2011 Slide Show

Our favorite photos from 2011

Beach2Battleship

Beach2Battleship on October 29, 2011 was my first iron distance triathlon.  An iron distance event is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and 26.2 mile run for a total of 140.6 miles.  Athletes typically have 16-17 hours to complete the event, depending on the race director. 

  

Before the race 

We drove to Wilmington from the Raleigh area on Thursday morning after dropping off Emma with the pet sitter. We got to the UNC-W area by about noon and stopped to get some lunch. Then we headed to Greenfield Park for a little course recon. I remember that that I felt like I was in the park forever during the half last year and I wanted to walk the park section to get some landmarks in mind. Also, I wanted to take a good look at the trail since I would be running at least one section of it in the dark. All of the sections along the road were in very good shape as were the bridges. During the race I'd need to pay closer attention to the few sections that went away from the road.

After the park, we headed to the Hilton to park, check in and walk two blocks to packet pickup on Thursday. On Thursday night went to Fish Bites for a steamer and then I put gear into various bags (a project unto itself!).

We met Ron and Alex for a short swim on Friday morning -- the last 800m or so of the course from channel marker 16 to the finish. This was a good refresher to sight on channel marker 19 and then on the SeaMist.

After the swim, we visited with Ron, went back to the hotel, had a late breakfast and headed over to the athlete's meeting. Then checked out the layout at the Battleship/T2 area and headed back to Wrightsville for bag/bike drop off (I kept my T1 bag as well as my morning/after bag). Then we went to the swim start for a viewing.

We relaxed for a few hours on Friday afternoon and had an early-ish dinner at Mellow Mushroom before going back to the hotel to watch the Carolina Hurricanes game.


Race morning

On Saturday morning, I got up at 4:20, lubed up liberally and then ate a bagel with peanut butter and a banana and drank a bottle of CamelBak Elixir. Caught the bus to T1 at 5:00 am.

I uncovered my bike (had drive train covered due to forecasted light rain), filled my aero bottle and put on a disposable sportscap water bottle (both with CamelBak Elixir), loaded my Bento box and mounted my Garmin. Then I went to body marking, dropped off my T1 bag and got on the bus to swim start.

The Swim

After all of the athletes arrived at the swim start area, we made our way onto the beach for the start.  The announcer said that the Coast Guard had given the OK to start in three minutes.  He started to count down.  We had a mass start -- 750 athletes entering the water at the same time --  to Eminmens "Lose Yourself."

Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?

The swim was great! I started about 2/3 of the way back on the left just as I planned. I swam more or less straight out and the current pushed me around the start buoy as expected. The swim was more congested than I expected which is good because it meant I was swimming faster and was with people! Woo hoo! About a 1/3 of the way into the swim I was kicked in the right goggle. Goggles stayed in place so all was well. My zipper pull was looped when I started and became dislodged at the start. The long tail thing annoyed me the entire way. Towards the end of the swim, I realized that my neck was getting a wetsuit hicky. At that point, I just wanted to get out of the wetsuit. Thankfully, the docks were in sight. Channel marker 19. SeaPath. Go for the first ladder. Careful, don't fall. Wetsuit strippers. Shower. Mylar "cape." Carefully make my way 300-400m to T1.

I did a good job with Body Glide/Aquaphor on the underarms and heart rate monitor areas but I totally missed the back of my neck which is what caused the chafing on my neck.

I wore a sports bra and tri shorts under my wetsuit for the swim. They had wetsuit strippers and I used them.  The wetsuit strippers pull the neoprene wetsuit off of you which is much faster than doing that yourself.  I changed to dry tri shorts and added a bike jersey, arm warmers and vest for the bike. Of course socks, headsweats, gloves and helmet. Port-a-john stop and then on to the bike. 

The bike

Last year I did the half iron distance event here and I wrote, "The bike was good. I loved riding on 140. It was FAST!" This year someone wrote, "I-140 will forever be known as the highway of death, cold, and misery." What a difference a year makes!

I did more or less the same thing as for the half last year. One bottle of fluids done before the first aid station, refill with bottle from cage, drop empty at aid station and get a replacement bottle.

I stuck to my nutrition plan pretty well. After I was on the bike for a few miles and had settled in, I had a Fig Newton. Then at the one hour mark and the two hour mark I had a Clif bar. At about 2:45 into the bike I decided I wanted a Honey Stinger Waffle. Then at 3:30 and 4:30 I had a Clif bar. After this, I got worried about the waffle and the calories on the bike and stopping solid food with one hour left in the bike, etc. This was a little bit silly on several counts (I routinely have fig newtons and honey stinger waffles before running being the main one) -- but my original plan had been for five Clifs on the bike. Then I did the triathlon math and realized that 200+100 > 240 so I'd be fine having a Fig Newton with on hour left and a Hammer Gel just before the last aid station (so I could dump the sticky wrapper). That puts me right at 1600 calories on the bike. I had about 4.5 bottles of water (about 90 ounces) plus two bottles before the race started.

One thing that I did was use a label maker to make a label that listed the mile markers of each aid station. I stuck that on my aerodrink bottle for easy reference.  This came in handy.

Regarding the actual riding, 140 was the worst with gusty winds and nothing to break them. 421 was better but still bad. After getting on Blueberry Road at least we had trees to break things up a bit. For a while on 210 my hands were really cold but that cleared up after 20-30 minutes which is handy because it's really hard to open wrappers when your fingers are still. I had on fingerless gloves because have no hope of opening wrappers (even pre snipped ones) with full finger gloves. The main thing on the bike was that I was just trying to get to mile 70 (well, 73). I kept on telling myself get to 70. I knew I'd have a tailwind after getting back on 421. The only time that I stopped was at mile 73. I had to pee and I was unable to completely void my bladder without stopping.

As expected, the final 40 miles was fast! 15+ mph tailwinds will do that for you!

My meteorologist friend Ron said, "winds were 12-18 mph with gusts to at least 23 mph for the morning, but peaked at 25 mph sustained, with 33 mph gusts around 2pm. There was a slight lull in the wind from 11am-1pm when most half-ers were on their way back, but the strongest winds were after that, when full athletes were coming back."

Forgot about the dismount line! Thankfully the volunteer there ordered me to stop and I made it!


The run

Took off arm warmers and vest, swapped CBC cycling jersey for CBC tri top, changed from Smartwool cycling socks to Balegra running socks and cycling shoes for running shoes. Added my running hat, hit the port-o-johns and I was off!

In the months leading up to the race, I knew what to do on the run but this did not solidify for me until I read http://www.endurancenation.us/blog/run/the-ironman-runwalk/. I knew that I needed to walk the aid stations because that's the only way I can get fluid in without carrying it. For me, dixie cup + running = spillage. Very little actually makes it down untils I walk a few stops to drink. This article really helped because it laid out some rules that I could live by: (1) Run through the aid station to the last water, gel, coke, sportsdrink guy/gal, whatever your needs are for that aid station and (2) Giving yourself permission to walk the aid stations, beginning with Mile 1, becomes a reward for continuing to run between the aid stations. The mental conversation becomes “Body, STFU. Keep running, don’t slow down, and I will reward you for that effort over the next mile by letting you walk 30 steps at the next aid station. That’s the deal and we only have to play this game for another 6-8 miles. Suck it up.”

That is what I did with a few exceptions. On the second loop, I walked up the hill on Ann Street. I had pretzels about three times and I found that while they settled my stomach, I could not run and eat pretzels at the same time. Finally, on the second loop, I got broth at the final aid station. The cup was full and it took more that 30 steps to drink it. I was partway up the big bridge. I had been thinking about walking the big bridge on the final lap and I decided to go ahead and walk the rest of the way up.

I started the run at 3:07 pm according to my Garmin. This is important because it means that if I did a five hour marathon, I'd finish after 8pm and sunset was at 6:15. Some was someone sunny -- especially compared to that morning when it was overcast and misting/raining. I wore my tri top and sunglasses. I was comfortable for the first bit but by mile 10 or so, I the cold wind was starting to make me feel chilly. I ended up counting down, 3 miles until I get my long sleeve tee, 2 miles until I get mu long sleeved tee. Needless to say, I really wanted that shirt! At run special needs I pulled on the long sleeved tee, and gave my sunglasses to the volunteer to put into my run special needs bag. I hit the port-o-john *again* (I was well hydrated!) and was back on course just like that.

Overall, I was happy with my run. Before the race, the run was my biggest concern -- the biggest variable for me. I was hoping for a 5 hour marathon but that was based simply on the "open marathon time plus 30 minutes" formula.

I was very pleased to finish Beach2Battleship in 12:42:09, finishing first in my age group.

Post race

Find husband! Get Crocs. Pizza, two slices of pepperoni please! I started to get cold shortly after eating the pizza, I started to get pretty cold. There as a band and some other activity but I was chilly and I really wanted a shower so we headed out to the shuttle bus area and went back to the hotel. Kevin went to Front Street Brewery and got take out for me and we watched the end of the Carolina Hurricanes game. I called my mom and my coach while Kevin was getting food.

I really enjoyed this event and I will be back. Other events have a lot of work to keep up with this one!

Week of Rivers 2011 - Part II

Wednesday July 6 - A Walk in the Woods
After four consecutive days in the kayak, it was time to take a break. I decided to go to the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, which is one of the last remaining old growth forests in eastern U.S.

When I arrived at the forest, I was concerned. A large number of the big old trees where sheared off. The stumps had shredded shards of wood on them, so it looked like the trees were twisted off. It looked like a tornado or strong downdraft had brought down a lot of the trees. When I went further into the forest, I finally got into the giant tulip poplar trees. The poplars are up to 100 feet tall and have huge trunks.

The hike was nice since you cross a stream and the Rhododendrons were in bloom. It was hot and steamy like a greenhouse however.

I had a picnic lunch and then went for a scenic drive through the mountains.

Before heading back to the campground, I stopped at a grocery store to pick up food for dinner. I was going to cook up the meat in tube form I brought with me and I needed side items.

I kicked back in my lounge camp chair and read for awhile. It was a perfect way to relax and recharge the batteries.

Thursday - Don't Be Expecting Gas Money
On Thursday Rick and Larry were leading a group of first timers on the Ocoee. Usually the "kinder gentler" trip for first timers has people put in below the entrance rapid (to skip Grumpies) and all of the sneaks are taken. I offered to help since I've been on the river many times.

At the morning meeting we determined where and when the group would meet at the campground. To minimize the number of shuttle vehicles, Mark (another kayaker) and I rode with Gilley and David, both open boaters.

We all met at the middle Ocoee put in and saw that the group was FAR too large. Anything larger that seven or eight is hard to manage. We broke into two groups. Several people went with Fast Fred, who is know for doing several Ocoee laps a day like Rick. Fast Fred's group consisted of people who had run the Ocoee before. The other group consisted of the first timers, trip leaders, and safety boaters. Even after the group split, the first timer group had twelve people (or perhaps eleven). This is where we made a mistake. The shuttle drivers and passengers ended up in different groups, and the groups weren't going to finish anywhere near the same time.

The first timers carried their boats down to the put in below Grumpies while Rick, Mark, John, and I went to the main put in. We would meet up with the rest of the group on the river.

Below Grumpies the group merged and we were off.

We took a slightly different line at Gonzo Shoals than I normally take, but it was an easier line.

At Broken Nose, we also took an alternate to the normal sneak line. The normal sneak is actually not that easy. It's easily class III boogie water where you have to dodge holes and rocks and keep working to river left. The line we took was much more river left and it required everyone to go single file down a small drop. This avoided much of the harder stuff and you didn't have to work to get to river left.

When we were getting close to Double Suck, I told Rick that I would prefer to take the boof line and NOT the sneak. He agreed to do that, but only after we shepherded all of the other people through the sneak first. We both hung back to sweep.

Rick headed towards Double Suck. Rick was too far left. He's not going to be close to the boof rock. What are you doing Rick?! Should I follow him or go to where I know the boof line is? The water is pushy and there isn't a lot of time to mull it over. The second hole is very, very bad and you don't want to get in it since it will work you over. Ok, I'll follow Rick. He knows every line on this river. We sailed right through Double Suck, narrowly missing the two holes and narrowly averting disaster. Later Rick said "There's a green line of water right next to the holes. Who knew!".

After Go Forth Creek, Larry had me lead the group for awhile. I was to stop before Table Saw.

We gathered in an eddy above Table Saw and we explained how to run it. Table Saw looks scary, but it's really a big water roller coaster. It's import to not flip in the first wave/hole, stay loose, and keep the paddle in the water. I ran the rapid, then continued on through Diamond Splitter.

I eddied out and then noticed that a kayak was stuck on rocks above Diamond Splitter. It was Terry's, one of our first timers. Apparently she swam in Table Saw. The boat was not in a spot that you could easily get to. John paddled up to the boat and tried to get it off the rocks. It wouldn't budge, but he could turn it a bit. That was enough for the current to pop it loose a couple of minutes later.

Accelerator is a fun rapid towards the end of the run. It really does accelerate you. A lot of people like to run it backwards. The person in front of me was going backwards, I was going forwards. I was talking and wasn't paying attention and was flipped. Not a problem since it was easy to roll back up there.

We got to the take out and carried the gear to the cars. Now where is Fast Fred's group?! Gilley left the passenger door on his pickup unlocked, which really annoyed me since my WALLET was in my short's pocket. However, it also meant that we could change into our dry clothes.

It was getting close to 3:30 and the water would be shut off at 4:00. Rick, Larry, and John took off so that Rick could get another solo run in (he can do a full lap in 45 minutes, so he had barely enough time to ride the bubble of water).

Mark and I sat in the hot sun along the side of the road waiting for Gilley and David to show up. Terry and Tom were also waiting, but they were in a different vehicle. Their car was locked, so they were stuck in their wet gear.

A half hour goes by. Allen then shows up and says that we can load our gear into his truck and he'll take us to the top. Here's where the next shuttle mistake was made. Terry and Tom also loaded gear and rode up with us. As we drove up the highway, we saw Fast Fred's group STILL on the river and Rick had nearly caught up to the on his second lap.

We get to the put in and met up with Larry and John. Now what do we do? Terry and Tom by this point were cold and tired of being in their wet gear. Even though we could spot them money for dinner, they wouldn't want to go to a restaurant dressed in stinky kayak gear. The logical thing for Tom and Terry to do would be to meet back up with their driver. I asked John if he could drive them back to the take out, which he did.

After dropping off Tom and Terry, John picked Mark, two guys from Texas and I up at the put in. Our gear would get back to the campground in Allen's truck. Mark said "Gilley better not be expecting any gas money." I kept saying "I should have driven..."

We went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Copperhill. I wanted BBQ at Herb's but was out voted. When we came out of the restaurant, it started to rain really hard. Unfortunately, the rain was very localized, so it didn't help rivers like the Tellico.

We got back to the campground and I claimed my gear from Allen's truck.

Friday - A Grim Situation and the Auto Flip Feature in Rooster Tail
On Friday we decided to head out the Nolichucky again. The level was similar to what it was the previous Saturday or perhaps slightly higher. We wanted to leave before 8:30 am to keep the group small and because it's a long drive.

Larry drove and John, Allen, and I rode with Larry. Casey met us at Uncle Johnny's. Uncle Johnny's is a hostel for Appalachian trail hikers and kayakers and you can hire shuttle drivers at Uncle Johnny's.

Our driver introduced himself as "Grim". He had hiked the entire Applachian Trail, so we assumed that this was his trail name. Grim said that he was from Savannah, but really liked Erwin Tennessee and decided to stay awhile.

On our way to the put in, Grim started his tour guide spiel: "During your entire journey on the Nolichucky, you will be in the Pisgah and Cherokee National Forests. The Pisgah and Cherokee National Forests did not allow alcohol or illicit drugs. If you have alcohol or illicit drugs, give them to me for disposal because I am a recreational substance disposal expert."

When we got close to the Tennessee/North Carolina state line, he says "Tennessee doesn't have a sense of humor. However, North Carolina does." When we crossed into North Carolina, we saw the 55 MPH speed limit sign. "We call this the double nickels of death.". If you even go above 35 mph, you would fly off of the twisting mountain road!

We went though all of the big rapids at the start of the run just fine: Entrance, On the Rocks, Jaws, and Quarter Mile. I still portaged around the entrance to Quarter Mile. Why have a bad day?

We came up to Rooster Tail, the last big rapid on the river. Rooster Tail has a curler wave, and if you are too far right, it WILL flip you. John calls this the "auto flip" feature. Larry goes first and sets up to take video of us running the rapid.

Of course, I go too far right and flipped. I was banged upside down for awhile, but I was waiting a bit for things to calm down before rolling. Now! I blew the roll. I knew another big drop was coming, so I bailed out of the boat. I managed to shove the boat into an eddy, then I swam into an eddy. John asked if I knew what I did. I said "Yes, I was too far right". Later Allen tells me: "Thanks for going that way. I was thinking of doing the same thing and you showed what would happen."

Later Allen swims in an odd place. I thought he did it to make me feel better.

We got to the take out and Larry's truck was waiting for us. We got into dry clothes, loaded up gear, and headed towards Asheville. In Asheville, we stopped at Asiana Grand for dinner. Asiana Grand is a large Chinese buffet frequented by kayakers.

Saturday - The Clown Car and the Drive Home
I planned to drive home Saturday after I got off of the river. I had already packed up everything before the 8:30 a.m. meeting. I couldn't quite decide where I wanted to go. John kept pushing for a couple of creek runs that were allegedly running, but I wasn't up for something new and possibly above my skill level. If I went to the Ocoee, it's an hour drive in the wrong direction, making it a six hour drive home. If I ran the Nantahala, I would have a five hour drive and I would have time to stop at the NOC store. I looked at the group planning to go to the Ocoee. "Hmm...I don't know ANY of those people". Matt and Linda were going down the Nantahala, but planned to take their time play boating. I had to make a decision or I wasn't going to be going anywhere. Nantahala it is. I brought my dry top, so I was set for the cold water.

Matt wanted to have ALL of the cars at the bottom. I liked this idea since it meant I could leave when I wanted to. However, this made the shuttle more complicated since I would have to hitch a ride to the put in. I brought cash with me in case hitching didn't work and I needed to pay to ride an NOC raft bus.

Now where should I stand to get a ride? Do I need to show some leg? I walked along the road and saw another hitch hiker. After about ten minutes, a Honda Odyssey mini van pulls up. We all got in. We had nine people and three kayaks stuffed into that thing. It was a clown car, but I appreciated the ride.

As promised, Matt and Linda played on just about every feature on the river. That was fine since I learned a couple more play spots. Matt is an instructor, so he got into instructor mode a couple of times. He had me practice eddying and to get the maximum number of eddies in one section of the river.

We came to the falls. I eddied out in truck stop eddy, then took off. I wasn't close enough to the top hole, so I was going into the bottom hole. I didn't turn quite fast enough, so I was on my side for several seconds. I was able to right to boat back up by doing a hip snap, which caused cheers from other boaters. My core exercises paid off!

I was parked after the slalom course, so I ran the slalom gates that were set up.

I got off of the river and loaded up the gear. I had a car load of wet camping and paddling gear that had been in the hot sun all day. Whew!

I called Janyne to let her know I would be home at a decent time (I was off the river at 3:30 pm and it is a five hour drive) and I headed onto the highway. The view of the Smoky Mountains was spectacular while I was driving towards Asheville.

I had a great time at Week of Rivers and have wonderful memories. I'm looking forward to Week of Rivers 2012!

Week of Rivers 2011 - Part I

Creek Side Campsite - Score!
Week of Rivers is an annual event for Carolina Canoe Club members. The club takes over the Smoky Mountain Meadows campground in Bryson City North Carolina, which becomes the base of operations for the event. Every morning at 8:30 a.m. the club meets and river trips are organized. If you don't get with a group at the meeting, you are stuck at the campground (there are also "private" trips that aren't announced, but you have to be invited).

I usually camp in the open field. You don't need a reservation and it's cheap ($7/day). A Facebook and paddling friend Wendy posted on Facebook that some of her friends were not going to make it and was looking for people to share her shaded, creek side campsite with her and Amy. I quickly replied "yes!", and it was a great decision. When I arrived Friday evening, they already had my parking pass ready. Wendy already had a pop up tent over the picnic table, and Wendy and Amy helped set up my tent. For Week of Rivers I use a larger tent, which I only use a couple of times a year. It's easy to set up (color coded!), but I appreciated the help. The pop up tent over the picnic table was great since it rained several times during the week, so items under the tent were dry. Wendy also provided hangers to hang up gear to dry from the tent. The babbling brook next to the site was also nice. All of this made the site worth the extra cost.

Saturday July 2, Nolichucky
The Nolichucky is a natural flow river that goes through a beautiful, undeveloped gorge in the Pisgah and Cherokee national forests. The run starts in North Carolina and ends in Tennessee. The river was at 795 cfs, which is a very nice novice level. At higher flows the Nolichucky is a class III-IV river, but at 795 it is more like a class II-III river. We joked that the rapid named "Jaws" was more like "Piranha". We wanted to head to the Nolichucky since it's best to hit natural flow rivers during Week of Rivers if they are available.

Matt and his wife Linda were leading a private trip that I was invited to join. I always enjoy paddling with Matt and Linda so I join their trips whenever I can.

While I was quickly gathering up gear and preparing my lunch, my friend Stefan showed up with another friend John. Apparently Stefan asked for me and John knew where I was camping. We were leaving in a few minutes so I needed to hustle.

I asked Stefan if he could go on a long day trip (the Noli is more than two hours from the campground and it's a long run). He was camping with his wife and daughter and I didn't want him to get in trouble for getting in late. Stefan said that he could go, so I quickly took him over to Matt. I asked Matt if he could add one more person. Matt said no since we would need another shuttle vehicle.

I told Stefan to quickly follow me to another group that was going on the Nolichucky (everyone was leaving in a few minutes), and that group included John. I went up to Kathy, who was also in the second group and one of the drivers. "Can you take one more person?" Kathy at first thought that I wanted Stefan to ride with them and then join my group at the river, a logistical nightmare. "No, no, Kathy. Can you take him and have him be a part of your group?". Kathy replied, "Oh, sure".

I rode with Karen, who drives a Honda Fit (Janyne also has a Fit). It was funny seeing a big open boat and a kayak on top of a Fit. It worked and we got great mileage.

The shuttle for the Nolichucky is really long. Most people pay $20 for a driver to drive their car back to the take out. It turns out that Matt doesn't like other people driving his car, so we set up our own shuttle. This turned out to be a pain at the end of the day since it added an additional hour to retrieve the cars at the put in. We also didn't take out at the Nolichucky Gorge campground since the owner charges $3 a head to use the take out. We had to paddle further downstream.

It was a drama free day on the river. There were no flips or swims in the group. I was very happy to have a clean run down the Nolichucky. On my previous trip I had an ugly swim through most of Quarter Mile rapid. I did portage around the entrance to Quarter Mile since that bad swim was still fresh in my memory.

Murphy's ledge is at the of Quarter Mile rapid. At the low water level, it was disconcerting since it was a drop of several feet over ledge. Sarah went first over the ledge and then guided people where to go. She raised her arms and all you could see were her hands. It turned out to be an easy boof over the ledge.

When we got off the river, we changed into dry clothes. The drivers then went off to retrieve the cars at the put in. While we were waiting, we saw Stefan's group drive by. doh!

We got on the road and had dinner at a restaurant in West Asheville called the Universal Joint. It got its name from the fact that the restaurant used to be an auto repair shop. The restaurant had a great selection of local micro brews and a varied menu. It has a lot of nice vegetarian and non vegetarian options. I went for the ribeye sandwich.

I asked Karen if $10 would be sufficient for gas. She said that I didn't need to give her gas money if I drove from Asheville back to the campground. She wanted to sleep. Deal!

We were getting low on gas, so I planned to stop in Dillsboro. The gas stations in the mountains close EARLY (10 pm). It was ten minutes after 10, and the gas station in Dillsboro was closed. Of course the low fuel light came on. I had to drive into Sylva to find an open gas station (turns out some of the station keep the pumps on and you can use a credit card, but it's hard to tell when all the lights are off).

It was a long but great day. We didn't roll into the campground until 11 p.m.

Sunday, Upper Green. My that Diesel is Heavy!
Wendy asked my if I would like to join her, her cousin Ben and his fiance Sarah, Diane, Scott, and Jamila on a trip to the Upper Green. The upper Green is a beautiful class II-III run, so I joined the group.

We were supposed to meet Ben and Sarah at exit 59 on I-26 9:45 "ish". Lee Thonus was also organizing a trip on the Upper Green and was going to have a shuttle already set. The take out requires you to have a key since it is on private property. Lee had a key, so it would be good to have him help set shuttle. We also had to hurry since the normal release is only from 10 to 12.

Ben and Sarah showed up a little before 10. We then headed out on I-26 towards Spartanburg since Diane thought Lee said that we were meeting at exit 63. I called up Lee to let him know we were en route and to confirm the exit number. "Lee, to confirm, what exit are we meeting you?" "53, but we'll wait for you at the off ramp on 54" "crap! We're heading the WRONG WAY". Of course the next exit wasn't until 67, and THAT was another four lane divided highway. We had to go several more miles before we could turn around and Ben had to follow us. The incredible thing is, Lee waited for us the entire time! The convoy merged and we headed to the put in.

We put on and entered the gorge. The Upper Green is a beautiful gorge and several waterfalls flow into the river. The rhododendrons were in bloom.

We came to the first big rapid, Bayless Boof. We all got out to scout it. It looks scary, but it's an easy slide down the rock, which launches you into the air and you land in a pool at the bottom. The rock wants to turn to the right when you launch, so you have to have some weight on your left butt cheek. If you go to the right, you may hit a submerged rock below. One person did that a year ago and smashed in the front of his boat, which was a Diesel similar to mine.

I came down the rock slide, went into the air a bit, then landed in the pool below. What a great ride! Lee had gone first and was taking photos.

We all came up on the second big rapid, Pinball. Lee gave us long involved instructions. Pinball is a double drop. You go over the first drop and have to avoid a rock, then you turn to make the second drop. It's hard to see exactly what line people take because they disappear when they go over the first drop.

I ran the rapid fine even though I didn't think I was quite on the right line. Woo hoo! That's when I noticed the carnage. Scott's kayak was upside and stuck on rocks in the river. Doug, an open boater, was swimming. Apparently the instructions needed to be simplified.

After Pinball, Lee led several of us on a short hike up a creek. We then came to a beautiful waterfall.

We then reached the take out and now it was time for the dreaded 2/3 mile carry up to the parking lot. The first 1/3 is a steep goat trail, then the rest is a jeep road. Rather than mull about the schlepp, I sprinted up the trail with my gear. I made it to the top and broke out my lunch. It took several minutes for the next person to trudge up the hill.

After everyone was back to the take out with their vehicles, we discussed where to go for lunch (second lunch or dinner for me). Ben mentioned the horrors he saw at the interstate exit: Cracker Barrel, Waffle House, McDonalds, etc. Wendy mentioned that there is a nice sandwich shop in Saluda, but she wasn't sure if it was open Sunday. We'd give that a try.

We came into Saluda, but the sandwich shop was closed. However, a really nice restaurant was open. Saluda is a cute old railroad town (Saluda has the steepest standard gauge railroad in the U.S.) with a lot of restaurants and shops. The shops featured art from local artisans such as hand blown glass.

After our early dinner, we headed back to the campground.

Monday - Chattooga section 3.5 1.48 feet - Lightening and Thunder, Oh My!
Monday we got a group together to run section 3.5 of the Chattooga. The group included: Larry, John, Steve, Allen, Jamila, Conrad, and myself.

The Chattooga is a designated wild and scenic river and parts of the movie Deliverance were shot on the river. Because it is a wild and scenic river, there's a quarter mile carry to the put in and from the take out. That's still better than the Upper Green!

It started out as a beautiful day on the river. Then it started to rain very hard, then there was lightening and thunder. We stayed on the river close to shore. The rain then stopped for awhile.

We all got out to scout Bull Sluice. There are two main lines: the double drop on the right and the boof line to the left. The rapid is intimidating, but the left line is actually not difficult.

John had my video camera and was going to shoot us running the rapid. Then the deluge started up again and there was more lightening and thunder. We went for cover and waited it out for awhile. Allen used his kayak as shelter.

We all then ran the boof line fine. Larry got out and took the camera to shoot John running the rapid.

After Bull Sluice we kept kept running into the same group of kayakers. Many of the boaters didn't seem to be in control of their boats. They would come through our group, then would stop so they never moved ahead. Conrad referred to them as the "monkey troop". If you're going to play through, play through!

Larry is an instructor and taught everyone how to eddy hop when creeking. We did this in the rapid named Screaming Left Turn. When creeking, you go one at a time down a rapid and communicate to the person behind you what eddy to go to next, many of which may only hold one or two boats.

We got to the end and it was time for the quarter mile carry. I again picked up my gear and rapidly went up the trail to get it over with.

We all then went to a pizza restaurant near the river called Humble Pie. The owner was trying to close the restaurant for the Fourth of July holiday. He still let us come in and said "I have three large pizza doughs left and salad, which should feed you." We all discussed the available standard pizzas, and we agreed on what to get. Everyone except Allen that is. Allen just went and ordered what he wanted for one of the pizzas. Everyone looked at each other and went "WTF?" It all worked out since Allen's topping choices weren't too scary and we were hungry. He seemed surprised that people were eating "his" pizza.

Later that night Amy broke out glow sticks and we had a rave at the campground. One partier fell into the creek (not me). I was getting too loud for our neighbors, so we received complaints. I blame the top shelf tequila Wendy broke out. Everyone was surprised to see me tooling around the campground early the next day.

Tuesday - Pigeon Gorge and lower Pigeon
Tuesday I joined a group going to the Pigeon, aka "The Dirty Bird". We had John, Jamila, Allen, Rick, Steve, Kathy and Kathy's husband Kevin. The Pigeon gorge is a short run, so we were going to also do the lower Pigeon. The lower Pigeon is class I-II, but has some fun play spots (and long stretches of flat water).

We weren't sure what the release would be. The normal release is 1200 cfs, but on the previous Saturday it was 2200 cfs. The extra water caused a lot of carnage. When we arrived at the put in, we saw that it was a normal release.

We then had another shuttle mishap. The first problem was that Allen nearly ran out of gas and we had to stop. Kathy pointed out that one of the shuttle rules is that you gas up the night before.

The next problem dealt with how to go to the take out. Should we take River Road to the take out or I-40? Kevin said "I-40. I remember River Road being full of pot holes" This was a BAD plan. As soon as we got onto I-40, we immediately hit construction. The road narrowed down to one lane and there was a lot of traffic. Luckily we stopped for gas BEFORE hitting the traffic. I have never gone that way to the take out and didn't know what exit to take. Of course the group got separated trying to merge. At the end of the run, we took River Road. It had hardly any pot holes.

We got to the put in and we took off. The run was drama free until we got to Lost Guide. John was leading Jamila through the rapids since it was her first time on the Pigeon. He eddied out, but didn't expect Jamila to also go into the eddy. Jamila flushed out of the eddy and went backwards into the hole at the bottom of the rapid. I had already run Lost Guide and was watching. I thought to myself "TURN AROUND" since you could predict the outcome. Jamila flipped in the hole, but immediately rolled back up. Later that night Jamila apologized for all of the "carnage" she experienced. Rick and I both looked at her and said "WHAT carnage? You were never out of your boat."

When we got to the lower Pigeon, we played on a lot of the ledges. I was surfing my Diesel and Steve yells out "HEY, what you doing playing?!" On the Chattooga Steve play boated a lot and I only surfed a couple of times.

Rick then decided to make the run more "interesting" by using hand paddles. He got stuck surfing on a ledge and flipped. One of the ledges is sticky, and I've been flipped on it before. He tried rolling three times and failed. I went over and bumped my bow on his boat so that he knew that could use it to flip himself up. He was not happy since he didn't "ask" for a rescue and I got in his way. He ended up swimming. One of his hand paddles came loose, but we were able to retrieve it. Steve watched the whole thing and said we would have done the same thing.

We got to the take out and went separate ways. John had to go back to Raleigh to teach a class. Allen and Steve took off back to the campground. Kathy, Kevin, Rick, Jamila, and I went to dinner at Lulu's in Sylva. At Lulu's we ran into a lot of kayakers we knew like Barb and Len.


Part II of the blog will be in a subsequent posting...

June Kayaking Videos

Double Trouble
Middle Ocoee
June 11, 2011

---

Split Screen Nanty Falls
June 18, 2011

---

Nantahala Falls
June 18, 2011

Nolichucky Swim Team

Have Gun Will Travel
My kayaking friend John was a trip coordinator for a paddling trip on the Nolichucky over the first weekend in May. The Nolichucky is a class III-IV river in North Carolina and Tennessee. It is a long eight mile run, parts of which are challenging. The toughest parts are in the first two miles, so if you have problems, you could have a long day. The Noli is also remote. Once you start, you are committed.

I told John that I wanted to join the trip since I had a new Wavesport Diesel 70, a much bigger boat than I had the one other time I had run the Noli. The Diesel can handle fairly big holes, which would be very helpful on the Noli.

I also carpooled with John. When I arrived at his house, as a joke he showed me a pellet gun that he wanted to bring (back story: on recent trip, a guy I carpooled with was seriously thinking of bringing a real handgun. What the heck FOR?!).

Since John didn't have the roof rack installed on his car, we loaded up my CR-V. We were on our way in record time, all loaded up and on the road in under 15 minutes.

We hit horrible bump and grind traffic on I-40 around Greensboro and Winston Salem. Even with the bad traffic and a dinner stop, we still got to the Nolichucky Gorge Campground a little after 9 pm. This made the campground manager happy since he doesn't like people to arrive too late at night.

We selected a camp site on the river. This was the first time John had a river side site in the campground. It worked out well since it would get sun in the morning.

It was a mostly clear night and I saw a shooting star (it was supposed to be a peak night for a meteor shower). There was a crescent moon over the river and you could see the entire sphere of the moon. A clear sky meant that it got cold. Everyone knew to bring ear plugs since frogs were making a lot of noise and the coal train runs throughout the day and night. The train's brakes make horrible screeching sounds when the train comes around the bend.

Saturday Noli - Introducing the Swim Team
The paddling group was going to meet at 11:15 am on Saturday. This would allow people to drive up in the morning if they didn't want to camp Friday night. John and I went to McDonald's in Erwin Tennessee to have breakfast and to use free Wifi. We couldn't believe the LONG line at the drive thru and that a lot of the people waiting in the drive thru were puffing on cigarettes.

When we went back to the campground, I killed time by reading, gathering up gear, and making my lunch.

The Nolichucky was around 1300 cfs, a perfect level. Our group on Saturday consisted of: Rich from Asheville, Ken from near Columbia SC, Jim and Kat from Raleigh, John from Durham, and myself from Apex.

The shuttle for the Nolichucky is very long. Normally paddlers pay $20 to hire a local shuttle driver. We couldn't fit all the boats, people, and gear onto one car, so we needed two drivers. One person in the group said "So, $40 divided by 6 is...$5 each." Well, not really.

When we got to the put in, we had to negotiate sucking mud and gnats. Luckily the gnats were not an issue once we were on our way.
Entrance rapid and On the Rocks were not problem for me and my hole munching Diesel. It was going to be a great day!

Rich, however, swam at On the Rocks. I got his paddle and threw it on the bank on river right. Rich was out of the water on river right and Jim pushed his boat to the bank. We yelled at Rich to GRAB his boat since it the current was taking the boat. We weren't really in an eddy and the next rapid Jaws was just ahead. Rich then fell into the river, so he had to be rescued again. Rich's boat also went downstream. Jim and I corralled Rich's boat on river left, Rich was on river right. Using a carabiner I loaned to Jim, Jim towed Rich's boat across the river. John had to go upstream and retrieve the paddle I tossed on the rocks.

Ken also swam at On the Rocks, but it wasn't nearly as dramatic.

Jacked By Hungry Jack
We all got out to scout Quarter Mile rapid. The tricky part is the entrance, the rest is mostly class III boogie water (about a quarter mile long) where you dodge rocks and holes. The very end is Murphy's ledge, which is a three-foot river-wide ledge. At the entrance you have to get on a tongue of water and eddy out, then you can line yourself up and continue with the rest of the rapid. John got in his boat and showed us how to do it.

I got back into my boat and started off. I was too far left and missed the tongue. I was quickly turned around and flipped. I was bounced up and down while upside down and I was going right for Hungry Jack, a large hole you don't want to be in. I wasn't in a good spot to roll, so I bailed out of the boat.

John was the only person in his boat and came out after me. Both my boat and I went into Hungry Jack, which luckily spat me out and didn't recirculate me. John said that this was the first place I yelled "OW" since I was smacked against a rock. This is also likely where my boat was dented. John said my boat went into Hungry Jack, came up on its stern and then was smacked on a rock.

For almost the entire rapid I was bounced off of rocks and went into and out of holes. See the human pinball! My knees were banged up pretty bad and at the end, were bruised and swollen. John kept coming over so that I could grab the back of his boat. I did NOT want to go over Murphy's ledge. We got separated several times and John was in parts of the rapid he really didn't want to be in. I kicked, but the current was strong. Eventually I got to shore, at the last eddy before the ledge.

John then chased after my boat. After spending a few minutes crawling over rocks and trying to avoid poison ivy on the shore, I eventually walked up the rocks to the railroad tracks. When I saw John and my boat, I scrambled down to the river. That's when I saw the huge dent in my boat.

After seeing what happened, the rest of the group carried their boats over rocks to avoid the entrance move.

On Sunday I met a rafting group at the take out. One guy asked "That was you swimming yesterday?" "Yes" I said. "Oh, we felt bad for you. That had to hurt.".

Since both the boat and I were banged up, I decided not to deal with Rooster Tail rapid. I got out before the rapid and climbed up the bank to the railroad track. It was a tough portage.

No one swam in Rooster Tail, but John did his usual line on Rooster Tail: he flipped and rolled.

By this time I discovered that my choice of paddling clothes was poor. I wore Neoprene shorts and top and a spray jacket. I was in the cold water a long time, the wind was kicking up, and it became cloudy. I was COLD.

At the take out, John said I was a "trooper" for paddling it out to the end in a banged up boat. I said "Did I really have a choice?"

User Error
When we were back to the campground, I called the dealer where I bought my boat just six weeks before: Endless Rivers Adventures. It looked like my boat was ruined, so I wanted to see what might be covered under a warranty. I identified myself and said that I recently bought a boat AND signed up for their Thanksgiving Costa Rica trip. Ken, one of the owners, said that this was a "user error". This is ironic since I am a software tester! My coworkers laughed and said "Gee, even on weekends your defects are returned".

Ken dismissively said that "No material could withstand that sort of impact." Too bad. How sad. "If you put it in the sun, it MIGHT pop out". I didn't believe it.

Local Cuisine and Audry Saves the Day
For dinner Saturday, Jim recommended a local restaurant that has home cooking (translation: tasty, but expect a lot of calorie bombs). I was drawn to the "pan fried" chicken, which was very good. I lessened the damage by having a salad and baked potato rather than mashed potatoes or the various fried side items. I don't think green beans really count as a vegetable if they are cooked in fat back.

After dinner Jim had us going all over Erwin Tennessee. He kept telling us a story of how in the past an elephant killed a man and they hung the elephant as punishment. Several of the stores were supposed to reference this event, but we never saw anything.

We then got lost on the side streets. I drove, so I turned on "Audry", the GPS. Audry took us right to the campground. Everyone laughed when Audry said "arriving at Noli Gorge Campground". "She SOUNDS like a paddler (Noli is the nickname for the Nolichucky. I didn't want to type Nolichucky into the GPS).

Shuttle Driver
I woke up Sunday morning feeling like someone beat me with a rubber hose. Jim offered to switch boats around so that I could use John's Diesel, but I didn't want to damage someone else's boat. I was bruised and sore, so I figured it was best to be conservative. This was a good call since there were seven swims in the group Sunday, three of which were at at same time.

Jim graciously fed us all ham and eggs. I showed Kat the wonders of a French Press, which made better coffee than her instant coffee.

Bob Wiggins and his son Bob from Asheville were joining the group Sunday. Bob has a huge ancient diesel Suburban that seems to be held together by rust. But it's the perfect paddling shuttle vehicle since Bob said he could fit ten boats on it. Since I decided not to paddle Sunday, I would drive shuttle. Everyone appreciated it and jokingly asked if I wanted $20. "Nah, paying it forward with karma points." Driving the beast up the mountains was quite a challenge. The seat couldn't be adjusted and I could barely press the gas pedal. It was so loud, people would look when I went by. I brought Audry along to make sure I didn't get lost on the mountain roads.

I went into town to have lunch and to use the Wifi at McDonald's. I dried out gear, napped, etc.

It was getting to be about 4 pm and I was getting worried. The group was on the water at 11:00 am. Where WERE they?!

Finally Kat and Jim showed up. Kat shook her head and said "It was quite an adventure". Bob had broken his wooden paddle at Jaws and swam, plus there were many other swims.

Throughout the day, I had my boat out in the sun on my roof rack. I had the dented part exposed to the sun. Nearly 90% of the dent popped out by the time Kat showed up. I asked if she believed in miracles and showed her the boat. Everyone was amazed by the self healing boat. It's battle scarred with scratches, but at least it can be used.

Conclusion
It was a really fun group to paddle with. At some point we will have a reunion of the Nolichucky swim team and run the river again as a group. John said that I would have the award for the "longest" and "ugliest" swim. In total there were five swims on Saturday, seven on Sunday.

Click here for more photos.

Gator Half

DH and I drove to Florida last Friday. When I was packing up all of my gear for the Gator Half, I started to  wonder how the heck I'll get my cr*p to Vineman next year.  We left very early and made it to Sarasota in time for packet pickup on Friday evening. I also did a short ride to keep loose after the 12 hour drive and to make sure that the bike was fine. Then we proceeded to my in-laws' place in Englewood.

On Saturday morning, DH, his dad and I drove to the race site. We timed the drive from Englewood and made sure we were clear on where everything was. We talked to a triathlete doing a pre-race swim and checked out both the bike and run course. We also scoped out Sherpa Eating Locales so the guys had something do to while I was on the bike. On Saturday afternoon, I had a short swim at the in-laws' place and on Saturday evening we went for pizza (Mama's Italian Restaurant in Englewood), my traditional pre-race meal.

On Sunday morning, I got up at 4:50, lubed up liberally and then ate a bagel with peanut butter and a banana and drank a bottle of Camelbak Elixir. We headed out to Ackerman Park in Sarasota for the race start and arrived at about 6 am.  That allowed time for timing chip pick up, body marking, transition set up, pre-race meeting...

There was an interesting collection of people at this event. I talked to someone who did Ironman Arizona last year and is doing Ironman Lake Placid and Ironman Florida this year (and he did the world duathlon championships in Edinburgh last year as well). I saw people with Clearwater 70.3 national championship gear on. I also talked to several people for whom this was their first half iron distance event or first Olympic distance triathlon.

The swim

The first 200 meters or so was rough for me. I started to feel like I was going to choke. I was breathing to the right which is generally my faster side. I switched to the other side and got more comfortable. I made the first turn and and decided to try breathing to the right again. Apparently, I do not swim straight when breathing to the right. Fortunately my spot forwards were good and I was able to make a correction before I got too far off line.

DH said that the safety kayakers had to go and get some people who were way way off course in the middle of the lake.  Whoops!

I continued around, breathing to the left (figuring that it was best to stay on course!) and made the next two turns. Then I was heading to where we started and the sun was higher. I could not see the buoy at all. I could see the picnic table there and headed toward that. Good plan. I finally saw the buoy when I was right on top of it. It was one of the giganto buoys too!

The second lap proceeded pretty much the same way, except my goggles started to leak. I specifically chose to use my older goggles because they've never leaked (instead of the new goggles that I'm still getting adjusted)! Again, it was disconcerting to swim into the sun and not be able to see. After passing the start area for the second time, I continued a little further to reach the swim exit.

The bike

Fun course! Scenic, flat, few turns, mostly very good road surfaces as compared to North Carolina roads.

I had a some fig newtons almost as soon as I got onto the bike. The bike has been pre loaded with my nutrition so I ate when planned and drank frequently.  I picked up a plain water at the first bottle exchange near mile 20. I tried to pick up a second plain water at the second bottle exchange. I said water but got Heed. Probably my fault. It was warmer weather than I have been training in. I went ahead and had the Heed rather than get dehydrated. It was fine. I ate more than I did at Beach2Battlehsip but I was in better shape afterward than I was at the B2B HIM.  By the end of the bike it was starting to get hot.

The run

When I previewed the course on Saturday, I thought to myself, well, the bike is scenic. The course was through an office park and around a lake/retention pond. That makes some amount of sense since there would be pretty much no traffic on a Sunday. As it turned out, I really liked the course. There was a tiny bit of shade through the office park and there was a breeze around the pond. There were enough water stations to keep cool and it was nice that we did two loops because we went by DH twice.

First lap of the run.

I had a Hammer Gel just before the mile 1 water station and then again at about mile 5 and mile 10 (always just before water stations). I had at least one dixie cup of water at each water station and often two cups (volunteers started to hand out water two cups at at time). I ran the whole course -- except walking water stations to drink rather than spill. I did get progressively slower during the run but overall I am happy with how I did.  When I got to the car, the temp said 88 degrees.

After the half ironman, with medal and gator jambalaya in hand

I enjoyed this event and I'd certainly consider coming back and doing it again another time.

Gator Done medal and 4th place plaque

Hannah

Hannah is gone. Good bye, sweet girl. You will always be in my heart.

Words cannot do my feelings justice.

Hannah through the years August 5, 1994 - March 15, 2011

First marathon

Done

Completed

Successful

Friday

DH and I took the day off and drove down to Jacksonville for 26.2 with Donna:  The National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer.

Saturday

On Saturday, we went to the race expo and checked in. The expo was very good. Check in was quick, the race shirt is really nice and the volunteers were cheerful and helpful. DH and I also did a little bit of reconnaissance -- confirmed where the bus from the hotel area to the race start was, confirmed that the beach was hard packed as advertised and so on. My parents and my in-laws were both coming into Jacksonville for the race so we gathered some course info for them as well.

On Saturday evening, we went Mellow Mushroom for a pre race meal.  Pizza, as usual!

Race Day

On Sunday morning, I got up at 5:00, lubed up liberally in an effort to avoid chafing and then ate a bagel with peanut butter and a banana and drank a bottle of Camelbak Elixir to get some electrolytes into my system. I had a little bit of coffee from the hotel lobby and I walked across the street to get a shuttle bus to the race start. I got into line at about 5:30 and we arrived at the Mayo Clinic for the race start at about 6:00.

At about 6:30 or a little before, they herding us to the corrals. They had four corrals. The half and full marathon runners went in together according to color codes they had on our bibs. In other words, 4 hour marathoners and 2 hour half marathoners were mixed together.

The race started a few minutes late. They were obviously checking with police to make sure that the roads were clear and we started as soon as the organizers got the all clear. It 40 degrees when the race started (60 degrees when I finished).

It was also neat that the start of the race was broadcast on TV. My peeps watched the TV coverage and then went outside and saw me.  (This is where it helps that the event is 26.2 with Donna and Donna is a news anchor on a local station and Mr. Donna is a weatherman at a local station.  As a result, the races has excellent media coverage.)

The course started at Mayo Clinic and crossed the intracoastal waterway in the first two miles.  The first (and last) three miles were on a (closed) expressway.  By mile five we were on the beach.
The run out to the beach was fun and included highlighted by helicopter flyovers for TV and plenty of cars honking in support of the thousands of runners.  The spectator support was amazing!  The 2.5 miles run on the beach were beautiful.

On the beach just after mile 7

The hotel that we stayed at was on the course near mile 7 and mile 19. I saw my family on the beach just after mile 7. They cheered and I waved. That was neat. Throughout the race I kept on counting down when to have Gu or when I would see my family during the race.

Just after mile 19

The run went really really well until mile 16. Then my legs started to complain a little bit. About this time I started to dislike the marathon relay teams. I mean really dislike them. The relay people looked so fresh and perky, having run about one mile since the exchange at Mile 15, and my legs were feeling somewhat less than fresh and perky. I kept on telling myself, less than 30 minutes until I see my peeps again (at mile 19). Then it was less than a mile to the next Gu. 10k to go. Back onto the expressway to the finish. With about 2 miles to go I could see the finish. There's Mayo Clinic. Right there. The finish. Up the bridge. It's all downhill from here. The finish should be just around the corner. I hope the finish is just around the corner. There it is!

I checked the race results and over 1600 marathon runners finished, along with over 4000 half marathoners plus 214 marathon relay teams (5 people per team).

I thought that the organization and crowd support were superb. The expo was great as was the runner support on the course. Water stations were well stocked, port-a-pots plentiful, Gu available, etc.

I would definitely do this event again. I would definitely recommend it to a friend.

The Septembers of Shiraz: A Novel by Dalia Sofer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book was excellent.  I had a hard time putting it down.  It is beautifully written.  In some ways, this book reminds me of The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri -- language and style, caught between  cultures.

The story takes place in post-Revolutionary Iran and tells the story of a Jewish family -- Isaac, Farnaz, Shirin and Paviz -- living in Tehran.  Told in the voice of each of these family members, this suspenseful story begins when Isaac, a gemologist with associations to the Shah, is arrested by the Revolutionary Guard.  Early in the book, "Back in his cell, Isaac thinks of Rez and the thousands of revolutionaries like him -- men and women who thought they were part of something big, much bigger than their daily lives -- who thought they were changing the course of history.  And here they are, having replace crowns with turbans." (101)

Isaac is an educated man with knowledge of both Persian and Western literature.  When he was in prison, he thought of poems, including The Lake Isle of Innisfree by W.B. Yeats and the Teachings of Hafiz (239) -- interestingly, Hafiz (also known as Hafez) was born in Shiraz.

(from The Lake Isle of Innisfree)

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made...

(from Teachings of Hafiz)

Can drunkenness be linked to piety
And good repute?
Where is the preacher's holy monody,
Where is the lute?

Later in the book (294), Isaac recites another section from the Teachings of Hafiz.  This time he recites to his father


Be not too sure of your crown, you who thought
That virtue was easy and recompense yours;
From the monastery to the wine-tavern doors
The way is nought

from The Divan of Hafiz (337)

Not all the sum of earthly happiness
Is worth the bowed head of a moment's pain

The book also has other art and religious themes throughout.  For example, the theme of the ghazal, a form of poetry.  "Five couplets, at the minimum, but no more than twelve usually.  The first couplet establishes a rhyme followed by a refrain, a scheme repeated by the second line of each succeeding couplet.  Each couplet should stand on its own, but must also be part of the whole.  At the end, the poet often invokes himself...'So what happens at the end, Baba?' and he had said, 'There is no end, Shirin-jan.  That's the first thing you should learn about ghazals.  There is no resolution.  Imagine the speaker simply throwing his hands in the air.'" (178-179)" 

Farnaz borrows a sixteenth-century miniature painting from an antique dealer.  She asks the dealer about the history of the piece.   "'That's the sad part of the story.  In 1962 an American collector bought it, and he had the audacity to rip pages out of the book and sell them individually.  He sold some to a museum in New York, others to private collectors.'

"She looks at the orphaned leaf, its counterparts spread around the globe, each adopted by one museum or another, or locked in a cabinet of a European or American collector who picks it up once in a while or looks at in his dime study..." (217)

Do the "orphaned leaf" represent Iranians spread around the world like pages of the book?  Does it represent American disrespect/misunderstanding of Persian culture?

This is only the tip of the iceberg.  There is a lot going on in this book (alcohol: banned after the Revolution, Isaac's father was an alcoholic -- apathy, fermented and distilled (106), Isaac's brother Javad was a bootlegger; Why didn't Farnaz send Parviz the money Isaac promised him?  She gave $10,000 to Javad and nothing to her son.; fundamentalist Jews and fundamentalist Islamics; 'worship' of Western culture)

View all my reviews