Every Wednesday through Thanksgiving, GetGoingNC.com will feature a hike in North Carolina that just about anyone can do. It won’t be a long hike (though we may throw in a recommendation for going long), it won’t be strenuous hike (there could be a hill-climb option as well). The hikes will be timed to coincide with the changing colors of fall. This week, the 2.7-mile loop trail around Price Lake on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The state of preventive health in North Carolina
Two weeks ago I took the car in to get a burned-out headlight replaced. In the course of snooping around to see what else might be wrong, the mechanic looked at the odometer and asked, “You have the timing belt replaced yet?”
Of course I hadn’t, the timing belt being one of those crazy expensive procedures that involves taking apart the entire engine. “It goes, you need a new engine,” he was quick to note. Despite the fact the car was running perfectly, I had the timing belt replaced a few days later, giving little thought to the $650 price tag. A little preventive maintenance is worth not having the engine blow 50 miles from the nearest garage.
Sanity and sweat
When you hear someone say that working out keeps them sane, they could mean one of two things. They could mean that their daily workout is what they need to keep their juices flowing, that their workout jump-starts their system just enough to make it possible for them to sit at a desk and stare at a computer screen eight hours a day. They might also mean that maintaining a degree of fitness allows them to bail into their fantasy land when they absolutely must.
Carrots and clocks
Are goals essential for a successful workout program? To justify the hard work of training do you need something to work toward?
I thought that was an obvious “yes” until Thursday evening’s Fit-tastic training session. (Quick background: I joined Fit-tastic, a 12-week training program for runners that you can read more about here, in September to help me prepare for the Monster Dash 5k on Oct. 25. An avid runner in my 20s, knee and back issues when I hit 30 forced me to look elsewhere for my adrenaline fix. Now, at 53, I’m back — at least for one race.)
Holy corn dog! Here’s a Fair hike
Why put up with the hassles of traffic and pay $10 — the going rate based on a drive-by survey of Thursday evening’s State Fair preview — for premium parking to this year’s N.C. State Fair, which opens today and runs through Oct. 25, when you can park for free and encounter zero traffic? And, you get a 2.7-mile (one way) nature hike to boot. Here’s the deal: