The G-Rant : Grant's Rants on Adventure Racing

October 2007 - Posts

• Langnau photos and gut-busting meringues

  OK, I pulled the latest set of photos off the camera and onto Flickr.  This set is from the birthday hike Jill and Boli (our dog) took me on a week ago in Langnau, between Bern and Interlaken.  This photo is representative of the beautiful rolling terrain: It was chilly out, with frost on the ground in many places and snow flurries in the air.  We were happy to get into a traditional Swiss mountain top restaurant that was famous for their meringues (meringue cookies, not meringue pies -- I learned this after ordering) . . . and they make them big: This put a serious gut buster on me for the hike down the ridge to the bus station!  I'm all for taking calories in when exercising and training your body to metabolize and digest food, but this was excessive.  And quite tasty. Posted Oct 30 2007, 09:38 AM by gkillian with 3 comment(s)

• Redesign

  I had some time to get a redesign and new content together for the Untamed Adventure site.  This should suit us well, giving us room to grow and showcase some cool new content as we tackle our big todo list for next year. It's too nice a day out to do too much nerd-work, however, so I'll skip uploading more photos (of Rigi, Langnau, and other places) until later this week . . . Posted Oct 29 2007, 05:50 AM by gkillian with 1 comment(s)

• Return To The Running Track

  Despite years and years of soccer "punishment laps" around a running track (or "the Donut" as one coach used to affectionately call it), and me swearing to avoid running laps after I retired my soccer shoes, I've finally returned to the unholy oval. Why have I stooped so low, you ask?  Well, the village we live in (it seriously is a village: 13,000 residents officially) has a soccer club that plays on a gorgeous field with a seldom used running track around it.  I recently learned that it's open to the public to run on, provided we stay off the grass and there isn't a soccer game, and the track surface really is excellent and well marked for 100-400 meter distances.  It's also only 30 seconds away from our apartment, which makes the track really accessible.  Let me link up a photo of the track to round out the picture: Besides the availability of the nice track, I've been hitting the local trails a lot lately and a running track provides some variety from the off-road action.  It's a chance to add some fixed intervals/distances to my training and push my anaerobic capacity, and I don't have to worry about tree roots, elevation changes, and so on. I did some research in deciding which track workout to do; there are hundreds out there, but mostly tailored to prep for a 5K, 10K, or marathon.  I really don't care about my "1 mile pace."  So I turned to the good old Trailblazer website as I remembered a forum discussion a few months back about track workouts.  Sure enough, I found a workout simple enough that I didn't need to write anything down and since the source was Jay Curwen (of much AR acclaim in the southeast US) I figured it would do to get me started and not be too 5K or 10K or marathon focussed. Here was the workout suggested by Jay: "The Newton" 2 mile warm-up 5x200m w/ 1 minute rest 5x200m w/ 45 second rest 5x200m w/ 30 second rest 5x200m w/ 15 second rest 2 mile warm down (preceeded by a 30 second puking fit) Sounds easy doesn't it? Try it. This "Newton" was just what I was needed and, while I didn't puke, I felt fatigue in my legs that I'm not used to.  I'm accustomed to the dull numbness and cardio buzz that sets in after 2 hours of trail running, but this 40 minute track workout resulted in my leg muscles wearing out without my cardio fitness really kicking in; it was strange, I could hardly believe my workout for the day was already over but my quads and hamstrings were taxed.  This is just what I need to balance out the longer, slower efforts I often do.  With the track so close by, I'll probably mix in one of these each week for the next few months.  I think the long term benefits of pushing my pace over 200 meter intervals with this "high lactate" training should be that I can maintain a higher overall pace without succumbing to the lactic acid trolls.  Anything to keep those lactic acid trolls away . . . Posted Oct 26 2007, 07:19 AM by gkillian with no comments

• Tandem Kayak Tangent

  Just got wind that Point 65 has a new tandem on the market for next year: The Point 65 "Double Shot" sounds like a good balance of technical and practical; it's not too long (at 20') so it will actually fit in your garage, but it's still long enough to be very performant and track well.  Trust me, if you've paddled a few hours in an open cockpit tandem like this one . . . . . . you'll really appreciate a boat that is more "race ready" and responsive and quick.  The funny thing is, the two boats pictured (the Double Shot and the anonymous brand recreational tandem) weigh about the same at around 65-70 pounds even though the Point 65 boat is 6 feet longer!  I guess that's why plastic loses to glass and kevlar every time, right?  Yes, the Point 65 boat is around $3K while you can  probably find anonymous rec tandem for under $1K, but that's a choice you have to make based on how you're going to use it.  For example, if your going out fishing in the creek behind your house, a rec boat is fine.  If you're going to cross the James River on a windy, choppy, day . . . I'm looking for the Double Shot. For me, personally, I'm trying hard not to acquire more gear over here in Switzerland.  At some point, that gear has to return to the U.S. or be sold off . . . so while I'm satisfied with my paddling options right now, you may not be and I'd consider the Double Shot for sure. Truth in blogging: PaddlePoint (a Point 65 distributor) does sponsor our Untamed efforts but this post is something I'd say regardless of who manufactures the boat.  If you're frustrated with your paddling, upgrading your boat can be a surefire remedy and I know I -- personally -- hope to never paddle a lousy open cockpit tandem again.  You know speaking of sponsors, the VA Sea Kayak Center could help you land your own Double Shot and, I just noticed this, they've got a bit of adventure race specific programming on their list of services which is always cool to see.  The more seriously retailers take the sport of AR, the better off we're all going to be.  We should do our part and support those that do! Posted Oct 26 2007, 04:58 AM by gkillian with 3 comment(s)

• Cow Bells and Meringue

  Just learned that Jill will be taking me on this hike tomorrow to celebrate my birthday; it's crisp, cool, and sunny around here so the day should be perfect.  We'll bring Bolivar, the dog wonder, along with us which will make for a great time.  There's also a place along the route that's famous for it's meringue cookies so you know I won't miss that.  Yumm, beer and cookies on top of the mountain . . . Photos, of course, to follow. Posted Oct 19 2007, 03:22 PM by gkillian with no comments

• New to the neighborhood

  If you check out the Untamed New England home page, down on the lower left corner is a new section we've called the GMARA Untamed Insight (this section links to the full Insight area here).  It will offer an inside look as Team GMARA prepares for to compete in the race; we're highlighting this team since the GMARA (Green Mountain AR Association) is a household name for racing up in New England, and we think it will be cool to put a microscope on them as they train and build for race day.  Chris, captain of the team, also writes really well, which is something not all adventure racers can do (too much sleep deprivation for most AR types?), so I think it will be particularly entertaining to see where Chris takes it. Once we finish the Team section for the Untamed New England site, each team will have it's own profile page where they can upload photos and so on (a lot like Untamed Virginia 2007), but we think emphasizing Team GMARA in this way is smart since we're new to the New England racing neighborhood and this should help attract the locals.  We have a running bet amongst the Untamed staff whether the mid-Atlantic (Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina) will have more teams in the race than New England will . . . it's way too early to tell but by about January we should start to see how this shakes out.  We're just starting to get advertisements into the right places and building some name recognition for the race, and I think the normal  time for people to register for their "big" events is right around the new year, so we'll have to be patient.  Based on verbal commitments, however, the mid-Atlantic teams have like 20 spots taken but we'll see who follows through on that. Posted Oct 18 2007, 06:42 AM by gkillian with no comments

• Untamed VA 2008

  I've gotten a couple emails about this so it's high time I get off my butt and update the Untamed Virginia Adventure Race site with some 2008 information.  It's on my list, but there's a lot of software consulting work (and training) between the top of my todo list and the Untamed VA but I'll get around to it -- hopefully before the end of this month.  I've also got another big "revolutionary" event in the works for 2008 that I need to get the online details together for . . . but that's probably behind the Untamed VA in priority at this point. So, for the moment, this blog is perfect to share the current thinking on dates for the Untamed Virginia: Race dates are looking like Sept 12-14, 2008.  Check-in is looking like it will be Friday night with a bus ride for teams starting sometime that Friday evening. The race finish will be somewhere in the general Richmond area. It will be a 30-hour race course, no support crews allowed. We'll probably open registration sometime in Jan/Feb 2008. The buzz around this event for 2008 is already pretty big so I'm confident we'll have a great turn-out! Posted Oct 16 2007, 12:00 PM by gkillian with no comments

• Paddling News You Can Use Right Now

  I got a great paddle training tip a few months back; I think it is improving my stability and core strength in the boat.  Remove the backrest from your kayak seat; take it out and put it on the shelf in your storage locker or something, but don't paddle with the padded or plastic seat lower-back support.  That's it.  I've found my hip flexors, quads, abs, and all those other connective muscles have adapted quite nicely and I'm more sturdy on the boat because of it.  Without the "crutch" of that back support I'm more upright when I'm paddling and it better prepares my body for long stretches in the kayak; so while I might only paddle for 90 minutes, it will serve me well when I'm paddling in an event for 8 hours or more (and, presumably, the race provided boats will come with a backrest that will seem like such a luxury then -- and anytime you find "luxury" on an adventure race course you should count your blessings). The kayak seat-rest: great for comfort, but if you can go without it, your core will thank you for it! Another core strengthening tatic I've used is the exercise ball.  Besides being a great ice breaker in a stuffy office environment, you'll notice a difference after just a few weeks of sitting on one of these for part of your work day.  I left mine in Virginia when we moved, but once I find one here in Zurich I'll be buying one. One paddle specific training tool I haven't used (yet) is the BodyBlade.  I have it on good authority from some exercise academics that this is a good tool for core strength and shoulder mobility.  Don't just take my word for it, though, check out the Aug 30th entry from this  whitewater kayaker's perpective. Seems like an exercise ball or a BodyBlade would make good holiday gifts for those paddlers in your life! Speaking of paddling, several AR circles are buzzing about this tragic news from British Columbia.  It actually has me re-examining my paddling plans for this weekend and I may actually buy my dry suit before I do much more paddling here in Switzerland.  Water temps here are right at the limit of my comfort level, and with such variable air temperatures and wind I know I'll want a dry suit by the time December rolls around; I may as well get it early and start using it.  Better safe than sorry, right, even if I just stow it in a hatch for the next month.  Don't know what a dry suit is?  Here's a quick FAQ on dry suits. Finally, there's some exciting news coming out of the Point 65 camp for 2008 that I need to share with you soon (probably next week -- tomorrow I have a long day planned with Rigi and this weekend is all booked up too). Posted Oct 11 2007, 02:44 PM by gkillian with 1 comment(s)

• Lugano

  It wasn't really adventure race related (unless we decide to put a race on there some day), but our weekend in Lugano, in southern Switzerland, was just amazing.  Here are just a few photos of our castle, mountain, and wine festival experience.  The deal is that I wake up early and get a long run in, then we explore the area at a more typical tourist pace.  Part of the whole "life in balance" thing.  Of course, if you drink too much wine at the festival the night before, those early mornings become tougher! Posted Oct 09 2007, 10:48 AM by gkillian with 1 comment(s)

• Adventure Race Video

  Rob found some fun adventure racing videos from the 2006 Patagonia race: Race video 1 Race video 2 (check out the hellish portage if you think some portages I've thrown into a course are bad) Race video 3 There are more on YouTube, and I should call out this one in particular from 2005 since it's got the pumpin' Chemical Brothers soundtrack.  Do you think it's a copyright violation to sneak some Prodigy into our theme music for the soon-to-be-unleashed Untamed Adventure Radio? It must be a YouTube renaissance since I was just sent another video link, this one from the Pride of Lemmings in Northern VA: Untamed Virginia Adventure Race video from the Lemmings.  They were very courteous and asked permission to pull snippets from the official race video; I presume they did the same with Will Ramos and the photos.  I guess, following their lead, I should really ask the Prodigy before using their music.  Can anybody get me a phone number for this guy  . . . Posted Oct 02 2007, 06:52 AM by gkillian with 9 comment(s)