Today, we begin an occasional peek at everyday athletes who excel, and their secret for how they do it.
Lew Hollander’s goal is to live to be 120. If the 80-year-old Bend, Ore., resident succeeds and does so at the rate he’s been going, he will race to the pearly gates with 61 Kona Ironmans under his belt.
Yesterday, I mentioned that a nice walk in the woods is a traditional way to welcome the new year. To help make it a new tradition in your life, I included a list of organized New Year’s Day hikes throughout the state. While a hike is a good way to kick off an active new year, it’s not the only way to kick off an active new year.
For me — and thousands of others in North Carolina — it’s as much a New Year’s Day tradition as black-eye peas and college football: the New Year’s Day hike. Make it a tradition for yourself as well, whether it’s to shake out the cobwebs from ushering 2010 out the door or, on a more progressive note, to get your year off to a healthy start. A walk through the woods can’t help but put you in a good frame of mind for the year ahead.
I meant to Sunday, but we were too busy having fun in our own backyard (a backyard that extends to include a forest at the end of our cul de sac). I meant to Monday, but after a one-hour bout of physical therapy (hip flexor) in the morning and another hour at the gym with the personal trainer (who was intent on dispensing copious amounts of holiday joy), I was too pooped. So this morning, knowing the snow wasn’t likely to last much longer, the 16-year-old and I packed up the skinny skis and headed to Umstead State Park, the Triangle’s Nordic center every decade or so when there’s sufficient snow.
I’ve been following the schizophrenic Christmas weather forecasts as closely as anyone. In part, because I love a white Christmas and haven’t seen one since the Denver blizzard of ’82. I’m also keeping a close watch to see whether I should dig out the cross-country skis (in the event of 6 inches or more), the sled (a minimum of 3 inches), or the hiking boots (a photogenic dusting).