Tin Can Tourist - Vintage Trailer Rally, Tybee Island, GA (second post)

Me in front of Wilma before the Open House. 

I believe that I left off having attended the Thursday evening beach picnic for all of those who had arrived.  By Friday evening there were 75 vintage trailers gathered and we all had a party.  Saturday morning was consumed by preparation for judging at 10:00 a.m. and Open House starting at 11:30 a.m. We didn't enter 'Wilma', our 1990 StarCraft pop-up, in the competition but the rally organizers encouraged us to show her because they felt that there would be visitors who would not only find a vintage pop-up interesting but it would help educate and guide those who are interested in trailers or looking for their first trailer.  The oldest trailer was a 1930 Pierce Arrow. Wilma was the youngest by 1 year. We had 750 visitors between 11:30 and 4:00, many of whom were enthralled by Wilma. About half of those who stopped wanted to visit Wilma because she brought back happy memories of camping with families. The rest fell in love with her openness and comfort.  She really did look good, especially since she did not going to the rally prepared to be shown.  The organization, Southern Vintage Trailer Friends (a branch of Tin Can Tourist), raised >$3500 for local charities.  Saturday evening there was a dinner, awards and entertainment.  The president of Tin Can Tourist (which was founded in 1919) led the initiation of those of us who are new to TCT.  The TCT song is "The More We Get Together".  A man who had been a TCT member from 1948 to his death a few years ago, started the tradition of a parting song - Willy Nelson's "On the Road Again".  The man's trailer is now enshrined in the TCT museum in Elkart, IN.   Sunday morning found everyone hooking up and, with fond farewells and exchange of telephone numbers and email, heading home. Also on Sunday morning 40 of us signed up for the 80 available spots at next year's Tybee rally.  Here are some pictures. All of these trailers are fully functional and are used by their owners to go camping!

Those of us who arrived Thursday in time for picnic on the beach.

Many owners worked hard at keeping their trailers original and in period. 

Like walking down a pathway through the past. 

There was always time for relaxing, visiting and most of us had dogs. 

A few units were pulled by vehicles from the same period.

Everyone's trailer reflected their own life, personalities and history. 

This was a candid shot which so aptly reflects the TCT people.

"Do not stop living before you die."  

One visitor said that Wilma should win the prize for zen. 

Inside a 45' from the 1940s. 

Lots of families.

This 1938 Palace Royale was all original! 

Notice the beautiful hardwood.  In this trailer it is all original. 

Notice the light fixture and stove in this 1947 Palace Royale. Beautiful.

Tin Can Tourists Vintage Trailer Rally - Tybee Island - April 2014

If you've ever had a sense of excitement and pointed out a vintage trailer - perhaps with a vintage car pulling it - to a companion on the road, then you would love a Tin Can Tourists (TCT) trailer rally. Imagine pulling into a lovely, shady campground nestled in a grove of old trees that is filled with brightly painted and decorated campers. It is an experience for which it is hard to find words.  A 'tad on the giddy side' comes to minds. It definitely makes you happy and life just seems good.

By Wednesday morning at 10:00 a.m. I had our StarCraft pop-up ready to go.  All I had to do was wait for the professor (Pamela) to get out of class around  noon, and we were on the road by 12:35.  We decided to take our 25 year old 10' StarCraft pop-up (opens to 18 ft) for two reasons.  Firstly, Willie (our 1985 18 foot Fleetwood Wilderness) isn't quite ready to show and Wilma (our nickname for the pop-up) costs a great deal less to pull.  Besides, Wilma is our going south, warm weather, no bears, camp on the beach trailer.  When you open all the windows it's like being outside. Great for southern climes.  The only draw back for Pamela is that there is no bathroom.  (But I do have a nice potty chair.)

We travelled to Dublin, GA on Wednesday, arriving there about 11:00 p.m.  Pamela's friend, Mary, who couldn't leave Nashville until later, pulled in about 1 a.m.  We spent the night in the parking area of a Pilot truck stop.  The truck engines were a rather soothing background.  Pop-ups are not conducive for sleeping at truck stops or rest areas because you must unhitch and open them.  So we slept in the back of the van with two dogs and two bicycles.  If you can sleep under those conditions, you can sleep anywhere.

I swear the sun rises earlier in truck stops and by 6 a.m. we were the only vehicles in the lot.  We had breakfast at a nearby Cracker Barrel.  Pamela claims that I have had a significant influence on her. She didn't find the greasy comfort-food very pleasant or comforting, but we were soon on our way and arrived at the Tybee Island campground around 11:00 a.m.   It was a site I'd never seen.

The campground, nestled in a grove of old gnarly live oak and cedars, was filled with brightly colored and decorated trailers.  Some of them had been pulled there by an antique vehicle.  So far I haven't encountered a trailer made after 1980, and most of them are a lot older.  Wilma was definitely the youngster of the group.  Except for the beautiful gleaming tandem-axile Air Streams, most of the trailers are small - 20 feet or less. This is probably because the early travel trailers were designed to be pulled by a car, not a truck as they are today. Some have been restored to original specs while others have, like muscle cars, been blinged to reflect the owner.

I have seen a few people around who are my age but the majority are younger.  It does seem, however, there is no dominant age.  An aweful lot are hippie want-to-bes.  That's to be expected and also a compliment.  People who love this type of freedom, the communal sense of the campground and no-one's-a-stranger atttitude are either old hippies like me or qualify as honorary hippies.  You don't pass someone's trailer without speaking and, as often as not, they will soon be showing you inside their trailer and telling you about their families, where they found their trailer and what it took to restore it.  If you need something the community, who never met you before you pulled in, will rally around.

Thursday evening there was a potluck picnic on the beach.  There was a large group sitting around talking and joking, and sharing their food as though they'd know each other for years.  By the time we left we were all good friends.  We share more than just the love of old trailers.  We share an attitude toward life and the out-of-doors that made this encounter so refreshing, enjoyable and down right exciting.

Some more pictures . . . .

Here are some pictures that I meant to include in my post on hiking.  They were taken the last weekend of January 2014 on the trail around the lake in Pennyrile State Park in western Kentucky.  The temperature was in the high 40s.  Still winter, but beautiful.

Spring - joy of new life and miracles of nature

     Yes, my grass is shaggy and splotchy.  As usual, there's yard clippings, etc., that got caught in the first bad weather.  The giant reed looks horrible and desperately needs to be cut back so that this year's growth can get through. Then there are the toys and food wrappers that the dogs dragged into the back yard to add to the initial impression of ugliness.  But I don't see ugly.  I see the signs and hope of new life.

     I must be honest that it has taken me some years to get this way. It was never about how much I love nature. It was my attitude.  Let's be honest.  Like an unfortunately high percentage of society, I was a 'glass-half-empty' type.  I would have looked at my yard or my friend's garden and seen ugly and work. Who likes ugly and work?  But I've developed a new appreciation of ugly and, while I must admit I still don't like work,  as a result I see opportunity and new beginning instead of drudgery. Be honest with yourself. What is your attitude? 

     No. I'm not taking any new medications, and I'm not using recreational drugs. 

     I have been an animal loving, tree-hugger my entire life.  My older cousins took me rabbit hunting on my grandparent's farm when I was about 10 years old. I spotted a rabbit and lifted the rifle. I looked at the rabbit in my sights, put the rifle down and have never raised a weapon toward another living creature since then. (Well, that isn't entirely true. I had to pretend to as a part of military exercises when I spent a few years working for Uncle Sam but I fortunately was never in combat.)  I love all forms of plant and animal life.  Family and friends will confirm that I have always contended that there is no such thing as a weed. (A weed is just a plant someone doesn't want. For example, when I lived in Ireland the shamrock was an aggressive plant that drove the gardener to distraction and was therefore dubbed a 'weed' despite its prominence on all things Irish. But I digress . . . . .)  When I'm on a trail run I will stop and take pictures of plants or share a moment with Bambi and his mother. As many times as I've been to Walt Disney World I still spend hours in their gardens, habitats and aviaries every time I go. I have no animosity toward hunters, but I couldn't do it.  Truthfully the animal I find hardest to appreciate and love is the homo sapien. Despite this love for all of nature I had the 'glass-half-empty' mentality.      

     Being the retired psychotherapist, my tendency is to delve into the psychological and philosophical reasons for the 'glass-half-empty' mentality. However, also because I'm a retired psychotherapist, I understand that people don't change because they're told, but because they experience and want to change.  So allow me to direct your attention to some signs of new life ... signs of spring, that you might have overlooked and that might help you see that the glass is really quite full.  Two favorite quotes: "hope springs eternal" and, from the movie Jurassic Park, "life will always find a way."

     According to Buddhist philosophy and psychology, being mindful of all that is around us and going on around us is a good way of finding peace, joy and eventually enlightenment.  Being mindful of what is around you isn't particularly easy.  It requires a minimal effort which most of our modern North American society doesn't care to expend. Heaven forbid that one might miss something on their iPhone because they are looking at the world around them or listening to its sounds.  (Please excuse my sarcasm!)

     In any case, even when we don't have out attention focused on a smart-phone it is easy to miss much of the new life which heralds spring.  Here are some of those signs. As you look at them, remember what they went through in the past week -  snow, freezing temperatures and people who never look down.

Here is a shot of a patch of "shaggy, weed" near a lawn swing. The weekend gardener is often anxious to get out and cut or pull this "stuff".  But there are beautiful flowers here that are our first signs of new life and spring.

For example, in this close up of that same patch three tiny flowers can be identified - Henbit, Harbinger-of-spring, and Birdseye Speedwell.  If we take time to look at them, as tiny as they are, we see tremendous beauty and unbelievable complexity.

When I was in Versailles, KY I was waiting outside of a college building and noticed how at least 20-30 people exited the building without ever noticing the lovely Birdseye Speedwell under foot.  The bloom on this flower is not 1/4" across.  It's probably in your backyard or near your sidewalk.

The Crocus are at least a spring flower that most people know. They often demonstrate the tenacity of life by pushing up through the snow as they did last week.

These daffodils are the largest of the early spring flowers but I wonder how many people walk right by without noticing them.

And we can't talk about flowers that are labeled 'weed' without thinking of the humble Dandelion. This flower, which people pay outlandish prices to buy toxic chemicals to kill, is full of vitamin A,B,C and D.  It also contains iron, potassium and zinc  The leaves are used to add flavor to salads, sandwiches and teas. The root is found in some coffee substitutes and we've all heard of Dandelion Wine.  The Dandelion has been used throughout history to treat a variety of illnesses. Today the roots are used to stimulate appetite and for liver and gallbladder problems. The leaves are used as a diuretic.

Source: Dandelion | University of Maryland Medical Center http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/dandelion#ixzz2xZOrS2q6
University of Maryland Medical Center 

This pretty little purple flower is the Henbit.  While many people spend a lot of time, energy and money trying to get rid of Henbit it is an edible member of the mint family.  Humming birds are attracted to Henbit and it is an important factor in erosion control in croplands of southern US.  

The white flower in this picture is Harbinger-of-Spring.  Bet you can't figure out how it got its name.  The Harbinger-of-Spring is a member of the carrot family and the bulb is edible.  The Cherokee are known to have chewed the plant for toothache.  It is a tiny flower and generally unknown to most people.

Aren't these flowers magnificent and beautiful? Take time to realize how full your glass really is. These are just a few of the wonders of nature that await your discovery if you just allow yourself a little time to look.  As the old adage goes, 'take time to smell the flowers.'  

Hiking: a great time even during a nasty winter.

One of the most exciting and yet least expensive recreational activities today is hiking. I don't want to scare anyone off by adding that it improves your health and is environmentally friendly. All you need is a good pair of shoes and a staff, which you can make yourself.  (I prefer and encourage trail poles but they are an added expense and not absolutely necessary. Just better.)

I won't take the time here to talk about shoes and poles. I sang the praises of my trail poles in a 2012 blog entitle "Me and My Lexi" (6/12/2012).  Yes, you can go hiking in any shoe but if you really want to get the greatest enjoyment from the experience you should invest in a good pair of shoes.  The subject is too extensive for a single blog. Besides, the best thing to do is to go to a good outfitter and tell them the type of hiking or backpacking you plan to do. They'll do the rest. I'm sure that you all know a hiker, backpacker or fast-packer who can direct you to someone who knows what they're doing.

I had just returned from doing the 2014 Goofy (a 39.3 mile back-to-back at Disney World) and was faced with the horrible winter weather everyone north of the Florida state line was experiencing.  So all of you, except any Florida readers, know of what I speak.  My friend and companion in adventure, Pamela Smith, suggested that we might try some nearby Kentucky state parks and a natural bridge that is located on private land.

Pamela is a full-professor at Madisonville Community College where she teaches biology, anatomy and physiology. She's also a "retired" triathalon athlete (forced to retire because of arthritis), outdoor and camping enthusiast,  who is a fellow 'tree-hugger'.  Seeing what I've been able to do despite severe arthritis we decided to explore the world of "fast-packing" together. Fast-packing is slower than trail running but moving faster than backpacking.  Fast-packers are generally "retired" trail racers or racers who have discovered trails. For example, the Eagle Rock Loop (2012 blog) was a fast-pack trail run where the average backpacker takes 40-45 hours to cover the distance I did in 15 hours. (Doesn't make us better ... just different.)

Not wanting to wait for "good weather", Pamela introduced me to some fantastic, rugged and beautiful country in western Kentucky.  Below are some pictures taken at Pennyrile State Park, the natural bridge near Apex, Kentucky and Land Between the Lakes (KY).  These pictures were taken Jan. 18th.,19th., 25th. and 26th.  The weather was sunny with temperatures in the low 40s. ,

Here is Pamela in front of one of the many ice formations. She is wearing hiking shoes.  It was cold but she was dressed in layers and quite warm. We used trail poles which don't show in either photo.

Here I am. Our hats may look at bit funny, but they are very warm and help preserve body heat loss which is greatest from the head -- especially a bald head like mine. I too am dressed in layers. The coat came off a short while after this picture was taken.  I am wearing trail running shoes.

     Below are some pictures of  the beautiful country and interesting rock formations in Pennyrile park. 

  

The picture below isn't pretty.  It is of the scum we found below a dam.  Obviously someone accidentally or purposely dumped some detergent into the lake. This is the deadly result.  If you want to enjoy a clean lake or river the next time you visit, please don't use detergents near a lake or river. Either take your grey water with you and dump it in an appropriate place like a dump-station, or use sand or other natural means of cleaning dishes, pots and pans.

Following are pictures of the natural bridge near Apex, Kentucky.  It was a good 1/2 to 3/4 mile from the main road to the site, but it was well worth the effort.

This is the Pennyrile lodge from across the lake.  If you're not campers, do check in to staying here.

The next weekend (1/25-26) we did a rails-to-trails trail in Greenville, KY.  It was in the 50s. Here you see Pamela with her poles.  She's again wearing walking shoes. I'm wearing the trail shoes.  We were both layered.  I included these pictures to show our trail poles. Pamela actually has her poles in position showing the proper angle of the arm.

That same weekend (last weekend in January) we took our "new" vintage camper trailer, 'Trailer Willie', to Nichol Creek Campground, Land Between the Lakes, KY.  We had a great campsite right on the lake and did several miles of trails

The picture below is of the island across the inlet from our campsite at sunset. We had that type of view in almost every direction.  The next picture is of 'Trailer Willy'.  This was his 'maiden voyage' with us.

McKay Hollow Madness - a 25km trail race

     Each year for the past 7 years a small band of die-hard trail runners gathers at 6am in mid-March on top of Monte Sano Mountain in the Monte Sano State Park, Huntsville, AL for the running  of the McKay Hollow Madness 25km Trail Race.  No trophies. No medals.  You just get a t-shirt – IF you finish.  Unfortunately many don’t.  

     McKay is a grueling race. The map above is far from accurate but it gives you an idea of the run.   The close up below shows the last ¾ of a mile or so. If you look near the label “Blue Spring” you will see the dashed line of the trail.  Follow it as we moved north up McKay Hollow and up the escarpment to the finish (small red flag).  The topo elevation lines are 20’. You will notice that there are places where the lines are so closes together that it is difficult to differentiate them.  For that last ¼ of a mile or so, we are literally climbing up the side of the mountain.  The elevation change is 700’ to 1480’. That’s a 680’ climb in less than 0.25 mile.

     This year it had been snowing or raining all week. It was a combination of the two when I arrived at my daughter’s home the day before the race.  When I arrived at the shelter house, that served as race headquarters and had been draped with tarps to keep in some of the heat from the fireplaces and propane heaters, it was in the mid-40s and raining heavily. 

    I must admit to being a wimp when it comes to cold. I already had a cheap pair of Walmart compression tights under my good race compressions.  On top I had a compression shirt, long-sleeve tech and long-sleeve tech warm-up.  On the way to the starting line I put on a pair of warm-up trousers and a fleece jacket.   I left the jacket with the volunteers at the 5 mile check station.  If you’ve read many of my posts you know that I’m a serious advocate of trail poles and I wasn’t going to do this race without them.  Last year they had been invaluable and saved me from serious falls several times.  They would be even more important this year.

     Despite giving a rather low-tech appearance, the race is really very well organized and run.  There are check-points at 5 and 10 miles.  If you don’t arrive within the time limit you will be pulled from the race and given a ride back to the finish-line.  The race started on time and we headed off through the rain toward the north side of the mountain where we would start our first descent.   There would be at least three major descents. That means there would be at least three major climbs from between 7-900’ to as high as 1550’.  None of them, thankfully, is as steep as the last climb on the map above.  Of course there were many ups and downs. 

     My trail poles (the Lexi for which I paid 80 Francs – about $100 – in Switzerland in 2009) have paid for themselves many times and did so again.  We run for close to a mile on gravel and asphalt roads then suddenly take a sharp turn and a very steep descent.  The descent is difficult in dry weather. It was still raining hard.  Throughout the race the rain and fog made visibility so poor I felt like my glasses were steamed up.  Thing is . . . I wasn’t wearing glasses. 

     Just before we arrived at the first descent a woman behind asked me about my trail poles.  I told her that I wouldn’t run trails without them because they provided safety and stability. They might slow me down a bit, but I’m not fast in the first place. I’m more interested in getting to the finish line in one piece.  She seemed interested when a man, also right behind me, said “I thought about bringing my poles but I was afraid someone might make fun of me.”  He laughed.  I couldn’t see him so I don’t know whether he was teasing me or serious. I didn’t care. Moments after his statement we made the sharp right turn onto the single-track trail.  This is where the race gets serious and one of the more dangerous spots.  In good weather it is dangerous because we’re all still running in a group. The sudden switch to single-track trail and the closeness of others makes tripping over other people a serious problem. 

     I was not prepared for what I saw when I made the turn.  As I looked down the mountain all I could see right before me were bodies mostly lying on the ground. Some were still, but most were sliding out of control in the mud.  There was crying and cussing.   I dug my poles into the thick mud as I felt my feet begin to slip.  I looked around.  I could get off the trail.  I knew that the leaves were probably just as slippery but I’d get away from the mass of fallen humanity that would eventually bring me down if I stayed on the path.  As I stepped off the trail those behind me started sliding out of control by me. I have a technique that I’ve developed over the years to control my speed on a steep slope and allow me to move quickly.  I switched the  grip on my poles and started my zig-zag descent. As I avoided the bodies – asking “are you okay?” as I went by – I heard the lady who had been asking me about my poles yell “Go Mr. Sticks!” and laugh.  She and the others we sitting behind me in the mud.

     From that point on it was nothing but rain and mud. Mud and rain.  There are several points on the trail where you have to climb over or crawl under large boulders, traverse narrow muddy ledges high above the valley floor below and ford swift rushing streams.  I was amazed that I arrived at the 5 mile check-point 35 minutes ahead of the clock, and at the 10 mile check-point 30 minutes ahead. Of course last year I was almost 50 minutes ahead at the 10 mile check-point.  Just past the 10 mile check-point I encountered a young woman going the wrong way.  We were on what had once been an old logging road. It was still a muddy mess and looked more like a stream than a trail, but it had been gravel at one point so the mud wasn’t as deep.  I asked the woman if she needed help.  She said “no, I’m making up distance.”  It wasn’t until she caught up with me a short while later that she explained that she had missed a turn at the beginning of the course and inadvertently cut off 0.3 mile. The old logging road seemed to be the safest and easiest place to run the missing 0.3 mile.  I told her that no one would have thought less of her if she had just accepted her mistake, but she said that it would bother her.  She was having a lot of trouble.  Even though I have no doubt at all that she would be one who would fly past me on any other day, she had lots of trouble keeping up.  I’d keep an eye on her when she would fall far behind.  Normally this wouldn’t be any problem but I knew that I was losing time especially as we got into long stretches where the mud was over our shoes.  Because of the rain I had stopped early and double-knotted my shoestrings. Now I was worried about what that would do to time if I had a shoe sucked off by the mud – which was happening frequently during this race. 

     About 3-4 miles out from finish we had to cross a swift stream that fell very steeply down the mountain. The bottom of the stream consisted of large limestone slabs which, covered with mud, were extremely slippery.  On the far side we had to make our way up a 4-5’ wall of mud.  If you fell at this point, or in the stream, you would likely find yourself a couple hundred feet down the mountain and in a world of hurt.  I could see the slip and slide marks of those who had gone before us.  Just past the point at which you get out of the stream was a very narrow ledge of solid mud that tilted toward the stream several feet below. It was there that I made a bad mistake.  I could hear that the young woman was just reaching the stream.  I knew that she was tired, struggling and unfamiliar with trail running.  I was concerned about her getting safely across the stream.  One thing about trail racing, even in the best of weather, you must constantly concentrate on what you’re doing.  I didn’t.  While I was crossing the narrow ledge I allowed my concentration to shift to the struggling young woman.  I went down hard against my left should. (That’s the one with the worst arthritis spur)  The pain was extreme but in that flash I knew that if I didn’t want to end up very quickly at the bottom of the mountain I needed to act. I rolled over so that I was sitting on my butt and planted my poles below me.  This was why I use $100 poles. They took my entire weight and for a moment I lay suspended just above the stream. 

     Then we hit McKay Hollow.  A portion of the hollow has a nickname which I believe is “Mud Mile”. McKay Hollow is horribly muddy in good weather. Last year it was bad. This year was worse.  After having already run almost 15 miles you slog through sometimes ankle-deep mud.  Then just when you think you’re about done in from the mud you look up the almost perpendicular mountain wall that is your way out of the valley and to the finish line.  That’s where, on the map above, the 20’ elevation lines are so close together that they look like they’re one wide line.   I was tired from the mud but I was glad that my legs didn’t hurt and the arthritis in my hips and knees was behaving.  On the way up the escarpment I kept looking back to make sure that the young woman was safe.  The climb out was dangerous and, even having run Eagle Rock in the Ozarks, this was the only time I’ve done such a climb where I was actually a bit frightened – for myself and for the young woman behind me.

     I could hear the people cheering for me at the top of the mountain.  They can see you coming up the mountain before you can see them.  The rain and fog was still so heavy that I couldn’t make out my family waiting for me until I was almost upon them.   Just before you get to the top of the mountain there is a waterfall that you must cross.  You cross just feet from where the water plunges into space on its way to the valley floor almost 700’ below.  The area had been so dry there was almost no water going over the waterfall but the rocks were slick.  One last obstacle.  I looked back to be sure that the young woman was still okay.  She was a lot farther behind me but she wasn’t giving up.  The climb was taking everything she had.  I was standing there watching her, thinking that I had crossed the finish line, when someone said “hey, you need to get across the finish line.”  I couldn’t see it for the rain and fog.  The race took me 30 minutes longer this year and there were only a handful of people behind me. But that's okay. I finished, which always makes me happy - especially at McKay Hollow! 

     I  was looking for the beer (which is being proven to be a very good recovery drink) when the young woman crossed the finish line.  She almost collapsed on the steps of the shelter house.  There were physician’s nearby so I just asked what she thought about her first trail race. She’s definitely a trail racer and I know I’ll see her next year. “That was fun,” she said. 

     It was fun, despite the rain and mud.  Those are to be expected occasionally in a trail race.  McKay Hollow Madness is a tough race in the best of conditions, but it is a wonderful challenge for those who love to do trails.  I’m just hoping that some year before I can’t do it any long, the weather will be good enough to enjoy what must be marvelous panoramic views. Of course, I guess I could go back during nice weather and just enjoy the trail.  My daughter and her family live at the foot of the mountain a few miles away from the park.

     If you love a challenging trail race you want to consider McKay Hollow.  It’s put on by the Huntsville Running Club. Just Google ‘McKay Hollow Madness’.  Be sure to prepare by doing plenty of miles on the hardest trails you can find.  I don’t know about this year, but last year only about 70-80% of us finished.  I trained by doing a  lot of upper body strength training at my club, miles and miles on a Stepmaster and  a treadmill that can do a 40% grade (lots of time on a 15% grade), then as many runs a week as possible of 10-20 miles on the hardest trails near me.  For people in the Evansville area, I recommend Audubon State Park. You have to run some of the trails 2-3 times but you can get over 10 miles without too much trouble. It has some real butt-buster trails and there’s almost no place flat.  The other recommendation is The Two Lake Loop at Hoosier National Forest’s Celina-Indian Lake.  You can do  13-30 miles depending on how you do the loop.  They have a race there in June which they tout as being the most difficult trail race in the mid-west. It isn’t as rugged as McKay - I did it last year in only 20 minutes longer than a street race of the same length - but the hills are long and it is tough.  Audubon is good for training the constant steep hills and Two Lake Loop is best for distance endurance.

GREAT RUNNING! 

Russ

The Goofy - Key West Challenge

What a week.  What a runner's high!! What a confidence builder.  54 miles of racing, 27 miles of trail running, and >80 miles of cycling all packed into 22 fabulous day!!!  It was great!

In my previous blog I talked about preparing for the Goofy Challenge - a 63km back-to-back. Well, the training paid off. I left for Disney on a Saturday. My trusty little 5x8 trailer served me well. I spent 9 days at my Disney Vacation Club resort and 12 in my trailer. Of those 12 nights 3 of them were in rest stops. 

My actual challenge – i.e. the challenge to which I agreed to raise money for American Heart Association – was for the back-to-back, a ½ marathon and 50 miles of cycling in 8 days.  I had the last week of the taper-down which allowed me a 31 mile week with 13 miles on Saturday.  I spent all day Saturday driving and checked into Suwannee River State Park on Sunday.  

Sunday had its ups and downs but overall was a great day. It rained all night and was raining when  I arrived at Suwannee River State Park about 7:30am.  I couldn’t get into my campsite until 1pm because there were still people there.  I offered to help them pack but the ranger didn’t like that idea. They did have a place where I could park and use my trailer without electricity.  By 9:30 I was on the trail.  This is a portion of the Florida National Scenic Trail.  This section goes from a point near Florida State 90 (just a bit north of I-10) to the Georgia state line.   I decided that I wasn’t going to let the rain spoil my fun.  Besides, I needed this run.  I needed to escape.  This day would have been my 45^th wedding anniversary. Anniversaries and my wife’s birthday are really hard for me. As most of you know, running is my escape and grief therapy.  Trail runs are especially good because they require constant concentration on what you’re doing.

About a mile into the run I went past an Agricultural Inspection Station.  It was on a back road where the road crossed the Suwannee River.  I couldn’t help but stop and ask the officer why they had an inspection station there.  She was so bored that she thanked me for letting her tell me the history of the agricultural inspection stations.  As she spoke I noticed that she was wearing a typical police gun belt with a pistol.  She told how, in the 19^th century the farmers, who used the Suwannee to move produce, asked the government to have inspection stations where they made the exchanges with Georgia boats to help avoid being swindled. That’s why it was originally put here.  They were originally manned by civilian gov’t workers until the drug cartels stated using back roads and rivers to move drugs north and some of these civilian workers were killed.  Since then the “Agricultural Inspection Officers” are trained police.  Reading between the lines, she’s there to watch for drugs.

     I had turned off my Garmin while I was talking to the officer and forgot to turn it back on until I had covered almost 2 ½ miles according to the markers.  Using map markings and trail markers I ended up doing between 13 and 15 miles.  The trail ran along the Withlacoochee  and Suwannee Rivers.  It was really lots of fun despite the constant rain.  I was really tempted to cross the GA line just to say I did and then run south to the Stephen Foster Park but my training schedule said I wasn’t supposed to do over 13 miles. I didn’t want to overdo training less than a week before the big race so I decided to run it some other time.

     All of these state trails, Appalachian  Trail, etc., made me decide that one of my retirement goals is going to be to do a portion of such trails in as many states as possible. Obviously I can’t really set a distance goal because, for example, 37 miles in Florida takes a whole lot less time than 37 miles through the Ozark Mountains or up the Appalachian Trail. I have a life-time senior pass for National Forests and Parks. That gives me ½ price on camp sites, etc.  There’s a National Forest or Park in every state, so I might start there.

     I decided that I’d be covering enough ground walking through the Disney theme parks that I’d only do a few fun miles in the evenings.  (Out of curiosity I used my Garmin one day at Disney and found that I generally cover at least 7-9 miles.)  On Monday and Tuesday I went to the parks and on Wednesday I went to Typhoon Lagoon where I swam with the sharks and got beaten up in a wave pool. While the wave doesn’t look that big in pictures, when you’re neck-deep in water and there’s this massive wall of water at least 6’ or more above your head tossing bodies around like ping pong balls, it really looks big and you wonder what in the hell you were thinking to be there.  I couldn’t believe that I stayed there for so long allowing that wave to toss me around. And people call trail runners crazy?!   

My daughter arrived on Wednesday evening and we spent much of Thursday at the race expo. It was typical Disney – i.e. extremely well organized and lots of vendors.  Somehow, when I called and changed my registration to the Goofy, the person cancelled my daughter’s marathon registration.  They not only cancelled it but somehow removed her from the database. According to the terrific man who quickly fixed everything, there should have been no way she was removed from the database.  On Friday I did my usual carb loading and hydration ritual.  Oatmeal for breakfast, an Ensure and banana at 10am, large salad and P&J for lunch, Ensure and banana at mid-afternoon and high-carb dinner. We went to the Rainforest Café for dinner and I was in bed by 6pm.

My alarm went off at 2am Saturday morning and by 3:15am I was at the staging area. The race went very smoothly and I felt good.  I did it in 2:33:31.  That was actually faster than I planned but I felt good and didn’t believe it would cause any problems in the next 26 miles. It was hard to keep my pace down starting in corral B.  I ran between the 2 hour and 2:15 pacers for most of the race.  I dropped behind when we hit an off ramp that is so steeply sloped that I walked it.  The ramp is infamous and everyone hates it. It aggravates the arthritis in my hips something fierce!  It was just beginning to get light as we passed the Polynesian Resort at mile 8. The heat wasn’t bad but the humidity was something like 80%. The race directors were worried about the heat since most runners had trained under much cooler conditions. Going through the hydration stations, I always took two Powerade cups and a water.  I would drink the Powerade and pour the water over me. This doubled my fluid intake on the course and didn’t slow me down. 

I started rehydrating as soon as I crossed the finish line and was eating before I got to the “family reunion” area about two blocks from the finish line.  I had to replace 1,400 calories in carbs and proteins in the next six hours plus try to store up some carbs for the next part of the race, which means I had to consume at least 3,000 cal.  Actually it isn’t easy to get 3,000 good calories in less than 6 hours. I had a massage at 1pm and was in bed by 6pm.  The massage was terrific.  Disney resorts keep a staff of licensed therapists with different specialties. The woman who worked on me specializes in sports therapy and was called in especially to take care of runners.  

I arrived at the staging area at 3:10am on Sunday morning. The 26 mile portion of the race was lots of fun. I really enjoyed it.  Jeff Galloway, Frank Shorter and Keith Bradley were there. Jeff Galloway signed my Wine and Dine bib. We ran through the Magic Kingdom, Disney Speedway, Animal Kingdom, ESPN Sports Complex, Disney Hollywood and EPCOT. I’m glad that I’m not sensitive about my age. We ran through the Atlanta Braves training area and stadium. They had a sensor as you entered the stadium so they knew who you were. As I ran by home base the announcer said “And Russell Vance, 66 years young.”  Evidently they do that for anyone over 65.  However, one of the greatest experiences of this race was that I GOT TO CARRY THE OLYMPIC TORCH!!!!   A young English women, who carried the torch in the Olympics, was running with it and allowed other runners to carry it for short distances. It weighs a ton!  I carried it across the Magic Kingdom parking lot.  Definitely a magic moment!!  Unfortunately there was no way to get a picture. 

In all honesty I was really a bit concerned about the back-to-back.  As I’ve said before, it wasn’t the 63km that concerned me but the back-to-back. Thankfully my training program did its job and I really felt good as I crossed the finish line. There were 6,000 Goofy (back-to-back) runners out of the almost 80,000 runners.  I think I told the story about my daughter stopping within feet of the finish line to have a picture taken at the Princess Marathon, well . . . . .   My daughter, Kelly, ran the last leg of the race with me. As we came around the corner and could see the finish line I saw Mickey standing there.  I knew what was going to happen.  We had to stop to get a picture. In the picture I do look like I’m ready to bolt, but I wasn’t setting any records so I’ll admit it was a fun thing to do. My time for the entire 39.3 mile Goofy Challenge was 8:31. That’s far, far from fast but the rules permitted 10:30 so I was thrilled.  I grabbed a beer as soon as we got back and Kelly and I went to the swimming pool to cool off.  I know a lot of people think I’m crazy, but I really did enjoy the running and would do it again in a heart beat.

I knocked around Disney until Wednesday.  I did daily runs but I kept them to 5 miles. It took all day Wednesday to make the trip to Key West.  My challenge included doing a bicycle ride up US-1, but I couldn’t make the trip because the pedestrian/cycle bridge between the first two islands was closed.  However, I didn’t find any problem doing the miles promised. In the old town portion of Key West bicycles rule the roads. I had logged the miles easily on the Key West island by Thursday evening and over 80 miles by the time I left.

The Key West ½ Marathon was as low budget/low tech as Disney was high budget/high tech. That’s not being derogatory. It was well organized, well executed and lots of fun!  The pick-up and “expo” was on part of the old historic wharf between two restaurants. Since we were on an island we had to share the road with traffic, but there were lots of volunteers and it wasn’t a problem. I would definitely recommend this race. 

I would have loved to have spent a lot more time in the old Key West but had to leave on Monday.  I wasn’t retired when I made the reservations so I wasn’t thinking like a retired person. Nevertheless, I left and drove through to a rest stop just south of the Lake City, FL. The next day I drove to Red Top Mountain State Park in Georgia, spent a day running trails and then home.

A wonderful 22 days of running and sun!   I had a great time.  I pushed myself to the max and came away feeling great.  You don’t know until you try.  More proof for my new favorite saying, which is embroidered on a winter running cap, “Someday I’m not going to be able to do this. Today is NOT that day!” 

Great running!

Russ