After three half marathons in the spring (Wilmington, Raleigh, OBX) and my first two Sprint Triathlons in the summer, I was excited for the fall race season this November and December. After miles of training in September and October (~150 miles) with warmer days leading to cooler mornings, November was a great month to run in North Carolina and enjoy all my races. Continue reading
The fall race season started on November 1 with a warm weekend in Raleigh after ending Daylight Savings. Which meant most people got an extra hour of sleep, but that meant I had an extra hour of anxiety before race time.
The first race of the season was the City of Oaks half marathon. This is a hilly course with multiple races happening at once. This year, there was a 10k, half marathon, half marathon relay, full marathon, and full marathon relay. The weather was a little on the mild-to-warm side, but humid. Rain was on the way and it was hard to breathe. Continue reading
We were ready for a long weekend on the Outer Banks, but first, Merri Beth and I had few errands to run in Raleigh. Sunsets and long walks on the beach were on hold for a few short hours.
We’d missed back to school shopping earlier in the month, which for us, includes a new pair of running shoes.We went to Fleet Feet on Wade Avenue to get fitted and score some new running kicks. After that, a quick lunch at Whole Foods (to-go) and we were off to get the kids from school. Continue reading
Kill Devil Hills surf forecast via MagicSeaweed.com
On the evening of Friday, March 7, 2014, I started preparing for a winter surf session on the Outer Banks. I gathered my wetsuit and various wetsuit parts, including booties, gloves, hood, and other layers. I packed all my gear in my surf tote and got my surfboard ready. I’d been watching the surf forecast all week and it looked like Saturday afternoon would be firing. Continue reading
I was up early today to enjoy this cool, October-like weather on the OBX. I decided to get in a 5.8 mile sunrise run to the Wright Brothers Memorial and back. The air was brisk and void of humidity, which meant I could actually breathe while running. I headed down Bay Drive, then over to First Street and along the trail leading to the Wright Brothers National Park. As I turned the corner from the airport, I had to stop and take some pictures. As I ran up the monument trail, I had to take more. Continue reading
Surf camp day three in one word: Cancelled. My second choice of words: Bummer. I got the call from Aaron at 8:30 am, surf camp was cancelled today due to rough and unsafe surf conditions. I had a suspicion that this would happen with the storms that came through the night before.
We had a cold front move through the area on Tuesday evening with some nasty storms. The winds switched North East and cooled things down by at least 10 degrees. With the change in weather, there was a building North East swell with a stiff current. Continue reading
Day two of surf camp was a whole new adventure at Farmdog Surf School. A bunch of new kids arrived for the three day camp which runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Even though Zander somewhat started over today, I like how the basics were reinforced, especially the ocean safety. Continue reading
This is it, day one of surf camp. Zander was excited—until we actually got in the car and started heading to Nags Head about 20 minutes before camp started. His nerves got the best of him and I had to walk him off the ledge.
We did a quick surf check across the street from Farmdog’s and everything got better. It was about knee to waist high, clean, and it looked like a perfect day to learn how to surf. Continue reading
A beautiful Saturday on the Outer Banks. It’s July 6, day eight for our week on the OBX. Happy Birthday to my sister, Katie, who turns the big three-oh! We had plans to beach it all day again, but we got something a little unexpected. Continue reading
After two full days on the beach and an awesome evening of fireworks, it was time for a recovery day. Sort of. Welcome to day seven on the Outer Banks, Friday, July 5. We were going to be tourists today, and there’s nothing wrong with that. On Monday, we did a day trip to Ocracoke and Hatteras Island, which was a great time despite the rain. It was time to check off a few of those attractions that you always drive by, but never go to. Today was our day. Continue reading