57 on Saturday, with a 50 percent chance of rain. Sunday, the high is only supposed to hit the mid-30s, with a 70 percent chance of “wintry mix.” The outlook is similar in Charlotte, the Triad, and the Asheville area.
We understand your reluctance to venture out ion the roads if Sunday’s “mix” turns toward the wintry side. But if the roads are just wet, you shouldn’t let a little cold drizzle keep you from enjoying an otherwise … invigorating adventure. You just need to know how to dress for it. That said, we direct you to two previous posts on topic.read more
Tundra swans over Pettigrew State Park. photo courtesy NC State Parks
If you’ve got good rain gear, you’re in for a great weekend. One of this week’s picks even comes with coffee!
Coast
Tis the season to check out the bird life at the coast, where waterfowl from various points north are congregating to spend the winter. With the skies so full of feathers, wouldn’t it be nice to know who’s who? Learn to identify the year-round residents and snowbirds at Saturday’s Coffee with the Birds at Pettigrew State Park. A cup of coffee and a knowledgeable birder — what better company for a Saturday morning in early December?read more
Sunday, Dec. 14, is the fourth running of the Tour de Toys, a unique charity ride in the world of two-wheel fundraising. Unique because it’s in chilly December, typically a slow month on the cycling calendar. Unique in that whereas the long option in a typical charity ride is 64 miles and the short 32, the hardcore at Tour de Toys will be going 12 miles, the recreational riders 6.read more
Adam Spisak knew he was on to something three weeks before his inaugural Big Muddy Challengein September. That was when he realized he needed more T-shirts. A lot more T-shirts.
The idea for the Big Muddy Challenge came to him in a dream of sorts. It was last fall, he had done the Tough Mudder obstacle race in South Carolina earlier in the day, had driven back to Raleigh and was trying to get his daughter back to sleep. It was 2:30 in the morning, and Spisak needed to be to work in a few hours. Thinking about his own active lifestyle — he was a runner, played golf, was in an adult soccer league — and thinking about his daughter, with whom he wanted to spend time, he got to thinking it would be fun to do an obstacle race with her when she got older. Trouble was, he discovered Googling the next day, no parent-kid obstacle race existed.
“So I decided to create one,” Spisak says.
The notion of parent and child frolicking together in the mud seemed a natural, but who knew? Spisak got to work planning the inaugural Big Muddy Challenge for Sept. 7 at Hill Ridge Farms in Raleigh. Organizers of similar events — charity runs, for instance — told him to expect around 200 participants for a first-time affair. Spisak secretly hoped for 500.
“I wanted it to be big enough to have a significant impact for my charity,” Spisak says. Profits from the first Big Muddy were designated for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle.
The other organizers he consulted told him one other thing: about 75 percent of participants sign up within three weeks of an event. Three weeks from the first Big Muddy, Spisak says nearly 400 parents and kids had signed up, about double what he’d been told to expect. As promised registration took off from there.read more
