Paddling with loons

If it's possible to have a favorite waterfowl, then I'll take the Common Loon. While paddling Bow Lake after work I had the privilege of seeing no fewer than a dozen adults. There's something magical about this bird. From it's sleek black & white coloring to it's haunting call, to me it epitomizes the wild and wonderful parts of this great state. As I prepare for my first ever kayak race, the Upper Ashuelot Kayak Race in Keene, NH next weekend, I really needed to get the boat in the water today...despite the rain drops. A downriver 9 mile paddle isn't that big of a deal, but I'd really like to race it as much as possible. I put in near the dam and decided to paddle for 30 minutes out, and then return getting in at least an hour. Turns out I managed to make it nearly the entire length of the lake. The water was like glass without as much as a zephyr of a breeze. Despite the precipitation, just a perfect afternoon to paddle. My abs were a bit fatigued as I finished, but all in all I think my paddling fitness is decent. More than likely I'll get at least one more paddle in before race day. I bet the loons will wonder where I've been.

Soggy 15k

Today was one of those days. I had planned to head back over to Bow Lake around lunchtime to run the actual race course...the one I mistakenly truncated last Sunday. The windblown rain made the 37 degree temps feel much cooler. I hate to be cold during a run, particularly a wet cold run. With a couple of extra layers I started out on the same counterclockwise pattern as last week. For me, the toughest part of a cold wet run is the first 2 minutes. Being wet is not nearly as bad as getting wet. Perhaps it was the extra clothing or the two late nights in a row, but I felt a little sluggish for the first 5-7 kms. Due to my less than adequate research last time I inadvertently took a wrong turn and missed a significant part of the course. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I got it right today. At approximately 8 km's the course began to gain elevation and it would climb roughly 100 meters in a little over 2 km's. I know that doesn't sound like much but after 8 km's and with 3 km's to go it was an impressive challenge. My pace slowed considerably as I kept my head down in the wind and attempted to stay focused on plugging away. I kept telling myself that today's challenge was giving me a psychological advantage over those runners who will experience this hill for the first time on race day. By the time I hit Tasker Hill I could feel the effects of 1.) my cold weather layers and 2.) the rain. I must have easily been carrying an extra 5 lbs. of wet clothing and to add insult to injury the overhand knot on the waist of my Ibex cold weather pants loosened and I ran the last 1.5 km's hiking them up every 15 strides. Very efficient indeed. In some strange twist of nature the wind blew in my face the entire way. That figured. I clocked in at 1:04:52 (6:57's). Considering the weather conditions, my training state, and my saggy wet pants I'd say that's pretty good. Time to move on to slightly longer challenges as I prepare for the Pineland Farms 25k Trail Challenge on Memorial Day weekend. Looking back at the last two years, I'll probably need to run sub 1:52:00 (~7:15's) to have a shot at a Top 10 finish. My PB on that course is 1:54:41 set in 2007 (15th overall). I've got some work to do, but I feel pretty good about my training to date. One more "on" week in this cycle.