Learn to Fly!

Joanne & Eithne 

I mentioned that my adventure group has been making the most of great deals from LivingSocial and Groupon. A few weeks ago, three of us spent $40 on a 1-hour flying experience that allowed us to pilot a little Cessna around our part of Maryland.  My friend, Eithne, captured the experience.

Eithne, Casey and the Cessna

“Getting away from it all” usually means taking a trip orvacation, but on August 7^th Michaelle, Joanne and I literally andfiguratively got away--we took off, left the ground and went flying. I haveflown around the world, from Ireland to Australia, to the US and back toIreland but in the past I have relied on folks who knew what they were doing,they flew the plane. This time, we took off and for 30 minutes each we held thecontrols! We were lucky, the weather cooperated and we had a terrificinstructor, Casey, who although he looked 12 years old, swore he was 24 and hadover 800 flying hours behind him! In for a penny in for a pound!

After about 30 minutes of “ground” instruction we were off.I went first - it was truly amazing, we were 2,000 feet above ground, closeenough to see houses, cars driving by, swimming pools, and even people – formiles! As Joanne said “I can see why people get hooked.” It was also a littlesurreal to know that this plane was truly in our hands, we were flying! Inthe DC metropolitan area flight preparations are unique, because we aresandwiched between the White House and Camp David. We learned that filing anaccurate flight plan is crucial, adhering to it even more crucial. Casey keptus on the straight and narrow and also ensured we stayed far away from otherplanes! Smaller airports do not have a control tower so navigating in the sky isdependent on the pilot being in constant communication with fellow pilots.Casey spoke to several during our 90 minute flight primarily to negotiatelanding order. Suddenly, planes we could not see would appear from the cloudsand land ahead of us, just as they had planned during their radiocommunication, it was remarkable!

In the pilot's seat

I flew from Montgomery Airpark landed inFrederick, Michaelle flew from Frederick to Carroll County and Joanne flew thehome leg. Thankfully, Casey landed for all three of us and we were once again onterra firma. The next day in work, as usual, we talked about what we did over theweekend there were a few raised eyebrows when for the first time in my life buthopefully not the last I said, “I flew a plane, how about you?”

One note of congratulations to our flight instructor, Casey. He's the NFL's new Sunday-night aerial man. Next time you see an eagle's view of the stadium, you'll know who's piloting that plane!

Watch Eithne take to the skies in this video:

Anne's 1000 Mile Challenge: Final Entry

Taking a well-earned break

Outdoor Contributor, Anne, has  spent a chunk of the summer on a new project and a new training journal.  This is her final post about her 1,000-mile challenge.

My original goal was to move 1000 miles and lose 10 poundsby Labor Day. So, how did I do? Well, as of Labor Day, I had moved 533 miles,and I lost two pounds. By some measures, you would say that I hadn’t done verywell at attaining my goal, and on some days I would agree. However, I’m tryingto look at the more positive side of things. When I set the goal, I didn’t evenknow if 1000 miles was possible, and I didn’t gain any weight.

If I had confined my activity to biking, I might have mademy goal. Instead I biked, hiked, canoed/kayaked, and even swam twice. I’m stilltracking my distance to see how long it takes me to hit 1000 miles. Now, I’m at606 miles. I’ve biked 419 miles, I’ve walked/hiked/backpacked 126 miles, andI’ve canoed/kayaked/swam 61 miles. I’ve covered some ground.

Here are a few of the things I’ve done this summer to help meget towards my goal.

• I hiked 10+ miles in the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness.  It was a lovely day with a walk past more than four alpine lakes, and over a pass into a beautiful, glaciated valley.
• I went on a couple of great kayaking trips on Flathead Lake.  One was to some pictographs only accessible by water, and the other was to some islands we had never been to before.
• I counted my floats down the Clark Fork River in inner tubes—a summer tradition in Missoula. On a hot day, people float through town on the river on inner tubes, drinking adult beverages. It’s a very relaxing summer time activity.
• I went on a backpacking trip to Trask Lakes in the Flint Creek Range.  I hadn’t taken a backpacking trip in more than five years, but managed to make it six miles into this alpine basin where hardly anyone goes.

 Looking ahead, I’m doing the Tour de Cure next weekend, butI don’t have any other major expedition plans. I don’t think I’ll get to 1000miles until the end of October, but I’ll keep trying. As to the weight thing, Ithink I’ll have to address that in another post later.

Anne

skydiving: It's nothing but "Wow!"

Thank goodness for discount deal sites like LivingSocial and Groupon. Without them, I wouldn't have had the time of my life last Sunday strapped to a barefoot stranger and falling to earth at 120 mph.

Katy & Joanne

Four members of my adventure group, Joanne, Katy, Sheryl and I, purchased a great LivingSocial deal for a tandem skydive and we were beyond excited! We booked our dive date and headed out to Warrenton Air Park in the Virginia countryside.  At least Joanne, Katy and I did. It turns out tandem skydiving is wildly popular and by the time Sheryl tried to make a reservation, they were booked solid for another month.

But back to our trip, Katy drove for about an hour and a half while I did a terrible job of navigating. Happily, we eventually found our tiny airport and were a little surprised to discover the grass runway, spraypainted directional signs and a pack of canine greeters.

My surprise was rooted in my past experiences. I'll admit right now that I have never been skydiving and I don't know anyone else who has. My expectations were totally formed by TV and movies and included harnessed soldiers packed into the belly of a big plane, instructors yelling "Go! Go! Go!" and dozens of circular parachutes drifting down over WWII France.  It wasn't like the Army. Not even a little bit. My experience was very laid back, more like camp counselors at 10,000 feet.

While the airport and staff were exceptionally casual, the legal waiver was by far the most intimidating we had ever seen.  Once it was signed and initialed in 24 places (really) AND once I'd paid an additional $85 for a video (more than worth it!) we were ready for harnesses and a few minutes of instruction. My instructor, Chris, was wearing shorts, T-shirt and a wrist cam but nothing below the knee. I suspect he enjoyed the feeling of wind between his toes. Finally, Joanne, two instructors and I squeezed into a little plane stripped of everything but a pilot and we were off. (Katy shared a plane with a kid celebrating his 21st birthday.) During our two-mile ascent, Chris, rechecked the gear, hooked our harnesses together and reviewed the dive procedure:

• pay attention,
• when leaving the plane, grip the front of the harness and ARCH YOUR BACK,
• let your feet go back toward your posterior,
• maintain this position until you feel 3 taps on your shoulder then arms out and enjoy 5,000 feet of free fall at 120 mph.

Free fall.  Honestly, I was not worried. Maybe it was because I had no responsibilities, maybe it was because I had complete confidence in my instructor, maybe it was because I'm not afraid of heights (though I was nervous on that 25 foot trapeze platform). Nope, not worried at all HOWEVER those first 10 seconds were crazy! As Chris opened the little door to my left, the wind and noise smacked me in the face. Then, suddenly there was nothing around us but air. The plane was leaving and we were alone in the sky accelerating, face first, toward the ground. I wasn't expecting noise but the wind in my ears made it impossible to communicate. I was so distracted by... well...everything that I missed Chris' signal to let go of the harness and put my hands out. I have no idea if I was arching or not but suddenly the parachute was up, we slowed from 120 mph to 40mph and it got quieter.  Chris "let me steer" then asked if I like roller coasters. He pulled on the right cord and we went into a rapid spiral. Lord, it was fun! We chatted for a few minutes then suddenly we were sitting on the runway right in front of the crowd filling out their waivers.

Katy's flight

I've posted my video below so you can get a sense of the experience.  If you're into heights and speed, this adventure is a winner!  Thanks, Kesha, for being our on-the-ground photographer.

Anne's 1000 Mile Challenge: Bruised, battered, and behind

Outdoor Contributor, Anne, has a new project and a new training journal.  She'll be writing regular posts about her 1,000-mile challenge.

Scenic view of the North Fork of the Flathead

I truly meant to write a post a couple of weeks ago, but I have been in recovery mode from a river trip at the end of July.  So far on my goal of moving 1000 miles and losing 10 pounds by labor day, I have moved 350 miles and lost one pound.

An Update on my journey

As expected, the weight loss has been elusive. I’ve already started reading headlines on the tabloids in the check out line at the grocery—lose 10 pounds in 10 days. My brain knows this doesn’t work, but it sure would be nice if there was a magic way to lose weight.  I am eating more vegetables, less cheese, and drinking a lot less.  I’m still hoping to see some results.

On the movement end, one of our planned summer activities was a river float trip.  My husband, Eric, and I been planning to go with some friends that have a raft and two young children.  We planned to take our canoe, knowing that we have a lot of canoe experience, and we work together well as a team. We decided to float the North Fork of the Flathead River. This beautiful river flows on the Westside of Glacier National Park.  Most of the time, the beautiful mountain crest of Glacier is visible, and there’s always the possibility of seeing moose, black bears, and even grizzlies. 

Me in the front of the canoe

For our expedition, we put our boats on the river at the Canadian border. Since this was the first multi-day float trip for all of us, it took some time to load the boats.  We didn’t actually get on the water until two in the afternoon. We paddled for a couple of hours before calling it a night at a primitive (no toilets or water) campsite. We wanted to rest up before the only real rapids on the trip—upper and lower Kintla Rapids. Both are rated Class II. The water is still really high this year. The flow on the North Fork is setting a record this year. Eric also tried to cover up the front part of the canoe because we were having to bail all the time.  We were carrying about 400 pounds of gear so the canoe was riding low.

On the second day we set out and the canoe was doing better at keeping the water out of my lap in the front of the boat.  After a couple of miles we got to the rapids. We set up nicely, straight down the middle. The waves didn’t look too high, but appearance from a distance can be deceiving.  We swamped. We had so much water in the canoe that only a couple of inches of the gunnels were above water.  We went into shore to bail and regroup before the next waves. We got out of the canoe while the water was still raging. Eric had no problems finding his footing, but somehow, I ended up being swept away and farther down the river. Judging from the bruises on the right side of my body, I hit a lot of rocks before I was able to get to shore again. 

Ellie and our homemade decking to keep the water out

After bailing the canoe and assessing our situation, we were missing one dry bag, a GPS, and not much else.  We looked down the river; there was one more small rapid to run.  We decided to take a conservative line that was going to require some hard paddling. Our friends in the raft went ahead. They had no trouble.  However, we did.  When we tried to cross the river to avoid a big wave, we tipped completely over. This time I was able to stay with the boat. So was Eric. We floated down the river about a mile, holding on to the upside-down canoe, before our friends were able to pull us in.  Needless to say, I wasn’t overjoyed about spending the rest of the day in the canoe. So we switched out with the people on the raft. Our friend Jody went into the canoe with Eric, and I rode in the raft with his wife Casey and their two kids. 

The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful. The third day I was in the canoe and had a great time. We learned a lot on this trip—always wear your life jacket and I don’t like whitewater canoeing. 

Anne

Product Test: Kiwi Heavy Duty water Repellant & Performance Fabric Protector

Anne, AWB's outdoor contributor, has given two Kiwi products a test drive to see if they really can make your clothing water repellant. Following a lengthy trial period and some time in the shower, she reports that Kiwi exceeded her expectations.  Here are her comments:

Several months ago the Kiwi Camp Dry Company sent me two products to review for Adventurous Women. I received Heavy Duty Water Repellant and Performance Fabric Protector.  The water repellant is for any product that you would like to have repel water.  The Performance Fabric Protector is to extend the life of a performance fabric.  

A little background, I live in Western Montana. It’s a dry climate here for most of the year. We get about 12 inches of precipitation in a normal year. I wanted to give the product a thorough test, but I didn’t want to rely on the results to keep me from getting hypothermia.  I remember using camp dry about 40 years ago when I first started skiing.  We used to spray our jeans with it before we set off for a day on the slopes.  Yes, we used to ski in jeans, and our long underwear was cotton.  Nowadays, “cotton kills” is a common saying among outdoorspeople.  Anyway, the Camp Dry would keep our jeans semi water repellant until about noon, and then we’d be drenched. Strangely, my twelve-year-old self thought this was fine—at 51, it doesn’t sound so good.

Back to my test. First, I selected the clothes I wanted to test. I have an old jacket that used to be water resistant and a newer pair of powder pants.  I carefully read the instructions because of the cautionary language on the can.  It’s a good thing I don’t live in California because they know that “the product contains a chemical known by the State of California to cause cancer,” but since I live in Montana, I didn’t have to worry.  Anyway, I needed to use it in a well-ventilated area, and then let it dry for at least 24 hours.  I let it dry in the garage for about two months.

I decided to conduct the test while I cleaned the shower.  I put on the pants and jacket and turned on the shower water. The force from the shower is harder than rainfall.  It wasn’t a completely fair test, but I didn’t want to risk getting really wet while I was out on the trail and miles away from home. Anyway, the Camp Dry preformed better than I really expected. The jacket was repellant at first, but it gave out quickly since it felt the full force of the shower spray. On the other hand, my pants kept me quite dry.  I have gotten wet biking in these pants before, but with the Camp Dry they were a good water barrier.

So, I give the product 3 out of 5 stars.  I’ll use it again. I need a pair of rain pants, but I don’t want to buy a pair for the five times a year that I need them.  It will work well when I’m caught in the rain on my bike or out on a hike. 

Anne

Be the Dragon

Dragon Boat  Photo credit: Morgan Crawford

Q: What traditional Chinese festival takes place on the 5^th day of the 5^th lunar month?

A: The Dragon Boat Festival, and if you start now, you and 21 of your closest friends can be part of something really exciting!

A couple of years ago, some friends and I discovered the DC Dragon Boat Festival – a weekend when the Potomac River fills with colorful 22-person canoes complete with scales and fierce dragon heads.  Why are floating dragons in Washington? They’re looking for blood because this festival is a two-day, high speed, competitive regatta. Naturally, we wanted to be part of the action.

Fortunately for my adventure club, Dragon Boat Festivals are open to community groups as well as corporate and “competition” (i.e serious) teams. When we realized we'd need  25-ish people on our roster (paddlers and alternates) we decided to look beyond the usual adventurous women. We coerced our families and begged our friends until we had enough to form our own team:  “We Be Draggin’.” With half of the crew topping the 50-year mark and the other half covering the span between 12 and 49, “We Be Draggin’” was a motley band and we took to the water like a penguin takes to flight.  But there’s a nice ending to this story so don’t think that age or talent should keep you from jumping into a dragon-headed canoe of your own. (Yes, I’m sure there is a Dragon Boat Festival near you!)

We Be Draggin' after practice

Registration for the DC festival was fast and furious and we were on the waiting list for weeks before making the final roster. Once official though, we were able to sign up for three 1-hour training sessions with an experienced paddler.  (Clearly, this isn't a huge time commitment.)

Practice one:  It was cold. We struggled into our grungy, public-use life vests as a toned team of kids in matching Under Armour and professional paddles ignored us.  Training involved:

Water safety (what to do if you fall out of your boat)

Paddling technique (it’s a full-body experience)

Paddling in unison (harder than you think)

Paddling speed (starting off, race pace, SPRINT!)


Practice two: it was warmer. Our trainer told us we were improving...a bit

Practice three: Initially, our trainer yelled instructions, helped us set the pace and kept us in sync.  By our third session, however, that job fell to the drummer.

The drummer is perched on a tiny “seat” in the bow of the boat (see top photo). She faces the paddlers as well as the steerer who stands in the stern. If the drummer is good, her efforts get the boat off the starting line quickly, establish an efficient race pace, and then inspire the team to a sprint finish. If the race doesn't go well, everyone knows whom to blame.

Festival Day: I was the drummer for our first official race and I was...um...not good.  This proved to be a mixed blessing. Our poor showing in the first heat meant we were placed in one of the lower (slower) divisions. Our second drummer, Eithne, realized that the elderly folk in our boat only had one good burst of speed and decided to forgo the warm up sprints. She also decided that we couldn’t paddle in unison AND change pace so she adopted the “sprint from beginning to end” strategy -- which worked!  We won our next two races and moved into the finals.

We Be Draggin' preparing for finals
.

Final race: Most teams prepped for finals by working on timing and technique with dry-land drills. We Be Draggin's strengths lay in other areas so we concentrated on storing energy.

As our final race approached, Eithne settled into her drum seat and beat a steady, don't-hurt-yourself pace to get our boat into starting position. The wind over the Potomac calmed and the waves lulled our dragon into thinking we were out of contention. But as soon as the starting gun fired, the combined energy of our frenzied drummer and her crew rocketed us into the river, kept us neck and neck with the two high school teams to our right and left and finally allowed us to inch into the lead.  In the end, We Be Draggin' went home with gold (in the D division).

It was a very good day.

We Be Draggin' takes the lead in the final race    Photo credit: B. Mulvihill

To read a little more about the history of the Dragon Boat Festival, click here.

Check out these resources to find a Dragon Boat Festival near you.  You're just in time to get ready for the 2011 season!

Boston

Colorado

Los Angeles

Nova Scotia

Philadelphia

Texas

The American Dragon Boat Association

The International Dragon Boat Federation

Worldwide Dragon Boat Calendar

I Just Tried Paintball (or "Why I'm Covered in Paint")

How much fun can you have with $37.50, a specialized weapon, a creepy mask and 500 paintballs? Turns out, quite a bit!

This past weekend, some members of The League of Adventurous Women visited Paintball-Sportsland in Frederick, Maryland where we had PERFECT weather for our four-hour blast fest.  When I say, "perfect," I mean that the day was warm enough to be comfortable but cool enough to wear a couple of layers for padding.  I've heard that being hit by a paintball can leave a welt or decent bruise.  The two shots I caught on my knuckles and the one that smacked into my elbow supported the claim. However, my vest, sweat shirt and sweat pants protected the rest of me pretty well.

Paintball mask before...

...Paintball mask after

Undoubtedly, most important part of anyone's protective gear is the creepy mask mentioned above.  Since the guns were shooting little green projectiles at about 198 miles per hour, you really could shoot your eye out and those masks turn out to be wonderful protection.

So here's how the day unfolded: My group of adventurous women joined the throng of guys (many in their teens) to pay the basic fee for rental and four hours of play time.  The rental included a gun (powered by compressed carbon dioxide), the mask, and a big bag of green balls--each encasing a blob of bright orange paint.  The play involved quite a few (I lost track) 15-minute scenarios in various locations including a "village," a "fort" and the woods.  The players (there were approximately 34 of us) were split into two opposing teams.

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Each game started with general instructions, a command to remove the "barrel plug" and safety then, "GO!" From that point on, the job was to hit as many opposing players as possible without being hit.  It was a combination of fun and adrenaline rush. Twice, I was hunkered behind a barrier while several players shot at me from different directions. Paintballs splattered all around, bounced off the ground, exploded on trees and rained paint all over me. In most games, a paintball or two hit their mark and then I'd be out for the remainder of the game.

Advancing in the village

Though the entire point is to "kill" one another, safety was stressed by the referees. Violating the rules earned you a black mark on your wrist band; three strikes and you were out for the day.

All in all, it was an exhilarating, and surprisingly exhausting, day.  At less than $10/hour, it was a bargain to boot.

Protecting the fort

Team Hoodie takes the woods

One final note: Paintball is a game and knowing that I could walk away after being "killed" by paint made me bold.  Having so many people trying to kill me made me very thankful that I don't live in a place where these rounds could be real. It also caused me to think about the men and women whose jobs routinely place them in harm's way. My thoughts are with all of you this Veteran's Day.

Be the Adventurous Woman on the Flying Trapeze!

I was one of those kids who often dreamed of flying through the neighborhood with arms outstretched and hair blowing in the wind.  I never thought I could make that dream a reality until I discovered Trapeze School New York.  This past weekend, some members of my Adventure Club and I took to the air at TSNY's Washington, DC location and had the time of our lives!

TSNY offers a choice of indoor or outdoor classes. Our group was split between the two options and found both to be enjoyable.  Our 2-hour beginning trapeze class started with the instructors cinching very snug harnesses around our middles, a 10-minute talk about the basics, and a brief demonstration. Then, it was time to climb.

I clapped and yelled when my friends took their turns on the platform but I'll admit that after chalking my hands and scaling the trembling 29-foot ladder, my enthusiasm started to wane. I had to take a breath and remind myself that I was doing this for FUN.

I stood in the middle of the platform, two ropes clipped to my harness, toes dangling off the edge, leaning out into space (Hips forward! Shoulders back!) and grasped the surprisingly heavy bar with my right hand. My left hand had a firm hold on the platform's support structure. The bar pulled me out, away from the platform so letting go of the support and grabbing the bar with two hands was a real mental effort (thanks for holding onto my harness, Scout). Bending my knees and hopping into the void was downright unnerving.

I was worried that my grip was too weak, and surprised by how physically hard it was to pull my knees up over the bar (it was a piece of cake in 4th grade) and how emotionally difficult it was to release my hands and hang upside down. It helped to have an instructor yelling commands: "KNEES UP! HANDS OFF! ARCH! LOOK AT YOUR HANDS!, HANDS ON THE BAR! KNEES DOWN! LET GO!. ( The delay between ears hearing and body doing did NOT help). What surprised me most was how rattled I felt when I finally dropped to that net and flipped to the ground. My heart was pounding and my head was spinning, BUT, it was so...so...cool!

Flight number two was a little easier, the third was easier still.  Each turn took each of us closer to our ultimate goal for the day -- being caught. Watching all the other fliers, I could see that timing was everything. Waiting for that split second of weightlessness at the top of the swing means you aren't fighting gravity when you try to change positions.  I never managed to get the timing right but at least I learned what I was supposed to do.

At the end of the 2-hour class, we had taken five turns each on the trapeze and all agreed that it was well worth the money and the time it took to get to the school. In fact, most of us signed up to fly again before we walked out the door.

If you want to be the adventurous woman on the flying trapeze, TSNY has schools in DC, New York, Boston and Los Angeles.  The cost is $55 for two hours (plus a $20 one-time registration fee).

If you want to see this flier in action (briefly), click here.

Photo credit: S. Anderson, video credit: G & D Stewart

It's National Park Week: Free Admission April 17-25

Today is the beginning of National Park Week and all 392 of the wild spaces in the National Park Service are free to the public until April 25.  Grab your hiking shoes and click here to find a park near you. What a great way to celebrate spring! 

This gorgeous waterfall is in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. 


Photo credit: William Bradfield

This Weekend: Satellite in Your Night Sky

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, has more than just the Space Shuttle orbiting the Earth. There are satellites out there too. You can have a personal relationship with space this weekend if you take the time to watch for a satellite passing overhead.

The Johnson Space Center provides information (including date, time and location in the sky) for spotting a satellite above your neighborhood. Click here to for detailed data for the US and its territories. Click here for international cities.

Thanks for the tip, Abbie!

Adventure Site of the Week: Under the Milky Way

There are adventures for the mind and body and there are adventures for the spirit. Rita at "Under the Milky Way" is training for all three as she prepares to walk a 500-mile long pilgrimage through Spain. I asked Rita to describe her upcoming trip and here's what she had to say:

I am an avid traveler, always looking for my next adventure. This time that adventure is a 500 mile Spiritual Pilgrimage, trekking across northern Spain, along an ancient footpath called the Camino de Santiago, through 3 mountain chains, some of the most beautifully preserved medieval villages, mostly unchanged in over 1,000 years, and some of the most scenic countryside in Europe, to the tomb of the Apostle Saint James. It is the 3rd most important Pilgrimage in the world, topped only by Rome and Jerusalem.

I will walk between 5 to 8 hours each day for more than a month, carrying the bare necessities on my back and staying in a network of places along the way, mostly in hostels, convents and monasteries.

The journey is an amazing experience in simplicity, leaving behind all the luxuries and conveniences of home, along with all the stress, burdens and politics. They say the road offers many lessons to all who walk it, the most profound being the journey of self discovery.

When asked why, at 62, I am taking on such an arduous journey, both physically and mentally challenging, even for someone much younger in years, I cannot give a clear-cut answer. I can only say that I am enjoying training by walking and hiking daily and I am looking forward to what the journey has to offer.

My Pilgrimage begins soon. I leave for Spain on September 6 to start my journey.

You can follow my progress by reading my blog which I will be updating while making my way across Spain.

To follow Rita's adventure, click here to visit, Under the Milky Way

Image courtesy of Rita at Under the Milky Way

Inner Tube Water Polo: Oh, Yes You Can!

My friend, Anne, was interviewed recently about her inner tube water polo team. She sent me a link to the TV broadcast and after watching the clip I was so inspired that I contacted my county's recreation office to press for an inner tube water polo league of our own.

What I like most about this goofy sport is that the inner tube is the great equalizer. As one of the the women in the clip states, even if you are an athlete, you aren't an athlete in an inner tube. The second best thing is that teams can compete outside during the summer and move to indoor pools the rest of the year.

Click here to see KECI-TV's story about a sport that may become near and dear to your heart.

Outrigger Canoes

A few days ago, I mentioned that some members of my Adventure Club and I attended a Dragon Boat & Outrigger Canoe clinic on the Anacostia River. Last week, I wrote about Dragon Boats so I thought I'd cover the Outrigger Canoes (OC) today.

The outrigger is a canoe that has a floating support on one or both sides that helps to keep the boat stable. The canoe that I tried had a single outrigger on the port (left) side, and six seats for the paddlers. Like a Dragon Boat, OC paddling is a full body workout. Unlike the Dragon Boat, only one person sits in a seat so a paddler will alternate paddling on the port or starboard side of the boat; 15 strokes to the left, switch, 15 to the right, switch. That helps because if you're in an OC, you're going to be paddling for a couple of hours.

If Dragon Boat races are sprints then Outrigger Canoe races are marathons; OC races can range upward of 20 miles in the open ocean. Sometimes, in very long races, team members trade off but if you're serious about Outriggers, you have to be prepared for the long haul.

You may be thinking that you're too old to handle an endurance sport like this but you'd be wrong. All of the women and men who lead our clinic were older than me and a several were retired. Looking at OC websites, it's easy to find competitions for people of all ages including 60+.

OC racing is the state sport of Hawaii and popular around the world. If you're interested in Outrigger Canoes as an alternative to an ordinary workout or for the fun of joining a team, check out these sites:

Australian Outrigger Canoe Racing Association

East Coast Outrigger Racing Association

Northern California Outrigger Canoe Association

OCPaddler

The Perseids are Coming! The Perseids are Coming!

If you've been reading along for a little while you know I'm a fan of meteor showers. They're free, they're entertaining and they let your imagination drift away into the heavens. That said, tonight and tomorrow night, planet Earth will be drifting through a big cosmic dust bunny left by Comet Swift-Tuttle. All those little bits of debris will be entering our atmosphere approximately where the constellation Perseus appears overhead. Don't worry if you don't know your star locations, the best plan of attack is to just lie in a lawn chair or on a blanket and look up. If you're in a region free from light pollution you may see dozens of meteors per hour. That means a lot of wishing!

If you'd like to learn a little more about the Perseid meteor shower, click here for an article from NASA.

Thanks for the reminder, Abbie!



Image credit: Dreamstimefree 2776047: Moon-Star

Dragon Boats

A couple of years ago my adventure group was on a bike trip when we stumbled across the DC Dragon Boat Festival. The large canoe-like boats decorated with scales and dragon heads were crewed by teams of 20 paddlers, a drummer and someone to navigate. The festival drew teams from around the region, and a few international participants, to compete in races on the Potomac river.

This past weekend, five of us had a last-minute opportunity to participate in a Dragon Boat/Outrigger Canoe clinic sponsored by Washington Women Outdoors and the National Capital Area Women's Paddling Association (NCAWPA). I'll write about the Outriggers later and focus on the Dragon Boats today. I didn't manage to get any pictures of the festival or the clinic so click here to see NCAWPA's photo gallery.

History of Dragon Boats

According to the American Dragon Boat Association, the history of Dragon Boats begins with The legend of Chu Yuan:

Over 2000 years ago Chu Yuan, poet, warrior and loyal aide to the emperor, fell victim to plots and deception and found himself out of favor at court. When the old emperor died, Chu Yuan was unjustly banished and wandered the countryside composing poems he hoped would be heard and heeded by the new emperor. His inconsolable desolation grew until one day he threw himself into the Mi Lo River. His devoted followers, learning of his death, rushed to search for his body. Fearing the fish might devour the body; they beat their paddles on the water and banged drums and gongs to frighten the fish. Today, athletes from around the world meet to commemorate Yuan's sacrifice for honor and justice in the form of Dragon Boat Racing.

It's a full body workout

A Dragon Boat race is essentially a sprint. The courses tend to be shorter than those for Outrigger Canoe races and the key to the speed of the boat is for each member of the team to paddle in unison. The more perfect the synchronization the better. The goal: a team that acts like a strong well-oiled machine.

Before climbing into the boat, we practiced our paddling technique on dry land. The boat has 10 double seats to accommodate the 20 paddlers, so we stood in two lines to simulate the boat. Each person dedicated her paddling to only one side. Paddling itself isn't a test of arm strength. It's a full body workout.

I was on the left side of the boat so I started by grasping the top of my paddle with my right hand; the left was positioned just above the blade. To begin the stroke, I raised my right arm until my elbow was next to my right ear. The left arm was extended straight in front. To get the most out of a stroke, I was told to rotate my torso slightly toward the inside of the boat, extend the paddle forward, bend at the hip, put the blade into the water so that is was completely submerged, then counter rotate-- turning my torso toward the outside of the boat while sitting up, pulling the blade back and pushing off with my legs to get added power. Raise the blade and repeat. Yep, a full body workout.

We had a wonderful time at the clinic and agreed that our Adventure Club will be entering a team in the DC Dragon Boat Festival next May. Festival teams only have three practices before the big weekend so it's fun without being a huge time commitment. I enjoyed the clinic so much, I may sign on for a longer stint.

If Dragon Boats sound interesting to you, check out a festival in your area. There are organizations and events all around the globe. Here are some links to get you started:

American Dragon Boat Association

Boston

Denver

International Dragon Boat Federation, List of international affiliates

Los Angeles

NCAWPA

Nova Scotia

Philadelphia

Texas

Worldwide Dragon Boat Calendar






Photo credit: Abbie Mulvihill



updated 2/19/11

Learning to Run in 13 Weeks: Week 5

Part of the weekly training schedule is 5 minutes of stretching. I should probably change the wording to say "warm up" and "cool down." I imagine that a lot of you are like me when it comes to the pre-exercise prep period. My group was doing the classic hamstring stretch, some twists and a few lunges (the same-old-same-old) and then heading out. It was interesting to learn that this is not really what the creators of the 13-week program had in mind.

Their feeling is that you're more likely to injure a cold muscle by stretching too much than by running without stretching at all. What they had in mind is a period of truly warming the muscles progressively. Start by walking or jogging slowly for 5 - 10 minutes then follow with light stretching for 3-5 minutes. The stretches should be held for about 10 seconds but repeated 2 to 3 times (making sure to include all the most important muscle groups: calves, hamstrings, quads, hips, back & shoulders). So, from here on out, you'll notice that the weekly schedule shows an 8-minute warm up instead of a 5-minute stretch.

As mentioned in earlier posts, we're following the gradual running program outlined in the The Beginning Runners Handbook: The Proven 13-Week Walk-Run Program *. Here's the schedule for this week and next.


Week 5

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 3 minutes, walk 1 minutes. Do this 10 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute. Do this 10 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute. Do this 9 times. 5-minute cool-down


Week 6

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 5 minutes, walk1 minute. Do this 8 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute. Do this 12 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 3 minutes, walk 1 minutes. Do this 10 times. 5-minute cool-down


*A few words about The Beginning Runner's Handbook. The 13-week program doesn't appear until page 151 because the authors (Ian MacNeill and the Sport Medicine Council of British Columbia) thought it was important to start with topics like moderation, choosing good shoes, training mind & body, pregnancy, cross-training, technique, diet, injuries and stretching. It is probably wise to do some reading of your own before you launch into this new exercise program. Please make sure you're healthy and ready for action and then join us!