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:
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- Take longer hikes or
- Go at a slower pace, or have to
- Drive any distance to get to a trail.
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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:
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- Your Hike Plan Worksheet
- Daily & Weekly Workouts
- Weekly Meals tracker
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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LJ has spent much of her free time as a single Mom – and now as an empty-nester – hiking in the US and around the world. She shares lessons learned from adventures both local and in exotic locations, and tips on how to be active with asthma, plus travel, gear, and hike planning advice for parents hiking with kids and beginners of all ages. Read more on the About page.