Wyoming

It's been a while since I posted but let's skip the chit chat and talk about how awesome Wyoming is! We drove downstate on the day before our flight left so Mitch and I could spend some extra time with our families. Our first flight was Portland to Chicago, which was fairly short. I've only flown once before but it was a couple years ago so, taking off and landing was the highlight of my day! Once we were in Chicago we had a 2 hour layover until our flight to Denver. From Denver we flew into Cody, Wyoming. On my flight from Denver to Cody I sat next to a very nice elderly lady who told me what to expect out west. Will picked us up at the airport around 12 and drove us over the Dead Indian pass which has lots of switch backs, something I wasn't expecting so late at night. 

When we woke up the next morning this was the view we got:

Because the 7D ranch is a guest ranch we ate with the staff in the back of the main lodge. The guest season had come to a close so not everyone was there. They would all soon leave later in the week. 

Our first work out was a 1.5 hour skate. The goal of the the workout was to experiment with our body at altitude. We soon found out that it felt like we hadn't worked out in a couple of years. Our heart rates would elevate very easily, thus we went at a snails pace, focusing on technique. Sunlight Basin, which is where the 7D ranch is located, has a river that parrells it. It eventually forms a narrow cannon that's an estimated 350 feet from the bottom of the cannon to the bridge. 

Everywhere in Wyoming is a senic view. No matter were you look, day or night, you'll find something awesome to look at. From the ranch it took about 25 minutes to get this view. In Wyoming the trails are nothing like New England. You take a packed trail to the general area of the peak you want to climb and then you look up, say "I want to go there", and you go right up the hill. No trails necessary. 

The PG boys and Brendan Cry flew out a day before everyone else so this is a picture of all of us at an outcrop. The lady in the pink is Sarah Dominick. The 7D ranch is owned by her family and she grew up there. 

Another 25 minute hike/run away from the ranch. Something that would take a couple hours to hike in New England. 

Once everyone got to the ranch we had out first long distance rollerski. In the county it's hard to ski up hill for more than 10 minutes before you have to go back down. Out here we skied for 2 hours uphill! It was quite the climb. It was about 14 miles and we gained 2500' in elevation. 

Our one and only off day, most of us went to Yellowstone National Park. I was exceptional to see completely different animals in their natural habitat. There were a lot of people on a hill looking at something so we decided to go up and check it out! It turned out to ba a pack of wolfs one mile away. I didn't realize how big they were compared to dogs. It was nice to meet Juno's long lost relatives!

After the wolfs we went to Mammoth Hot Springs. I was sad to learn that the monkeys that sit in the hot springs live in Japan, so no monkeys in Yellowstone. The hot springs were another thing unlike I've ever seen before. Boiling water that comes out of the ground and creates perfect right angle steps.

One run Will showed us the sheep trap, or what was left of it. So hundreds of years ago, a group of men would chase sheep over a hill into a corral that would narrow and get taller so the sheep couldn't jump out. There was a pen at the end where someould would stand and knock he sheep on the head to kill them. What Austin is standing next to is what is left of the sheep pen.

The last day we went on a 24 mile hike/run. We were trying to make it to the summit of Trout Peak which is about 12500'. But because we had to be back at the van we couldn't make it.but we did make it to just over 11000'. You had a beautiful 360 degree view of the mountains all around us. It was one of those things you'll never forget. 

I might become a lumberjack

Because everyone that will be living in get Gallagher house has moved in, the modivation to make improvements to the house has risen. We cleaned out the basement, moved the junk from the garage to outside the garage, and cut down a tree! We cut down the tree because it was dead and preventing the alive tree adjscent to it from growing. I found out from chopping up the tree that chainsaws are very fun and powerful. It's safe to say that I had a grand afternoon. (I was very safe and cautious because Austin told us a story about how he almost sawed off his foot last year.)

Dustin going at it

On Friday, Dustin and Nate had to go to Bangor, so Mitch, Austin and I went candlepin bowling! Candlepin bowling is just like regular bowling except the ball is the size of a grapefruit and the pins look like tall, thick candles.

 

Sunday was the last over distance workout of the year that we got to choose what we do. We choose to go mountain biking in Edmondston, New Brunswick. We have gone there before and the trails are world class, going back was a must. Dustin finally got Austin's bike fixed that I wrote about a month ago. 

On the way to Fort Kent, where we spent the night, we stopped at the MWSC farm house. Welly Ramsey has an extensive garden so we picked some veggies while he was away. While we were there I caught a mouse! We decided not to keep him because we already have 3 fish at home and having a mouse would be just too much responsibility. 

The trails are so great in Edmondston because of the extra things. Like little jumps and pipes they put instead of bridges!

The little kid in me still thrives so naturally I decided to ride through a big puddle as fast as I could. Needless to say, I was not disappointed.

 Austin at a senic view

An interesting tree on the side of the trail

 It easily the best mountain bike ride I've ever gone on, injury free, bike injury free and no Rio incidents!

This week is testing week. We do lots of the same test that my very first blog post was about plus a 3k time trial up Mars Hill and a 15k skate rollerski time trial. These tests will determine how training has gone this summer and what my weakness' are! Check back on Monday for a report on my pain filled week!

Home & Home

It's been a little while since I've posted but it is what it is!

While I was home I started using my brothers road bike which he used to use to get around, but hasn't used  since he moved to college. I took it on a nice triangle loop in greater Portland. I rode from my house to Pineland Farms, across to Wolfe's Neck farm and home again. The ride took me about 3 hours, which isn't bad considering I'm riding a 1970 Raleigh Grand Prix. 

Later that day my father and I went go-carting! It was very exciting and new school beat old school!! That's something that never happens to me so every victory counts. After our two races we went and got lunch at Chicago Dogs, it was a different type of restaurant that makes their own hot dogs. I suggest going there if you're in the Scarborough area.

Thursday I went for another bike ride, except I had company for half of it. My good friend Mitch met me at Thorton Academy, half way on my ride to Goose Rocks Beach in Kennebunk. Ever since I can remember I've gone to Goose Rocks Beach every summer because my great aunt rented a beach house there every summer for a month. My father has 2 sister, so each family got a week plus my grandmother also got a week. It is a fact that Goose Rocks Beach is the best beach in the entire world. Undebatable. The sand is so soft and it's never too busy. If you go you also need to go to sinking sand island. Unfortunately a little over a year ago my great aunt passed away and the tradition was no longer. Luck for me, last year my aunt and uncle did rent a house on the same beach but it wasn't the same, close though. Because this would have been the first summer not going, I figured I needed to go. Because I didn't have a car that day I figured it'd be a good idea to make a workout out of it, and I'm extremely happy I did. 

                                  Even though it was a cloudy day it was worth the 4 hour ride

                               The ride home looking out onto the Scarborough marsh

That night my grandmother took me out to Boone's fish house for the best swordfish I had ever had in my entire life.

The day before I left I went for a rollerski with my middle school coach Mark Arienti. It was good to talk about the days when I was a wee lad. 

Later that day my grandmother took my brother out again to the Royal River Grillhouse in Yarmouth. It's a favorite spot of my because the food is always extremely good.

Back in the Aroostoock we started the training week strong with some bounding intervals.

Was nice to be home in Portland but it's also hard for me personally to train by myself. Being back in the county feels awesome and I can't wait to put the nose to the grindstone during the fall and get fit!

Bike racing, UMPI camp, and a Surprise

Hello once again! My apologizes, on how long it took me to put a new post up, almost 3 weeks. Reminds me of passing in late homework. Anyway, lots has happened in the last three weeks so we'll start from the beginning. 

Mondays are off days for the post graduate boys, but we've started to get into rock climbing at the climbing at UMPI. Its nice to change it up once a week to a sport that doesn't involve cardio. 

Nate scaling the wall

On Tuesday, we had a track workout that consisted of 12x400m@10k pace. It was a fairly easy workout but for me it was aimed at pacing. Having a set pace in my mind and not varying from it. A self discipline type of workout. 

Austin was down to his last pair of running shorts #lookinggood

Wednesday rollerskied with Mike Smith, MWSC Healthy Hometown director.

Thursday, the biathletes from Fort Kent came down to train with us. We did a L2 hill bounding workout 7-8 times around a 1k loop. Also Andy Shepard, MWSC CEO and Mary Barton Smith came to practice, these two people that came through to help MWSC exist through hard times.

Austin and Nate flexing

Because I have tendonitis in my right arm, I've been spending a lot of time roller skiing with no poles.  Thus, making me go slower that the rest of the guys. Luckily, Dustin (we call him Rio now) decided to be a nice guy and ski with me. We got so far behind we came to an intersection and didn't know which way to go! We found an office right next to a truck scale and used their land line, something I haven't done in a very long time. Will came an picked us up and we finished out the workout.

Nate and Austin looking good. 

GOING THROUGH THE CAR WASH!!!

The Nordic Trail Festival is a weekend long event that takes place at the Nordic Heritage Center, which happens to be right next to our house! There's a downhill mountain bike race, a kids bike race, where adults race on bikes that are made for toddlers, 6 hour running race, and 6 hour mountain bike race. The 6 hour races had 3 different formats. You could race solo, as a 2 person team, or have a 3-6 person team. How the team format works is you race a lap, then tag off to you teammate, they race a lap then tag you and so on, for 6 hours. 

The Gallagher house decided to race as 2 - 2person teams. Nate and Dustin, and Austin and I. Austin and I didn't do as well as we thought. Even though it was our first mountain bike race ever we still thought that being in shape had its advantage. And it did for the first 2 laps. Then Austin caught a stick in his rear wheel and it got pulled into his derailleur. He bent his derailleur hanger and broke the derailleur, putting him out of the race for a lap. So he ran his bike back to me and I rode a lap. After I completed a lap Austin took my bike and did a lap, but he came back with no seat or seat post! My seat came loose and all the parts came off. He tried looking for all of them, but couldn't find them all so, he had to ride the rest of the lap standing up. When he got to exchange zone, I decide enough was enough and we called it a day. Austin and I went back looking for the part and we found it! It was quite a race to say the least. 

The positive parts of the day was that the MWSC running relay team came in first and Coach Seth Hubbard and Welly Ramsey came in second in the 2 person division. 

On August 5th, Maine team camp #2 started at University of Maine Presque Isle. We got there, Will handed us awesome t-shirts, then the PG boys created an agility course to practice confidence on roller skis. Soon after we went for a 1.5 hour ski. The next day we had a classic distance session, and since my ski broke I just mountain biked.

Everyone one else skiing

MWSC junior team member Brendan Cry got a boo boo

The most exciting part of the week was VO2 Max testing. For those of you who don't know what that means don't feel bad, I didn't either until after the testing. Here's my best shot at explaining it. When you exercise your muscles use up oxygen, thats why when you work hard you're breathing harder because the body needs more oxygen. So, during a VO2 max test they put a face mask on you like you can see in the second picture. The special treadmill goes higher and faster until you literally can not go any more. My exerting so much effort the face mask measures the maximum amount oxygen you're using and boom, you have your VO2 max. 

Now what can this tell me about my training? It determines how much of an engine I have, how much fuel my tank can hold. If I had a lower VO2 max then I need to do more intensity to condition my body to improve how much oxygen I can take in. Since I have a higher VO2 max then I need to do more distance to become more efficient. There you have it, a somewhat correct explanation of VO2 Max testing and how it works.

Austin warming up

Putting the mask on

Falling from exhaustion 

Good thing the harness caught me!

The end of Maine team camp came on Sunday with a beautiful roller ski in Northern Maine (I'm never exactly sure where I am anymore). 

As many of you know, I'm back in Portland! I got a ride back to Portland from Forrest McCurdy and surprised my parents. They had no idea I was coming home and the look on their face when I walked into the drive way was priceless!! Its so nice to be home with my family and be by the ocean once again. 

On Tuesday night I and 5 dudes drove up to Millinocket, Maine to hike Mt. Katahdin the next morning. We ended up getting only 3 hours a sleep (not the best for training but let the good times roll), and we started hiking around 7.

Here we are at Chimney pond

Oliver Nolan stepping into the unknown

Made it to the top!

Doing the Knife Edge trail was something I've been looking forward to for a long time. I had heard a lot about it so I had to do it for myself! It was an awesome experience even thought there are only 2 really sketchy parts.

Katahdin is right around the corner.

And there you have it, 3 weeks all summed up into 1 post. I'll certainly be posting weekly again because it was much too difficult to remember what happened 3 weeks ago! Thanks for reading, and may the wind be at your back.