The third annual running of the 100on100 was last weekend, and I am psyched to report that Lauren and I completed our legs, and our team had it's best finish ever. I am pretty sure that Lauren's contribution was her fastest average time ever for that kind of distance, and although I was a little slower than last year, I still had a blast. Our team finished 17th out of 61, and 7th in the Master's category (all over 30 years old), running at an average clip of 7:39/mile. Perhaps best of all was the fact that our team also finished #2 in overall fund raising for the Boys and Girls Clubs, so a big Thank You to everyone who supported our efforts there.
The weather on race day was a little crazy -- we started out huddled under a tent (see photo above) at Stowe at 6:30 am, dodged rain, clouds and wind for a few hours, and then ran straight into a pretty clear and beautiful day. The wind never really subsided, but the conditions were really good for running.
For my part, I had it a little tougher than usual, fighting through some significant knee pain. I want to thank my good friend Dr. Tim for the miracle adjustment last week -- when I saw him on Monday I didn't think I could walk a 1/2 mile, much less run 16. But he was able to fix me up to the point I could complete my piece of the race. The knee was definitely not 100% -- especially after my double-diamond first leg, but I made it through. Plus, I had a great time, and that's really what we are in it for.
I couldn't be any happier for Lauren -- she really looks forward to this race and puts a LOT of effort into making sure that our team is organized, ready to go and successful. There is a lot more to it than you might think, and she did a great job as team captain again. On top of that, she ran great, was injury free and pretty much all smiles:
She was also faster than me, but I don't care to discuss that any more at this point. :-)
The rest of our team was in a groove all day -- just nutty fast times for Andrew, Brendan, Russ and Rebekah. Also a big shout-out to Lauren's cousin Suzy (Russ' wife) who acted as our team driver/cheerleader. As usual, Suzy did an awesome job and kept us all rolling (on wheels and with laughter) all day. And while running these kinds of distances requires considerable training and dedication, no one is taking things too seriously, as you can see from Andrew's choice of *sports drinks*:
As you can tell from the results link, there are still some teams faster than us, but there are none who have more fun. Being fast is all good, but I'll settle for a little less speed and a few extra laughs any day. Here is a shot of our team just after crossing the finish (in daylight for the first time ever!) -- can't wait for the fourth annual next year.
One more fun thing about being a parent is how you spend half of your life looking for stuff. I am pretty sure I could run a successful small business on the side if I could reclaim the hours I spend each week finding things. It is rarely the same item that's been lost, but invariably, whatever we are searching for is less than 2" long. It seems to always be the Red Truck or the Doll's Shoes that are missing. And, despite the fact that there are plenty of other trucks and shoes to be played with, the one in question must be found before peace can be restored.
Of all the small but important items in this house, the most critical still remain the stuffed animals. I appreciate the need for the comfort and familiarity of these creatures, but I have to say I will not be too sad when the day comes that they begin to spend more time in their rooms and less time traveling with Ally and Ty. Why? Not so much that they shouldn't bring their animal friends along to play or travel, but more that the friends rarely seem to return. Although they are much larger than the other items we lose they are extremely elusive.
Last night I spent 45 minutes on The Safari. First was a quick trip around the living room. There I bagged a lion, two bunnies and a hippo. Very nice take. I returned them to their native habitats and continued with getting the kids ready for bed. Teeth brushed, PJs on... good to go. Unfortunately, we are still a couple of wild animals short of a full herd. Guys, you will HAVE to start leaving your friends in your rooms...
Another trip through the house nets a bear and a baby doll (technically not part of a 'safari' catch, but important nonetheless). I think we are ready for bed. A quick final check on Ally's herd -- two bunnies, one hippo, one duck, two babies. Good to go. Goodnight, Ally.
A final run through Ty's wild kingdom shows that my young shepherd has lost one of his flock. One bear, one lion, one cookie monster, one chicken, one dog, and oh, no... only one lamb. We are already a good 30 minutes past bedtime, but there will be no sleep without Brutus the Lamb. Brutus joined us for dinner not 2 hours ago, and now he has vanished. Where did you leave him? Ummmm..... Did you take him outside? Ummmm.... After 15 minutes of Q&A and exhaustive search, I finally get Ty to agree to go to sleep and I will bring in Brutus when The Safari ends. I know, though, that sleep is a long way off if Brutus is not returned safely.
There is a happy ending to this one. The Safari headed out for one more perusal of the porch, and there we found a lost lamb, inexplicably placed beneath a booster chair. Why he'd chosen to hide there, I'll never know. I don't think the kids are cunning enough to stash these guys to extend bedtime, but you can't be to sure. Goodnight, Ty. Another successful bedtime and I am finished with The Safari until tomorrow.
A quick follow up to yesterday's post. Somehow, I managed to find the energy to go back down to the river Sunday night, joined by my brother-in-law, James, and my nephew Ian. I really wasn't sure I'd go back after Saturday's fiasco, but somehow I found the will power.
This was a different visit because I was now going to act as a guide. Which is ridiculous, given the little I know about fly fishing, but made some sense since James had never tried a fly rod before. On Saturday we'd been one fly rod short, so I set him up with a spin casting rod and some lures, but on Sunday we managed to get two fly rods set up and James was up for learning.
While there were no big lunkers to get that monkey off my back, I am happy to report that I've *hooked* someone new on fly fishing. It really is an incredibly peaceful and relaxing activity, and James was way into it. And the best part? James hooked a fish on his very first cast! Quite the battle to bring this guy in, but he was up to it with a little coaching:
Needless to say, reeling in a monster like that on the first cast got us all pretty fired up. And despite not getting another crack at my trophy fish, yet, I have decided I will not be selling my gear after all. Although I do need to apologize to James' wife, as he's asked me to send him some thoughts on gear to buy to get himself into fly fishing. Just remember that wild trout are a great deal at $1000/pound, James.
I don't tell *fish stories*. Not only is there not much point in making up stories, but anyone who has been fishing with me would see right through it anyway. When your average catch per year is in the single digits, it's going to be a tough sell to tell your fishing buddies that you suddenly had a day where they were just jumping into your net. I do like to carry a camera, though... just in case I actually get lucky with a trophy fish one day.
Yesterday I took my brother-in-law (James) fishing in the Lamoille River which is just a few minutes from my house. I figured that since he was in town, I might as well let him share in the frustration that is fishing with me. Truth be told, I don't get too worked up about how good my luck is, but it certainly is more fun to catch than just to fish.
We arrived on the river around 6:30 am, and there was only one other angler there. When we were picking our spots, he caught a small fish. Pretty cool -- they are biting today. About 15 minutes later, he caught a good sized brown trout. Lucky guy. Then he switched spots and came a bit closer to me, so I asked him what he was using. Small stonefly. Cool -- I have one of those, let's try that. Moved to a spot that seemed good to me while Super Angler drifted out of sight for a few minutes. James hadn't had any luck yet, but seemed like he'd gotten a couple of hits, so he's having fun. My new spot and fly seems good -- got two hits right away, but didn't land either fish. No big deal -- I am used to that. I stayed for a few more casts, and although I was certain there were fish in the pool, ultimately decided to try the spot vacated by Super Angler.
Another 15-20 minutes of luckless casting and S.A. returns to take over the spot I just left. He's there for about 30 seconds and pulls a small fish out. You've got to be kidding me. Five minutes later, he's got another very good sized brown trout.
I am going home to get a cup of coffee and put my fly fishing gear on eBay.
S.A. tells me that he is getting his flies down very deep in the water, so I decide to give it another shot. I take the time to tie a long tippett on the end of my leader (it takes three attempts to get the knot tied correctly), and add some additional weight to the line. Harder to cast now, but I'll be getting into the deep water for sure. I decide to switch flies, and having now been on land for quite awhile, hustle through the tying process and hurry back.
The knot I just tied on my fly doesn't feel quite right...
But I check it twice and it holds up, so despite it feeling wrong, it is tight. I get back to my spot, and S.A. has left (finally!) and James has come upstream to join me. James and I cast for a few minutes without success, and I decide to bring it in and change flies once more.
What was that???
Big strike! Looking down into the pool, I realize that I have just hooked the biggest fish I've ever had on my line. In fact, probably one of the largest I have ever seen. Never having hooked anything this large, I try to stay cool (which I do), and let him run around a little bit. Bring him in slowly...just like Gregg told you. I give a calm shout to James to take a look over, and now I've got the net ready and I'm bringing the biggest trout I've ever had to within 2 feet of the net. I can't believe I caught this fish! And then, as I reach down to scoop him up....
Gone.
The knot I just tied on my fly doesn't feel quite right...
Yes, that's the deal. I didn't tie the &%*$#%* knot correctly. The whole time I was bringing him in, my stupid knot was slowly untying itself. I just watched my trophy fish swim away with my fly. This was going to legitimize all of the time I've put into trying to learn this sport. I had a giant fish, a witness, a camera and a gorgeous day, and now I've got an empty line. Unbelievable.
Look for my fly fishing gear on eBay tomorrow.
There isn't a good way to wrap this story -- no unexpected happy ending that involves me catching the same fish 10 minutes later and getting my fly back. I tried to explain the story to Lauren, but, understandably, she doesn't totally comprehend the trauma I just went through. I guess the happy part is that I at least know I have the acumen to hook a big fish, and I did at least get to see it. I also managed to get James very fired up about learning to fly fish (more on that later), and writing this down has been somewhat therapeutic. I always say I like fly fishing for the zen and that the fish are secondary, but wow, it really would've been nice to land this guy.
The good news is I've had time to rethink my eBay auction and will go back to fish another day. If I can come close to the big prize once, surely I'll get another shot, right? Suddenly, people playing slot machines and scratch tickets are making a lot more sense to me.
The third annual running of the 100on100 was last weekend, and I am psyched to report that Lauren and I completed our legs, and our team had it's best finish ever. I am pretty sure that Lauren's contribution was her fastest average time ever for that kind of distance, and although I was a little slower than last year, I still had a blast. Our team finished 17th out of 61, and 7th in the Master's category (all over 30 years old), running at an average clip of 7:39/mile. Perhaps best of all was the fact that our team also finished #2 in overall fund raising for the Boys and Girls Clubs, so a big Thank You to everyone who supported our efforts there.
She was also faster than me, but I don't care to discuss that any more at this point. :-)
As you can tell from the results link, there are still some teams faster than us, but there are none who have more fun. Being fast is all good, but I'll settle for a little less speed and a few extra laughs any day. Here is a shot of our team just after crossing the finish (in daylight for the first time ever!) -- can't wait for the fourth annual next year.
