News!!!

A direct quote from a text message J just sent my wife:


"Houston, this is Tranquility Base. The eaglet has landed. More later."


More to come as we hear...

Grambo

And so we wait...

As J notes below, my wife and I hosted a baby shower for J and Amy on Saturday. It was a success, I think, everyone showed up (20 or so folks), we had plenty of food and drink, and we filled up the Gibbs car with gifts, which is always a good thing. Thanks to everyone who helped out, either by bringing food/drink, or providing a valuable service, like Justin, who served as Parking Coordinator (an important job, as we have very little parking). That title should add an impressive line to his resume...

Anyway, here is a pic of J modeling a new hat for the baby. I considered putting up a pic of both J and Amy, but experience has taught me that it's not wise to post a lady's picture without letting her review it first. J on the other hand, well, I feel no need for such restraint. In any case, they are off to the hospital this morning to be induced, so for now, we wait for further news. Check back for updates, and when the delivery happens, we'll keep ya in the loop. From Blythe and I, and the rest of TRWS, Good Luck J and Amy (and little Addison)!!!!!!!!!!

Grambo

Today's Forecast: A Shower

Today, Mr. and Mrs. Grambo are kindly hosting a co-ed baby shower--known by those fluent in pre-baby speak as a "Jack and Jill"--for Mrs. G and Me at their pad in Waterbury.

We're expecting our first child, Addison Mae, on Monday. It's exciting times.

Mrs. G and I are very fortunate to have such wonderful friends--even if they Run with Scissors.

jg

Run (in the) Forest, Run

Our many loyal friends and fans have no doubt read Grambo's post about our first mountain biking excursion of the season. It was indeed a delight. Well, cross out all references to biking and add "trail running" and that was my yesterday after work.

Yep, ran the exact trail route we rode on Wednesday, and it was awesome. Exactly the change in running route needed to keep me motivated.

Originally, I had planned to go to the gym to lift. When I got there, however, it was filled with the high school kids. Which is cool--I used to be one of those scraggly, uncomfortable, clumsy gym rats--but it's a little frustrating when you just want to hit your routine and get home for dinner.

So, I milled around the gym for 15 or 20 minutes, trying to think of creative ways to workout in light of the crowd. Did some push ups, stretched out a little, a few dumbbell curls, that had grip squeezing thing. Finally, I said to my self, "Self, you got your old shoes on (see below), an MP3 player with Monsters of Rock and a bad attitude. Let's just go outside and run for a little while and when you get back maybe all these kids will be gone."

So, me and my attitude went outside and just started running--it was a little "Stupid is as Stupid Does," for sure. Not knowing exactly how long I wanted, or was willing, to run for I just started toward town and almost instinctively went down toward the ice center where the trail head is. And the rest is history.

It was a great run and I look forward to doing it more often.

It didn't, however, settle the traditional running shoe versus trail running shoe debate that has been raging in my head for several weeks. It just made it worse, in fact. I thought my old running shoes did fine. But maybe over something more than 5 or 6 miles it would e different? I don't know! If anyone has any thoughts on that matter I'm like Ross Perot--all ears!

By the way, today's photo of the Mansfield Chin was taken on Sunday, April 22 from the parking lot at Stowe. Yes, April 22! It was epic.

Run, ride and race fast. Peace out, yo.





JG

Back in the saddle...

As J noted in his post below, we got out for a nice ride in the woods yesterday. Are the trails muddy (and snowy)? Yep. Shoule we stay off of them? Probably. But come on, we had to get out for 1 good early season ride. And in fact, it was great. Once we got into the trail system (Perry Hill in Waterbury), the trails were in great shape, not muddy at all. There were quite a few branches down, but that just made things more interesting. We rode in from the ice center, rode the "short loop" (on the right at the top of the first big hill), then the longer loop (on the left at the top of the big hill), and then rode out a great, twisty singletrack to the East Street Exit. The trail out was actually pretty muddy, and I delighted in that feeling of blasting down a muddy, root strewn trail, just barely in control of my bike. Good Times!!! But, with rain on the horizon from the weekend, we probabaly won't get back out there for a week or 2, to allow it to dry out some more....


But no worries, as next week we need to get out and run, to get warmed up for the early season Catamount trail running race next Saturday. 5 or 10 K runs, not sure which I am going to do yet, but it should be loads of fun, especially since I think all 4 of us are running it (yep, that means you, Justin!!). Can't wait!!

Grambo

On the Road, and Trail, Again...

Grambo and I got out after work yesterday for a nice ride through Waterbury and the surrounding trails. There were some sketchy muddy, snowy patches in the woods. But, for the most part, the trails were in pretty good shape. It was great to get back in the saddle. Yee-haw!

jg

WHAT THEY SAY...

• What I have taken from AR is who I am. Women get a sense of their selves from doing an AR--An emotional summit. Find that self-love. Finding that appreciation for who I am and what I can offer to other people.~Jenny Hadfield
  


• AR takes your life to a whole other level. It gives you the confidence to achieve your goals. If you have finished your goal of finishing such a tough task, going for 24 hours or two days in an AR for example, you feel like a lot of your other things you have to achieve become a lot easier. You can obtain your goals easier. Everything seems easy compared to an AR in a nutshell.~Mike Meadows

• One thing I bring back is that anything is possible. Before I started AR, I never thought I would be able to come out and do the things I do: Race for 24 hours. Cover 90 miles. So I take back that almost anything is possible. Next to meeting my wife and having three beautiful children, AR is probably the third most special thing that I do. You just can't challenge yourself in this kind of environment everyday.~Tom Houston

• Why do it? Some people say that we're "nuts." I get that all the time. It has to do with pushing yourself--Just wanting to compete. Today, I learned I could be miserable and still have that mental ability to push through things and still accomplished what I wanted to do.~Chad Smith

• The Teamwork aspect is what really drew me to the sport and what I still find attractive about it. It's the biggest challenge in the sport because you never know from team to team and race to race how your team dynamics will come into play except that it affects your team wholly. 98% of your success or failure within a race is dependent on your teamwork-whether it goes well or bad, How you deal with situations that come up because in every race something that crops up. But that's also the challenging fun part of the sport because if you do have really good teamwork and it's really strong, you can be super competitive and do really well.~Teri Smith

• The reason I AR is because of the competitive team effort. It's always something new. It's always something different and how you deal with those challenges, how you deal with them personally and also as a team is always just very challenging. No two races, even if it's the same course and the same sponsor, are going to be the same race.~Ryan Yoeman
  

NOW, WHAT WE SAY...

What could possibly go wrong?

Who's idea was this anyway? oh, Mine? Well, I'm an idiot.

I think I got a rash in my pants just thinking about this race.

Those bastards!

We need more snacks.

Ahhh, my eye!

This sucks!

This rules!

No...wait...it sucks again.

That was awesome, when's the next one?

Tip of the Day: Foot Care

by George Wortley, M.D.

An adventure race is usually won or lost on your feet. Taking proper care of them will avoid some of the pain associated with blisters, and get you over the finish line faster.

Blisters everyone gets them, I want to say a few words about how to prevent them.
First off, you need well fitting footwear (compare Footwear). Not too tight, not too loose. A pair of polypropylene liner socks would also help. This prevents the friction on your foot. Other things that can also prevent blisters is a foot lubricant such as Hydropel. We found that this works well even on wet feet, but you need to put it on before blisters happen.

Trying to keep your foot dry would also help. I know dry feet are hard to find in an adventure race, but if you can try to keep your feet as dry as possible that helps. If you start to feel a hotspot stop and do something about it. Don't say, "It's only 10 miles till the next checkpoint, I'll take care of it there." That will be too late. Do something about it. Stop and put some duct tape on it.

If you do find yourself with a blister, Treat it. The easiest way is duct tape. We all carry duct tape. Cut it out a little wider than the blister. Make sure the duct tape lies smooth and there are no creases in the duct tape to start another pressure point. If the blister is standing up very tall and there is pressure. If you can clean the skin and, in a clean manner, puncture the skin and drain it. Some racers will also use moleskin to try to protect them. We find that a combination of moleskin with a overcoat of duct tape works best.

If you are in a long race for multiple days, we find that applying a little bit of super glue around the edge of the moleskin and duct tape will keep it in place for the duration of the race.

Race hard, stay healthy, take care of your feet!

As if the beer chucking fridge wasn't enough...





Another must have appliance for the members of TRWS:

Nice!!!

In other news, I have had a bit of a slacker week. Partly due to the weather, partly due to the fact that I cut the tip of one of my fingers off while chopping garlic the other day (ouch). Boy, there are a lot of capilaries in the fingers, judging by the blood. I''ll save you all the horror of posting a picture of it, but it is feeling slightly better now. I am trying out some liquid bandaid to see if it will hold back the flow, and I'll let you know next week if it gets a favorable review. Also, check back next week for some schedule updates, including a 12 hour race in June...

Grambo

Another Hurricane Season

It's with mixed emotions that I report the Saucony Hurricane 7's that carried me many, many miles over the last year have been semi-retired.

Just look at them, they're exhausted. Bare spots on the tread, totally compressed insoles and foam, and some additional ventilation in the mesh. I mean they're not totally kicked, but enough to cause my feet and knees to advocate aggressively for a change. (I cleaned them up for this portrait.)

The good news is, they will be proceeded by this year's Saucony Hurricane 9s. In fact, the new Hurricane's took me out for a spin this evening, followed by an hour of weights, and it was delicious--we're talkin' about some seriously happy feet.

Saucony and I go way back. All the way to 1991 in fact when they sponsored a team run I participated in from Washington DC to Montpelier, our state capital, to celebrate Vermont's bicentennial. The Saucony's they gave us were like magic on my feet.

After an extend Saucony-free period, last April--after deciding to get serious about running again--I bought my first pair in years. As soon as my feet slipped into them, before they were even tied, I remembered why I loved them--they were extremely comfortable, fit perfectly and made me want to run. I couldn't wait to get into them and hit the road or trail. Weird, I know.

Saucony is known for its brand loyalty, a loyalty that has been cultivated by their focus on a consistent, high-mileage shoe that fits very well.

You get more than your money's worth from Saucony's high performance shoes. I highly recommend them.

So, here's to the Hurricane 7s that carried my fat ass through hundreds of miles of training runs, 5ks, the blazing hot Stowe 8-miler, my first half marathon (actually it was 13.2 miles), some snowy, slushy and damn cold winter runs, the Sap Run and, of course, countless hours on the frickin' treadmill.

They've officially been transitioned to the less rigorous weight lifting and stationary bike duty. But I've promised them we'll get out for the occasional sloppy mud run, as long as they've still got it in them.

JG

Bite me, Coach Troy!!!
(a semi-serious rebuttal to the fictitious scathing attack from Coach Troy, found in the post below)

So the coach wants to play, huh? I have to ask him, where was he while I was running 5 miles in the -10F wind chill in January? Or running through the 40F rain and mud in March? Cozy and warm on his indoor bike, which he pedals for hours without actually going anywhere? What a sally! Get up and get outside, Coach, the temperature and weather are no excuse, at least not to us adventure racers...I'm getting my bike out next week, snow or not, and going for a ride in the woods...

Grambo

COACH TROY LOVES TEAM RUNS WITH SCISSORS!

(The following memorandum is entirely fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons or places is, uh, entire coincidental?)

Memorandum

To: TWRS

From: Coach Troy

Re: The Most Slacking Slackers

Date: Monday, April 9, 2007

Dear Team Runs with Scissors:

I thought you guys were tough. Where the hell have you been? Looks like you've spent the entire winter at the Ponderosa buffet.

When are you going to start training for real? That's what it takes to win adventure races--super spins, intervals, ladders and real muscle breakdown!

I looks like you've been too busy eating buckets of ribs and drinking gallons of beer to do spinervals. There are no weight classes in adventure racing, right?

It's time for exertion levels that can only be described as 'extremely uncomfortable.' So get off your lazy asses.

It's AR season, knob gobblers! It's time for the big chain ring 12. It's time to take it to the next level. No slackers allowed!

Sincerely,

Coach Troy

PS-- Turtle, the girls from Team Zoot have been asking about you.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...Easter?

It's hard to believe, but we've received about 2 feet of snow in the mountains since Wednesday. What a way to finish up the skiing and snowboarding season! At this rate, the mountain could easily stay open into May. But, they probably won't...so we'll just have to hike up to get our runs in...

On Friday, Shaun, Grambo and Turtle coerced me into leaving work early for some runs at Bolton. Lots of fresh powder--everywhere. It was the first time I had been to Bolton when there was enough fresh snow in the woods to enjoy a few of their tree shots. Not too bad. It was a nice afternoon.

On Saturday, after loafing around the house for most of the morning, I went to Stowe for some runs. Turtle ended up calling me after his EMT class, so we met at the mountain around 1pm, took a bunch of runs on the gondola, a few on the quad and then did the backcountry Bruce trail down to the Matterhorn. Tons of powder--everywhere. The woods were excellent and the Bruce was in GREAT shape.

Later at home, Mrs. G. and I went to dinner at that new place on Route 2, The Cider House BBQ and Pub. It's a charming place and the food was pretty good. Their gumbo was excellent. Their ribs were a little overdone, but still tasty. Not nearly as good as Shaun's 4th of July ribs though.

Now, we're getting ready for Easter celebrations and it's snowing pretty good outside. See the photo above--I took it 5 minutes ago.

Like I said, what a way to finish the winter. Western resorts can eat my shorts. Conditions here are awesome. Vermont rules!

Happy Easter Everyone!

jg

All hail the Honey Stinger....

So, as J notes, 3 of us ran in the 6 mile "Sap Run" Sunday. J posted the best TRWS time, Biz was after him, and I came in last (of the 3 of us, overall I was 80th of 91 runners, which I can live with). However, I felt relatively good about my performance. I am not a fast runner, and had set the goal for myself of running this race in less than an hour, or at a 10 minute/mile pace. I was pretty sure I could better this, and started out OK, with an 8:50 1st mile, and about a 9:30 2nd mile. However, right after mile marker 2, the hill began. Not super steep, but a fairly long climb, probably 1/2 a mile at least, and steep enough that I actually walked up the last few hundred yards, as my calves were screaming, and I was thinking, Dang!!!!, I still have 3.5 miles to go. I hate to admit it, but that third mile took me...13:30ish...not good. Here I am at mile marker 3 (running again, thankfully) with a time of greater than 32 minutes. How am I ever going to make this up???

This is where my good friend the Honey Stinger came in. For those who are not aware, Honey Stinger is an energy gel, which comes in a single serving pack. However, unlike other gels, such as Gu or Clif Shots, the stinger is made with pure, natural honey, enriched with some vitamins and supplements (in this case it was my favorite, Ginsting, with Vitamin B, Ginseng, and Kola Nut extract, which contains caffeine). Each pack is around 100-120 calories, and also has salts like sodium and potassium. If you like the taste of honey (and I do), this is a great gel, and the honey and caffeine hit your blood quickly, giving you a good burst of energy. Luckily I was carrying one (don't leave home without it!), and as I was laboring up that hill, I figured I might as well eat it, what else could possibly go wrong? So I did, and it turns out the last 3 miles were relatively flat, rolling miles, which I knocked out in 9-10 minute miles, and, amazingly, I actually enjoyed!!! There were great views of the mountains, it was a sunny day, and I was enjoying running. Who would have thought? Anyway, I didn't make up all my lost time, and ended up finishing in 1 hour, 46 seconds. Not terrible, missing my goal by 46 seconds, putting me at a pace of 10:07/mile. OK, and it gives me a target to shoot for in the next race...

Speaking of which, I'm not sure when our next race will be. The Catamount outdoor center may be having a trail running race on May 5 (a good pre-Cinco De Mayo appetite enhancer), still waiting for more info on that. Until then, well, more running, and hopefully ridin'! I was hoping to get the Kona out this week, but with the forecast, I think I'll put if off a week. I''m itchin' to ride, though...

Grambo

"Repeat After Me: I love Hills!"

That was the advice received from a coworker when I mentioned we were doing the Kaynor's 6-mile Sap Run on Sunday. I thought he was joking, turned out this was no joke.

This "rolling", 6-mile, unpaved loop was set in beautiful, agrarian Westford, Vermont. It was a great run. The weather was perfect--sunny and about 55 degrees. And, about 100 local runners turnout to celebrate the season.

There was, however, a large, calve-killing, heart-pounding hill climb in the middle. It was a beast and added a good chunk of time to our per mile averages.

In the end, I finished in 50 minutes, 52 seconds. That's about 8 minutes, 29 seconds per mile according to the pace calculator on coolrunning.com. Grambo and Biz crossed the finish line just a few minutes after that. (Hopefully they'll post their perspectives shortly.) We then enjoyed free donuts, cider and the random prize drawing. (I won some fresh syrup!)

We had a great time; a great way to spend a few hours on a Sunday. We'll post the event pics when they're available.

Must admit, it reminded me I've got a lot more training--and a lot more hills--to do to get ready for this season's biggest runs and races.

JG