9 Weeks Out from the General Clinton 70 Mile Canoe Regatta…

We had a great time in Florida, we met a lot of great new people and had a great time with old friends.  We returned home last week to Monday snow flurries, that was like a slap in the face to say the least.  Last week was a down week for us training wise.  We both were a bit run down from all the paddling in Florida and the travel home, not to mention a good chest cold we both fought all week.  We didn’t get out in the boat during the week due to the combination of the poor weather and not feeling great.  We paddled Saturday on the Nashua River in our recreational canoe (the barge) just to get out in it.  We have The Westfield river race in three weeks and that boat turns really easy and is heavy so it is good to practice in it before we actually race in it.

On Sunday we headed out to the Millers River in Athol.  We got there at 10am it was about 27 degrees by the car thermometer and the parking lot was already full.  I love the Athol Crew!  We started upstream with a group of maybe 6 boats, the infamous Peter Heed with Paul Facteau, The two Jason’s, Brent Lyesik and John Berry, Tom Ellsworth and Carina Peritore, Dennis Carey and Emma Ross.  It was a great crew and there were many others boats on the river practicing for the upcoming Rat Race.  Terese and I did not feel too good, we felt like we didn’t have our normal power or pop.  I think we both still may have had a lot of lactic acid in the muscles, and this being the first hard effort since Florida everything was breaking up.  I had cramps and a general heavy feeling towards the end of the cold paddle.  We managed to stay with the group and had a decent paddle despite the cool breeze (20mph and wind chill in the low twenties).  We are feeling pretty optimistic about our training so far.   We have many more hours than we have ever had this early and I don’t think we have fully absorbed the hard hours from the Florida trip yet. 


 

Here is a video of us popping the boat in some shallow water down in Florida.  We love that shallow water!  Thanks to Devin Arenz for the great videography.

Last long paddle with the group in Florida

Yesterday we returned home from Florida.  The last few days were kind of a blur.  We paddled on Friday on the Wekiva river.  We have been paddling a quite a bit with a group from Minnesota.  On Friday I paddled stern with Ed Arenz and Terese paddled with Todd Johnson.  It was great to have paddled with some new people and I enjoyed being in the stern again. 

We started out on our journey headed up a pretty windy and shallow little stream on rock creek spring, with hopes to make it to the top of the spring. Unfortunately there was not much water in this section of the river so after about a half an hour or so some of the group turned around and headed back down stream, once we noticed we lost a few boats we all turned around as a group and headed down to find them. As we made our way down to the Wekiva River we asked a few other rec paddlers if they had seen anyone go by in similar boat and sure enough lots of people had seen them so we knew we were on the right track, especially since you could really only go two ways up where we were or downstream. We caught up with the boats soon enough and decided to have a quick little snack in the boat. Normally one would think a granola bar or fruit would be ideal but the bow person in my boat Todd, from Minnesota had other plans. He asked that I pull closer to another boat near us so he could use there deck as a table. I wasn’t to sure what he was planning so of course I obliged the request, as we got closer to Christina and Julie, Todd began pulling out all the fixings for a full deli. I have seen a lot of things in my time in the boat but cold cuts packed under a seat hadn’t crossed my mind. After the Minnesotan’s whipped up a few sandwiches and quickly ate we were on our way. That’s the nice thing about being in Florida, lots of different paddlers and all sorts of fun personalities to meet along the way. Knowing this would be our last day on the water with the group I think we all had a little extra silliness in us. We finished out the trip with three and half hours logged in and lots of laughs along the way. We said our goodbyes to the Minnesotans and Jeff, Christina, Betsy, Travis and I made our way more east to Jeff and Susan’s home for one last night in sunny Florida.

We ended out the week with a short paddle on the intercoastal waterway near Jeff's home bringing our total hours for the week up to 29 hours, not bad for a weeks worth of vacationing. Hopefully we make our way back down to Florida and get to paddle with all the great people again soon.

Todd making sandwiches on the boat deck, one of the most interesting things I have seen done in a canoe.

Day Five, The Wiki Wachee River, St. Pattys Day

This river was a perfect run for our St Patty’s Day in Florida, as we put in we came around the first few corners to the most beautiful emerald green waters I have ever seen. This river was pretty, twisty, and turny with lots of very shallow spots which was great for Travis and I. We made our way up to the Spring which fed the river at a very quick pace. Again we left the put in with the intentions of seeing some manatees since we heard that this was a popular hang out for them. We weren’t 15 minutes into the paddle and along came a little baby manatee just leisurely floating down the crystal clear green waters. We moved on pretty quickly since we were on a mission to make it up to the top quickly. There was some new company today, some teenagers from Minnesota had come out and were all paddling these little tiny kayaks. It was great fun talking to them and getting out for a quick swim here and there along the river.  We made it up and down the river in about 2 hours and 40 minutes and decided to stop for some lunch.

After the break we headed back onto the water to a much busier scene, this river was pretty well used, they had kayak and canoe rentals at the top near the spring so we had many “obstacles” along the way. We did a little more playing around with everyone racing up to the top of the river quickly and back down again since time was really getting away from us.  As we were getting closer to the bottom of the run some sunbathers who were hanging out by the rivers edge told us they had just seen a momma and baby manatee float by. Jeff and Julie were ahead of us and were the first to spot the pair, of course we slowed down as soon as we could and floated right over the pair. They were the most graceful looking creatures and just seemed to float down with ease even though the momma was almost as large as one of the canoes. The baby followed closely of course and we even got to see them come up for a few breaths which was an amazing site. One sad thing to see on this beautiful animal was a pretty large scar on top of the mommas back, she had been cut pretty badly by a motor boat at some time in her life. We did see quit a few boats going way to fast on these rivers and apparently the manatees don’t have much sense and they come up for air whenever they need it. We floated along with these gentile giants as long as they were going in the same direction as we were and once they turned we picked up the pace and made our way back down to the put in. I was pretty happy that we had a great encounter with the manatees since I was really looking forward to seeing them basically since I heard we were coming down to paddle in Florida. Another really great paddling experience down in the books as well as 5 hours and 20 minutes added to the logs, this day was work for sure!!!

And now for a little Floridian fun...Ice cream trucks are a dime a dozen in New England but down here in Florida they have ice cream boats!!!!

Day Four: The Homosassas

Today was a “rest” day, this meant only a short paddle for the Wheelers. After the long paddle on day three and what we hear to be a tough day ahead of us on Thursday it seemed like a good idea to take it easy and stretch out the muscles. We put in at Homosassas River and paddled up to the Homosassas Spring hoping to see some manatees, apparently they really love this spot. We saw tons of signs on the way into the city for manatee tours, it seemed that it was almost a guarantee that we would see one but today they were shy or tired and not out for us to bump into. We did however get a great view of some more monkeys, these ones are living on an island close to the put in and to be honest with you I thought they were living the good life, they had a nice little house and tons of ropes to hang out on, who could ask for more??  Just to be clear on our monkey sightings these ones today were old retired circus monkeys so they were not nearly as wild as the ones we saw on the Silver Spring paddle from Day one.

After staring at the monkeys for a good ten minutes we headed out towards the ocean. The river was pretty large, big enough for boats that can handle the ocean of course since we were only a couple miles inland from the Gulf. The group all sort of stuck together and the pace was nice today since it was all the same people from the day before and we were all a little tired. I would like to call this trip our “house shopping” excursion, we paddled thru lots of little canals with many large and medium sized vacation homes and we all schemed and plotted about how we would save our money to buy up a vacation home that could accommodate all of our paddling friends. It was a great distracting conversation from the task at hand which was training of course but before we knew it 2 hours and 20 minutes had already passed and we were back at the put in for lunch. Travis, Betsy and I all headed back to the motel for some relaxing time and the others headed back out to the ocean in hopes of seeing some dolphins along the way.

Day Three, The Chili Run!!!

Day Three was a long paddle day for everyone, the jaunt was deemed the chili run since the goal at the end of the long day would be chili and drinks at Dick Kloss’s home. Dick’s wife, Bert, was at home making veggie chili for all of us which was delicious and had a good spice to it, Yum!!! We started at the Silver Springs river again and made our way onto the Ocklawahai River. It was an early start, 9 am….we are still on vacation of course so this was an early day. The water still had the morning fog hanging over it was almost as if we were paddling into a scene from Gorilla’s in the mist.  We had gone down this river a little bit the first day, but got a lot more exploring in on it this time. We paddled for at least two hours on a nice small winding river, great practice for drafting and turning a whole bunch of canoes on corners at the same time.  As we got further downstream we came to some major dams which sort of caused the water to pool up creating a pretty large swamp. Paddling in the swamp is a pretty interesting thing, you can see for a long ways ahead of you what appears to be clear sailing but as you get into the waters you begin to realize there are giant stumps about every ten feet or so. We had been pretty split up as a group by this point about 4 hours or more into the paddle but we could all easily see the line that everyone was following which was marked by large sign posts for the motor boats. This swamp was filled with lots of beautiful large birds but it was pretty hot with the blazing sun on you so we really worked on getting out of there unfortunately that meant sacrificing the photo taking on this trip. We finished out Day three with 31 miles and 5 hours and 30 minutes added to the logs.

Day Two on the Florida trip

Today we paddled the Rainbow River which was just as pretty as the name would lead you to believe. We had another great turnout boats wise, about 12 to 15 total. We started at another nice put-in which again led up to a beautiful crystal clear 40 to 50 foot deep spring. We weaved our way up stream past some beautiful houses and lots of vacationers for about an hour and forty-five minutes till we arrived at the source of the spring. There was a nice little swimming hole and dock access area at the top of the spring. We saw so many people swimming and sun bathing here so we decided to take a quick dip ourselves. After our refreshing pit stop we headed back to the main put in for some lunch. I noticed along the way that there were tons of kids on this river pretty much free roaming, clearly this was a pretty safe alligator free zone if their parents were letting them float up and down the river in their own dinghy’s and tubes.  

After our lunch rest and re-sunscreen everyone decided it was time to get back in the boats and get in a few more hours. About 6 boats decided to get a little more exploring in on another river which branched off the Rainbow River named the Withachoochee River (spelling is questionable but pretty close to reality, insert any and all dirty jokes here) Travis and I headed back up the Rainbow river with a few other boats we heard that the Rainbow was prettier so decided that was what were going for. We stopped along the way again and took another quick dip in the river, best to get your swimming in where the alligators aren’t hanging out if you know what I mean. While headed back down to the put in we came across a pretty amazing site, a giant heron nest in one of the old cypress trees. This nest had one big momma and four pretty large babies. Momma looked like she was ready to boot those mature babies out of their comfy nesting spot.    

We finished out the day with 23 miles in and about 4 hours and 40 minutes, the pace was quick and a few paddlers were a little feisty so that made the whole trip just fly by. Good drafting and great conversion up and down the river once again. I could get used to this lifestyle J

Finally caught a close up of these awesome birds I've been seeing everywhere. They are beautiful!

 

First Day out in Florida

Day One: 22.25 miles 4:30 hours

Today we paddled on the Silver River.  It was beautiful!  The Silver is a spring fed river and you paddle upstream to where the  spring originates.  The water was deep aqua color, and very clear all the way to the bottom.  A few times in the boat I thought we would scuff over a log only to realize I couldn’t even touch it with my paddle.  We weren’t in the boat about 15 minutes when we saw the first gator.  It was a good sized one and we drifted right near him to nab a couple photos.  The wildlife was amazing.  You could easily see big fish in the clear water.  There are tons of large fish including the Gar fish which can be 5 feet long with a really long snout.   As we got closer to the spring we saw some monkeys hanging out/playing in the trees on the rivers edge.  No one really knows why they are there, but a colony of Rhesus monkeys is alive and thriving in the state park. There are a couple of rumors floating around the paddlers on how the monkeys found this home, I am going with the Tarzan movie idea myself mainly cause that one seems to come up the most.  We made it upstream to where the river originates and it was a deep hole and you could easily see the bottom. Built around this spring was a pretty large amusement park which was kind of strange to paddle into. The park had some pretty nice foliage and glass bottom boats for the tourists to check out the crystal clear waters.  We paddled back to the put in for a total of 2:10.

 After a snack and nice break at the put in we paddled downstream on a different river that branched off of the Silver River, we can’t remember the name but it was different looking for sure. The waters on this were much greener and a little less deep.  We were a bit fatigued but we were happy with how we were moving the boat.  It was out first time in our pro boat since the Charles last year.  We had great day with a big group of boats.  We saw tons of beautiful birds in this area and tons of large turtles, sort of like painted turtles on steroids. We also caught a little baby alligator sunning himself on a log in this area.  

This last picture above are the craziest tadpoles I haver ever seen!!!! The thing was as big as our frogs at home so I can only image what kind of frog it turns into. Yikes!!!!

The Drive Down

So we left for Florida at 5 pm Friday night promptly after work. The car was packed in the morning and we were actually headed out at the perfect time since a pretty large rain storm had blown thru the day before.  I (Terese) drove the first leg of the trip, an 8 hour stint, while Travis navigated me thru the busy states of CT, NY, and NJ, we only hit a small amount of traffic luckily enough as we were about to get onto the George Washington Bridge. After that it was busy but essentially smooth sailing.

Travis and I switched spots at about 1:30 after he had a little rest, he was fighting a cold so I thought it would be best to let him sleep it off as much as he could. At this point I needed some rest myself so I took about a couple hour snooze while Travis motored on thru Maryland and Virginia. I didn’t see much of these states so I cant really comment on them to much. I woke up around 5:30 to North Carolina which was perfect timing since the sun was just coming up. We continued on our journey with Travis driving and me snapping pictures were I could.

Its pretty amazing making the drive down south at spring time. As we got further into North Carolina the trees really started to change, First we saw beautiful colored buds on oaks and some maples as well as this beautiful vine which I hadn’t seen before called Carolina Jessamine. This Carolina Jessamine was really similar to the Forsythia we have at home so of course I had to google this beautiful plant I was seeing everywhere and figure out the name.  We stopped at a diner, Shonneys, that had this must see breakfast buffet Travis remembered from when he was a kid and on we went.  We switched spots at the diner and I continued on while Travis napped again. As we hit South Carolina spring was really in bloom!! Onto Georgia and even more so with the spring, at this point I caught my first glimpse at some of the most beautiful Wisteria Vines I have ever seen in my life, they were just draping along the highways with huge clumps of beautiful purple flowers, what a sight!!!  Travis and I split the driving almost right down the middle, I had an 8 and 4 hour stint and he did 6 and 6. We pulled into our hotel the Central Motel almost 24 hours to the minute from when we left work on Friday. 1,275 Miles with only two hours worth of stops, now that’s some motoring!!

We met up with some friends as soon as we showered and headed over to The Cove for some dinner, this place had some interesting wall art, we are headed back there again tonight so I will try and get some other photos.

Stu's 2011

On Sunday I raced Stu’s 30K, the weather was near perfect for the race.  It was 50, gray, drizzly, and windy, but it is always windy around Wachusett Reservoir.  Terese and I got to the start about an hour before the gun.  She would be cheering me on and acting as my pit person. I brought 3 Hammer Gels with a plan of having one at 5, 15, and 25K.  There were water stops every 2 or 3 miles and Terese had a bottle of Perpetuem for late in the race.  I didn’t warm up much, the plan was to go out slow and ease into things.  I knew things would be tough late in the race due to the fact that I did not do enough long runs.  The race started at 11am and about 400 of us were off to circumnavigate the reservoir.  I went out slow… well slower than normal (6:53).  I slowed it down a bit and started clicking off the miles.    I went through 10K in 46 minutes and felt good.  I pushed through the next 10K in 47minutes.  I felt great up till about 16 miles.  Around there I could start to feel my hamstrings tightening.  I was hit with two cramps in the last half mile, that slowed me to a walk for a few steps. I finished in 2:28 with 53 minutes for the last 10K.  I was right at the pace I wanted to run.  I was happy with the race considering my limited long runs.  Later in the race Terese was accompanied by our friends Jess and Ed, and I heard many people when I got back into Clinton. It was great to have all the support out there along the course. Thanks everyone the cheering really helps when you're hurting!

Another Spring day on the Nashua River.

Well we made it down to the Nashua again this Saturday. The parking lot still had about 2’-3’ of snow but it was much easier to manage this week since the extra melting sort of crusted it over a little preventing any sinking in over the rubber boots. We were lucky enough to have some company this time, Steve and Seth Miller decided to make the drive out and take their C-1s out for a spin. It was their first time out this year so we were all out with the same intention of waking up the paddling muscles and enjoying a little scenery.  Speaking of scenes we ran into a pretty interesting one as we put in the river, this is kind of gross but far too interesting to not share so you have been warned. As we slipped the boats into the water we happened to notice what appeared to be a ball or something red and round caught up in a streamer just below the put-in ledge. Once we got in and floated around a bit the disturbed water also started moving around this pile of “stuff” Travis and I moved over a little closer to get a better look and realized it was a giant pile of entrails! Next to the pile of guts was the water logged body of what we think was a deer. Dead animals can be a common site on the river in the spring mainly due to animals running out on the ice to avoid a coyote, or maybe the snow is whiter on the other side, we might never know why they do it.

Once we all got a good look at the gruesome site we were on our way down stream. The pace was good and we quickly made it down to Rt. 2, I forget how fast those C-1’s are until your paddling right next to each other and they are keeping up effortlessly even though we have 2 paddlers in one boat. Steve and Seth were both paddling Wenonah Advantages which are really nice boats, it’s on my long list of boats I wouldn’t mind adding to the small fleet we already have. We easily made it past the spot we had to stop at last week and headed down towards Ayer and the dam which would be the next stop unless we ran into ice before that. Sure enough we made it almost to the dam before running into an ice jam that was almost passable but still stopped us. Next week it should be open for sure with the balmy 40-50 degree days we have been seeing sprinkled into the forecast here and there.

We turned at the 5 mile mark and made our way back up stream, at this point the wind started to pick up a little bit but it was a warm breeze which is always a lot easier to deal with then a frigid cold winter breeze. We paddled back up to the put in with about 2 hours and 15 minutes on the water and 10 miles added to the training log. It was good to have some company on the paddle and we promised to see the Miller brothers soon enough. Before we know it we will be back to our normal Wednesday night spot on the Charles River with everyone once the clocks have been changed and we have a little more light at night.  

Hills make you tough…

Stu’s 30K in Clinton is a great race.  It has that tough New England race feel that I love.  There is something about racing in the spring in New England that just makes you tough. 

Stu’s is a hilly, 18.6 mile jaunt around Wachusett Reservoir.  It is held on the first Sunday in March and is in its 32 year.  It is popular training run for people doing the Boston Marathon.  It is a tough one! This from a guy who doesn’t mind hills.  The last 2 miles are particularly brutal, two long downhills, each followed by steep uphill climbs.

This year will be third year a row racing.  I feel it is a great race to train for over the winter. Leaving me fit when paddling starts in March.  My first year was 2009; I didn’t really know what I was getting into.  It was a snowy race day I ran 2:24 (7:45/mile, 10K spilts 46, 48, 50).  I was pleased with how I did.  Last year 2010 I felt very prepared going in.  Training went well and my goal was 7:15 per mile. Race day was a warm, dry, 60 degree day.  I was not used to warm weather and did not drink enough early.  I ran 2:26 (7:50/mile 10k spilts 44, 45, 57).  I died a slow death the last 10K, bad cramps!

This year I do not know what to expect.  I didn’t do as many long runs as I would have liked.  The winter was pretty snowy here, and it was tough to get motivated to dodge cars, ice, and snow banks for 3 hours.  I feel very fit, I just questions if I am in “Stu’s shape”.  My goal is to run steady; I did not like blowing up last year.  I could have ran much fast with smarter pacing.  My plan is to try to maintain an even pace, sub 8:00/mile will make me happy.  It should be interesting, let’s hope it doesn’t hurt too bad.

Travis