Tag: Falls Lake Trail

Most recently updated February 3rd, 2023

Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

– – I began the second week of training on Monday – which happened to be Martin Luther King Jr day –  leading a great small group of hikers on another 7.5 mile hike on the Loblolly trail into Schenk Forest.

I added another 5 lbs extra pack weight (to make 10 lbs total extra) to make it a “strength training” hike for me.

A lot of people get MLK Jr day as a work holiday, while others choose to use it as a day to get outdoors.

Others do a service project in honor of King’s ideas. 

The Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr Day is a US federal holiday honoring the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.  President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983. 

King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his work, and at the time was the youngest person to have done so.

He was assassinated in 1968 at the age of 39 in Memphis, Tennessee.  Sunday would have been King’s 95th birthday. 

“Judge people not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

King preached against racial prejudice and political injustice, a warning politicians and political extremists should still heed today, more than ever.

Other people combined  day of service with getting outdoors,  as we saw at Umstead State Park on Monday.

Hiking to get in shape is great when you have a day off or on the weekends, but you may be frustrated when you have very limited free time.

It’s true, hiking can be very time-consuming, especially if you:

• • • Take longer hikes or
    • Go at a slower pace, or have to
    • Drive any distance to get to a trail.

If you’re constrained by office hours and caring for children, it can seem almost impossible to have time for any kind of fitness training!  Believe me, I get it.

I wrote an article about how I used to sneak fitness into the cracks of my life – maybe it will help. 

Even if you can just sneak in 1 shorter hike and 1 longer hike per week, your hiking will still improve!

Tuesday was a kickboxing and weights day.

Wednesday was a great, beautiful, fun day!   

It began with a 6-mile hike at Jordan Lake recreation area, on a trail I hadn’t seen for a while because it’s a longer drive from home for a regular workout hike.

But it was worth it to get together with some other hikers, led by my friends Heidi and Jody.

Anyway, this time I hiked it with 10 extra lbs in my pack again.  Yay  🙂

Because it’s a longer drive, I decided to add another event on after the hike as long as I was down that way, and make a visit to the Carolina Sunshine Alpaca Farm.   

(Carolina Sunshine took over the location after M&M Alpaca closed.)

Heidi joined me for the visit, and it was a lot of fun. 

There aren’t so many animals in the herd right now – though they’re expecting more than 10 babies this summer! –  but the alpaca that are on the farm all have  a lot of character 🙂

For sure I’ll go back again after all of the babies arrive!

Thursday was another beautiful day, so I did some yoga, then took the weights out of my pack and set out to look for an old unmarked trail on the Eno River.

I started at the West Point on the Eno Park, and hiked a known trail along the river for a while, then set off to explore!

I found a trail that looked used, though it wasn’t marked. 

It traveled along the river, and was supposed to only be about a mile long, but kept going.

Time finally made me turn around, but I’ll hike that trail again for sure, and maybe take it all the way to the end! 

Friday I led a favorite  9ish mile hike out at Falls Lake on the white-blazed Mountains to Sea Trail, which will lead you all the way to Falls Lake Dam if you take it that far.   

Later I did another 3-ish miles on the MST in the other direction with That Man and the puppy.

So Saturday was a rest day.  🙂

Sunday had been forecast to rain all day, and lately I’ve started to hate indoor workouts, so I decided to have some fun with it!

I posted a 6-mile Rain Hike on the dirt and gravel multi-use trails in Umstead State Park. 

The idea was that we would hike in the rain on purpose and test out our rain gear.  (I put the extra 10 lbs back into my pack for this hike.)

Well, we did it, and it was fun – and most of us only got wet on the outside!

So……drumroll please… 39+ miles of hiking this week!  Not a bad Week 2, though I kind of slacked off with the kickboxing.

But I’m still good with the New Year goals, and (so far) I’m still doing better than the 11% who quit before the end of the first month.

Tell you what, though, the motivation really flags sometimes – strangely enough it’s worse when I have a lot of time. 

Like if there’s no urgency, I have the leisure to procrastinate until there’s no time left.  Not good.

I think if you’re having trouble doing the exercise you’re “supposed to” be doing, you need to forget about that, and seize any opportunity to work out that seems more fun – so you’ll actually do it.

Whatever gets you moving is your best workout option!

TAKEAWAY LESSON:  The right workout is one that you not only have the opportunity to do, but actually want to do.  So be ready to seize the day and try make your workouts fun!

NEW: Track Your “Awesome” Progress at Home!

You’ll get instructions and three printable trackers: 

• • Your Hike Plan Worksheet
  • Daily & Weekly Workouts
  • Weekly Meals tracker    

 Click Here to Order! 

A download link in your confirmation email let’s you get started right away. Happy training!  LJ

I hope you’ve found my Training Log ramblings to be helpful- or at least amusing! 🙂   To see more of them go to my Training Log.

You could also take a look at my 8 Weeks to Awesome Training Plan post, if you want to see what kind of training I’m doing.

Thanks for stopping by – see you next time!  LJ

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Most recently updated January 18th, 2022

Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

– – I began the second week of training on Monday, leading a great group of hikers on another 6.5 mile hike on the Company Mill trail in Umstead State Park.

Company Mill trail has the most elevation gain of any of the Park’s trails, and you especially feel it on the final hill at the end of the hike!

I call that one the “you gotta be kidding  me” hill.

Anyway, this time I hiked it with 10 extra lbs in my pack again.  Yay  😐

(If you’re wondering what we’re all training for,  we’re spending the next 8 weeks training for an awesome hike (TBD) that we can drive to in the Spring.

Tuesday, I did some weights and stuff at home, then joined my friend Lenore’s shorter hike (5-6mi hike) on the Multi-Use Trails in a different part of Umstead.

The MUT is a gravel/dirt road that has some mild elevation gain/loss but is pretty smooth.

The MUT is also usually pretty dry, even after heavy rains.

Wilkerson Nature Preserve

On Wednesday, I was supposed to kickbox, but I blew it off and instead just did my yoga and then joined my friend Heidi’s hike.

It was about 7-8 miles, starting with some of the trails in Wilkerson Nature Preserve, and then following the MST to Falls Lake Dam, where we turned around and came back to our starting place.

I joined this hike because I like those guys, and also I’d  never been to Wilkerson Nature Preserve – and I’m always interested in trying out another local section of the MST.

There are a number of fun trails within the Preserve, especially designed for younger children, and also a playground.

One of the regular trails specifically links to the white-blazed Mountains to Sea Trail, which will lead you all the way to Falls Lake Dam (which is the beginning of the Falls Lake Trail.)

Loblolly Trail to Schenk Forest

Thursday I led another group of hikers on an 8.5 mile hike, starting from the Loblolly trail in Umstead State Park, following it all the way and crossing over to the Schenk Forest and back.

You can create this longer-distance hike combo and several others starting from the Harrison Ave entrance to Umstead State Park.   This is especially useful when you’re training locally for a longer-distance hiking trip.

Every hike this week (whether long or short) I’ve hiked with at least an extra 10 lbs in the pack, bumping it up on some of the shorter hikes to an 15 extra lbs.

I did this because I’m already in pretty good shape – and the training needs to work for me, too 🙂

Charities for Steps

Speaking of making my training count – another thing I did this week was sign up for a couple of charities that use my hiking miles to donate money to good causes.

Maybe you’d like to do it, too!

St Jude’s Cycle for Charity

Heidi was doing the St Jude’s Cycle for Charity, and asked if I’d like to join.

I’ve been known to ride a bike, but mostly I move around on foot, so I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do it. 

But we found out that they allow hiking/running steps, too – so I joined up!

Learn more about this charity ride here.

Wooftrax 

I use to use Wooftrax all the time (I did 860 miles for this one), but lost the app when I changed phones.

 I just loaded it back up this week, and start the app- when I remember – on every hike.

WoofTrax’ Walk for a Dog (Android and iOS) app lets you raise money for your favorite animal organization while you walk your dog.

The app is funded by ads and sponsors, and the longer you walk, the more money you’ll raise for your charity.

HOW TO DO IT:

1. 1. Download the Wooftrax app to your phone.
   2. Submit your name and email address, then confirm your email address by clicking on a link sent to that address.
   3. The app will then ask you to add your dog (or dogs), but you can also choose “Walk for Cassie” or add in a fake dog’s info — you don’t actually need a dog to use the app.
   4. Hit “Start Walking,” and the app will track your steps, distance, and map your walk using GPS.

iPhone users can use the app on a treadmill or stationary bike, but Android users will need to get outside for the app to work.

Charity Miles

Charity Miles (Android and iOS), is a free app that rewards the charity of your choice for every mile you walk, run or bike.  Corporate sponsors pledge up to $0.25 for each mile you log in the app.

The Charity Miles app features 37 participating charities, including the World Wildlife Fund, charity: water, and Habitat for Humanity. 

HOW TO DO IT:

1. 1. Download and install the app and sign up for a Charity Miles account.
   2. Before each workout, open the app and pick the charity you want to help.
   3. Select the type of activity you’re doing and start your workout.
   4. When you’re finished with your workout, hit the stop button.

I haven’t used this one, but all the reviews say it’s great.

I use my hike miles for several charities at a time, like “double coupon” day 🙂

Friday was just  kickboxing and weights, and pleasant 4mi walk in the woods at Bond Park with That Man and the prettiest puppy Colleen to take advantage of some of the last warmish weather forecast this week.

This week I did a lot of my hikes with other people.

I hike both solo and with a group – and I’m good either way.    Hiking is an activity that’s good for  introverts and party animals as well 🙂

But lately I’ve found that if I’m not committed to meeting other people for a workout – whether I’m leading it or not – I’m more likely to let other things interfere and keep me from getting my exercise.

It may be because of ongoing pandemic stress, or colder weather – whatever it is, I’m fighting hard against giving in.

Other people have told me they are having the same issues.

I think if you’re having trouble doing the exercise you’re “supposed to” be doing, you need to forget about all that, and seize any opportunity that seems more fun.

Whatever gets you moving is your best option!

TAKEAWAY LESSON:  The right workout is one that you will do – so be ready to seize the opportunity to make your workouts fun!

I hope you’ve found my Training Log ramblings to be helpful- or at least amusing! 🙂   To see more of them go to my Training Log.

You could also take a look at my 8 Weeks to Awesome Training Plan post, if you want to see what kind of training I’m doing.

Thanks for stopping by – see you next time!  LJ

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sent directly to your inbox (how convenient!) Click this Button!