Well I'm back home from Blue Ridge and looking around my spacious yet 'not-nearly-as-exiting-as-a-cabin-in-Blue-Ridge' house and trying to figure out what I could sell so that we could start building Randall's Roost on our property up in that same area. I was amazed at how much more relaxed I felt up there and its not too shabby for training either. I wonder if TransCore wants to open a Blue Ridge office.
We had a good weekend and gave Neal the '48-hour-get-your-azz-back-in-shape-right-now-or-we're-leaving-you-for-the-buzzards' workout plan. I'm sure in another week he'll be leaving me in the dust on road rides, but for now we're having fun with him.
The weekend would have been absolutely perfect had I not gotten stung in the um..groin by an onery yellowjacket. I think I might have a teeny pit of poison ivy on my toe too, but that's the price you pay for being in the woods.
I just ate an entire package of guacamole (to go with the huge waffle cone of ice cream I had earlier at Brusters) and now I need to attempt to catch one of my cats to give him his medicine. I'm pretty sure he can read my mind, because he keeps running away whenever I make eye contact.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
In Heaven
Neal and I are spending the weekend up at the Greenhill's cabin in Blue Ridge. I am seriously in heaven and I have yet to tell them that I don't think I'll be leaving....
Today we got in about a 3 hour run/hike on the Benton MacKaye trail along with a short ride on the Green Mountain Trail to get our legs warmed up for when Kim comes up tomorrow and we do a longer ride. Hopefully she comes tired, because as Neal would say, we're a bit "knackered".
Today we got in about a 3 hour run/hike on the Benton MacKaye trail along with a short ride on the Green Mountain Trail to get our legs warmed up for when Kim comes up tomorrow and we do a longer ride. Hopefully she comes tired, because as Neal would say, we're a bit "knackered".
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Life is Good..
Had a nice road ride yesterday with Kim, Shannon and Neal. We did 65 miles up at White and then came back to my place and lounged by the pool. The only thing missing was a gooey-cheese covered burrito. My new employer, TransCore ITS, just ROCKS for letting me work from home in the evening on Wednesdays, as it gives me the morning and afternoon to go out and play! Its basically a middle of the week rejuvenation for me! It is especially nice during the summer months. Perhaps when it's cold it may not have the same effect.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
OutSpokin'/Swiftwick Takes the Overall Win at Siege on Fort Yargo!
Smaller Muscles, Bigger Brains...
Myself, Julia, and Kim won the 2008 Siege on Fort Yargo Sprint AR. With quite a few strong teams out on the course, we had to move fast and run a clean race to stay at the front of the pack. Julia carried fins to wear on the opening swim and put us into an early lead that we maintained for the entire race. A full race report can be found on the TrailBlazer forum.
We were the only team to obtain all mandatory and optional checkpoints before the cutoff.
I've included just a few photos below, for a complete set of race photos, check out my Picasa Album.
Checking out the maps and instructions pre-race. Notice how my teammates appear to actually be interested in the map!!! That's such a good thing! Three brains are better than one. And check out those socks!
On the opening run section..Julia was in the water passing people on the swim while Kim and I had to do a short run. They hid one of the points in some briars...grrr.
Row, Row, Row your boat, quickly down the lake,
Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, the win we're here to take!
I guess this was a "special test"...a canoe portage at the end of the race. Better than having to get dirty in the mud pit, and when they said no portage wheels allowed, we figured we'd have to do this somewhere.
A big thanks to Swiftwick for providing us with an assortment of socks to keep our feet dry and happy. Even with sticks in our shoes and major sogginess after the lake swim, our feet were happy and unblistered at the end of the race. I wore the Merino Wool variety...very nice!
Some memorable conversations/things I heard on course:
(On the Opening Run)"Damn, I've been chicked in the first 50 meters!"
(On the Bike) "What place are you guys in?"
"First...we're leading the race"
"Well we're rooting for you, but I wouldn't put money on you"
"Uh..I'd put money on us"
Myself, Julia, and Kim won the 2008 Siege on Fort Yargo Sprint AR. With quite a few strong teams out on the course, we had to move fast and run a clean race to stay at the front of the pack. Julia carried fins to wear on the opening swim and put us into an early lead that we maintained for the entire race. A full race report can be found on the TrailBlazer forum.
We were the only team to obtain all mandatory and optional checkpoints before the cutoff.
I've included just a few photos below, for a complete set of race photos, check out my Picasa Album.
Checking out the maps and instructions pre-race. Notice how my teammates appear to actually be interested in the map!!! That's such a good thing! Three brains are better than one. And check out those socks!
On the opening run section..Julia was in the water passing people on the swim while Kim and I had to do a short run. They hid one of the points in some briars...grrr.
Row, Row, Row your boat, quickly down the lake,
Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, the win we're here to take!
I guess this was a "special test"...a canoe portage at the end of the race. Better than having to get dirty in the mud pit, and when they said no portage wheels allowed, we figured we'd have to do this somewhere.
A big thanks to Swiftwick for providing us with an assortment of socks to keep our feet dry and happy. Even with sticks in our shoes and major sogginess after the lake swim, our feet were happy and unblistered at the end of the race. I wore the Merino Wool variety...very nice!
Some memorable conversations/things I heard on course:
(On the Opening Run)"Damn, I've been chicked in the first 50 meters!"
(On the Bike) "What place are you guys in?"
"First...we're leading the race"
"Well we're rooting for you, but I wouldn't put money on you"
"Uh..I'd put money on us"
Monday, June 9, 2008
Canoe-O and Tapering
This past weekend was relatively pleasant, although it was scorching hot! Saturday we tried to get in a road ride before it got too hot, but we didn't roll out of bed early enough so we ended up getting cooked alive on the asphalt. I came home and went and lounged at the pool for an hour or so, then we went and did some shopping.
Sunday was the Georgia Orienteering Club's Canoe-O, which was a lot of fun and a good chance for me to practice steering the canoe, since I haven't had to do that since last summer. Chris, Kim and I nailed the course, although it wasn't very challenging, and took home top honors on the day. Then Kim and I hit the MTB trail where I unknowingly (following Kim's direction) rode into some huge whoop-te-do and didn't carry enough momentum to make it up the other side. I ALMOST made it then had to fall over to maintain the maximum coefficient of friction with my body so I wouldn't slide all the way back down. Ugh..I didn't want to move and was clawing at the ground to get myself back up. I'd love to watch that section of trail on a muddy day!
After the ride, I hit the lake while Kim and Chris went to ride some more. It was pretty relaxing, although the water temperature could have been 5-10 degrees cooler. The rest of this week I'm resting and tapering a bit for Saturday's race. Depending on how this weekend goes, I need to decide if I'm going to race the Cowbell 12 hour. Its a long drive, and I won't have support so I'm leaning towards no, but I do need to get some more racing in.
Sunday was the Georgia Orienteering Club's Canoe-O, which was a lot of fun and a good chance for me to practice steering the canoe, since I haven't had to do that since last summer. Chris, Kim and I nailed the course, although it wasn't very challenging, and took home top honors on the day. Then Kim and I hit the MTB trail where I unknowingly (following Kim's direction) rode into some huge whoop-te-do and didn't carry enough momentum to make it up the other side. I ALMOST made it then had to fall over to maintain the maximum coefficient of friction with my body so I wouldn't slide all the way back down. Ugh..I didn't want to move and was clawing at the ground to get myself back up. I'd love to watch that section of trail on a muddy day!
After the ride, I hit the lake while Kim and Chris went to ride some more. It was pretty relaxing, although the water temperature could have been 5-10 degrees cooler. The rest of this week I'm resting and tapering a bit for Saturday's race. Depending on how this weekend goes, I need to decide if I'm going to race the Cowbell 12 hour. Its a long drive, and I won't have support so I'm leaning towards no, but I do need to get some more racing in.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
The Cost of Training
Since we're all griping about the cost of driving these days, lets see how much it costs to drive to some of my favorite places. These are round trip costs from my house near Sixes Rd..(add an additional $5 if you live on the Perimeter)
Pine Log - $8
Paddling on Allatoona - $3
Bear Creek/Pinhoti - $24
Bull Mtn - $22
Tanasi/Brush Creek - $32
Tsali - $48
Places I HAVE to go..
Chiropractor - $4
Most of my other doctors - $4
Cat-only Specialty Vet - $8
Office - $12 (but at least I MAKE money while I'm there...)
Seems I spend a lot more on training than anything else. Kind of makes you wonder...Do I REALLY have to ride Bear Creek??? I can ride Blankets for FREE... Is it really worth that much more? Sadly the answer is usually yes...
Pine Log - $8
Paddling on Allatoona - $3
Bear Creek/Pinhoti - $24
Bull Mtn - $22
Tanasi/Brush Creek - $32
Tsali - $48
Places I HAVE to go..
Chiropractor - $4
Most of my other doctors - $4
Cat-only Specialty Vet - $8
Office - $12 (but at least I MAKE money while I'm there...)
Seems I spend a lot more on training than anything else. Kind of makes you wonder...Do I REALLY have to ride Bear Creek??? I can ride Blankets for FREE... Is it really worth that much more? Sadly the answer is usually yes...
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
5k Training
After not feeling so great on the run at the Greenway Challenge, I figured its time to add some running back into my training...after all, it IS the easiest thing to do - you can even do it in a monsoon and the gear clean up is minimal.
I have a Business Conference coming up and we have a cheezy little 5K race on one of the days. Last year I was third overall with a time of 20:43. Not many of my business colleagues knew that I was competitive or athletic, so now I have a reputation and I know one guy in particular (who I nipped at the line last year) will be gunning for me. So my goal this year is under 20 minutes. I did 20:40 last night on a practice run, so hopefully I can get there before mid July. That would be a real accomplishment for me, as although I can run long distances, I've never thought of myself as a fast runner.
I have a Business Conference coming up and we have a cheezy little 5K race on one of the days. Last year I was third overall with a time of 20:43. Not many of my business colleagues knew that I was competitive or athletic, so now I have a reputation and I know one guy in particular (who I nipped at the line last year) will be gunning for me. So my goal this year is under 20 minutes. I did 20:40 last night on a practice run, so hopefully I can get there before mid July. That would be a real accomplishment for me, as although I can run long distances, I've never thought of myself as a fast runner.
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