When most people think of interval training — if they think of it at all — they think of an intense regimen reserved for competitive types. Distance runners heading to the track once a week to work on speed (evidenced by the Swedish fartlek approach that came into vogue here in the 1970s), cyclists working 30-second county-line sprints into their 3-hour rides, swimmers who periodically inject a speed lap into their long hours in the pool.
From on high, five tips for healthy living
It was a weekend-long conversation that I found both fascinating and frustrating.
The four of us — Alan, Lois, Grace and I — were backpacking Easter weekend on top of Virginia, in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. If there’s an activity that lends itself to long, extended conversations, it’s backpacking. You wake together, you have breakfast together, you hike all day together, you have dinner together, you crawl into your respective tents and listen to one another snore together. It is the ultimate in togetherness. While I was aware of Alan’s interest/obsession with nutrition (including a two-year stint as a fruitarian and his days as a carrot juice magnet) and gathered that his girlfriend, Lois, a nurse, was likewise inclined (she was), Grace was a wildcard. Until she pulled from her backpack a 25-pound bag of fresh food. (Note to non-backpackers: That’s a lot of weight; most backpackers rely largely on dehydrated foods that way a fifth as much.) Though nearly half Alan’s age, Grace was up for discussing his every nutritional nuance, from dehydrating watermelons to waiting 30 minutes to brush your teeth after sucking a lemon because you could brush away your citric-acid-softened enamel.
A festive weekend is on tap
On this spring weekend, take a serene paddle or work up a sweat at a festival.
Coast
Warmer weather means more paddling opportunities. Saturday’s three-hour guided kayak trip down the Lumber River, for instance. Bring sunscreen, drinking water, a snack “and any other necessary items,” says trip organizer Eric Siratt, a ranger with Lumber River State Park. It’s free, but space is limited for this trip that shoves off from the Chalk Banks Access Area at 10:30 a.m.; call 910.628.4564 to register.
Finding more greenways in North Carolina
Last week, we published a list of municipalities in North Carolina that we knew had greenways. Turns out there was a lot we didn’t know.
Since we published that list we’ve heard from an additional 14 municipalities with greenways, from Whiteville’s four greenways totaling a mile in length to Rocky Mount’s 7-mile system to Pinehurst’s 11-mile. Not only we’re we pleasantly surprised that so many municipalities in North Carolina have greenways, but that so many have plans to expand. And not just the Raleigh’s, the Cary’s and the Charlotte’s. Havelock, for instance, will soon add more than 4 miles to its 1-mile system, Albemarle is working on a 3-mile rails-to-trails greenway that will connect its Rock Creek Park and Montgomery Park to downtown, and Sanford, currently with 2 miles, intends to build a 20-mile greenway that will run out to and along the Deep River.
Go shopping, live longer
Are you conning yourself when you swear you really would run more if you bought those spiffy new orange Asics Sky Speeds or that you would log 10,000 miles this year if only you had the carbon Specialized S-Works Venge road bike?
Maybe not. If 1,850 older Taiwanese are any indication, you could be improving your odds of a long life.