Disney half marathon

Last weekend I ran my first half-marathon as part of Disney's Marathon Weekend. We drove down to Florida on Thursday and went to the race expo on Friday where I got my race number, timing chip and goody bag. The Expo was very good and there were a lot of interesting vendors. After going to the Expo in the morning, we went Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park where we went on the Tower of Terror, DH rode Rock 'n Roller Coaster (I am not a coaster person) and we went on the back lot tour, rode Star Tours and saw Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show. Afterwards, we went out of pizza at Giordano's and called it a day.

The next morning, I had a very early 3:15 wake up call. The night before I had set out my outfit for the day (running tights, long sleeved tee, vest, number belt, hat, socks, Road ID) and breakfast items. I drank a some Camelbak Elixir and then ate an English muffin with peanut butter while waiting to get on the bus and carried a banana and water with me for later. We were told to be on the bus by 4:00 and I made it well before the cut off (3:45?).

Every day leading up to the race, the forecast became more bleak. With eight days to go the consensus temperatures for the half marathon, based on the 1/1 forecast, was 6AM Start: 44, 10AM: 50, Noon: 58. With six days to go Consensus Temps for Half Marathon Based on Current (1/4) Forecast: 6AM Start: 29, 10AM: 40, Noon: 50.

Five days to go, the Disney Running forums were reporting, "We are looking at a series of near-record cold days for the Orlando area. Citrus crops are in severe danger as the cold will linger for the next week with only a slight break as it warms up (with possible showers) a bit around Friday, only to be followed with another Arctic blast Friday night."

Four days to go and the forecast continues to worsen, now precipitation is appearing in some of the forecasts. "We are looking at a series of quite cold days for the Orlando/Disney Marathon area this weekend. Dress warm for the 4AM-6AM wait at the start. Use multiple layers with windbreaker/garbage bag outside and throw-away sweatpants and sweatshirts ($6 at WalMart). Clothes tossed away at start or on route go to charity. Remember hat, gloves & Chapstick. Prepare properly & everything will be fine! National Weather Service experts remain uncertain about the chance for showers on Saturday."

Three days to go and still more talk about the chance and timing of showers. The Disney Running forums reported:

From National Weather Service, this kind of startling quote: "CAN'T EMPHASIZE ENOUGH JUST HOW NASTY OF A DAY SATURDAY WILL BE".

Weather Channel says "Showers early becoming less numerous later in the day. Snow or sleet may mix in early. High 42F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%."

Finally, one day to go and Disney Running wrote: "Consensus Weather Forecast, 1 Day Til Full - Saturday 1/9 Update

OK we all pretty much now the story by now, so I'll make this quick. Wouldn't you know it, probably the coldest, rawest temps of the entire year for Orlando will be exactly at the start of this race. Oh well… for the northerners it'll be like back home!"

The predictions were true. Cold and sleet.

Dropped off sweat pants and jacket in the baggage check for after the race and waited at race finish area until 5:00 or so when they opened the gates and had us walk down a trail to the starting corrals.

Once we arrived at the starting area, there was a series of starting corrals with bouncers there to make sure that you did not go into the wrong corral. I was in corral B. They had several l large monitors in the starting area with hosts providing entertainment. They kept on talking about cold and sleet and I wished they would stop reminding me.

Shortly before the it was time for Wave 1 to start, I found my pace group and shortly after that, the wheelchair racers started. I tossed the towel that I used alternately as a shawl and seat cushion. I peeled off my $3 sweat suit and tossed the pants to the edge of the road. I kept the jacket with me as a shawl until the last second and tossed that as well.

There were fireworks to start the wave and we were off! As I expected, I was as warm before the first mile was completed. My pace group was slow at this point and we picked it up a bit here.

The best part was running through Magic Kingdom, especially Main Street U.S.A., Cinderella Castle and Frontierland.

There were several marching bands playing on the course and a choir as we entered Epcot.

By mile 11 I was starting the get cold -- I'm not sure if I was just so wet by then that I was getting cold or if I was getting fatigued -- and by mile 12 my hands and lips were quite cold. We were nearing Epcot and the finish line. As we made the turn toward Epcot, I nearly tripped on a traffic cone. I knocked the cone over and someone yelled out, "Good save!"

Finished!

After crossing the finish line, I was handed a silver Mylar blanket and MEDAL! I love my Donald Duck medal!

Then we were shuffled towards a photo are and a snack area (banana, orange, raisins, muffin, soda, water). Then there was a long long long very chilly wait at baggage check.

Once I had my bag, I exited the runner's only area and entered the family reunion area where I found out that I had made my time goal! Before the race, I set up DH's cell phone to text him every time an electronic time split was recorded.

I was very chilly and put on my sweat pants and a rain jacket that I had packed. Since the weather was so bad, we decided to head back to the hotel so we took the shuttle back to Pop Century where I warmed up. When we got back to the hotel, Weather Channel said the current temperature was 30 degrees. No wonder I felt cold!

Mountain Vacation

Last week DH and I went to the North Carolina mountains for a vacation. We rented a cabin in Bryson City near the Deep Creek entrance to the Smoky Mountain National Park. We were sure to get a place that allowed dogs so we could bring the Girls.

The first night there we went to dinner at Relia's Garden at the NOC. The next day I went running the the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and then we did the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad thing. Some of the views from the train were really great but there sure is a lot of kudzu out there! Yikes!

After the train ride, we took the Girls on a short hike to see some of the local waterfalls and explore the Deep Creek area. Hannah and Emma enjoyed that very much. Hannah got into the water and had a blast.

The next day I was able to bike up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and ride on it some. I found a route from Motion Makers bike shop in Sylva that went from Sylva to Waterrock Knob. I thought I could do that in the time allowed (the training plan was for 2 to 2.5 hours). Well, I got to within about 3 miles of my goal and decided that I may have been looking at a 3 hour ride rather than a 2.5 hour ride since I had already been on the road for 90 minutes. I decided to turn around. Almost immediately, I realized that I could probably have gone on without going too far over. It took about 55 minutes for the return trip and that was with a wrong turn that involved a heart rate of 195 (when my max was supposedly 194!) Oh, the other five minutes was just looping around the one way streets in Sylva so it was close to 2.5 hours. I calculated over 4100 climbing feet.

While I was riding, DH met up with some friends to go kayaking on the Pigeon. I hurried back to the cabin to get the Girls and then we had Girls Adventure Day. I took them to Mountain Dog Bakery in Dillsboro. The original plan was for us to go wading in the Tuckasegee River but it started to pour out so we scrapped that plan. Instead we went to Greater Bryson City and relaxed and then explored the Road to Nowhere before meeting up with DH for dinner.

During our final full day in the mountains, we went to Biltmore. DH and I toured the house while the Girls were at a kennel and then we picked them up and took them through the gardens. We wrapped up the day with dinner at Ironstone in Sylva.

We rounded out our vacation with an O.A.R. concert near home.

It was a great week!

Week of Rivers 2009

Organized Anarchy

Week of Rivers is a great event organized by the Carolina Canoe Club and it is always held the week of July 4th. It's a week of whitewater kayaking, camping, and beer drinking. Each day usually work like this:

• Meet in the club's tent at 8:30 am to see what rivers are running and what groups are being organized. At 8:30 they blow a whistle or horn to indicate that the meeting is starting. It's important to know what skill levels are expected for a given river and level and WHO is leading the trips. You quickly learn who the good trip leaders are.
  
• Find the group you are interested in, which is hard since people are all milling about and talking. If you don't get up with a group, you WILL be left at the campground.
  
• Figure out who is driving and when the group is leaving.
• Gather up gear, pack a lunch, set shuttles, drive to the river.
• Run the river.
• Come back to campground, hang gear to dry. Be sure to put gear AWAY before you go to bed or it will be soaked again from mountain dew.
  
• Consume malted beverages.

The club tries to provide some sort of program each evening. One night we listened to a Bluegrass inspired duo from Carrboro Mandolin Orange. Another night we saw a presentation from Endless Rivers, a company that does kayak trips to Costa Rica and Ecuador.

This was my third week of rivers. My first year I only went for a long weekend. I added a couple more days the following year. This year I was staying for an entire week.

Geared Up

Since I was camping for an entire week, I loaded my Honda Civic with a lot of gear. I was planning on doing different types of rivers, so I brought both of my whitewater kayaks: A yellow Liquid Logic Lil Joe (a higher volume river runner) and and a green Jackson All Star (a play boat). The Lil Joe is the SUV in my fleet and is much more stable, so I use it for larger class III- IV rapids and for rivers I have never run before. I use the All Star once I get more comfortable with a river. I also brought along my mountain bike since I planned to take a 'rest' day from kayaking. The Tsali recreation area is nearby and it has some good mountain bike trails.

Most of the Smoky Mountain Meadows campground is taken over by the week of rivers event. I didn't reserve a campsite (you have to do that a year in advance and it costs quite a bit more), so I was out in the field. It's a good deal since it's $8/night and you don't have to reserve the space. Allegedly there would be hot showers available, but I discovered a couple of times that the campground did not have enough hot water capacity. You also have to use strategy as to how close to place your tent from the port a pots. It should be close enough to be convenient, but far enough away.

Since I was in an open field, I also brought along an easy up tent. I couldn't quite figure out how to put up the tent (I haven't used the tent in years). I dug around into the bag, and I found the instructions. An added bonus: the easy up tent made a great clothesline for gear.

The Nanty. Yes we can!

On Saturday I went with a group down the Nantahala River. We needed to do something close by since most of us were in the swift water rescue class that evening, and class started at 5:00 pm. Brian was in our group and he was an instructor for the course. I took my play boat since I have run the Nanty numerous times.

Since it was Saturday, there were a lot of rafts on the river. At one point Stefan was almost run over by a raft. There were also a lot of kayaks, so it was a challenge to get any time on the play spots on the river (places where you can surf on waves, for example).

Time was running short, and Brian was getting worried about getting back in time. I usually try not to bring up politics, but I've known Brian for quite awhile and know that Brian is very anti Obama (and has a sticker on his truck to prove it). So when he asked if we could make it off the river by 3:30, I said "YES, we can". You should have seen the look on his face.

I successfully ran Nantahala Falls in the play boat. This is very nice since I am below 50% on the falls. I generally hit the bottom hole, get flipped, then have to do a combat roll. I know I need to be more to the right and paddle HARD when I get around the top hole on the falls. Knowing and doing are separate things.

At 5:00 we met up for the swift water rescue class. We had the lecture portion of the class and watched a safety video, learned about gear, how to manage a rescue scene, the roles for each rescue participant, and the importance of preventing problems by reducing risky behaviors.

After class, we headed to the local Mexican restaurant in Bryson City: Guayabitos. It's not very good, but it's close and fast. However, I need to read the menu when I ask for the large beer. It was 32 oz! So we called it the "big ass beer". Good thing I wasn't driving.

Swift Water Rescue - Belly Flops into Current

The first thing we did for class was to practice using throw ropes, how to care for the ropes, and how to pack them.

On Sunday we had class on the Tuck. We put in in Dillsboro and worked on the following:

• Wading in current using a paddle
• Wading in current using a partner
• Wading in current using multiple people
• Swimming in current, which requires a modified belly flop into the water.
• Rescuing swimmers by having them on the stern and bow of your boat.
• Using a T rescue to help a flipped boater get upright
• Using the "hand of God" to flip over an overturned boater
  
• Using ropes to rescue people and gear, especially situations where the victim has a foot trapped.
  

The class consisted of people of different ages and boating skill levels, including a couple of teenage girls that were sisters. They would never be quiet. Ignoring them didn't help.

Towards the end of class, the instructors would randomly set up scenarios where we needed to rescue them. One of the teenage girls whined "You pick the most INCONVENIENT spots". Well. Duh. It's a realistic scenario then.

The class was very worthwhile and every kayaker should take it.

Do I hear Banjo Music? The Chattooga Section 3.5

The Chattooga runs between Georgia and South Carolina. Large portions of the movie "Deliverance" were shot on the Chattooga. Section 3 has some class III rapids while section 4 has some class IV and higher. Section 3.5 is the lower half of section 3 and the upper part of section 4, so you get some of each. The level was actually quite low, but still runnable and perfect for my first run.

Some people I know were going on the Ocoee that day, but I declined since some hadn't done it before and they weren't skipping the first couple of rapids. That was a good choice since we heard that there were a lot of Carolina Canoe Club people swimming on the river that day and a lot of gear floating downstream. The club gives out a "hole" award for the person that had the worst experience in a hole and the "lo jack" award for the longest separation between boater and gear. Both were awarded the next day for two of the people in the Ocoee group.

We gathered up our Chattooga group and headed to the river. It turns out the Chattooga is a very clean river and you can see to the bottom. To help keep the river clean, no paved roads are allowed within 1/4 mile of the river (except for the few roads that do cross the river). That meant a 1/4 mile carry of boats and gear down to the river, and back up at the take out. I did the trip twice at the putin since I carried down the shuttle driver's (Joan's) boat while she was setting up shuttle.

We had a huge group that day: 22 boaters. When we got to the big rapids, we broke up into three groups. I was in Chuck's group. Throughout the day we would yell "Chuck's group!". On Friday Chuck thought it was great when I yelled "Chuck's Group" when I saw him on the Nantahala.

We ran fun rapids like Swimmer's Rapid, Eight Ball, and Kick in the Butt. THEN came Bull Sluice. Bull Sluice is categorized as a class IV-V. At the low level, it was more like a III+. In the center of the rapid is "decapitation rock", and you stay FAR away from that. We all got out on river right to scout the rapid. You have two choices for running the rapid: the right side is a double drop with a lot of swirling water, the left side is a single drop, but you have to go over a pour over and boof off of the rock. We all chose to do the single drop. The rapid looked scary, and I was debating whether I should walk it or run it. Hmmm...some kids are running it and some people were running it multiple times. It can't be that bad!

The single drop requires you to get in an eddy on river left. The current wants to push you into the double drop. At the top of the eddy is a hole, which also wants to push you into the main current that goes over the double drop. I stayed so far left, I avoided the hole and made the eddy. I also was hung up on a rock for a second.

At the top of the rapid, all you see is a horizon line. You cannot see the bottom of the rapid. You have to know where the pour over is and the correct angle for your boat (aim for the guy with the throw rope). I lined up my boat, boofed over the pour over, and landed perfectly in the fluffy white water below. Cool!

Later on we came to a rapid called screaming left turn. Before entering the rapid, we broke up into our smaller groups (Chuck's group meet up!) and reviewed river signals. We were going to follow creeking protocol. You don't just run through the rapid, you eddy hop down. But you have communicate with boaters in front and behind. Those in front will tell you when to approach their eddy, you tell the people behind you when to approach your eddy.

While I was waiting in the last eddy, a canoe came through the rapid and became stuck on a rock. I saw the canoe fill with water, then the canoeist had to swim to shore. While all this is going on, I repeatedly gave the STOP signal to the people behind me. They were able to eventually pry the canoe off of the rock. The canoe was "oil canned" (it got a dent on the bottom).

After the 1/4 mile carry at the take out (which I did once), we loaded up gear and headed back to camp.

Since I carried her boat to the put it, Joan invited me to their campsite for dinner. Sure! However, they were cooking burgers on charcoal, and didn't light the charcoal until 10 pm. Even though dinner was as 10:45, the burgers were great, especially since I provided the pepper jack cheese.

Tsali - Ow Ow Ow

On Tuesday I took a rest day from kayaking. Not much was running, so it was a good day to try out the mountain bike trails in Tsali. The trails in Tsali are multi use and are shared between horseback riders, hikers, and mountain bikers. Only certain trails are open to mountain bikers on a given day of the week. On Tuesday the Mouse Branch and Thompson Loop trails were open, about 14 miles of trail.

I headed out and started on the Mouse Branch trail. The trails go along the shore of Fontana Lake, and you can get some great views. I'm flying along and am happy that the trail isn't too technical. Then, somehow, I manage to lose control of my bike and go flying over the handle bars and land on my left ribs. Some of the wind is knocked out of me, so I take a break. Nothing seemed to be broken, so I got back on the bike.



I rode the last 12 miles. The Thompson loop trail was great since the last three miles or so are all downhill. I then went to the River's End restaurant at the Nantahala Outdoor Center for pizza and beer, then headed back to camp. It turns out the easy up tent is a great place to take a nap under.

I did manage to hurt something in my ribs. Trying to sleep the next two nights was hard since it hurt to lie down and it REALLY hurt if I tried to sleep on that side. Deep breaths hurt and did coughing, sneezing, etc. I took Ibupofen for the swelling/pain and Benadryl to help me sleep. Other people in camp got me worried since they said I could have broken a rib, and if that's the case, it could cause lung capacity problems if it doesn't heal right. But I wasn't going to let it stop me. I had three more days of paddling! I just chose to not do anything too difficult. The left side, of course, is what I used for my onside kayak rolls.

After I got back home I saw the doctor, and it turns out I bruised some cartilage and got it inflamed. Likely nothing broken. My lungs were fine. But my doctor shook his head when I said I rode for 12 more miles and paddled the next three days.

The Pigeon - The Dirty Bird - Part I

Tuesday night brought thunderstorms, and water in my tent. The water came up from the bottom of the tent. The ground cover could be to blame (a part was sticking out). In any case, this is the second case of water in the tent, so we ordered a new tent.

I joined a group that was running the Pigeon River. The Pigeon is a bit more difficult that the Nantahala, but not as hard as the Ocoee. I wanted to learn the put in, take out, and rapids so that I could take people onto the river.

We had a great, fun group that day (Ron, Joe, Mark, Lacy, Grant, Sylvia). It did take a bit to herd the cats to get them moving. Grant thought it was funny since he said, "so you don't like to screw around either". Mark needed to send out work emails before we got to the river, so we decided to meet at the McDonalds in Bryson City since it has free (but SLOW) wifi access. Since we were waiting for the emails to be sent, we decided to get some food. Turns out it's the slowest McDonalds in the world. While in line, a large woman enters the restaurant. She asked if I was in line, and I said yes. Joe then says "and so are we". If looks could kill, Joe would be a burning cinder. The woman stormed out.

Getting on and off of the Pigeon is really easy. The put in is the first exit in Tennessee (exit 451) on I-40, and the take out is the next exit (exit 447). The take out is just before the second bridge you encounter on the river, and is gravel. No mud, muck, or poison ivy to go through. There are a lot of rafts on the Pigeon, and kayakers can pay the raft buses if they need a shuttle. Mark saw one kayaker who didn't have money for the shuttle pay with a bag of weed!

My only combat roll that day was at double reactionary rapid. I had no problems with accelerator or lost guide. It's funny how those rapids seemed so BIG last year. But I have put in quite a bit of time in the kayak since then.

Joe is a very good boater, and he was doing all sorts of rodeo moves in all of the play spots. Ron is the editor of the club's newsletter. Mark is a graphic designer, and he designed the CBC bike jerseys, which is funny since my wife is on the CBC cycling team.

On the way back we stopped at a pub restaurant in Sylva, O'Malleys. Nothing great, but we could buy beer in pitchers and we were hungry.

The Dirty Bird - Part Deux

Since the Pigeon has an odd release schedule, I decided to do it again. They were running a "first timer" Ocoee trip on Thursday, but they weren't skipping the first two rapids and I didn't want to push it since my ribs were still hurting. The Ocoee will still be there for another time.

It was a very different group dynamic than the previous day. In our shuttle vehicle, we had Steve (driver and from Mt. Airy), Bob (66 years old and from near Charlotte), Mary, and myself. Mark was the trip leader. Trish was running sweep.

After we were all on the river, we were waiting around forever. For what, I don't know. Trish and I talked, and we decided that I can run the first rapid and wait in an eddy below it. I managed to do a combat roll in the big wave trains, which was fine except for the fact that didn't have my nose plugs on.

At the bottom, Mark comes over and yells: "Mr. Kizer. Do you plan on leading this group?" After that I stayed in the middle of the pack. The funny thing is, the next morning I ran into Mark, and he thanked me over and over for my help, said we had such a good group, that it was a great trip, etc.

We stopped at Lost Guide for lunch. You could play on the hole at the bottom of the rapid or watch carnage.




At double reactionary I did an "unintendo". I flipped and rolled in the first reactionary wave. Then I hit the second wave head on. I went end of end in my boat, rolled, and went on my way. Other boaters cheered and thought I did it on purpose, that it was a planned rodeo move.

We headed straight back to camp, and I made my own plans for dinner. Sprint doesn't have coverage where I was at, so I needed to get to Dillsboro if I wanted to use the cell phone. I had BBQ in Dillsboro, then went to the Sylva (which is next door). EVERYTHING closed by 6 pm! The bakery closed at 5! I called Janyne to check in and to let her know when I planned to be back home Friday.

The SIX Essential Items

On Friday we got a group together to run the Nantahala and I planned to head home immediately afterwards. We had Joan (she was on the Chattooga trip), Mark and Lacy (from first Pigeon trip), Bill, Greg, and Nancy, and me.

Lacy was selling massage services at the campground and wanted to make an announcement at the 8:30 meeting. Joan wanted to leave at 8:30 so that we could get on the river as early as possible.

The problem is, we left Mark and Lacy at the campground! In kayaking, there are five essential gear items:

1. boat
2. paddle
3. PFD
4. Spray skirt
5. helmet

So we are adding a sixth essential item: boater.

When we were setting up shuttle, I was sure that I saw Mark drive by. He must have figured it out since he dropped off Lacy at the put in and met us at the take out.

It took quite awhile to get things moving, but we were finally on our way.

We all worked on kayaking skills such as ferries, catching eddies, creeking protocol, etc. I caught a couple of additional eddies above Nantahala Falls.

There was a lot of traffic on the river. Several of us were sitting in eddies by a rapid called root canal. A canoe came in a nearly sideswiped all of us.

I managed to hit the bottom hole on the falls, so I had to do a combat roll.

I made sure that the rest of the group saw that I was ok and got off the river. I loaded up the gear, changed into dry clothes, and hit the highway. It was a great week of rivers and hopefully next year I can be there the full week again.

Additional Links

• Additional photos I took
• Chattooga 3.5 trip report from Chuck, the trip leader
• Video Joan shot of people (including me) getting into the eddy before Bull Sluice on the Chattooga. I am towards the end of the video.

Outer Banks 2009

We made our regular May Outer Banks trip with the girls. On Friday drove to Manteo for lunch and then went to the beach. Both Hannah and Emma had a great time on the beach. We stayed at our regular campground. On Saturday morning DH went kayak surfing while I rode my bike. The cycling options are limited. You can go north on NC 12 or south on NC 12. It was extremely windy that weekend and I had the pleasure of riding into a 20+ mph wind for the first part of my ride. The good news is the tailwind on the way back. The wind was not quite as bad on Sunday.

On Saturday afternoon went to Ocracoke. This involved a 40 minute ferry ride from Hatteras to Ocracoke. The Girls usually love the ferry but on the way there, it was so windy they were not comfortable. On the return trip, however, Emma adopted a girl and trained her to pet her the entire way back. Yes, 40 minutes of undivided attention. Emma was very pleased.

While on Ocracoke we saw a shop called Ride the Wind. Since I know someone with a blog called Ride the Wind so I took some pictures. We walked around the village and stopped at a neat coffee shop and did a little shopping (a very little, we had the Girls with us after all!)

Since we went south on Saturday we headed north on Sunday. Our main destination was the Corolla Lighthouse and a picnic at the Whalehead Club there.

As always, we had a great time. I look forward to my next trip to the Outer Banks. It's a very special place.

Beach vacation

After completing the Bike MS double century, we had a much needed vacation. On Monday, our big decision was beach or pool. We decided on the beach in the morning and the pool in the afternoon. I read my book and rested my eyes periodically in both locales. The water was nice. The sand was soft. What more could I ask for?

We did some outlet shopping as well. I had a quest to try on 100 pairs of jeans but stopped just short of that after finding a few pairs that fit nicely.

DH and I went to Friendly's one night. That is something that I like to do when we are in Myrtle Beach. In high school my friend Pam and I went to Friendly's frequently and dealt with our teen aged angst by splitting Jim Dandy's.

Another night we saw Burn After Reading.  I really had to see it after catching a glimpse of the trailer where Chad (played by Brad Pitt) says, "He thinks it's a Schwinn!"  I enjoyed the film quite a bit.  I like most of the Coen Brother's films though and I generally enjoy Frances McDormand's roles in their movies.

The beaches at Myrtle Beach are really great. The traffic there can be pretty bad but since we tend to go at the tail end of the season, it's OK. I do wish that the food there was better. Whenever we are there, I feel like I am in the chain food capital of the world. You'd think that since it was a beach, good seafood would be abundant. Someday we'll find some good local places!

Double Century!

One weekend, 200 miles -- done!

Last weekend I completed the Bike MS ride in New Bern, NC. Each day, I rode the 100 mile route and I completed my first double century. My first 100 mile ride was only this May and I'm pretty pleased!

We arrived on Friday afternoon and found that my teammates had already set up a nice camping area for us. I'm not sure how many of my teammates ended up camping but 23 of the 84 riders on my team and registered to camp. We had a nice central tent and we hung out there until happy hour -- one of the advantages of being on a team sponsored by a brewery.

Saturday started out early with a 6:30 wake up call. The organizers must have thought that we would not be able to get ourselves up because they blasted us with a burst of music at 6:30. I had intended to get up about then anyway, having set the alarm on my cell phone for that time. The blast of music was a bit surprising though.

The ride started out at 8:00 with all of the 75-mile riders and all of the 100-mile riders in one big start. We were asked to line up by speed, which helped a lot until the routes for the two distances split and rejoined. When the routes rejoined, there was a lot of traffic with faster 100 mile riders joining slower 75 mile riders.

I started with a large group of Team CBC riders and we stuck together for a long time. The group skipped the first rest stop and stopped at the second one, about 25 miles into the ride. The routes split after that a few riders took the turn off for the 75-mile route. The rest of us continued past rest stop 3 to the lunch stop at mile 52. There was rest stop food, lunch food and even a band! Some of our group had fallen back and we tried to regroup at that point but had limited success.

A small group of us continued on with plans to stop again at mile 75. Unfortunately, between mile 52 and mile 75 we encountered a bad headwind. I averaged 20.4 mph for the first 52 miles and we were barely able to maintain 18 mph into the wind. Our group dwindled the three riders -- Scott, Roger and me. We stopped ad mile 75 and ran into Tim and Jon but they were just leaving the stop. We were able to team up with a large group from Selma Cyclopaths and we rode to mile 82 with them. When they stopped, we decided to stop briefly and regroup as a Team CBC unit. Five of us headed into New Bern together but we ended up breaking into two groups over the bridge. Roger and I finished together. Overall, I was pleased with the ride but slightly disappointed in my speed. I had hoped to break 20 mph and I average 19.8 -- finishing in exactly 4:58:00 minutes but the route came out to 99 miles on my bike computer. I did not realize how close I was until the next day when someone told me he finished in 4:54 and average 20.2.

On Saturday night after dinner, the organizers played Breaking Away for us on an outdoor screen. I hadn't seen it in a long time. I was struck by the "pre helmet" time frame! I have to admit, I did not make it to the end of the movie. I can't imagine why I was tired!

After talking to several teammates, it seemed that the plan for Sunday was to go slower -- about 18 mph -- and focus more on finishing the double century than on speed. Before we even left, the plan seemed to be coming apart. I had hoped to ride with Tim and Jon as well as Scott and Roger. Scott said he was going 75 rather than 100 and Tim was in street clothes, not spiffy spandex. Surprisingly, I found them both on the ride and both ended up riding the 100 mile route. Go Team CBC!

Our plan also called for skipping the first rest stop and refueling at mile 25 or so as we did on Saturday. Several of my teammates pulled off at the first stop (later I found out that some of them ended up riding the 30 mile route). When we stopped a quarter of the way in, I talked to Tim and asked if he was pulling my leg earlier about not riding. He said it was a last minute change of plans to join us and I told him that I was glad that he changed is mind. I talked to a few other people and was told to get the show on the road and we left.

We stopped again at mile 50 where they were lunch and homemade ice cream. I made a bee line for the ice cream, found some lunch and took care of other essentials. I turned to Jon and said, "Isn't that Tim's bike?" He said that it was. I was disconcerted because his bike wasn't with the rest of our group's stuff. We saw Tim a minute later and he said that we had left him at the rest stop! He was in the bathroom when we pulled out. Oops!

We stopped at mile 62 to pick up our double century patches and were sure to keep track of Tim this time. We planned to stop again at mile 82. Unfortunately, our group had an accident occur before then.

We were a large enough group that we were riding two abreast in a double pace line. I was at the front of the line on the left and the person leading the right side of the pace line was a Bike Marshal (B.M.) -- a rider designated as a special helper. I've ridding with him before and he's a strong rider and overall good guy. Our group approached two cyclists were on the side of the road repairing a flat. B.M. said, "You OK?" They replied that they needed a pump. B.M. hit his brakes quickly in his enthusiasm to help the rider with the flat. Roger ran into B.M.'s rear wheel and went down, landing on his shoulder and head. Roger's shoulder was separated and his helmet cracked. Tim, who I believe was directly behind Roger, avoided hitting him. It could have been much worse for the group.

Once Roger was down, I don't know that the organizers could have done any better. We were able to flag down a motorcycle almost immediately. We got Advil (courtesy of a rider in the group) and ice (from the motorcycle) right away. We got a 911 call in as well as a call to our team captain and it seemed like 5 minutes later there was an ambulance for "the body" (yes, they said The Body!) and a vehicle for the bike. Roger will be off the bike for the next 6-8 weeks.

After the accident, we went on to finish the ride. We were all pretty shaken up by the incident.

Surprisingly, I finished the second century in 4:58:14. Again, the distance was closer to 99 than 100 and again, I finished with an average speed of 19.8. I'll just have to go back next year to try for a 20+ average speed!

After the ride, I changed clothes, grabbed something to eat and we drove to Myrtle Beach. After checking into the hotel, we headed to the seafood buffet of my choice. When we got back to the hotel, I called my parents to share my news. My dad answered.

I rode 200 miles this weekend.

That's nice.

I followed up, 200 miles is a lot to ride in a weekend.

Yes it is, he replied.

Updates: My Bike MS Photo Album, information about Team CBC's injured reserve from the local paper.

Preparing for the pet sitter

Last week we used a pet sitter while we were out of town. We have not left the Girls with a pet sitter before and I was not quite sure what information to leave for her. I prepared a list of Hannah's regime and asked some dog friends what other information would be good to provide.

• If your pet is on medication, leave detailed instructions on its use, even if you tell your pet sitter verbally how it's administered.
  
• Any quirks that your dogs may have
  
• Name and number of your vet
  
• Your cell phone numbers, or a number for an alternate emergency contact person
• Letter of permission with the pet sitter, allowing them to seek veterinary care
• Notify the vets of when we were out of town, who was watching the dogs
  
• Even if dropping off food, type of food and favorite treats

The basic template that I used was provided by a friend and modified for our use.

The dogs are:

• Hannah: chocolate lab (14 yo)
• Emma: golden retriever (6 yo)

I listed any quirks the dogs have here. For example, if it is dark, Hannah will want to go out the front door. Emma has gator jaws and we have worked with her on this but beware.

I also listed information about talking the dogs for a walk. For example, Hannah has a limited range and both girls know how to walk nicely on a leash, heel, etc. Don't let them tell you otherwise.

Schedule:

Breakfast time
Dinner Time
Any snacks

Even though food is being left, list name and amount of food "just in case."

Medications and supplements

Hannah has an extensive medication list. I included that in a separate section.

Contact information:

• DH and me
• a local emergency contact
• our vet

The ABCs of our North Carolina mountain vacation

Last week we had the opportunity to go to the North Carolina mountains for several days. DH and I have been wanting to get out of town but with Hannah's health issues we have not wanted to board her so we were looking for a place to go that welcomed Hannah and Emma. A friend of mine very generously let us stay at her house in western North Carolina. The setting was beautiful! We cannot thank her enough for her kindness.

On our vacation, we wanted to have some activities for the Girls as well as for us. DH went kayaking and I went biking and the Girls went to Yappy Hour. It was a wonderful and relaxing vacation and we had some adventures along the way.

A is for Automotive
B is for Biking
C is for Canine

Automotive Adventures

We left home on Wednesday morning and took I-40 west from Raleigh, through Greensboro and Winston-Salem. Everything was going great until the approach to Asheville. We got just past the exit for Old Fort and I-40 stopped. We were in the Outback. The Outback has a standard (not automatic) transmission. We were on a 6% grade approaching the Eastern Continental Divide.

Stop. Roll. Stop. Roll. Stop. Roll.

Time passes and after about 45 minutes. We are still several miles to the next exit. Bad smells emit from the car. Paper factory smells. The odor reminds me of a time not so long ago when we ended up replacing the clutch. Way back in... June.

Bad things happened to the clutch. The smell gets stronger. Stress levels begin to rise. We pulled off on the shoulder and traffic inches forward.

I pulled the mutt mats out of the car on the shoulder in the shade of the car and the girls laid down. After several phone calls for advice, we determined that after the clutch had cooled (smoking clutch, never a good sign), we could proceed to Cullowhee. We were told to let the clutch cool overnight and see how things were in the morning. The next morning, the clutch was worse. We went back to Asheville (50+ miles each way), dropped the car at the Subaru dealer for repair. We had just replaced the clutch in June after 85,000+ miles on it. We got a rental RAV4. Went back, goofed off. That afternoon we got a message that the car was ready (woo hoo!). It turned out that it was the clutch but linkage between the clutch itself and the pedal.

The next morning, DH offered to do the round trip to swap the cars back. He left me with Hannah and Emma. On his way back to Asheville in the RAV4, a rock hit the window and broke it. Oh. My. Gosh. I think that we were both wondering if things could go downhill from there.

Biking Adventures

I was able to get some nice mountain rides in during our stay in Cullowhee. Thanks to the folks at Motion Makers bike shop in Sylva. They posted lots of routes and I used several of them -- including the Tuesday Night Ride from Sylva to Balsam (which I did on Friday morning) and Caney Fork, which I did every other day up there since we were staying near Caney Fork. Below is the profile for the Caney Fork route.

The scenery on all of three routes was just amazing.

On Saturday morning I wanted something a bit longer so I tried Caney Fork-John's Creek. Mistake. Big Mistake. I was riding up John's Creek which is pretty steep so I was going about 12 mph. About a third of the way up John's Fork, two Jack Russell Terriers started to chase me. I was able to to pick it up to about 14 mph but that was not enough. They were not chasing me for fun. They were chasing me for breakfast. Barking. Snarling. Biting. Yes, biting me! One of them got me in the right calf. After I got away from they I rode for several minutes more and stopped to check the damage. My leg was really stratch up and already starting to bruise. I continued up John's Creek and when I went turn around for the descent, I checked my leg again and it was starting to bleed. I rinsed it off with my water bottle and thought about looking for the number on the mailbox near the JRTs. When I approached that area, though one of the terriers started to chase me again. I noticed his collar wablue but was busy trying to avoid a second bite so I did not get the house number.. It's developed into a really large bruise. Jackson County Animal Control was called. Mostly I want to make sure that the dogs both are up-to-date on rabies. I don't want to do a rabies series, thankyouverymuch.

Canine Adventures

When we first got to my friend's place in Cullowhee, Hannah was a bit put out. Part of the issue was that it was getting late so the lighting was not great and another part, I'm sure, is that she is pretty sensative and with the car issues, I'm sure that she knew that we were not 100% into vacation mode just yet.

On Thursday morning, though, Hannah was much better. We dealt with the car on Thursday morning and when we got back we took the Girls to Dillsboro. Hannah and Emma got into the water near the Tuckaseegee River where Dillsboro has a dog park. Hannah was very happy to get her feet wet. They got to go to Mountain Dog Bakery and I got to go to Dillsboro Chocolate Factory.

On Friday, DH did the car exchange while the Girls and I remained at the house. The driveway to the house is quite steep and there is a beautiful creek at the bottom. Hannah loves loves loves the water and I thought that she would enjoy the creek. The three of us went outside and I started down the driveway. Hannah and Emma followed. Then decided that she Emma did not want to come down the driveway. Hannah and I continued down to the creek and Emma waited. She was like, "I'll be on the porch, OK?"

Emma stops and watches us go down the driveway.

Hannah continues down to the creek.

On Friday evening, Hannah and Emma took us to Yappy Hour at Mountain Dog Bakery. Both Girls scored some additional treats. Then on Saturday, while DH was kayaking, they waded in the Nantahala. Both Hannah and Emma really enjoyed that.

Despite some, uh, challenges -- we had a great vacation. I think that all of us are already ready to go back!