Not sure about you, but sometimes when the temperature isn’t supposed to get much above freezing I need a little extra incentive to get out and get going. Like Saturday’s “Kickoff to a Healthy New Year” event planned for the American Tobacco Trail in southern Wake County. They’ve got all sorts of events planned to keep you warm. Rex UNC Health Care will offer free health screenings, nutrition advice and — this is the part that’ll keep you warm — exercises. Wake County Parks will lead guided nature walks, the Triangle Off Road Cyclists will lead guided bike rides, Harmony Studios in Apex will lead a Yoga demo (alas, not Bikram), the NC Geocachers will lead a search and discover mission — all kinds of ways to keep … well, from freezing.
Category Archives: Hiking
Coexisting with cold air
The temperature in Raleigh just hit 40! Woo-hoo! Alas, this heat wave isn’t expected to last. Light snow is predicted for Thursday, it’s barely supposed to get above freezing over the weekend. Thus, we bring you more tips — in the form of recommended reading — on exercising in the cold.
Umstead in a day: Calling all Iron Hikers
A key ingredient for any self-improvement program is setting a goal, something to strive for. Otherwise, it’s all too easy to throw up your hands one day and say, “All right, good enough. I’m done.”
If your goal is to lose weight, you have a target — 20 pounds by spring, for instance. If you’re trying to get in better shape, maybe you’re aim is to walk a 5K by summer. A cyclist? The MS 150 in September is always a laudable goal. And if you’re a hiker, then maybe your aim is to earn Iron Hiker status by hiking all 24 miles of trail at Umstead State Park on March 20, the first day of spring.
Start 2010 with a hike, a run, a ride — even a chilly dive
I can almost guarantee that your resolution to be more active in 2010 will last at least through New Year’s Day. That’s because there are way too many activities scheduled to keep you on the move.
Sure, some fall into the intense category. The Triangle Scuba Group plans to dive the frigid waters at Fantasy Lake at 10 a.m. The North Carolina Bicycle Club plans to get together for a little ride — of 62 miles at an average pace of 19 to 20 miles per hour. And no doubt someone has plans to lead a winter assault on Mt. Mitchell or Clingman’s Dome.
Winter break: Exploring the wilds of your own neighborhood
North Carolina, the 9th biggest state in the country with 9.2 million residents, is unusual because even if you live in one of its urban centers — Charlotte, the Triad, the Triangle, Asheville, Wilmington — there’s likely a wooded area within walking distance. Maybe not a national forest or a state park, but at least a corridor of wild that for any number of reasons has eluded development. For instance, we live in the heart of Cary (we call it Historic Cary because the houses date all the way back to the 1970s) between two malls (Cary Town Centre and Crossroads Plaza), yet we can walk out the end of our cul-de-sac along a storm drainage easement and within minutes be at the headwaters of Walnut Creek. This proximity to the wild comes in handy when you have a houseful of kids on winter break.