Training Week 7 began with a quick kickboxing and upper body weights session before loading the car and heading for the beach! Wile I was there, I had 2 long beach hikes, and made up for it with some extra pack weight on hikes after I got home. Read about how I worked a beach trip into my training - you can do it too!

Week 7: It’s the Week 7 Stretch!

– – Training Week 7 began on Monday with a quick kickboxing and upper body weights session before loading the car and heading for the beach!

Why?  Because I needed a change of scene, wanted to spend time with my girls, and had hotel points that were expiring 🙂

On a morning beach hike!
On a morning beach hike!

Training shouldn’t be torture, but doing the same thing in the same place over and over again can be just that – so I decided to shake things up for a few days.

Tiny liittle bit of beach view from our lodgings.
Tiny liittle bit of beach view from our lodgings.

I arrived too late at our lodgings to do much but get settled in and cook dinner.

By the time we were finished, it had gotten pretty cold on the beach.

It IS still February!!

So, I had to wait for a beach walk until Tuesday morning.

I did some quick yoga, then went out for an early beach hike before the girls woke up.

Walking North on the beach.
Walking North on the beach.

I went North (away from Myrtle Beach) about 3 miles and then turned around, for a total beach walk of ~ 6 miles. 

After breakfast, we braved the (horrible) beach traffics to get to Brookgreen, a wonderful sculpture garden, arboretum and Nature conservancy that sits a few miles South of Myrtle Beach proper.

Peacock statues guard the entrance to one of the main paved paths at Brookgreen.
Peacock statues guard the entrance to one of the main paved paths at Brookgreen.

Brookgreen has a couple of very short unpaved “trails” but we stuck to the paved garden paths to see all of the outdoor exhibits.

The girls at Brookgreen Gardens. Aren't they pretty???
The girls at Brookgreen Gardens. Aren’t they pretty???

We only walked a couple of leisurely miles before stopping for an outdoor lunch at one of the restaurants on the grounds.

That said,  if you were determined to get a workout in, you could certainly plan a much longer route to get a longer hike in during your Brookgreen visit.

 

 

Wednesday I let the girls sleep, did some yoga  and was out early again – this time for a bit of a longer walk.

It was about 10 miles by the time I was done and perfect weather!

I did learn that one should NOT walk long distance in water shoes – even with a “hiking” sole – because I ended up with a huge blister on the bottom of my big toe 🙁

Another beautiful beach hike!
Another beautiful beach hike!

During my walk I saw an Irish Pub, Molly Darcy’s, right on the beach and thought the girls might like to go there for lunch.

Bonus being we could walk there and wouldn’t have to drive in the terrible traffic…but, no.  They didn’t want to walk but we ate there anyway, and it was pretty good. 🙂

Irish Pub on the beach.
Irish Pub on the beach.

There was a bunch of stuff in the air and we couldn’t figure it out – then I realized that Myrtle is a few weeks ahead of us weather-wise, and I checked my car.

Sure enough, my car was covered with yellow dust.  It was The Pollening.

Gorgeous sunset at the beach.
Gorgeous sunset at the beach.

That said, it was our last night at the beach, and the sunset was gorgeous.  Perhaps partly due to pollen  😉

The next morning, the girls left before sunrise to get home in time for work, and I did a quick beach walk (about 3 miles) to say goodbye before checking out.

My plan was to check out, zip back down to Brookgreen (the ticket is good for 7 days) and get on an early tour of the historical and Nature preserve parts of the garden that you don’t normally see.


The Brookgreen Silent Cities Tour

The tour started from the promenade near the Welcome Center.
The tour started from the promenade near the Welcome Center.

There are a few tours offered at Brookgreen that take you to places you don’t get to see with your general admission ticket.

The tours change seasonally – mostly because some of the places are inaccessible during wet weather.

We boarded an open-sided short bus (stop it!) and took off away from the paved garden area.

Our guide narrated local and Brookgreen history and wildlife as we went.

Fox Squirrels inhabit the Nature conservation area o Brookgreen.
Fox Squirrels inhabit the Nature conservation area o Brookgreen.

Fox Squirrels

I was surprised by a fox squirrel – a creature I’d never seen before – staring at me from a tree limb as we drove along.

It was huge, and seemed a lot more intelligent than a regular squirrel….

Fox squirrels, the largest of all tree squirrels, are the true life ROUS's.
Fox squirrels, the largest of all tree squirrels, are the true life ROUS’s.

Described by our guide as a cross between a squirrel, a fox, and a raccoon  – because who really know what goes on in those woods at night? – the Fox Squirrel is a relative of the common gray squirrel, but about twice the size.

An adult Fox Squirrel can grow between 20-26 inches in length (tail included) and can weigh up to 2.5 pounds.

Stopping at an English-style walled cemetery.
Stopping at an English-style walled cemetery.

Aside from Rodents of Unusual Size, this tour focused on the two cemeteries dating back to the 1700’s – one English style, and one slave (Gullah style) cemetery – encompassed by Brookgreen lands.

Alston family tree chart outside the cemetery walls.
Alston family tree chart outside the cemetery walls.

Our first stop was at a walled, English-style cemetery from the 1700’s that had been restored by the Huntington’s when they purchased the land.

The original Alston family (previous landowners) were the primary inhabitants.

Alston family descendants also have a right to be buried there, and we did see a headstone from as recently as 2013.

Table and vault-style gravesites.
Table and vault-style gravesites.

There were three kinds of graves in this cemetery:  the kind of headstones we see mostly these days,  “table” memorials, and raised vaults.

Our second stop was a slave cemetery, unwalled, and we followed a short natural trail through the woods to where some of the graves had been uncovered.

Some of the visible headstones from the slave cemetery.
Some of the visible headstones from the slave cemetery.

Some of the earliest graves were unmarked save for a metal plaque or just a sack of tabby (old time cement made with oyster shells) without a name – and some with the words “Go Back” inscribed.

According to Gullah tradition , once buried, deceased loved ones would “go back” to where they were originally taken in Africa.

A handmade headstone.
A handmade headstone.

The mourners would never again return to the grave after the initial burial.

And since there would be no spirit there to visit, there was no need for a long-lasting memorial.

That said, there were some hand-made headstones there, and some more modern memorials where descendants of these slaves also had a right to be buried.

No longer following Gullah tradition, these headstones are like you would see in any modern cemetery.

Along the way back, we stopped by the Waccamaw River, across from Sandy Island, home to one of the last existing Gullah communities.

Sandy Island can be access from the Intracoastal Waterway and the Waccamaw River.
Sandy Island can be access from the Intracoastal Waterway and the Waccamaw River.

Brookgreen is hoping to work out a deal with the community there to allow tours to visit from Brookgreen, but they haven’t worked it out yet.

We returned the way we came – but faster! – back to the Welcome Center.

Informational plaques outside the English cemetery.
Informational plaques outside the English cemetery.

I had hoped to get done with the tour and then go across the street to Huntington Beach for a quick hike before heading home.

I had a quick pack lunch outside Atalaya Castle.
I had a quick pack lunch outside Atalaya Castle.

But the tour took 2 hours, so I had to settle for a quick pack lunch outside Atalaya Castle before hitting the highway.   (You can take tours of the castle, which I’ve done in years’ past, but didn’t do this time.)

So, I guess Thursday was basically my “rest” day.

The Mill at West Point on the Eno.
The Mill at West Point on the Eno.

Friday morning I led a great group of hikers on one of my favorites routes – 9.3 miles on the MST on the Eno river, from the Pump Station trail all the way to West Point on the Eno park and back.

It was a beautiful day, and a great group!

I was ready for a good long hike after a light exercise day and long hours driving Thursday.

View of the Eno River from the rocks along the Eagle/MST Trail.
View of the Eno River from the rocks along the Eagle/MST Trail.

Saturday was a kickboxing and upper body weights day in my home gym – partly because the weather took a big dip to the colder side, and rain was predicted for most of the day.

It felt good to use my “El Supremo Butt-kicker” muscles again after a few days away.

Workout tools in my home gym.
Workout tools in my home gym.

Sunday morning it was back to a little bit warmer after Saturday’s cold rain, so I had a big group signed up to hike part of the the Company Mill trail in Umstead State Park and some of the MUT.

It was a pretty short hike, but I  added 15 lbs to my pack to make it a strength-training hike.

My beach walks were all flat with no added weight.
My beach walks were all flat with no added weight.

The extra weight was especially needed because all of my beach hikes earlier in the week were flat, with no added weight!

What a great hike, with a good group of hikers – many newcomers, so that was wonderful to see, too 🙂

So that’s it for Week 7!  You did it!

It’s time to take a look at your goals and see what progress you’ve made.

Just think about what you've done!
Just think about what you’ve done!

Everyone should be improved somehow from where you started – even if it’s only that you’ve stuck with an exercise plan this long!

Think back to how hard it was to make yourself do SOMETHING every day.

How scary was it at the beginning to take your first longer hike – especially if you were hiking on your own for the first time?   But you did it!!

Week 8 is coming up – the last week of the Awesome training!!

You’ve come this far – it should be a piece of cake!  Well, okay, maybe no cake.

Just focus, focus focus….. and some longer hikes 🙂

I was told there would be cake!
I was told there would be cake!

TAKEAWAY LESSON:  Training towards a goal is a planned process, but you should be able to respond to changes in weather or location without giving up your training entirely.

Just keep going – but safely, of course.


If you’re new around here, but you still want to do the training from the start – you can!

Take a look at my 8 Weeks to Awesome Training Plan post, if you want to see what this hike training is all about. 

To Track Your “Awesome” Progress at Home  Click Here! 

Track your progress towards your fitness goals!
Track your progress towards your fitness goals!

You’ll get instructions and three printable trackers: 

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

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.

I love beach hiking in the Winter!
I love beach hiking in the Winter!

You could also take a look at  my other Fitness and Wellness posts, if you want to see more of my fitness, diet and asthma care articles.

Thanks for stopping by – see you next time!  LJ

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LJ

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.