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