There's great scenery on the Dan (photo courtesy Dan River Co.)
We’re finally catching up with the mail bag — and just in time for what appears to be the first warm weekend in a while.
You write to us for a variety of reasons. To find out where to take visiting kin hiking. To see if we know what the latest bear situation is in the Smokies. To ask if you can optimize our visibility on the Web, for a modest fee. You also write to point out certain … deficiencies in GetGoingNC’s content. Your latest batch of constructive comments comes in time to help others make the most of a weekend that will see sun and temperatures climbing into the mid 60s.read more
It’s a big weekend in North Carolina for runs, especially those of the trail variety.
Coast
One thing runners love about trail races is that natural surface trails are easier on the body, especially everything from the waist down. One thing runners aren’t always crazy about: the races tend to be in hilly areas where the prospects of a PR are slim. That’s not an issue with Saturday’s Roanoke Canal Half Marathon & 8K, with follows the historic, flat and natural surface Roanoke Canal Trail. Promises event organizer the Tar River Running Company: “It is honestly a course that is waiting for you to set a PR.” Also recommending the race is the great scenery, both natural and human: the trail takes in the Roanoke River and several lakes, crosses an aqueduct dating to the 1800s, and passes the remains of an old power generation plant. Lots of distractions.read more
Saturday, I ran the Umstead Trail Marathonon rolling natural surface trail at Umstead State Park. It was my first marathon, and it was an education — an education in how not to train for a marathon. Don’t, for instance, cap your weekly distance at 33 miles. Or your longest run at 17. Or start tapering in three months out.
So how do you train for a marathon? I explore that in a piece on the blog of one of the race’s main sponsors, the Great Outdoor Provision Co. Not only did I write it, but I plan to cut it out and post it on my bulletin board as a reminder for the next time.
Read it here.read more
This morning I learned from WRAL Website that today is the start of “meteorological” spring. “The term is supposed to signify a noticeable change in the weather as the harshest 90 days of winter come to an end,” says the site.
Noticeable change?
Hmm.
I say this after watching the forecast for this week — especially for Saturday — grow colder by the day. At the beginning of the week the day was expected to start around freezing and make it into the low 50s. Today, we’re still looking at a freezing start, but the high is only supposed to hit 47. And there is mention of snow flurries. I don’t thing that’s the direction of change the good scientists who came up with the term meant.
I’m especially disappointed in this, the advent of meteorological spring because tomorrow is the Umstead Marathon, and last I looked my name was among the 250 race entrants. While cool weather trumps hot for running a marathon one truism of aging I’ve learned is that there’s a disproportionate relationship between cooler temperatures and the time it takes to rev your body up. That is, at 40 degrees, it takes a 30-year-old five minutes to warm up, a 56-year-old (moi) 10 minutes. At 30 degrees, it takes the 30-year-old (still running in shorts and a T-shirt, by the way), maybe six minutes; me, it will take most of the morning.
True, you may note, It’s a marathon — you’ve got 26.1 miles to warm up. You’ve got all day, ha ha!
Technically, no. There’s a cut off — I only have 6 hours.
My point: tomorrow’s weather may be good for a lot of things, I’m just not sure a marathon is one of them. But I’ll get back to you on that.
So what is this weekend’s weather good for? Two things:read more
Share backcountry cooking tips at Cliffs of the Neuse, run a half marathon at South Mountains, have a rad time on the slopes at Beech Mountain: they’re all options this weekend in North Carolina.
Coast
Joe Jacob, owner of Haw River Canoe & Kayak Co. and longtime guide, once confided to us that the success of any trip he ran hinged on one thing: good food. It’s true. You can have a miserable day on the trail, but all is quickly forgotten if a feast awaits at trail’s end. Which is why we recommend Saturday’s Outdoor Cooking Potluck at Cliffs of the Neuse State Park near Goldsboro. Says the program description: “Show off your outdoor cooking skills! A Ranger will prepare a meal as well.” Sounds like a great way to pick up some campground cooking tips.read more
