SNP 2009

We, friends and I, have been going down the the Shenandoah National Park every spring since 1993, or '94. We made the discovery that some of the best wild brook trout fishing in the east can found in the many tumbling streams off the slopes of the mountains. This year, I had the pleasure of taking my son Kyler along for the first time.

We started our adventure at the Holiday Inn in Winchester, VA Friday evening. We had a great time swimming and then watching Friday Night Smackdown. We got up early, swam again, had breakfast then proceeded down to the park

We arrived at the trail head around 9:30, and began the 3 mile trek up to our favorite camp to meet Andy B. and Kyle F. For his first time backpacking trip, Kyler did great. We established a nice pace with frequent breaks, and made a few minor adjustments to his pack. We arrived in camp around noon.

After setting up the tent and eating a little lunch, we headed downstream to fly fish back up to the camp. Kyler got a little frustrated because of stinging nettles and the cold water. Also, the Hughes River is tough to fish up near where we were. I should have taken him downstream a little farther. In any event, he persisted for a little while, and almost caught a trout, but the nettles got the better of him, and he wanted to head back to camp. I took him back to camp, then fished just below where were set up, and managed to bring in a few brookies. When I arrived back to camp, Kyler was out like a light. He had a tough day, and the nap did him good.

After supper, we took a little hike upstream to play on some big rocks. Later, when it grew dark, we went on a salamander hunt, and found some really nice species.

After the hunt, Kyler tucked in. Andy, Kyle and I sipped a little scotch cut with mountain spring water. The moon was out and it was a nice evening. We were fortunate to not get rained on.

Sunday morning, the rains finally came and we packed up in a steady drizzle. Kyler and I hit the trail around 9:00, and we busted out in just a little over an hour.

Kyle and Andy came down after us, so Kyler and I drove the car to the trail head and picked them up. We then headed into Sperryville to our favorite lunch stop, Rae's.

It was another great trip to the park, but I was unable to take Kyler up Skyline Drive, because of the weather. Oh well, we'll be back down soon enough.

SNP 2009

D.F.C.A. Kid's Fishing Derby 2009

Today was the 2009 Donegal Fish and Conservation Association Kid's Fishing Derby, which is held at the reflecting pond of the Donegal Presbyterian Church. This was our 15th derby and our turn-out was about 100 anglers.

We stocked around 350-400 trout last evening including two monsters pushing about 4-5 pounds. They, however, are still at large in the pond. The biggest fish landed was caught by a 5 year old girl. It was a 17 3/4 inch brook trout.

The derby is always a nice time, and a good way to introduce kids to fishing. Our club receives numerous compliments for the effort.

My youngest boy, tristan, caught 5 trout, so I'm making trout chowder for supper.

Hempfield Tri For Life

Today was the Hempfield Tri for Life, which was held at the Hempfield Sports Complex. I felt that I was ready for this race, but you never know until you start.

I picked up my packet last evening, so I could sleep in a little longer this morning. Yeah, right. The tri was 10 minutes down the road and I was still there almost two hours before the race. It worked out well, however, because the transition area was first come, first served and I got a primo spot on the end. Met up with my buddy Doug A. from the gym and we went for a 15 minute warm-up run. Then I jumped in the pool for a few laps. Sufficiently warmed up, I was ready to go.

Swim

The swim was indoors. This is the first time that I ever swam indoors then went outdoors. In February, I did a race that was all indoors, so this was a good transition to the outdoor season. When registering, you had to give your 300m time. Everybody lined up according to their time and swimmers went every 10 seconds. I originally listed my time as 6:30, but changed it to 6:00. I was hoping I did the right thing, and felt a little nervous, but when I hit the water I was totally relaxed. I had my best swim ever, and even managed to pass two people in front of me. I came out of the water in 5:45, and was quite pleased. I attribute my results to the pointers I have been receiving from Scott G. at the fitness club. The biggest tweak I made the week prior was bringing my stroke more in line with my shoulders. I have also been trying to swim with paddles once a week for a few laps, and this has improved my strength.

Transitions

Both my transitions were under a minute. Part of the reason T1 was under a minute is because I didn't have to contend with getting the wetsuit off. I also dispensed with all manner of gels, snacks and other frills. In an hour race, there isn't much benefit to be derived from eating. T2 was quick, because I invested in speed laces, and didn't have to tie my shoes.

Bike

The bike course was fast and the hill training I have been doing with Chris R. paid off. I remembered to have my bike in the small crank and quickly got up to speed and shifted into my big ring and stayed there , which I planned to do. I say planned, because my one blunder came on a hill when I was dueling with another rider, the only rider to challenge me directly on the course. He passed me coming down a small hill, then I retook the lead on a series of two short but steep hills. He then caught back up on a gradual incline. I should have stayed in my big ring, but I saw him spinning in his small ring and pulling away. I made the mistake of shifting, and my chain popped. Not too big of a deal overall as it only cost me about 40 seconds, but it did cost me a place, and allowed my adversary to get too far ahead. I guess now that I think about it it was a big deal. Nonetheless, I was able to reign in the other on the run. Overall pace, 19.6 mph

Run

Not much to say here. I dismounted the bike and was off, and felt pretty good. Bike to run is never easy, but this course was fairly flat and I was able to get my legs under me quickly. I wasn't passed by anyone on the run, and managed to pass at least 10 runners who were in front of me. Overall pace, 7:06

Results and Other Observations

1:18:46; 23rd place overall; 5th in my age group, which was 40-49 (If there would have been a 45-49 age group, I would have been second)

In an indoor triathlon, be honest with your seeding time. I saw an individual seeded 11th who wasn't wearing goggles, and by the end of the first lap was swimming with his head out of the water. By the second lap, he was breast stroking.

Interesting sight: aero bars on a mountain bike.

I dispensed totally with the GPS and wore only my watch. I used a pace calculator by the Chicago Tri Club to come up with a goal time. This helped me stay on pace and was better than messing around with the GPS.

Spring Is Springing, But Hasn't Quite Sprung.

I'm one week away from the Hempfield Triathlon, and I'm happy with the shape I am in. I have been getting in at least two swims, rides and runs weekly. My basic schedule looks something like this:

Monday: swim, 35 minutes continuous, w/ technique work at the end.
Tuesday: "Two for Tuesday" intervals in the morning, hard ride in the evening.
Wednesday: swim, intervals and technique work
Thursday: run, tempo pace
Friday: rest
Saturday/Sunday: long ride and long run

It varies somewhat depending on the week, but as long as I can get two of each workout in, I'm happy.

Right now I have to take it a little easy, because I did something stupid earlier this week. I was goofing off on my mountain bike, and rode over some rocks in a drainage ditch in our development. Of course I fell, and could not get unclipped, and my thigh struck a rock. It was the worse charley horse I have had in a long time. I can ride on it, but it hurts to run. With that said it is healing, and I'm going to try to go out for an easy run this afternoon.

Not much else going on, but I hope to get a race report posted after the tri. I'm also looking forward to warmer weather which seems a bit delayed.

Oh, I almost forgot, I now have both boys riding bikes. Tristan began riding last week. He's a terror, and gives me gray hairs the way he flies around. He wrecks consistently, but it doesn't seem to phase him.

Frozen Foot 5K Race Report

Kyler and I ran the Frozen Foot 5K in Elizabethtown this afternoon. Kyler was hoping for a PR, but the course was tough with a lot of hills. He finished in around 35:00. I'm proud of him, because he hung tough on the hills while fighting a side stitch. Tristan also ran today. He gave it his all in the fun run, and finished strong despite losing his shoe 100 meters from the finish. He completed the race with one shoe on and one off. Hemingway wrote that Paris was a movable feast; I think the same can be said about local road races. They're so much fun, and you see so many great people from race to race.

Odonata

Yesterday morning Kyler and I performed the field work stage of his gifted challenge project for school. Kyler is doing research on dragonflies, so we spent some time looking for dragonfly nymphs in various aquatic settings. We started at a friend's pond, then went to a creek and finished at a spring. We were successful, and captured several nymphs which he examined, sketched and compared to other organisms we collected. It was a great morning to be out, and it was a joy to see Kyler so wrapped up in his project. I should add that Tristan was with us also. At first, he decided to stay in the car, but eventually he got out and was as involved with the project as the rest of us. In fact, he now has a new pet in our aquarium, a salamander.

Still Around

I'm sure that most people who read this are also facebook users, so you know I'm alive and well. Nonetheless, here is a little recap of the last few weeks.

I have two triathlons coming up and to those ends I have been training consistently. I have been getting in at least two runs, two rides and two swims a week. I can tell that I don't have the running miles under me like I did when I was training for Boston as I feel a little slow out on the road. Biking and swimming though are going well. I feel most happy about my improved swimming ability. Still not Michael Phelps, but I can hold my own in the pool, well at least in the middle of the pack. I'm relaxed, however, in the water, and that makes a difference when you are transitioning to the bike.

I'm looking forward to spring, and want to do a little more trout fishing. Guess I better get some flies tied, or another season will come and go and I won't be ready. I'm really looking forward to the annual trout fishing/backpacking trip into the Shenandoah National Park. I missed it last year, and still regret it. This year, if all goes according to plan, Kyler will be joining me for his first sojourn into the Park.

Work is going well, and today is the first day of Spring, so I have no complaints. I'm looking forward to getting outdoors with the boys and Tina, and I'm also looking forward to watching Kyler play spring soccer. He was moved up to U-10, so we'll see how he does with the older boys. Tomorrow is his last indoor game of the season, then we're back outside.

Here's a recent picture of the boys: