Can Lake Recon Road Trip!

August 29th

Road trip time! There's nothing like hitting the road with good friends. And if there's lots of running involved well, even better. This road trip was all about Can Lake course recon.

 

Our crew consisted of Carol "It's Just a Training Run" Shuford, Pam "What's Up Doc" Coleman, and Nicolas "Crazy Train Conductor" Nouvel. We had booked some cheap rooms at the swanky Miami Motel and had the Rolling Aid Station SUV (RASSUV) loaded  down with supplies-- we were set!

 

We met up with our new friend, Matt, and kicked off the run as the sun was coming up on West Lake Drive. 



The Can Lake course is 50 miles of road wrapped around Lake Canandaigua in the Finger Lakes region of New York. It's hilly and beautiful and challenging and I love it.

 

We had mapped out a point-to-point run and used the SUV as an aid station. The plan worked like a charm! 

West Lake Drive is the prettiest part of the course. You're running right by the lake past gorgeous homes with pretty boathouses to match.

 

This is my favorite view from one of the highest points on the course: 

About 15 miles in is the infamous Bopple Hill. It's a monster climb with a 17% incline at certain points. It just keeps going and going and going up some more!

 





Everyone got some good quality time on Bopple.  What's Up Doc gets extra credit here because she made an unscripted turn onto the Hicks Road-Hill-From-Hell and had to backtrack downhill and then take on Bopple! Ay-yi-yi!

 

SRab motored on up and made it look easy! She is a hill climbing machine!

At the top of Bopple is a nice resting place...

But there's no resting for this Silly Rabbit! She's keeping the burpee tradition alive!

 

Me? I drove the RASSUV and did some out-n-backs at our refueling stops. Once we hit Monica's Pies, I turned the RASSUV over to Nicolas and hit the asphalt to finish off my miles. By then it was blistering hot and I was sooo glad I had a mere 5 miles left to hit my 15 mile goal for the day!

 

Took a left on Parrish Road and ran around the south end of the lake to the east side. Eventually I caught up with Matt and we shuffled along until the RASSUV came to our rescue. 

 

 



 

What better way to celebrate a successful Can Lake Recon Run than with ice cream on the banks of Can Lake?

 

 

Can't wait to get back here in October and kick some Can Lake butt!!  But before I wrap this up, I have to show you how we ended the day. 

It's called the Ring of Fire!  Wellll....my pic doesn't do it justice, so let's bring in a professional:

 

 

The Ring of Fire is a Can Lake tradition. On the Saturday before Labor Day everyone lights flares and sets them on the shoreline creating---ta da---a ring of fire! Fireworks light up the sky and people hang out and watch the show.  It's their way of saying farewell to summer...

 

And as we stood there in the dark, staring out at the lights and the fireworks, I felt a bit of sadness. End of summer means end of epic Can Lake training....and it's been quite a journey this year. Isn't it always?

 

That's what I love about this stuff:  You pick a big fat goal race, round up some willing friends, throw in assorted training races, spice it up with a 4.4 mile swim, and train your heart out. Race day comes and you cash in all those miles of sweating and suffering for a glorious trip across the finish line. Sharing it with friends makes it priceless.

 

We are so ready for you, Can Lake. Bring it on!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wild 20 Run

August 9th

You're out of bed at sunrise. Slip into your favorite hi-tech, sweat-wicking combo. Wriggle your feet into your trusty Asics. Drive the usual route to your usual running trail and park in the usual spot.

You know every rise and fall of this trail, every crook and bend and dip.  It's....comfortable, reliable, predictable. It's boring, even. But you file that into the "mental training" category.

Then...out of the blue....you decide to take a random right. And then an unscripted left. You're on a new road, in  a new neighborhood. This is new territory.

That street looks interesting-- turn!  This one has a nice downhill --fine, keep going straight....or don't!  It doesn't really matter today.

You have only a vague notion of where you are, and no idea of where you're headed. But that's the point. This is wild runnin'!  And you love the randomness of it. To heck with the familiar, today you're going rogue!

Your pace ticks up a notch and the giddiness kicks in as you savor the newness. Pretty soon you're in a different neighborhood, on a shady lane, running by pastel-colored Victorian charmers. You've got 20 on your schedule and it doesn't matter how you get there, just that you get it done.

Around the next bend is an Amish farmer's market..

... tables covered with crates of fruits and veggies, buckets filled with sunflowers and daffodils.

 

You hear the ting, ting, ting of a railroad crossing and realize there's a commuter train station across the street.

How lucky is this? You could hop on the next train, ride to the next stop, get off and run back! Take this wild runnin' thing to a new level!

 Yeah, you're that crazy, but maybe leave that one for another day. Time to head back to the car to refuel. Hmmm.....that's if you can find your way back!

Riley's Rumble

August 3rd

With just two months to go to Can Lake, and our grueling, long August runs going full force, we were ready to ruuummmble at Riley's. A mere half marathon? Meh, child's play.

Or not. This race had some serious hills! But Carol, Nicolas, and I knew this going in...and we decided to incorporate it into a longer run.  Carol "The Machine" Shuford was wrapping a 30-something run around Riley's. And I had 18 miles on my rogue training schedule.

 

We blasted off and pretty soon I was playing tag with an older man whose shirt read "Antique but still running.." And he was running ahead of me and was soon out of sight! I was in slow motion on those hills.

The quiet, rural roads...the green rolling hills...the easy camaraderie with the other runners... yeah, all of that was great. But THE BEST part of Riley's Rumble was the popsicles --AKA Electrolyte Freeze Pops!

I opted for the One-More-Hill-and-I'll-Collapse Cherry. Yum! Why don't other races do this?

The volunteers were amazing too... I loved this race!

At the 8 mile mark I still had a 10 mile run ahead of me. It was a rough one-- the humidity, the sore feet, the lack of energy. I suppose the mileage buildup is taking a toll! But it can always be worse, right?

 

Can Lake bound in two months.

 

 

Mad Marathon Race Report

July 6
How to describe the Mad Marathon? Let's see....scenic, hilly, hard, absolutely mad! The first 17 miles of the course seemed to be all uphill. Actually, there was a two mile downhill thrown in there, but sheesh! I hardly noticed it.

This race was yet another roll of the dice. I had only trained up to 17 miles...and had no idea how much the hills would slow me down. My game plan was to walk the uphills and run the rest. Success would be finishing under 8 hours. Crazy, I know.

The race was held in Vermont's Mad River Valley, with all its barns-in-the-country-charm. Why, even the path to the outdoor expo was a veritable floral showcase!

This being the Fourth of July weekend, everything was decked out in red, white, and blue.



We were in cow country, for sure! Silly Rabbit, AKA Carol "It's Only A Training Run" Shuford, is the reason I did this race. When she told me how pretty it is, I jumped on board. Her brother graciously let us stay at his home in Montpelier; all we had to do was show up!

Mooooo

We had an action-packed day before the race. First stop was the expo, where this helpful alert notified us of the "special" aid station at mile 22. So it looks like if you doubt you're 21, you should carry your ID to remind yourself...

From the expo we headed up the mountain to Sugarbush Ski Resort and took the ride to the top. I have zero experience with ski lifts, so it was a bit nerve-wracking getting on and off. Lot's of nervous laughter.

Saw some bikes on the way up too!

The view on the way down was amazing. That's the Sugarbush resort way down there at the end of the line.

 

Race Day! 

I kind of like jumping into the unknown, living on the edge of my comfort zone. This race definitely took me there! It would be the hilliest marathon I've ever run.  As we stood at the start line waiting to go, I wondered how it would all turn out. The next time I saw this piece of asphalt I would be headed for the finish line. Oh happy thought. 

Ready to rock it!

 Aaaannnnd we're off!!

We hit two covered bridges within the first few miles. So far, so good.

And then we hit the first loooong uphill.

 This being just a training run and all, we had to stop for a selfie in front of a covered bridge.

Now here's something I haven't seen in a race before! Ranchers who live along the route brought out a couple of bulls and some baby cows and let them stand right there on the side of the road! No fence, no....leash....just right there a few feet away from us. So naturally I had to stop for a pic! I'm trying to give him a kiss...


Notice how he tilts his head toward me?

The volunteers, the spectators --everyone was just so nice!

 

Here's how the rest of it went, written in rap in honor of the rappin' rabbits of Team Rabbit!

 

Cruising along on the highest runners' high

STUK was smiling and chatting and slapping high fives! 

The aid stations were stocked, the volunteers cheery

Except for this one guy-- he was grouchy and dreary!

The ultimate Scrooge --with a scowl and a frown

But STUK wasn't about to let him get her down!

"Hey thanks for waiting!" She jovially shouted

But Scrooge said nothing -- just stood there and pouted!

"Did you see a rabbit run by?" STUK said with a grin

Scrooge looked at her like he just lost his best friend!

She spotted some salt and said "I'll have some of this"

"All I need is a shot of tequila --now that would be bliss!"

But with Scrooge looking scroogier, STUK said "See ya later!"

And she thought to herself:  Ain't nobody got time for this hater!

 

 

Up, up, up to the top of the mountain they climbed

Until STUK finally said, "What the heck? Am I blind?"

"Where's the big downhill? WHERE IS IT?!" She cried

She was starting to think that maybe they lied!

 

"The Dip" - straight up, straight down. Pic doesn't do it justice! 

With the sun beating down at mile 22

She gulped down some Gatorade and popped another GU.

And before she knew it, she was feeling just fine!

Finally, the big downhill-- all the way to the finish line!

SRab was waiting to give STUK her cool bling

Mad Marathon in the books--and another state too! Cha-ching!

 

The Mad Marathon Countdown is ON!

It's a mad, mad world and that's why I went rogue and signed up for the Mad River Marathon in Vermont, coming up on July 6th. Rogue, because Coach suggested I bump down to the half, given my training plan has me running only 14 miles by race day; but I secretly jacked up my training schedule so that I could run the full marathon as planned. Shhhh! Don't tell him.
 

A few months ago when  Silly Rabbit, AKA SRab, AKA Carol, told me she was doing this mad, mad marathon, I just knew I was mad enough to do it!  After all, it's billed as The World's Most Beautiful Marathon:

 You will be running through this extraordinary rural community on back and
dirt roads, with breathtaking views of the Green Mountains, challenging rolling
farmlands with tough climbs and descents, quaint villages, historic barns, covered
bridges and fields of our famous Vermont cows!

What's not to love?

 Well....

Lots of hillz -- in fact, this may be the hilliest marathon I've ever run! However, I endured 50 miles of hills at Can Lake, so I'm going to let the hills of the Mad River Valley be someone else's problem.

That's not to say it will be easy. Between long weekend swims and lots of travel, my longest training run was17 miles this past Saturday. So yeah, Coach was probably right about the mileage situation....

But I'll just keep telling myself it's only a training run....only a training run...

Great Chesapeake Bay Swim 2014

What a wild ride it was! The 2014 Bay Swim tossed me up and down, slapped me around and put up a good fight. In the end, the Bay won....but I'm not feeling defeated. 

 

The big take-away for me from this year's swim was that it's not "all about the current," as I had thought. The waves and chop can also take a toll on forward progress. But I was so focused on the current---especially after last year's swimming-in-place adventure---that I figured that's really all I had to worry about. And this year's swim was timed for maximum avoid-the-worst-of-the-current success. What could possibly go wrong?



Here We Go!

When I stepped on the beach at Sandy Point I felt well prepared for success. I was swimming faster this year, thanks to some strength training and probably the stroke-tweaking I got at the Sheila T workshop. And while the water wasn't as calm as last year, it didn't look bad. We seemed to be in for a perfect day on the bay. With the current hitting later in the swim, I was sure I could do this!



Z Bay Swim Crew

Adding to the fun -- we had a nice crew of Team Zers swimming!

The Rappin' Rabbits Will Rock It!

Team Rabbit was in the house, Tracey was back for her second Bay Swim, and  Janet, Rich, Carol, Mark, and other Zs and significant others had come to cheer us on!

Thanks, guys!

Here's how it went this year:

Mile 1 - The current was pushing us in the right direction as we swam for the bridge. I felt like I was swimming into some small rollers, but I managed to avoid much contact with other swimmers. So far, so good.

All was well as I turned left and began the swim between the spans.

Made it to the Mile 1 buoy in 38 minutes, right on track.

Mile 2 - This was the best stretch of water we encountered during the swim. I'm guessing it was slack tide because the chop seemed to calm a bit. It did pick up in the channel, as expected, but I wasn't feeling any current yet, unlike last year at this point.

The slack tide was with me at Mile 2

Mile 3 - It got rougher after the 2 mile buoy and just kept building. I started to feel the pull of the current and swam over to the right side of the "lane" to compensate. Approaching the 3 mile buoy I checked my watch. I had been swimming over 2 hours and my energy was waning. I decided that once I cleared the 3 mile marker I would move farther to the right and then stop for a GU.

This is where Kayak Escort Guy joined me. He was keeping an eye on me and another yellow capper who had been swimming nearby for most of the swim. It's always nice to have some company!

Mile 4 -  By now the chop had kicked in full force and we were getting some whopping rollers. Unfortunately, the rollers were coming from the same side as the current, so we had to fight both.

Where Things Got Interesting

One of the kayakers wrote this about the conditions in his blog:

While air temps and humidity were pleasant, the bay was choppy with strong currents, which was swept by brisk and steady winds that generated 1.5 ft chop and some 2.5 ft rollers.  

I was really feeling the current, but it didn't come close to the ridiculous current at Nanticoke or at last year's Bay Swim, so I felt confident I was going to make it. Yes, I would finish this year's Bay Swim! Redemption for last year's DNF! I just knew it. There was no way I wouldn't make it at this point -- I had plenty of time to finish and beat the cutoff. ETA would be right around 2pm (3 hours, 30 minutes). No worries.

So...I decided I would have time for a brief GU stop. I popped up and Kayak Escort Guy paddled over. He asked me my name and gave me a quick pep talk as I tried to hang on to the bucking kayak and take my GU. I knew this would set me back a bit as the current began sweeping the kayak toward the other side of the swim lane, but I kept it quick and knew that I could fight my way back into position. Still no worries.

But while the current was fightable, the washing machine chop, swells, and waves were taking a toll. Perhaps I didn't realize how much it was slowing me down because I was having so much fun! I was getting wacked by the rollers coming from the right. Lifted up and smacked down in the chop. OMG! It just kept coming! I was getting thrown around like a toy boat. It was a wild, rockin' ride and I loved it.

Between Miles 3 and 4

I knew I would be cutting it close so I kicked and pulled harder and tried to pick up my turnover and just punch through it. Yay for weak-side breathing practice because breathing to the right was proving too difficult. I was closing in on the 4 mile buoy -- it was just a few yards away. Yes! I was doing this!

Until I wasn't.

"Sally, Sally! We're getting pulled." I glanced up to see Kayak Escort Guy next to me and figured he was kidding, so I kept swimming.
 "Sally! Sally!"
"Whaaa??"
"You have to stop. We're getting pulled."
"Wait -we're what?"
"You missed the cutoff. You're gonna have to get out."
"Seriously? But the buoy is right there! I'm so close -- just a few more strokes.."
"Sorry. It's 1:46. The cutoff was at 1:45."
"But I'm almost there..."
"Sorry - they're saying you have to come in."

I checked my watch and sure enough, I had been swimming for 3 hours, 15 minutes. The 4 mile cutoff was at 3:15 into the swim (1:45pm). Rules are rules. Sigh.

A guy on a jet ski pulled up to give me a ride to one of the boats that would take me in.  I looked back and couldn't see any swimmers behind me. Glanced up ahead and saw a swimmer just beyond the 4 mile marker. A couple of other swimmers were fighting the current head on to get to the final left turn for the finish line. They seemed to barely be inching forward.

Keeping it real here, I doubt I would have made the finish line cutoff in the half hour remaining, given that final swim into the current. But I was pumped that the other Zs made it! Congrats to all!

What's Next?
When I got pulled during last year's Bay Swim, I immediately knew I would be back this year to try again. But, sipping a Gatorade on the fancy boat ride in this time, I wasn't feeling it.  I was thinking maybe my 3 year love affair with swimming was over. Maybe it's time to move on to other adventures....get back on the bike....start knocking off some continents on my marathon list....

But I've always said when it stops feeling like a big adventure, I'll stop doing it. And the bottom line is, I had a blast on my journey across the bay. I didn't make the finish line, but I had fun trying! Another Bay Swim adventure in the books.

Will I be back next year? I'm not sure. Maybe I'll let the lottery decide for me. Or maybe there's a nice calm lake swim calling my name...