Coast

WWJDD?

What Would John Denver do if he were still alive and living in the Wilmington area? We reckon he’d be taking part in Saturday’s F.A.R. Out Family Adventure Race at Brunswick Nature Park.

A total of four challenges —  trail running, mountain biking, “team challenges” and optional kayaking —of which family teams need only complete two. You get a map at the mass start, the rest is up to you. Courses differ by age category and are color coded. Plus food, vendors and more.

Logistics: Saturday, June 20, 9 a.m., Brunswick Nature Park, Winnebow. Race day registration starts at $75 (plus $8 if you need a one-day U.S. Adventure Racing Association membership). More info here.

Saturday forecast: High of 90, chance of thunderstorms.

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Looking ahead: Into surfing — or at least surfing-curious? Check out the O’Neill/Sweetwater Pro-Am Surf Fest July 17-19 at Wrightsville Beach. Details here.

Piedmont

What does the adventurous dad truly want for Father’s Day? To spend some fat time with his kids.

And that’s just what he’ll be doing if you take him to Lake Crabtree County Park in Morrisville on Sunday for this year’s edition of TORCFest, a k a the Triangle Fat Tire Festival. Put on annually by the Triangle Off Road Cyclists, this is a day of mountain biking fun. There’s a time trial (including categories for kids 12 and under and ages 13-17), group rides, bike demos, BBQ and a skills clinic (and knowing these folks, possibly a BBQ skills clinic). Plus, join TORC and get a free chiropractic adjustment!

Logistics: Sunday, June 20, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m., Lake Crabtree County Park, Morrisville. More info and to sign up, here.

Sunday forecast: Sunny, high of 98.

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Looking ahead: A night triathlon? There’s one in Cary, on June 28. Check it out here.

Mountains

Would dad mind celebrating Father’s Day a day early? Not if it’s as part of the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy’s June Jamboree in the Roan Highlands.

Five hikes are planned as part of the Jamboree. Don’t quite have your full hiking legs under you? Try the Roll n’ Stroll in the Rhododendron Gardens atop Roan Mountain (11 a.m.). More interested in something the kids would dig? Try the Salamander Scavenger Hunt at 11 a.m. at Hampton Creek Cove. Something a little more ambitious? How about the Ed Schell Memorial Hike from Carver’s Gap to Grassy Ridge (9 a.m.). And for those of you seeking a true challenge, there’s the Challenge Hike starting at 8 a.m. from Hughes Gap and ending 15 miles later at Hampton Creek Cove. This hike includes the longest contiguous stretch of grassy balds in the world.

Read more about the Jamboree in the Asheville Citizen-Times.

Logistics: Saturday, June 20, hikes start at 9 a.m. in the Roan Highlands area. Free. More info here.

Saturday forecast: High of 83, chance of thunderstorms.

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Looking ahead: Celebrate your independence this July 4 with a mountain run in Lenoir — the Firecracker 10K, 5K and fun run. Details here.

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Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below.

The post This weekend: Family adventure, a Fat day for Dad, high hikes in the Roan Highlands appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coast

Standup paddleboarding and kayak fishing may seem like odd bedfellows. But on Saturday, they’re married for a day of fun on the water at the Brunswick Waterfest in Wilmington. On the SUP side, there’s racing in four categories on a course on the Cape Fear River that starts and ends at the U.S.S. North Carolina battleship. There’s also a SUP Derby and several guided SUP and kayak trips. The kayak fishing tournament is for bass; a freshwater North Carolina license is required.

Logistics: Saturday, June 7, Wilmington and Leland. Cost varies by event. More info here.

Saturday forecast: High of 82 under mostly sunny skies.

Piedmont

Saturday is National Trails Day across the land. We’ll have details on NTD events around the state tomorrow; today, we’ll highlight one event happening in the Triangle: the Triangle Fat Tire Festival.

This two-day event at Lake Crabtree County Park in Morrisville starts Saturday with a trail workday on the venerable Lake Crabtree trail network, then concludes Sunday with a celebration of all things mountain bike, from a kids race, to time trials to a dirt jump skills clinic to group rides and maintenance clinics. Lots of vendors on hand, too.

Logistics: Saturday, June 7, and Sunday, June 8, Lake Crabtree County Park in Morrisville. More info here.

Weekend forecast: Highs in the mid to upper 80s under mostly sunny skies.

Mountains

Every week during the summer, Blue Ridge Parkway rangers lead hikes along the parkway. The hikes are generally geared toward folks who may not realize there are hiking trails along the parkway. Folks for whom communing with nature essentially means a drive-by overlook viewing. On these ranger-led hikes, motorists will actually emerge from their vehicles and take a short hike.

This week, on Friday, that short hike will be a one-mile roundtrip to the top of Devil’s Courthouse at Milepost 422.2. If you think the views from the overlooks are great, invest a little sweat equity and you’ll score an even more memorable view. Water, walking shoes and clothing for “changeable weather” recommended.

Logistics: Friday, June 6, 10 a.m. Devil’s Courthouse Overlook, Milepost 422.2 Blue Ridge Parkway.  More info by calling 828.298.5330, ext. 304. Information on upcoming hikes here.

Friday forecast: High of 80, chance of an afternoon thunderstorm.

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Those are our thoughts for the weekend. Find more activities below.

The post This weekend: Paddle, pedal, earn a view appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Got a plan for this year? If you don’t, you need one.

If you vowed to be better this year, you need to start planning. You need goals to move you along. You need a carrot to get you out of bed and ride on a morning when it’s 25 degrees out. You need incentive to lace up your Asics and do your weekly track workout when your body is saying it would rather stay on the couch and watch the second half.

If you’re a road cylclist, for instance, you need an event to spur you on. The MS 150 in September, perhaps. Maybe Cycle North Carolina in October. Or perhaps one of the numerous centuries and half centuries that will test your endurance. (If you really want to test yourself, shoot for a mountain century; the Roan Moan in July is a good place to start.)

And mountain biking certainly isn’t without its share of interesting races. From the local TORC cross-country series, to 24-hour races such as Memorial Day weekend’s Burn 24-Hour Challenge, to quirky races such as Pisgah Mountain Adventure Bike Race that marry distance riding with thinking.

Are you a runner? Maybe you need those weekly 5Ks to string you along. Perhaps you’re in to distance running — or would like to be. I know of at least one, no, two, training programs ideal for folks interested in running their first marathon. Maybe you prefer trail running. Now’s the time to start upping the miles for April 1’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail 12M and 50K Challenge, among others.

Into the new breed of adventure 5K? There are more and more of ‘em out there.

Triathlete? You have to plan ahead because triathlons are so popular they fill up in an instant. Still, you may be able to find a good tri, sprint to ironman, with openings left.

If you’re into team sports, check with your local parks & rec to see what options they have coming up.

And if you’re like me and live for a good backcountry adventure, well, I had a little planning session myself the other day and came up with five must-do trips for this year: the Snowbird Mountains of western North Carolina, a section of the Great Smoky Mountains I’ve yet to explore, the little-known west flank of the Black Mountains, the Black Mountain Crest Trail — much of it above 6,000 feet — in winter, and the 73-mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail between US 19E and Damascus, Va. You can read more about those adventures here.

Stop reading. Start planning.

The post Got a plan for 2012? appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

I’m big on goals, big on cross-training as well. Occasionally, these dual objectives create conflict.

For instance, come autumn, the goal-oriented runner in me gets excited about the Second Empire Fall Grand Prix Series. The series consists of eight races, starting with this Sunday’s Magnificent Mile in downtown Raleigh and including five 5Ks, an 8K, and a 10-miler. I like the series in part because of the race variety, in part because the speed-challenged such as myself have a chance to shine in the series. I won’t place in my age group — stunning how many fast 55- to 59-year-olds there are on the circuit — in any one race, but if I run in every race I could place in the top 10, perhaps even top 5 in the series standings. Great incentive to train for the non-elite.

Lately, however, I’ve been doing a lot of hiking as part of my coaching responsibilities for the Ultimate Hike. I’ve been on the trail about twice a week since July, and since I’ve been participating in the Triangle Off-Road Cyclists’ 2011 summer cross-country mountain bike race series, I’ve been riding two to three times a week as well. And did I mention that I’ve become a born-again climbing gym rat?

All of which has left little time for running, a fact I realized Tuesday when I had an especially challenging 5.3-mile run at Umstead, then went to record the run in my log book. My last entry? August 10. More than a month without lacing the Asics and the first race of the Second Empire Grand Prix Series is Sunday.

I’m fortunate, though, for two reasons. One, Sunday’s The Magnificent Mile is just that, a mile. I can survive a mile. I will suffer, I won’t give Hicham El Guerrouj anything to worry about, but it will be over relatively quickly. Then, I can bump running back up on my cross-training priority list.

The other good thing: The Mag Mile, which benefits the Spastic Paraplegia Foundation, accommodates slackers such as myself by leaving online registration open until midnight tonight. It’s just $25 for the competitive mile (which qualifies you for the Second Empire series) and $20 for the recreational mile (in which you have a lesser chance of getting stampeded at the start. It’s a fun race, circles around the State Capitol in downtown Raleigh and it doesn’t start until 2 p.m., meaning no unsightly bed-head for your race pictures.

In other news …

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Son of Krispy Kreme Challenge. The Wolfpack must be having a good smug chuckle over this one: seven years after starting its enormously successful Krispy Kreme Challenge, their buddies in Chapel Hill will hold their inaugural Dozen Donut Dash. Same concept as the Krispy Kreme Challenge: Run four miles, eat a dozen donuts in between, raise money for a good cause, in this case UNC’s Lineberger Cancer Hospital.

The Krispy Kreme Challenge grew out of a dare among 10 N.C. State students in 2004: to run from the Bell Tower two miles to the Krispy Kreme on Person Street, eat a dozen glazed, then run the two miles back. The event quickly evolved into a national phenomenon, drawing the attention of national media outlets as well as an enormous following: this year’s race attracted 7,500 donut-eating runners and raised $100,000 for the North Carolina Children’s Hospital. UNC isn’t the first to borrow the format: similar donut runs are run at the universities of Kentucky and Kansas, and at Florida State University.

This Dozen Donut Dash is Oct. 1 at 9 a.m. somewhere on campus (details tk?). $20 to participate. More info here.

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Shoot the trail. Need more incentive to hike now that the fall season is upon us? How about $100?

That’s the grand prize in the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail photo contest sponsored by Great Outdoor Provision Co. Take your camera on an MST hike, capture its essence and you could take home a crisp Benjamin. Prizes in both the Views from the Trail and People on the Trail category; a special category for hikers/shooters 17 and under. You have until Oct. 31 to submit entries.

Intrigued? Go here for details before getting your Brownie out of storage.

The post Run and shoot appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Allen and I ride one morning a week at Umstead. It’s typically a mildly competitive ride where we save just enough air to chat about bikes (lot’s of debate about whether to go the 29er route), rides (mountain centuries that Allen does and I talk about), juicing (Allen is obsessed with making fresh OJ). And, occasionally, why we suck.

This morning was my turn to suck. Sunday I’d done a mountain bike race, the 10th Annual (and last?) Huck A Buck at Lake Crabtree County Park. I was the fist to sign in in my age group (Cat 2 50+) and thus at least still in contention for first place. Fifteen minutes later I saw 55-year-old Rich Wetherald and suddenly dropped to second (a distant second). A few minutes after that I ran into 59-year-old Peter Hollis (third), who mentioned he had just seen Steve Rogers (fourth) and that a buddy of his from Down East was riding. “He’s pretty fast,” said the pretty fast Hollis. Fifth.

That others more capable than I had shown up wasn’t the problem. I didn’t care that I would be coming in fifth; no matter how prepared I was I wasn’t beating these guys. (Asterisk: I did beat Steve at HAB 2010 — his seat broke midway through the first lap and he had to ride 15 miles standing.) They’re better riders: better technically, better physically, willing to take more chances. I just wanted to ride well, to ride hard, to keep from dropping off their slipstream for at least half of the first lap. For half a lap I just wanted to be able to still see them up ahead, to feel part of a race.

That delusion lasted about 30 seconds, until I hit a small tree that I’m guessing felt sure it was a safe distance off the trail. For the next 19 miles, the next two hours, I rode alone (except, that is, for the seven Cat 1 riders who lapped me). My race quickly turned into a ride, then a leisurely tour, and finally, survival. It was hot (99 at neighboring RDU at race’s end), I had exhausted the 100 milliliters of fluid in my Camelbak (plus a 16-ounce bottle of hot strawberry electrolytes) and for the last half hour or so it was all I could do to turn the pedals. I had nothing left, and worse, no apparent reason for having nothing left. I hadn’t gone out too fast (the tree), I hadn’t been clinging to the back of the pack for a ridiculous amount of time (again, the tree), I hadn’t partied until 4 a.m. the night before (I was in bed by 10). I sucked, and I couldn’t figure out why. Which is where Dr. Allen came in.

“So … did you avoid the heat last week or embrace it?” Good question. If I’d hidden inside during last week’s brutal 100/100 (heat/humidity) days, I would have been more susceptible to Sunday’s steam bath. But I hadn’t: I’d run twice (including seven miles midmorning at Umstead) and ridden for 70 minutes at Lake Crabtree.

“Eat anything funny?” Not funny for me.

“Injuries?” I wish.

“Bike issues?” Tempting to blame the , but no.

Finally, Allen got around to the obvious, which he would have started with had it not been so obvious.

“How much have you been riding?”

A lot! was my initial reaction. Last week alone I’d ridden … hmm, just once, for an hour and 10 minutes. But the week before … OK, the week before there was a spin class, but no actual saddle time. Allen let me connect the dots. My perception, it turned out, was far from reality.

In early spring I had vowed to be doing a weekly three-hour ride at Umstead; It had been at least a month since I’d ridden two. Meanwhile, Steve Rogers was doing regular centuries on his road bike to build stamina. I hated to think what the others in my age group were up to.

Not that it matters, because, again, it’s not a pair of 3rd place socks that I’m after. As Peter, who always makes the podium, puts it, “I’m here for the fitness.” I’m doing this for myself.  Next race —  Aug. 21’s Race at the Reactor, at Harris Lake — I don’t want people looking at my lap times and thinking, “He must have flatted on that lap.” I don’t want my last lap to be seven minutes slower than my first (I could live with a two-minute difference). I don’t want guys passing me and saying, “Are you OK?” while I’m still upright and moving. I don’t want to wind up being on the course so long I end up drinking hot strawberry electrolytes. I don’t want to simply survive: I want to look at the results, check out the guy who finished ahead of me and think, “Maybe next time.” (OK, maybe I am a little competitive with the other boys.)

As we rolled back to our cars, Allen said, “I’d like to do some extra credit, but I’m afraid that’s it for me.”

I looked at my bike computer: 1 hour, 40 minutes, 23 seconds. “I think I’ll ride a little longer,” I said, pulling a u-turn and heading back into the woods.

The post Do I suck? (Or am I just bad?) appeared first on GetGoing NC!.