TeamSOG training in the southeast on the Nantahala River

How often do you get to genuinely feel like a true beginner again, after practicing a sport for nearly a decade? Almost never.

You can fake it, like letting a 6 year old catch you in a game of tag, or…

You can fudge it, like using only one arm to shoot hoops.

But rarely do you get to feel the excitement and anticipation of square one again.

If you have been kayaking for as long as I have try sitting in a wildwater boat and you’ll know exactly what I mean.  Throw everything you know about the forward stroke, torso rotation and edge control out with the trash.  Get the slate as blank as possible, you’re going to need it.

Perhaps this doesn’t sound like a very good idea?  You spend years developing skills and techniques and reach a fairly advanced level within a sport.  Why would you want to throw it all out the window.

To get better.

It also makes class III really REALLY exciting again.

The boat is going to teach me a lot about kayaking that I might have assumed I already knew. Just trying to get a proper forward stroke is sometimes too much for me to think about. I find myself returning to taking it in pieces, just like how I recommend my students approach learning to paddle.

I continue to struggle finding a sufficient level of comfort in the boat so that I’m not just using correctional strokes the whole way down. A little padding here, a new seat from the Czech Republic and many, many more days on the water should help out a lot. I can only imagine what this is going to feel like when I have my ducks in a row and can work on paddling as hard as I possibly can.

My sister did comment that the boat looked like a torpedo. I answered “that’s because it is.”

Baker ran this race this year.  He and I have run it multiple times and love the Lynchburg Ultra Races run by David Horton and Clark Zealand, like the 50 mile Masochist race I ran last November.  The ++ stands for 2 extra miles, for a total of about 33.5 miles.

Horton’s Races

Clark’s Races

This time, since my hamstring is healing from a strain, I supported him.  The race was run in Appomattox and the course is almost entirely on trails.  There was about 4 inches of snow on the trail.  Baker was in the lead group early, breaking the snow, which was quite brutal.

I caught him a little beyond halfway, in 4th place, to find out he hadn’t eaten anything and quickly gave him some Clif Shots and Bloks to fuel him up.  The lack of nutrition took a toll on him forcing him to drop a few places.  He was passed by a very tight group of people finishing in 12th place but only about 12 minutes, which is not a lot, behind 4th place.

I was also supporting my girlfriend Katie who was running her first ultra.

Pictures posted soon!

-Brian

Toby just flew down to GA for Army Ranger Training.  Basically a 60 day long adventure race extreme.  We’re hoping to get him back safe and sound at the end of April and get him back in shape to start racing again ASAP.

Its 30-some degrees, spitting rain and you scheduled yourself for mileage on the bike today.  Today’s ride, along with the rest of the weeks’ training however, was carefully planned and written as you sat warm, dry and comfortable at your desk on Sunday evening.  Now, you find yourself faced with the same decision that everyone who does not live in San Diego has asked themselves more than a few times – Ride the mileage outside amidst these elements, or inside on the trainer.  There is no cut & dried answer.  On this particular day, there is very little that is dry at all – that being part of the beauty.  Naturally, it all comes down to what you are looking to gain from your training, but as a general rule of thumb – Get Outside.

I will not hesitate to sing the praises of hours spent sweating on a spinning bike or trainer with the likes of Troy Jacobsen taking you through seemingly endless drills, ladders, tempo and sprint sets.  If you have never subjected yourself to such things, try it – it’s not only addictive, but also requires less bike maintenance and less sink-washing of nasty clothing.  There will be plenty of days when icy roads or nights spent working late will relegate you to the indoors.  Today like most of our fall and spring, it is just unpredictable weather and the chance to learn some lessons from Mother Nature.

So much is gained by making the choice to slog it out.  Obviously, you will have completed the mileage – the very thing that you had written into your schedule that will bring you one step closer to reaching your goal.  But the same time, you’ll be completing that mileage in the very same (or worse) conditions you’ll inevitably face on a race course somewhere, someday (some night).    We invest so much of our time and energy in trying to prepare ourselves specifically for X event.  We tailor training to the disciplines, duration, intensity and terrain that we project we’ll face on race day.  Why then, pass up this great opportunity to subject yourself to adverse weather conditions?

You gain the knowledge of exactly what clothing provides you with the best protection from the elements while still enabling you to perform.  Layering up and staying as dry as possible is key.  Wicking layers, worn close to the body and a breathable gore-tex style shell on the outside allows sweat to get out while keeping the rain from getting in.  How can you not love technology?  Zippers on both the outer and inner layers will further help you to regulate your body’s temperature during long climbs and descents.  Adding a piece of folded duct tape to the handle on the zippers will make it easier to find and use with cold, gloved hands.  The challenge of keeping warm often lies with your extremities.  A good set of gloves with water-repellant properties can be found in more places than just bike stores.  As for your feet, layer them up as well.  The combination of wool socks and a basic $30 set of shoe covers provide an economical and generally effective system that can take a two hour ride in cold temperatures from potentially dangerous to just painful or uncomfortable.

The true benefit however, lies with the Conan and John Stamstad philosophy: That which does not kill you will make you stronger.  It just makes sense – the simple premise that the more often you operate in that environment, the better you and your body will be able to perform when faced with it.  Dealing with a little bit of suck is healthy.  As you spend the miles in religious solitude, the sweat and rain will cleanse you in places that soap will never reach.  We’ve all been there and we know that the both the feeling and growth that takes place is priceless.  So why pass up the opportunity to experience that all over again?  The time to ride is now.  It is Pennsylvania – don’t like the weather, wait 30 minutes.

-Toby

During my week long cruise in the Caribbean I got to create for myself a mini adventure.  Our last stop on the cruise was a small island called Grand Turk.  It is only about 6 miles long and 2 miles wide.  Since our boat docked at the southern tip of the island I decided to go explore the rest of the island.  My girlfriend Katie had planned to come along but had gotten a stomach flu the night before and decided it would be  a much smarter decision to stay home and get some more sleep.

I left the boat with a small pack with water, a towel, and a camera.  As I walked through the port I was able to find a small map with a few details.  I noticed there was a lighthouse on the north end of the island so I set off to find it.  The island was very windy as it was very flat and narrow.  I could see the ocean all around me at certain times.  Right after I left the port.  I passed by the airport and a unique object.  It was the pod from a space mission, Friendship VII.

Running along the island I passed through mainly one small town.  Along the road I saw many loose cattle and donkeys.  This contributed to an occasional smell of manure.

I also came across another interesting site that baffled me at first.  It was a car driving on water.  As it turned out there was a small paved road that it was actually driving on.  The island is very flat.  There were ditches for flooding along the main road and a bunch of these small lakes that probably weren’t more than 10 ft deep.

I continued to make my way toward the lighthouse and after a slight detour I got a great view of some beautiful water.  All the beaches were very beautiful here and the island is also known for its scuba diving.  I reached the lighthouse in about 1 hour.  It was about a 7 mile trip.  I stopped to enjoy the view and take a few pictures and then headed towards the channel on the north end of the island.

There was a small channel that flowed between two peninsulas.  On the map it looked close enough that I might be able to cross somehow.  When I got there it was about 50 feet across.  Only problem was it was clearly very deep and I did not have a waterproof bag for my camera.  I thought of some ideas and then some kayakers came to my rescue.  I asked if they would transport my things to the other side as I swam.  They agreed and I thanked them for their help.

Once I got to the other side I quickly took off back to the port, barefoot in the sand.  When I reached the road I put my shoes back on and continued along.  As I ran back to the ship I could tell I was losing energy.  I had no water left and hadn’t brought food.  I stopped in a local pizzeria where the owner was nice enough to give me a free bottle of water to help me finish my run.  I told her if I ever came back I would be sure to stop in for some pizza.

I made it back to the port in about 2 hours and 30 minutes.  I quickly jumped in the water to cool off and grabbed some food.  It was a neat experience to see the whole island and to say I ran across the whole thing.  Final mileage was just under 14 miles.

-Brian

It’s hard to believe its January and we are already racing!

The North Georgia Adventure Race or NGAR is a 30 hour race that took place in the beautiful mountains of Northern Georgia primarily around the Fort Mountain State Park. The chosen three Team SOG racers were Kristen Dieffenbach, Matt Shreve and myself, Steven Baker. Our team was fortunate enough to have a support crew consisting of one of Matt’s good friends Taylor.

I began my journey Thursday night by driving to Blacksburg, VA, this overnight stay allowed me to break up my 10 hour drive and visit some old friends from school. I spent the night with Chris Clarke and Heather Fisher who were kind enough to let me crash on their couch. Chris made an excellent send off breakfast of eggs and biscuits before I left for Georgia and he left for school. I arrived at Fort Mountain State Park around 1PM Friday afternoon, and caught a quick nap before Matt showed up with the boat and the remainder of the mandatory gear required for check-in.

The NGAR staff was very well organized and made checking in a breeze. Matt was lucky enough to get a brand new 17 foot canoe with a middle seat from an Atlanta rental outfit, it had the tags still attached and everything! It was a great treat to receive the maps at check in; this gave us plenty of time to plot points and layout our route. After checking into race headquarters we setup camp in our cabin, which was a misnomer as was more like someone’s home – complete with china hutch and washer and dryer. Matt, Taylor and I pulled all our gear into the ‘cabin’ then Matt and I plotted the map while Taylor followed along recalling his days as a marine sniper and his ancient plotting tools.  We ate dinner throughout the plotting of our maps.  Taylor brought some excellent homemade chili that was much appreciated. Matt and I had just about finished the map work when Kristen arrived on the scene, just in time since she had the contact paper for water proofing the maps. This proved to be critical later in the race as some teams were forced to drop as their maps became soggy unreadable mush. Taylor and I waterproofed maps while Kristen walked Matt through what gear he would need during the race. This was Matt’s first race over 10 hours and was eagerly absorbing the wealth of knowledge Kristen was presenting to him.  Kristen and Matt had finished packing by the time I was satisfied with the maps. So I packed my gear while they loaded bikes and their gear into the vehicles for transport. Once everything was loaded and ready for the morning we headed off to bed for the last sleep we’d see for the next 30-40 hours.

Revelry! Revelry! Revelry!  This is how we woke up, Taylor had already packed his things and was shooing out the door so we could head to the race. After a couple of wrong turns on the way to the race start we decided Matt would not be in charge of navigation, but we’d love him all the same.  We unloaded the boat and bikes and laid out our gear for the start of the race. The race began with a 1 mile prologue (in this case it was a run) to separate the field since the boat landing wasn’t big enough for more than a few boats to leave at a time. I was nominated to be the lucky prologuer and run to the bottom of the dam road and back up.  While I warmed up for my run, Kristen and Matt scouted the best route down to the water for the boat put in.  There was an obvious path down, but they were able to find a nice back channel path that would save us time and jump us places for the put in.

As we gathered around the starting line we were giving our last minute instructions and notified that there was a bass tournament and a rockfish tournament that would be occurring while we were out on the water. Boom bang, the gun went off and I was on my way down what was more of a rock garden than a road. Kristen met me at the top of the hill with my PFD so I could dress while turning in my prologue lollypop that I had sprinted for.  I had managed to get back to the boats in third and we were on the water in 8^th It was obvious from the start our pre-race decision to use canoe paddles was going to slow us down as we were not able to keep pace with our competitors despite Matt’s great water skills.  He was able to provide us with some great pointers so despite the equipment handicap we plugged along and eventually fell into a steady rhythm. We reached the first checkpoint after trying to avoid constant bombardment from crazed bass fishermen in drug smuggling cigar boats. I couldn’t quite figure out why their boats needed to go so fast but they did none the less and they seemed not to notices us as they flew past. We portaged across an easy finger to shave paddle time when heading to CP2. We continued our rhythm and were only 8 minutes off the leader going into CP3.  Upon arriving at CP4 we made another portage, this time with what felt like a 500 ft climb only to bushwhack with the canoe off the back side.  Matt and I shouldered the canoe while Kristen shouldered the packs and paddles.  Amazingly, we made it to the water without any major slips down the steep hill.  As hard as both the up and down were, the move shaved a serious amount of paddle time. We exited the water in 15^th place – not bad considering our paddle pace.  And as we found out later, some of the teams out of the water ahead of us had opted to skip some of the points so they weren’t truly ahead of us at this point. We punched CP 5 coming out of the water.

No tears were shed as we left the paddles and PFD’s with Taylor who set up a really well organized first TA. At long last we were on our bikes and in our element.  We hit CP6 at the bottom of the same dam road where I had run for the prologue and continued north towards Fort Mountain State Park, picking off three or four teams along the way. The ride began as a mostly flat road ride and eventually turned into gradual gravel climb before reaching CP7. After reaching CP7 we had to climb a steep and muddy single track, much of which was hike a bike. Eventually we reach the paved access road at the park entrance and coasted downhill to our support crew pit stop TA1 where Taylor was waiting with hot oatmeal and chicken noodle soup. Shortly after leaving the comfort of the transition area it began to rain and didn’t let up until well after the race had ended Sunday.

Leaving the TA we rode a short distance to CP8.  Leaving CP8 we got turned around for 20 minutes or so after switching to the park map.  After we realized it had been marked wrong the night before we were back on track. I regained my orientation and we were on our way. We continued on bike down some knarly single track complete with boulders and ice that was better suited for goats than wet mountain bikers. Not long after starting down our first trail we switch back to hike a bike to ensure our safety travelling up and down the steep downhill’s in the Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains. We clipped off CP9 and CP10 no problem. We passed some teams heading the wrong way but we stayed the course and found our points without trouble. Leaving CP10 we hit a mix of paved road and gravel climbs before arriving at CP11. CP11 was the transition from bike to trek and we arrived just as dusk was falling.  We had a few laughs with some young TA helpers, organized maps, changed shoes and we left slightly ahead of another team we had passed on the way to 11. We bushwhacked down the site of the CP/TA to cut off a portion of the road, and travelled north traversing the mountain on gravel roads.  The steady rain continued and small pockets of fog had just begun to roll in.

The beginning of the end. As primary navigator I led us down an old logging road to cut off another long portion of road. We weren’t on the logging road long before it became overgrown and hard to follow. We continued, following terrain features and eventually the road ended. After some indecision and no visible offshoots we eventually bushwhacked down a re-entrant only to come out right where we wanted, CP12! In the fog and rain, it was a very lucky spot as we weren’t really looking for it yet.  Feeling confident, we struck out on the road to find CP13.  Matt had begun to feel twinges in his knee and Kristen was confident he was feeling IT band issues.  She taught him some IT and glut stretches that he could do on the trail to try to keep the damage and pain to a minimum as we went.  From the old road, we thought we found the trail that would cut us across the mountain towards CP13.  After a bit of bushwhacking and following the overgrown trail, we discovered we were back on the trail we had used to head for CP12 before we lost it!  We found another team that had spent quite a bit of time here and they filled us in on all the angles they had attempted from this trail.  We were confident about where we were on the map but the trail leading to CP13 did not seem to exist and without an altimeter, and given the time we had already lost bushwhacking to 12, we were not confident about bushwhacking to CP13.  Matt’s knee was not holding up well to the rigors of bushwhacking either.  So we opted to head back out to the road, run down and around to the TA and attach CP 13 from the other side.  The down was a nice steady paced run and Kristen gave Matt some pointers to keep his knee safe on the down run.  All seemed to be going well in the drizzle and fog.  Then we hit the TA and headed back up.  Almost immediately we discovered a slick and thick mud trail that made for very slow going.  Matt began to have trouble staying warm.  Kristen concentrated on feeding him while I focused on the maps.  While the travel up to 13 was pretty straight forward, it was certainly not easy.  The trail was rocky, muddy and at times very steep.  Matt began to shiver and Kristen tried to warm him with hand held pocket warmers.  Unfortunately the now driving rain and high winds made it impossible to activate these little air activated heaters.  At the very top when we found 13, we found momentary shelter from the wind.   We used my space blanket and wrapped it inside Matt’s outer layers to try to help warm him.  He was shivering at this point and we were afraid to strip him down before using the space blanket.

We pushed the pace trying to help warm up Matt as we headed for CP 14.  A short trail jog brought us to a spot where we had to dive in on a bushwhack to CP14.  Without an altimeter and in the continued rain, it was slow going.  Working with another team that was down a member, we spread out and worked our way toward CP14.  Once we found it, it was a further bushwhack down to the trail and then a run/slip/slid to the TA.  Matt was still very cold and his knee was screaming.  We had also all run out or very low on water, a nasty irony given the rains and wind.

Back at CP15/ the trek to bike transition, Matt huddled by the fire while I changed maps and Kristen changed shoes.  We had hoped to continue on after I downed 4 s’mores, but Matt was done.  Having gone over twice as far as he had ever raced before, the pain in his knee and the cold got to him.  After being sure that Taylor was on his way, and talking to the TA folk, Kristen and I double checked the map and were on our way.  A wet, very foggy downhill didn’t do much to warm us up as we tried to control our pace on the wet rutted roads.  The guys at the TA had assured us that the rain was done for the night.  We road on, psyched for the pavement even though we found ourselves climbing again.  The climb warmed us and we set a good pace.  Soon we were at CP16, a neat mountain bike camp.  They had graciously opened their dining hall for the race – a warm little space with pot belly stove, warm stew, and shelter from the wind.  We went in momentarily to check in and get more water.  As we left the warmth of the little building, the rain started again. And it started to come down hard and cold.  Kristen looked at me and said ‘you really want to do this?’ and we decided that this would be our end point for the race.  Excellent training for a January and a great way to light the fire for the rough weather training that is sure to come over the next few months as we prepare for season.

-Baker

Taking a break amongst Sedona’s red rock formations

With Denver in the rearview mirror I headed south into the desert.  I’ve biked, hiked, kayaked and climbed through the wilderness in every region of the continental United States, except for the southwest.  Decision made and I’m on way way to Flagstaf, Arizona.  Naturally, all my toys are with me: 4 kayaks and a road bike on the roof, my snowboard and even a longboard.

I expected a bleak landscape.  I expected scorching hot sun rays.  I expected tumbleweed.

I didn’t expect to see the snowcapped San Fransisco peaks out my window as I ate breakfast.  I didn’t expect to be 45 minutes from the mountain biker’s heaven, Sedona.  And I didn’t expect that there would be more colors and life than many other ecosystems.

At an altitude of nearly 8,000 ft, Flagstaff Arizona is a hot destination for the training adventure athlete.  The Northern Arizona University even boasted a “high altitude training center” that attracted olympic athletes from all over the world.  In these economic times, they were forced to shut down the facility yet the athletes still seem to come.

For the outdoor adventure athlete, like the members of TeamSOG, it is one of the best places to get out and push your limits.  I found a mountain bike to borrow and headed down to Sedona for a couple days of amazing, technical riding.

Riding on Sedona’s technical single-track

I also found myself in Pheonix, looking desperately into the surrounding peaks.  I grabbed my road bike and headed toward South Mountain Park, the country’s largest urban park.  After averting an accident on the congested streets of the city, always a scary venture, I wound my way to the top of the park.  This 6 mile climb was filled with scenic vistas of the city and even more colorful desert wildlife.  An urban park for the rural folk.

A few days of snowboarding gave me some speed I had been craving.  Arching huge turns always brings smiles.  I also strapped on some snowshoes to explore a little more of the snowy backcountry with family.

A View of the Grand Canyon from the South Rim

A Full Moon to Light the Way

Yet, the most intense day was by far, the Grand Hike Day.  My boyfriend and I began descending into the canyon before the sun came up, using the moon and our headlamps to guide us and crampons to steady our feet.  We made it down to the river with enough time to hang out before the longer hike back out.  We pushed ourselves the whole day, completeing the 18 mile loop faster than expected.  Visit my blog for more of a description of the day and enjoy some of the photos!

-Susan

Check out the developing TeamSOG website via the SOG website.  You can see some videos as well as purchase some sweet TeamSOG gear.

SOG

Check out the picture of Baker.  He finally made it as a model!!!

Baker

First off I just want to say sorry that this is the first you have heard from me. I have been traveling all over Chile and sometimes it is hard to get this all done in the short amount of time we have on the computer. To start my adventure we arrived in Chile around the 25th of October, we had a few flight issues that landed us in Bogota, Colombia for a few days which was very interesting to say the least. The first day on the river was a great run we ended up doing the run on the Rio Claro , From pool to pool roughly 40 feet ( 13-14 meters) the drop twists halfway down in a spiral formation and free-falls the remaining 20+ feet. Hence the name Caracol, which in Spanish means “snail”.Usually when kayakers come to run the Caracol it is in early spring and late summer and the pool is much more calm. But, we were in the heart of the spring season with high water and what do you think they did….thats right…. we ran it!!!  The scary thing about this drop is once you drop in there is no way of getting out, except via kayak for another 5 rapids deep inside the dangerously committing gorge. The river was running at what we think was the highest flow anyone has ever attempted the Caracol and the gorge following known as “el Gargante de el Diablo” which means “throat of the Devil.”

This is just day one , stay connected to catch more action from Chile!!

-Susan