Wednesday, July 26, 2006
26 July 2006
One day rest after our Mt. Washington experience and Tracy and I are at it again (by rest I mean that we spend 5 hours in the car and 2 hours in town walking around). Monday we had a nice 5.7 mile run along the carriage roads (packed gravel, no cars allowed) followed by a brutal 5 mile hike. The weather and trail conditions were perfect and we wound up summiting 3 differrent mountains in 1 hike. We came home after that and got drunk at dinner at an amazing vegitarian restaurant (I am slowly transforming Tracy).
On Tuesday we did another 5.5 mile run on the carriage roads (different route) we were a bit tired from Monday so we had to walk a couple times. The route we chose was much hillier than we wanted. We followed that run with another brutal 11 mile hike where we summited another 3 mountains. We experienced flashbacks of our Mt Washington hike during most of the day as the weather consisted of high winds and thick fog. we covered the entire hike in a bit over 5 hours.
We had a total of 10 hours of traiing over the past 2 days. Vacation is sooooo much fun :-) !!!!!!!
On Tuesday we did another 5.5 mile run on the carriage roads (different route) we were a bit tired from Monday so we had to walk a couple times. The route we chose was much hillier than we wanted. We followed that run with another brutal 11 mile hike where we summited another 3 mountains. We experienced flashbacks of our Mt Washington hike during most of the day as the weather consisted of high winds and thick fog. we covered the entire hike in a bit over 5 hours.
We had a total of 10 hours of traiing over the past 2 days. Vacation is sooooo much fun :-) !!!!!!!
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Saturday 22 July
Today’s entry is being coauthored by Tracy to ensure that I get all the details correct and especially so I don’t embellish the facts. We would first like to say that putting yesterday’s hike into words will never do it any type of justice. You will most likely just hear that “John, Teresa, Tracy, Adam, and Lauren went on a long hike”…that couldn’t be further from the truth. To fully appreciate our experience first tie your shoes REALLY tight, then punch yourself in the legs numerous times, follow that with a quick drenching with water and sit there for 12 hours…now multiply that by 100. Soon you will understand…
The day started out great. Up early (5:30), breakfast of yogurt with granola, some organic bread and LOTS of coffee. Then Adam, Lauren and I piled in the truck. Yes, all three in Adams little truck…sitting on the hump is not pretty. The ride to the mountain took us 1.5 hours. Once there we ran into John and Teresa. We double check out route with a information guide hit the head and off we went. The day was looked great for a hike and we all started out with upbeat spirits laughing and chatting. We chose to take the Tuckerman Ravine Trail which is the most popular summit trail. It’s popularity stems from its amazing views and its high level of maintenance. Despite its popularity the hike challenges even the most experienced hikers with its near constant steep accents.
The hike started out nearly perfect as the weather was overcast and cool. We stopped about .5 miles into the hike to take some pictures of an amazing waterfall that cascades nearly 200 feel through a ravine. Our next stop was at the first hut (an actual house built on the summit trail) where we stopped to use the bathroom (Adam still peed in the woods) refill our water (with an old fashioned hand primed water pump) and eat (most of us brought normal food but Adam tried to survive the entire day on organic spirulina…that’s green algae – that is what we brought for Tracy also….I would not eat it!!)
From the hut we continued to push for the summit through some amazing views of mountain vistas and waterfalls. The trail because extremely technical in many places and we were actually required to climb on our hands and knees over boulders the size of houses (this is known as an “unassisted class-3 scramble” for any of you mountaineers). The next piece of knowledge you should know is that Adam and Teresa are more or less intimidated by heights, the type of person does not want to look down. This wasn’t helped by the fact that John had to catch a young kid from almost taking a header a few hundred feet down a waterfall.
The last .5 mile to the summit was the most difficult (up to this point). You can actually see the summit buildings and the sign said “Summit .4 miles”…that half mile took us nearly an hour to complete…it felt like the summit kept moving further and further up. The hike here is more like boulder hopping, or scavenging from rock to rock. It is all above the tree line. Fog had started to roll in, along with a little wind. Our first injury of the day happened here. Teresa, while being ever so careful to watch where her feet went, ran head first into a rock. I saw it jump up in front of her!!! But that give you an idea of how steep the climb was, as you are standing there the rocks in front of you to climb are at eye level. We had passed (and been passed) by a good bit of folks on the way up, the trail was having a busy day. There was a fund raiser for the observation tower going on along with the “Sea-to-Summit” triathlon.
Alas we finally made it, to the parking lot of the summit, quite interesting to do all that climbing and come out in a parking lot. The visitor center at the top was packed! Many “normal” folks come up via the bus, cog railway or drive themselves. We stayed at the top for about an hour, having some food, buying some souvenirs (They only sell them at the top, what a racket) and just resting.
However, while we were resting at the top, weather blew in…..before we left the top a drizzle had started, we were all bundled against the cold and ready to tackle the arduous decent. We knew we were going to be in for a difficult decent because the rocks were already wet and slippery and the fog eliminated any changes of seeing more than 50 feet in front of you. Did we mention the driving wind and freezing rain yet in addition to everything else? We all decided to take a different route down so we wouldn’t have to brave the steep cliffs on the Tuckerman Ravine Trail…our knees would all come to regret this decision. The trail we decide on was called Boott Spurr. This was a MUCH less traveled (hence MUCH less maintained) trail. It also didn’t provide any cover from the driving wind and rain since it traveled across the top of a ridge that was above the tree line. The fog was so bad at this point that we had to navigate from rock cairn to rock cairn. Numbness and near hypothermia started to set in for most of us since we were all soaked from head to toe. The trail only got worse from there…
Once we hit the tree line (seemingly hours later) the trail became more difficult because it was nothing more than a stream bed that flowed down the side of the mountain. Of course the stream bed became an untamed torrent of rapids due to all the rain. Our feet were soaked from walking through this muck. The trail was also MUCH steeper and MUCH rockier than the first and our pace through the woods was slowed to a 120 MINUTE MILE!!!!!! This part of the hike saw all of us go through the entire range of emotions. Teresa was getting a bit frustrated from falling so much (we all know how much she falls on flat concrete…so imaging steep wet rocks, Tracy started hallucinating from hypothermia, John was just normal calm John, and Adam/Lauren somehow managed to giggle uncontrollably all the way down). The most difficult part of this hike was the ladder. We all came to a man made log ladder that descended nearly 20 feet down a sheer rock face…this was not an obstacle that we were ready to manage…unfortunately we didn’t really have a choice in the matter.
We somehow all managed to make it to the bottom alive…broken; but alive. We changed out of our wet clothes as best we could and all went out for a much deserved pizza and beer. The ride back in Adam’s truck was painful because it was dark and rainy and Lauren, Tracy, and Adam all smelled pretty bad.
We can’t wait to do it again next year…
The day started out great. Up early (5:30), breakfast of yogurt with granola, some organic bread and LOTS of coffee. Then Adam, Lauren and I piled in the truck. Yes, all three in Adams little truck…sitting on the hump is not pretty. The ride to the mountain took us 1.5 hours. Once there we ran into John and Teresa. We double check out route with a information guide hit the head and off we went. The day was looked great for a hike and we all started out with upbeat spirits laughing and chatting. We chose to take the Tuckerman Ravine Trail which is the most popular summit trail. It’s popularity stems from its amazing views and its high level of maintenance. Despite its popularity the hike challenges even the most experienced hikers with its near constant steep accents.
The hike started out nearly perfect as the weather was overcast and cool. We stopped about .5 miles into the hike to take some pictures of an amazing waterfall that cascades nearly 200 feel through a ravine. Our next stop was at the first hut (an actual house built on the summit trail) where we stopped to use the bathroom (Adam still peed in the woods) refill our water (with an old fashioned hand primed water pump) and eat (most of us brought normal food but Adam tried to survive the entire day on organic spirulina…that’s green algae – that is what we brought for Tracy also….I would not eat it!!)
From the hut we continued to push for the summit through some amazing views of mountain vistas and waterfalls. The trail because extremely technical in many places and we were actually required to climb on our hands and knees over boulders the size of houses (this is known as an “unassisted class-3 scramble” for any of you mountaineers). The next piece of knowledge you should know is that Adam and Teresa are more or less intimidated by heights, the type of person does not want to look down. This wasn’t helped by the fact that John had to catch a young kid from almost taking a header a few hundred feet down a waterfall.
The last .5 mile to the summit was the most difficult (up to this point). You can actually see the summit buildings and the sign said “Summit .4 miles”…that half mile took us nearly an hour to complete…it felt like the summit kept moving further and further up. The hike here is more like boulder hopping, or scavenging from rock to rock. It is all above the tree line. Fog had started to roll in, along with a little wind. Our first injury of the day happened here. Teresa, while being ever so careful to watch where her feet went, ran head first into a rock. I saw it jump up in front of her!!! But that give you an idea of how steep the climb was, as you are standing there the rocks in front of you to climb are at eye level. We had passed (and been passed) by a good bit of folks on the way up, the trail was having a busy day. There was a fund raiser for the observation tower going on along with the “Sea-to-Summit” triathlon.
Alas we finally made it, to the parking lot of the summit, quite interesting to do all that climbing and come out in a parking lot. The visitor center at the top was packed! Many “normal” folks come up via the bus, cog railway or drive themselves. We stayed at the top for about an hour, having some food, buying some souvenirs (They only sell them at the top, what a racket) and just resting.
However, while we were resting at the top, weather blew in…..before we left the top a drizzle had started, we were all bundled against the cold and ready to tackle the arduous decent. We knew we were going to be in for a difficult decent because the rocks were already wet and slippery and the fog eliminated any changes of seeing more than 50 feet in front of you. Did we mention the driving wind and freezing rain yet in addition to everything else? We all decided to take a different route down so we wouldn’t have to brave the steep cliffs on the Tuckerman Ravine Trail…our knees would all come to regret this decision. The trail we decide on was called Boott Spurr. This was a MUCH less traveled (hence MUCH less maintained) trail. It also didn’t provide any cover from the driving wind and rain since it traveled across the top of a ridge that was above the tree line. The fog was so bad at this point that we had to navigate from rock cairn to rock cairn. Numbness and near hypothermia started to set in for most of us since we were all soaked from head to toe. The trail only got worse from there…
Once we hit the tree line (seemingly hours later) the trail became more difficult because it was nothing more than a stream bed that flowed down the side of the mountain. Of course the stream bed became an untamed torrent of rapids due to all the rain. Our feet were soaked from walking through this muck. The trail was also MUCH steeper and MUCH rockier than the first and our pace through the woods was slowed to a 120 MINUTE MILE!!!!!! This part of the hike saw all of us go through the entire range of emotions. Teresa was getting a bit frustrated from falling so much (we all know how much she falls on flat concrete…so imaging steep wet rocks, Tracy started hallucinating from hypothermia, John was just normal calm John, and Adam/Lauren somehow managed to giggle uncontrollably all the way down). The most difficult part of this hike was the ladder. We all came to a man made log ladder that descended nearly 20 feet down a sheer rock face…this was not an obstacle that we were ready to manage…unfortunately we didn’t really have a choice in the matter.
We somehow all managed to make it to the bottom alive…broken; but alive. We changed out of our wet clothes as best we could and all went out for a much deserved pizza and beer. The ride back in Adam’s truck was painful because it was dark and rainy and Lauren, Tracy, and Adam all smelled pretty bad.
We can’t wait to do it again next year…
Thursday, July 20, 2006
I neven was one for taking a lot of recvery time. Yesterday (2 days after my race) I biked for 2 hours in the morning, hiked for 3 hours in the afternoon (VERY steep with 2 summits) and swam for an hour in the evening. I didn't eat as well as I should have and I kind of feel it today. Off for a long ride today (after I finish watching The Tour). It's nice not having to start early in the morning to beat the heat. I am super excited about this weekend's climb with Tracy, Teresa, and John.
Monday, July 17, 2006
17 July 2006
The race this weekend was an absolute blast!!! The director did an amazing job at putting together an entire weekend full of events as well as a top notch race. I stayed in the dorms on the campus of Hobart and William Smith Colleges right in downtown Geneva. The last time I stayed in dorms was in undergrad and I got thrown out my first year...I did a much better job of folllowing rules this time. Here is a brief overview of the race day:
MORNING - Woke up at 4:30 and drank my Tim Horton's coffee...that make some of the best coffee in the world...the Canadians really know their java. I decided to bike the 3 miles to the race venue which served as a nice warm up. I would come to regret this decision after the race.
SWIM - The swim took place in one of the finger lakes...very nice and clear. Unfortunately the water got very rough due to the wind, the boats, and the shallow depth. I got tossed around pretty good on the leg that went parallel to the shore. The exit was brutal becasue you had to walk almost 100 yards through knee high water...too shallow to swim and extremely taxing to run through. The swim took me about 40 minutes.
BIKE - This was my first race on the new bike and it was quite a difference. I was definitely able to climb better and shoot the hills quicker. My legs also felt quite a bit better at the end of the ride than they ever did on my tri bike. The course was ver scenic as it rolled through farms and vinyards. There was very little traffic and the roads were all very smooth and VERY hilly. The bike took me a bit over 3 hours (the results haven't been posted yet). I also may have received a penalty on the bike...the USAT guy was following me and I saw him write something down. I had plenty of room in front of me, but ever since Sarasota I think USAT has it out for me.
RUN - I was surprised how good I felt off the bike. I was able to run all but about 2 of the 13 miles. It was very hot on the run and it HURT. The temp reached about 96 with high humidity on no clouds. The run course was also brutally hilly. There were some serious quarter mile climbs at numerous sections. There were lots of homeowners along the course who had their hoses out and they were spraying down the runners...this was a great help between the aid stations. The run took me about 2.5 hours.
AFTERMATH - I pretty much collapsed in the grass as soon as I was done. The medical tent at the end looked like a scene from MASH. There were bodies EVERYWHERE...they filled up all the cots they had and they were putting people on picnic tables and on te ground. I guess New Englanders can't take the heat ;-) Riding my bike 3 miles uphill back to my dorm room absolutely sucked!!!! I managed to take a shower and couldnt move out of my bed. My electrolytes were seriously depleted and I had no easy way of getting food since my car was parked a half mile away. I finally grabbed some chips and soda from the snack machine. That gave me enough energy to go get dinner which consisted of a stromboli, 1 lb of pineapple and 3 doughnuts.
So now I get one day of rest until I can start getting ready for the Mt Washington summit next weekend.
MORNING - Woke up at 4:30 and drank my Tim Horton's coffee...that make some of the best coffee in the world...the Canadians really know their java. I decided to bike the 3 miles to the race venue which served as a nice warm up. I would come to regret this decision after the race.
SWIM - The swim took place in one of the finger lakes...very nice and clear. Unfortunately the water got very rough due to the wind, the boats, and the shallow depth. I got tossed around pretty good on the leg that went parallel to the shore. The exit was brutal becasue you had to walk almost 100 yards through knee high water...too shallow to swim and extremely taxing to run through. The swim took me about 40 minutes.
BIKE - This was my first race on the new bike and it was quite a difference. I was definitely able to climb better and shoot the hills quicker. My legs also felt quite a bit better at the end of the ride than they ever did on my tri bike. The course was ver scenic as it rolled through farms and vinyards. There was very little traffic and the roads were all very smooth and VERY hilly. The bike took me a bit over 3 hours (the results haven't been posted yet). I also may have received a penalty on the bike...the USAT guy was following me and I saw him write something down. I had plenty of room in front of me, but ever since Sarasota I think USAT has it out for me.
RUN - I was surprised how good I felt off the bike. I was able to run all but about 2 of the 13 miles. It was very hot on the run and it HURT. The temp reached about 96 with high humidity on no clouds. The run course was also brutally hilly. There were some serious quarter mile climbs at numerous sections. There were lots of homeowners along the course who had their hoses out and they were spraying down the runners...this was a great help between the aid stations. The run took me about 2.5 hours.
AFTERMATH - I pretty much collapsed in the grass as soon as I was done. The medical tent at the end looked like a scene from MASH. There were bodies EVERYWHERE...they filled up all the cots they had and they were putting people on picnic tables and on te ground. I guess New Englanders can't take the heat ;-) Riding my bike 3 miles uphill back to my dorm room absolutely sucked!!!! I managed to take a shower and couldnt move out of my bed. My electrolytes were seriously depleted and I had no easy way of getting food since my car was parked a half mile away. I finally grabbed some chips and soda from the snack machine. That gave me enough energy to go get dinner which consisted of a stromboli, 1 lb of pineapple and 3 doughnuts.
So now I get one day of rest until I can start getting ready for the Mt Washington summit next weekend.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
14 July 2005
This is my last update for a while as I am heading over to New York tomorrow morning and I won't be back here until Monday evening. I'm definitely looking forward to the race there...the weather is supposed to be perfect; high 70's to low 80's during the race and very low humidity. I got a bunch of stuff for my new bike today; SPD clips, straight aero bars, and a shorter stem. All of that cost less than $150...it's definitely nice having a Trek rep in the family. I spent the entire afternoon and evening making bike fit modification on the new ride...I think I have it at a place that will be relatively comfortable for 56 miles of rolling hills.
I'm out...talk to you all soon :-)
I'm out...talk to you all soon :-)
12 July 2006
Lauren and I went to the masters swim at Plymouth State again last night. Out workout was 2K but I only managed 1.8K and Lauren only managed about 1.5K. It wasn't becasue we were tired (I could use the excuse that I was tapering), we didn't finish the workout because we were goofing off too much in the pool. I found it fun to grab her foot and pull her backwards in mid stroke. She found it fun to smack me in the head everytime we passed each other. So basically nothing has changed in the past 25 years becasue this is the same stuff we did when we were kids. My mom was right...the Gifford kids should never be allowed out in public togehter.
I also used the giant fins for my kicking sets...they were fun becasue you really fly through the water with minimal effort. Now to find a way to sneak them into the lake this weekend for my race.
I also used the giant fins for my kicking sets...they were fun becasue you really fly through the water with minimal effort. Now to find a way to sneak them into the lake this weekend for my race.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
11 July 2006
So I have always told people that I have a really good sense of direction. Apparently I have been lying all these years...tonight is a great example of that. I headed out on the bike for a quick 30 minute ride (part of my alleged taper) but I kept finding cool roads to go down (ALL the roads here are void of traffic so they are great for riding). I soon came to realize that my 30 minutes were up and I was lost. It was also getting dark, I didn't have my cell phone with me, and I had no idea how to get in touch with my sister for help. I wasa getting a bit nervous becasue these roads are NOT the place you want to be lost in the dark; so I began to really hammer on the bike hoping that I would see something that I recognized. I finally made it back to the house before dark and my 30 minute ride became a 2 hour epic journey through central New Hampshire. I guess this is just karma for always making fun of those people who wear GPS units on their wrist for every workout ;-)
Here is a link for the race I am doing in New York this weekend www.musselmantri.com so Bev can make sure that the race is legit :-P
Here is a link for the race I am doing in New York this weekend www.musselmantri.com so Bev can make sure that the race is legit :-P
Monday, July 10, 2006
10 July 2006
So I got my Madone 5.9 this weekend and I absolutely LOVE it!!! Road bikes are so much more comfortable than tri bikes...especially when they only weigh 15 pounds. I did a killer ride today through the White Mountain National Forrest. The ride took me over the Kangamangus Highway and it was basically 1.5 hours straight of low gear climbing followed by 30 minutes of near-death downhill. I wanted to go up the road furthur but it got too cold (I know...pity me). Tonight I did a masters swim with Lauren (sister) and Matt Boobar at the Plymouth State University pool. It was nice becuase the Plymouth State swimming coach runs the workout and she helped my out quite a bit with my stroke. At some point this week I should probably start my taper since my big race in New York is this Saturday.
So I have something to confess...if I don't confess it now then it will be confessed for me by someone who's name rhymes with Tracy. I decided to see what it was like to shave my legs. Julie did say this can be my summer of experimentation and since the drug days are behind me I do things like shave. It felt like it helped with my swimming but I may just be imagining things. Everything will be grown back before I return so no one will notice anything different.
So I have something to confess...if I don't confess it now then it will be confessed for me by someone who's name rhymes with Tracy. I decided to see what it was like to shave my legs. Julie did say this can be my summer of experimentation and since the drug days are behind me I do things like shave. It felt like it helped with my swimming but I may just be imagining things. Everything will be grown back before I return so no one will notice anything different.
