New Bedford

New Bedford

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Week so far

June 27: Woke up at the campsite around 6:15am and finished up some odds and ends before heading down to the parking lot at about 11. Drove into Lincoln and stopped to check out some employment opportunities, then I realized I reek. So I didn't. Got a call from Tim and he told me all about Mt Cranmore. Sounded friggin awesome. We caught up on some other things. As soon as I started my car in the parking lot, it was even louder than it was before the weekend started. Called up the pops and asked what I should do. Headed to an auto service place and got it fixed. It was a part of the exhaust system after the first catalytic converter and before the second one. It had rotted away and a spring was missing. The guy said that is the reason your car sounds like ahoy rod. I figured that much, but we did the quick fix that costs about 100 bucks instead of the much needed replacement of a catalytic converter that my dad says got estimated at about 1100 bucks. Waiting, or should I say not doing, that option for awhile. Today was my scheduled day off and it felt amazing. Relaxed after sitting in the auto service place for about 2 hours. That's pretty much what happened for the day.

June 28: Woke up around 8 to get in a morning run. It was fairly cool out and the run was relaxing. Outside of my shins weren't on fire like last Tuesday, which was a plus. Headed to Plymouth State's campus TP use the wifi and make some phone calls. My mom had some contact of possible job opportunities so I was all for it. I emailed the horticulturist of PSU and emailed mail me back soon after with a potential opening for the month of July. I FaceTimed with Jared for a while to catch up each other's lives and what not. Headed back to the bunkhouse and got ready for my second run. Went just as well. Finished up with some strides on the football field. I was planning on having macaroni and cheese for dinner, but the pot I was gonna use was full of rust. Tried washing it, but wasn't worth it. There were microwavable directions and the bowl read "Not recommended for microwave use." I interpreted as maybe this one time it will be okay for me. I had to put the noodles and 2 cups of water in for 8-10 and stir every 3. I checked at 2 minutes and it was doing well.  Bowl was mad hot and I spilled some of the water all in the microwave. Soaked it up with my shower towel and checked it in another 3 minutes or so. This time I was smart and grabbed it with a dish towel. The noodles looked like they had plastic residue on them or something. I played it safe and threw out the bowl with the noodles. Being frustrated with the mishap, I made my way downtown to pick up some Subway and wait to Skype with Kimber. I got to my usual spot outside the laundry mat on the picnic table. After that, I headed home to get a goodnight sleep for my long run the next day.

Summary: 7.5 miles in the am (52:25) Solid run. Hit the last mile (all uphill in 6:53) and that's my goal is to always go sub 7 on that last mile no matter how I am feeling on the run. 9+ (66:00, maybe 9.5) Another solid run, wore the Triax Structures for both runs and they felt perfect. I'll call it 17 for the day. 8x100 meter strides.

June 29: Woke up at 8 and made myself a cinnamon raisin bagel with butter. Tossed a few peanut M&Ms for a little sugar and pounded some Gatorade and water. I was out the door by 9am on a mission for a 2 hour run. I did just that 2:08. Unfortunately, my course that I mapped out changed drastically at about 6 miles when the road I was supposed to come out to was something completely different. I even checked the map after my run and the road was supposed to be E Rumney Road, instead was Beech Hill Rd (which is very similar to the one in Keene). I had been running on Beech Hill earlier in the run so I decided to make my way up the hill hoping it would loop around and I could add on somewhere else. Instead, it stayed as a dirt road for about 45 minutes and did not come out to a main road until about 1:33. I basically didn't know where I was or where I was going to end up for about 10 miles. It just so happens that I made my way to the road across from the US Forest Headquarters and was roughly 3-4 miles from my house. Thank the Lord! I was planning on stopping wherever I was at about 2 hours and 20 minutes and hitchhike back to Plymouth. Or I was afraid my marathon long run of 20+ miles was gonna happen today, just a little early by a few months. Didn't have to and made it back safely. Killed the rest of my Gatorade, made up a protein shake and destroyed a balance bar. Showered up and headed downtown eventually after a bowl of mini scoopers. Rest of the day is dedicated to some light job hunting and maybe going to see Transformers 3 tonight.

Summary: I was able to map out the run and I think the road was miss marked. It ended up being 18.5 (2:08). All alone and no water and fuel along the way. Makes me tougher, a little wiser for next time and done running for the day. The best thing about long runs, run once and you are done.

June 30: Ran twice today. Both easy runs. 3.5 miles in the morning and 7.5 miles in the afternoon with 6x100 meter strides at the football field. Headed downtown for a while and hit the PSU library to relax. Got ready for the big weekend at the campsite. 

Summary: John said it was gonna be a busy weekend so I was pretty excited to meet lots of people. 11 for the day. Relaxed weekend before the race.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Weekend Part 2

June 26 (super eventful day): a nice early start of 6:20am and made the normal breakfast of oatmeal and raisins with a side of bagel (tossed some nutella for some added flavor). As I headed to work down the trail, I saw that the 3 high schoolers setup their tent. Phew! So I continued on to my work of completing the rest of the posts. One of the kids strolled on over to the bathroom. I intersected him and he proceeded to inform me that they got back at 11:45pm after hiking to the Bonds (first peak is 7 hour road trip hike) and getting wetter than they hoped on the river crossings. From the look of him (this is part of my job, sizing up the campers and hikers), he was somewhat inexperienced. The absence of hiking boots and the mention of using flashlights at night were red flags. I went on with my work until John (backcountry wilderness ranger for those who are just tuning in and my supervisor) stopped by to start his patrol from the campsite. We briefly spoke and got back to our responsibilities. I radioed in to John to check what time he was gonna be back at the campsite. He responded with 1-1:30. It was 10:30 at the time so we decided that I should run now so we can cross paths again. I changed up and started biking down the roughly 3 miles to the parking lot of Lincoln Woods. Less than a mile down, I stopped dead in my tracks over this blind hill. Slammed on both breaks. A BLACK BEAR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRAIL! Luckily, the chain/lock on my handlebars rattled and the bear snuck back into the woods. My heart was beating pretty fast and I was hesitate to continue biking down, but I did because I wanted to run. The risks I take to get a run in. I reported it to Jim, one of the US Forest Service employees, and meet some cool volunteers at the same time. Went for my run and checked out the Franconia Brook Trail. It had one serious stream crossing, but other than that it was more runner-friendly trail. Once I got back from my run, I once again took a rinsed in the "Ranger Pool." This time I was ready and the air was a bit warmer. I stayed in the water a little longer this time and actually washed off some of the dirt. I changed up back into my uniform (picture to follow in a couple weeks when my mom, sister, and Kimber come up) and ate lunch with Jim and John at my picnic table. Jim helped rig up my mosquito netting behind the front flaps of my tent. It paid off that night to have a cross breeze coming through the tent. Jim told me John mentioned the quality work I've been doing already on the campsite. Sweet to hear! We saw some mountain bikers pass by us and Jim checked it out to make sure they weren't going past the gate into The Wilderness (no wheeled vehicles allowed, only foot travel). The mountain bikers' parents ventured into the campsite soon after asking if we saw kids pass by here. The kids ended up getting off their bikes and heading up the Pemi East Trail a little bit. A little hiccup, but everything worked itself out. Jim and John headed out and I got back to work. I greeted Matt and Nico at campsite #3. Nice guys. I think they were brothers, just a big age gap. Or son and dad? Not sure. Small talk about campsite etiquette and other stuff. Matt works for Comcast so he understood the requirement for the wearing of a hard hat while I use the hand tools. Continued to work on the posts and meet Jen (daughter) Keith (young grandfather) Jas (Jen's 2 year old son) and Tully (dog). Great bunch. Jen completed her first 4000 footer at the age of 6 and finished all 48 by 14 or something. Finished up all the main posts along the trail. Changed into some shorts and a t-shirt to rinse off dirt and Deet off the arms and neck before dinner. Talked to Matt (probably 25 years old or so and looks like he hits the gym regularly, he was pretty well built, no homo) on my way back from the stream. I mentioned the two guys (with not great teeth, but they weren't British, but definitely not from the US) saw earlier dragging their kayaks up the trail. I had asked where they were headed and the lead guy replied with "As far as we can go." Matt mentioned he saw them at Franconia Falls doing some major bottoming out. Idiots! Left them to their dinner while I went and made mine. It went semi smoothly except for the Jetboil not lighting right away and the Coleman stove acting up. No biggie. John discussed with me about where I should deposit my grey water so I trudged about 200 feet into the woods and dug a hole in the ground. I had chicken and cheese wraps for dinner. The problem is the chicken breast is in a can in water. Draining the water is sorta difficult because I don't want to drip any on the table. It could attract animals especially after seeing the bear earlier. I need to be EXTRA careful. Oh and the kayaker was going on some rant about people lathering up in the rivers and using biodegradable soap. He dropped some F bombs and said I need to make a fire. Sent him on his way. After dinner, I just winded down and read a little bit before falling asleep before 10. Biological clock is still off and my body isn't shutting down until 10 or 11. That will change soon enough. 

Summary: Solid run today. 58:34, call it 8+. With the biking, make it 10 for the day and 73 for the week. Past three weeks have been over 70, so good so far. I am just concentrating on getting the minutes in and the mileage. The fitness level will get there. This upcoming week I will doing a longer run of at least 2 hours and strides on the other days. Getting mentally prepared for Monday. And Keith, one of the campers, puts on a rugged triathlon at Tully Lake, Mass. I said I might see him there. Teams are welcome too. It's a canoe, trail run, and mountain bike. He also works at the campground at Tully Lake so I might contact him about jobs in the fall!

Weekend Part 1

June 24: Started off with meeting John at the US Forest headquarters to pick up my Coleman stove for the weekend. I was able to talk to Kimber in the morning, which was awesome. I did not like saying "Talk to you Monday." I will need to get used to it and it's only for the summer. It was steadily raining while I was driving over so John thought there was no rush to get to the campsite in the rain. I wasn't arguing. We waited it out and covered some administrative stuff in the office. We got up to the campsite around 12. First thing we did was check out this supposedly natural spring in the middle of the woods at the end of the campsite that Tammy (VIS volunteer told us about). We used the pretty advanced Garmin GPS unit John had and you could run a mobile version of ArcGIS on it called ArcPad. This allowed us to add the spring as a point to one of the layers right then and there. I will need to email my GIS professor about that one. After we just walked and chatted through the backwoods of the campsites seeing what we had to work with as far as the area behind without stepping into the official "Wilderness." John was on his way around 1 and I headed to work for a couple hours dispersing some of the logs at campsites 14-24. It was kinda wet and cold so it wasn't as pleasant as my first weekend. I ended up running at 3:30 and explored the Pemi East Trail to the Wilderness Trail and Thoreau Falls Trail. Tim would not enjoy this run. Way too many blowdowns (trees fallen down in the middle of the trail), river or stream crossings and other things to obstruct a runner along its path. It was a mix between the steeplechase and basic boot camp awry training (at least from what I've seen in the movies). Ankles are strengthening up by almost rolling them 10 or so times on this run and others. I decided to not rinse off after this run because it was just too dang cold out. So I didn't, but man did I smell ripe by Monday.
A group with two kids was at the campsite so before I ate dinner, I swung by to greet em. One of the guys was pretty short with me. Instead, I said my closing remarks and went to make myself some grub. Dinner did not go according to plain. Difficult to coordinate my rice and ravioli dinner. Ravioli is already cooked and the rice takes way too long cook. I made my hot chocolate too early so it was almost warm chocolate for dinner. The stove burners both went out towards the end of cooking everything so I freaked a little. But I ate the massive amount of rice with my ravioli together, yes together. Carbed up big time for Saturday's run. Some positives out of the meal were that I opened a can in record time, 3:45. I beat the old record by a landslide. Also I have learned to truly be a member of the clean plate club. The less that is on my plate and in my cookware, the less I need to scrub when it comes to cleaning. Also, the less likelihood of any remnants of food in the woods  that will attract animals. After dinner, I made one last round to the bathroom and the campsites. One of the guys from the group with the kids asked me about the forecast for the next morning, but I didn't have much to say other than a chance of showers. It was nice at the time we were talking, then a huge thunderstorm rolled in out of nowhere and kept me in my tent for the rest of night. 

Summary: Run was a fun exploration one up the Pemi East Trail to the Wilderness Trail then Thoreau Falls Trail. 81:37. 42:20 out, 39:17 back. I'll call it 11+. Might of been more, but who knows. I always go on the lower end of mileage. There was a definite chill in the air that kept my forearms cold the entire run. The course might be some good training for my possible steeple debut next spring at some small meet like Fitchburg. There wouldn't be any pressure on the line. Oh wait, my college coach, Pete Thomas, screaming at me. So maybe not Fitchburg. 

June 25: Pretty bad night sleep with the rain and thunder most of the night. Set my alarm for 6 and 7. Rolled out of bed at 7:15ish. Got breakfast going, oatmeal with raisins and the free bagel some campers left me last weekend. It is always so quick to whip up breakfast because of the Jetboil. It's amazing. Boils water in minutes, depending on how much you are heating. I am getting fairly smooth at meal preparation (I'll get into more detail later). Cleaned up and headed off to clearing the logs and greeting people like these two bikers looking for Franconia Falls. This morning I had on a few layers because it was a bit nippily out. I had rain pants and a jacket on, which color coordinated just by chance. Shed some layers as soon as I warmed up, which took one step of the shovel and I started to sweat. Worked until 12 and did my classic run to Franconia Falls. Another enjoyable run with a dip in the water half way. After the run, I decided to jog to the "Ranger Pool," which is about 1/2 mile away from my campsite. I tossed on my water shoes and went on a mini cooldown. I sorta dove into the water and thought it would be a great idea to go completely under. Good God! Literally, I almost went into shock after because I couldn't breathe from the coldness. Walked right back to my campsite to change and head back to work at about 2:15. I attacked the posts today. The first one was a bit annoying because I wasn't entirely sure how I should be going about the whole thing. Luckily, I perfected my skills each post I did. So much that I went back to the first post to redo it. The basic process it pulling the post out of the ground, which is fairly easy because they aren't securely in there. Dig out a hole about 18-24 inches deep and about a foot wide. Place the post back in. This is the tricky part. I need to place rocks strategically around the post so it is stable AND level. Level both left to right and back and forth. It can be time consuming, but I got it! No worries! Finished up around 6. I didn't complete all the posts just 15-24. I was gonna rinse off again, but I didn't feel like freezing my butt off for a 2nd time in a day. Before any dinner preparation, I cleaned out the two toilets at the end of the campsite. So I did. No complaints, pretty simple stuff. I throw some of this "sawdust" in each toilet to help with the smell, spray the toilets seats and the base of the toilet, wipe it down, replace the TP if needed, and sweep out any dirt. I have goggles and latex gloves to protect myself. Ain't nothing getting in my body! I was a little OCD and switched the TP rolls around so they all of em roll towards you (the only way they are supposed to go) and largest to smallest roll (smallest being closest to the occupant of toilet). Its the little things that count. I obviously washed my hands before any handling of food. This meal was way faster and smoother than the night before. Total time 34:12.07. Splits: 27:14.58 for cooking and devouring, 6:57.49 for clean up. No problems or speed bumps. Stomach was satisfied. Though the refried beans, no joke, looked like a heaping pile of dog poo. Still ate it cuz I'm a man! Waited for these campers to return and maybe some new ones. Nothing. So I went to bed.

Summary: I think the run to Franconia Falls will become my staple run for Saturdays. Its just a relaxing run. I worked the last mile or so and made it back from the bottom at the bridge in 17:40. New record by 46 seconds. I am gonna try to get down to sub 17 this upcoming weekend or the next. I have the Four on the Fourth in Keene on Monday.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

First full weekend :)

June 22: I planned on running twice today, instead I slept in and ran once. Spent three hours downtown using the free wifi at Cicero's cafe. I saw my boss John walking his kids and enjoying the weather before the rain set in. This was the second time I saw him and I was in the same spot as last time. This time he had his daughter Lydia and his son Gradie (I believe that is his son's name). I headed back to the bunkhouse, where I decided to explore some other options for jobs such as the White Mountain Country Club and other golf clubs. They weren't hiring, but were more than welcome to have me fill out an application. After all this, I ended going to Burger King and asking for an application. The girl gave me a card and said I can apply online. So I did. I wasn't too proud for applying to fast food restaurant, but there was a job opening at the Plymouth restaurant as a "team member." One of the questions "Do you speak English?" and another one was "Can you read and write English?" I felt more qualified for other jobs, but I can't complain. It's a job opening. I was hoping to find a job at a restaurant so I could get free meals, but not at Burger King. My running and health would go down the drain. I mean, some people say that if the engine is running, it will burn anything. I don't think that includes fast food. 

As for my run, I decided to run for at least 80 minutes and did just that will a 1:26:44 through the rain. The run included some exploring of the Plymouth Mountain trail for about a half mile (got a little iffy on the footing so I turned around), a grass field loop across from this beautiful farmhouse, a stroll down a dead end road, and 8x100 meter strides on the Plymouth State University football field. I read a sign that said "Keep off the football field," but I felt like that didn't include me for some reason. Oh, I did get a guy to yell from his Jeep, "Nice shorts!" It took a second to register his my head and I replied with absolutely nothing. As I continued running, I realized that was probably the best choice. I could have come back with a couple of different things. Most I won't mention. One response could of been "Thanks for checking me out!" I was about 3 miles or so from my house on a backroad, where he could of easily stopped and beaten me up or stashed the body in the woods. I don't think that would of happened, but you never know. Since I am a foreigner to the area, I have learned to keep to myself for the most part. Hopefully if I land a job, I can meet some new people that will not be screaming out of their cars while I run.

Food: mini scoopers, peanut butter jelly sandwich (yes all three), chicken AND beef combined fajitas with green peppers and cheddar cheese, some pretzels with nutella for dessert

June 23: I forced myself out of bed at 8:15 so I could get in a double run. I feel like I should take advantage on my days off to double up to avoid the extra long runs. After my run, I was greeted with a bunch of US Forest Service trucks in my driveway and somebody chainsawing the large evergreen bush in the front yard. I waved to everybody and headed inside to stretch and eat breakfast. It would of felt weird to stay indoors so I changed up into my uniform and volunteered to help. We lugged all of the branches from the bush to the backyard. They were pretty much done by the time I got out there, but they appreciated the effort and I got to break in the full uniform. Felt pretty comfortable, no complaints. The only thing is that I have the light green pants while the rest have the newer dark green pants. John is ordering me a pair of the dark ones because the ones I have now make me stick out like a sore thumb. I am glad because they are bit bell-bottomish along with a fairly snug fit on the waist. Not too tight, but they are probably the one pair of pants that actually fit me correctly and it is not too easy on the eyes. Again, I headed downtown for another multi-hour iPad session at Cicerio's. This time it started to rain kinda hard so I wanted for it to let up. I stopped by the college library to warm up and use the wifi to update my blog. 

I got in 6.5+ miles at an easy and comfortable pace this morning. Just went out and back along Reservoir Rd about a minute down the road from the bunkhouse. I broke in the new "old" shoes. I have been wearing the Nike lunar series for the past year (7 or 8 trainers) and switched to the Nike Triax Structure 13's. I was afraid my legs weren't gonna be used to the old school style sole, but they felt great. I am planning on going for another hour this evening and eating leftovers for dinner. Second weekend (and the full Friday to Monday) at the campsite. Its gonna be a blast. Hoping for some nice weather and some good runs. Until next week!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Blah day

June 21: Basically most of the day was dedicated to the job hunt for the off days. Went to the surrounding towns of Plymouth like Ashland and Campton to try to see if they had any job openings. Filled out a few applications, but nothing too promising. I had one lady say that I should try coming back in a month, maybe they will have fired somebody by then. Alrighty then! She was definitely a yocal. Another place said experience required, which make I had to know how to make pizzas and she said something about be busiest on the weekends. Both of those are a negative for me. Didn't even bother grabbing an application.

It was about 4:30pm when I started to feel sluggish and bored. It was a still too hot to run at the time and I had nothing to so. But I finally got motivated and changed up for a run. I was out the door at 5:30pm. I wanted to go longer so I modified a run I had done last week where the road turned into a trail for about a half mile. So I started the run rather relaxed. It was a 12 mile loop and I wanted to add on so I took a different way home. Once I hit an hour of running, I got into the zone and found my stride. I rocked the last 5 miles in just over 6 minute pace. I was pumped. So it ended up being a 13.85 mile run (1:31:00.44 haha). So overall 6:30ish pace with a solid effort for the last third of the run. I had taken yesterday off because I was pretty tired from the first weekend at the campsite. I think I will designate Mondays as either an easy 5-7 (no watch) or a day off.

Food: made delicious nutella applesauce waffles this morning and a huge cheeseburger for dinner. Snacked throughout the day on almonds and pretzels. I think it fueled me pretty well for my run.

Overall: Last week was 71 and another 70 I am shooting for this week. When I get it the swing of things and find some more running routes, I will hopefully bump the mileage to 75-80. I don't want to get ahead of myself and wind up injured or exhausted.

Monday, June 20, 2011

First weekend at the campsite

I am gonna try to get to the point on these weekend updates. There was a ton of stuff that went down, but I'll try to touch on the important and more interesting stuff.

June 18th: Jimmy (Lincoln Woods VIS Employee) helped me bring all my gear up the campsite in the morning. He hooked me up with a nice bike and helmet combo from the basement of Lincoln Woods Vistitor Center. I set up my campsite as soon as possible by rigging up the tarp over the picnic table for when it rains or just super sunny, organized the 12x12 Cabella's tent with my collapsable chair, sleeping bag and trailside pillow, and then storing away all my food and hygiene products in the bear box. After this, I got right to work with the shoveling out of the metal fire pits and wheelbarrowing the ashes of the side of the hill. I documented the before and after with my camera because you can never have enough documentation for the future. What a difference cleaning out the fire rings. Completed campsites 16-24 by about 2pm. Thought I would go for a run so I headed over to Franconia Falls, soaked my feet real quick and headed back. Started to storm the last half mile of my run so picked it up a bit. Wanted to rinse off before the storm hit. Threw on my water shoes and jogged it to the stream where I literally submerged myself in the river for about a second and a half. Sprinted back to my campsite to bundle up and relax before making dinner. I checked out the trail map and 4000 footer book to mark some of the them I want to complete this summer. Figured out what I already wanted or needed such as hot chocolate mix, chill shoes for campsite, Gatorade mix, designated cooking clothes, short sleeve shirts like v necks or something. The most exciting part of the day came at 5:52pm. My first group of campers, a dad and his two sons. I was fortunately a huge help because it was there first time doing the hiking/camping thing. Gave them the lowdown on everything and they were very pleased. It was super strange to me whe I stopped by their campsite to check on them. The dad said don't feel like you are intruding on us, it's nice to talk to another adult. An adult?! Ha! Second group was three younger guys just doing some hiking and fishing for the weekend. For dinner, I made myself some refried bean tortilla wraps. Mmm, still hitting me on Monday. Appetizers were a clif bar and sausage, cheese and crackers (SCC). Things I realized on the first day; contacts would not work out in the wilderness, need a battery powered alarm clock, I might wanna invest in rechargeable batteries for my camera, and it's not too fun not talking to anyone before I go to bed. 

Summary: Great first day. 12 miles in 81:10. Either slightly uphill or downhill. Glad I have time to run while I am doing this. 

Food: Mini scoopers, PB&J,  apple sauce, cliff bar, SCC, refried bean wraps, Oreos. 

June 19: After going to bed by 9:30 and an okay night's sleep, I was up at 8am for oatmeal with raisins. John (my boss) came up to check on me and make sure I was doing alright. He arrived at around 9:30am and we got some things squared away. We set up the whip antennae so I can reach all the places I need to be able to radio foray type of emergency. Then, we REdid my tarp so I didn't feel like I was in a cave. 
After John left, I finished off the rest of the fire pits in my hard hat and uniform! Looking great! Once I was done, I decided I would bike down the 2.6 miles to the parking lot and try to make a phone call to let people know I was okay (Kimber). It was a success and I ran from the parking lot up the Lincoln Woods Trail to the Osseo Trail. Biked back up to the campsite to rinse off, make appetizers and dinner, and get ready for bed. This time I made chicken breast with spike seasoning wraps. The chicken breast was in a can and it took me 9 minutes to open it because of the friggin can opener I found. Oh well! 

Summary: Got in 8 miles of running (51+, half of it was downhill). Tried wearing the camelback and it worked out pretty well. I wanted to try it out on a short run before I did any long runs with it. 

Food: oatmeal, PB&J, beef jerky, m&ms, SCC, clif bar, chicken breast wraps, and Oreos to finis off the night.

June 20: Woke up at 5:30 to get to the safety meeting at 8am at Forest Headquarters. Hiked down in 40 minutes, much faster than I thought. Went to the safety meeting, reviewed some things with John, and I was off for the rest of the day. Spending most of it relaxing and applying to more jobs. Gonna run later today. Might take a nap. Until next time.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Full day

June 17: projected 8-10 miles. Haven't run yet.

What did happen today was the three ranger districts meeting at this restored barn for a potluck lunch. It was awesome. Meet some cool people, ate a ton food, saw some intriguing presentations, and a demo of one of the law enforcement dogs (wish I got a picture, all black German Shepherd named Herc). Just a great day overall. I have my first official day tomorrow at the campsite so I will be packing up tonight for the weekend until Monday.

Oh I meet a guy that does trialthons and the local road races so that was an easy talking point with him. He is afraid I am gonna do the local 10k in July because he wants to win it. I am gonna do the 5k and try to take down the course record. Gives me something to look forward to in the summer for racing and keeping me focused in my training.

And as I was sitting here using the wifi downtown, a couple asked to use my iPad to check their email to see if someone was going to be running late. I felt pretty important. Haha. Of course I let them use it then there were off on their way.

I won't be updating this until Monday night or Tuesday morning for whoever is following. Catch ya guys next week!

Cleaning frenzy

June 16: the newly explored 8 mile loop turned into a wonderful 10 mile run. Never expect to go the exact distance you mapped out in a new area, you are bound to get miss a turn. Again, I mapped out a random run on gmap-pedometer.com while I was in Keene. It turned out to be a great run. 3 dogs, 2 trailheads, 1 outlook to the mountains, and 71 minutes later, I was in heaven. Part of the run was on a dirt road that climbed for about 3 miles. At about 3 miles into the run, there was this lookout point on this person's property of the mountains in the distance. Couldn't ask for a better area to run other than the White Mountains. 

Along with not shaving my face or cutting my hair for the summer, I am going to attempt to not wash my hair for an extended period or time. My goal is 4th of July right now. I can rinse it, but not use any soap. I can now style it with the amount of grease in it. Just trying to be a mountain man I guess. And save on money.

Didn't sleep that well, but I am getting used to being in a house completely by myself. Woke up with a mission after breakfast in being organized in the house such as the dishes and kitchen area. Went downtown to hand in some more applications and use the wifi at the laundry mat that I applied to as well. While I was out, I made a 2nd attempt at Walmart to finish up my grocery shopping from the other day. It was a success. I also grabbed some Comet and a scrubbing brush to clean out the sinks and shower. I am lucky to have grown up in such a clean house and be able to carry it over to my living situations. Saw my boss downtown. He was biking around with his kid on the little seat attached to the back. It was pretty cute. At the end of the night after successfully eating ravioli from a can with the subpar can opener, I took stroll down the road to see if there were any unsecure Internet signals. Found a bunch and one was right across the street. Ca-ching!

Food: Bowl of frosted fruit, peanut butter and nutella sandwich, Gatorade, protein shake, ravioli from a can. Picture on my Facebook.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Another day in Plymouth

June 15: 11.5 miles (need to map again, 78:10) Found my original run that I wanted to do yesterday. I am so glad I made the effort to figure it out. It was beautiful. Half the time it was on dirt road or actual trail. The thing is that part of Chaisson road is not maintained for public travel. In other words, it's a trail. There are a couple blowdowns and a decent jump over a stream that I misjudged, but made it. This run is even more lined with ferns and woods, which is a definite positive. A little hot, but it was manageable. I need to grab Gatorade mix from Walmart so I can hydrate better. 

A couple bumps along the day today. So I found this key that locks two of the bedrooms in the house. I had tested it out and everything. I thought I would try it out before I headed downtown to inquire about possible job opportunities. For some reason, the key turns the knob only when the door is unlocked and not functional when the door is locked. Long story short, it allowed me to figure out how to break into my house. Similar to Fowler, there were holes in one of the screens and I was able to climb in through the window. Unfortunately, the window is facing the main road and it probably looked a little sketchy for passing cars. I did my best to do it when the road was empty. As I was applying for jobs, I noticed some deals at the Lucky Dog Tavern and Grill. So after I was done submitting applications, I decided to hit up the bar scene to grab some wings (50 cents) and $2 Rolling Rock pints. Instead, it was mad crowded and I went home after not being able to find a seat. I got to make the second best thing. Belgian waffles with a side of water. As I was making my waffles, I had the pleasure of knocking over the batter all over the counter and have it run down the cabinets. I didn't lose it all, but it was enough to say some inappropriate words.

Oh and a girl stopped by looking for an Amanda and I was very confused. She said she must of been at another housing place. It was weird, but no biggie. I think she was a little embarrassed. 

Food: bowl of frosted fruit, peanut butter and nutella sandwich, banana, protein shake, Belgian waffles. 

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Officially started my internship

June 14: 12 miles (1:24:xx) first run in the Lincoln area. I had a route mapped out for about 11.5, but ended up not finding one of the roads I was supposed to turn onto at about 4 miles. I ended up making up a 7 mile loop and then went out another 2.5 and came back. Last mile, all uphill 6:30. It was a very scenic run and a nice change of pace. For some part of it, it was lined with ferns and woods. Perfect for a bathroom break if needed.

The other parts of the day went pretty smoothly. I had my CPR/AED class at 9:30 and it ended at about 3. Went by quickly and the other members in the class were all some type of employee at the forest headquarters so that was comforting. After that, I headed to my free housing in Plymouth, NH. I am only .7 miles away from the downtown area. I moved all my stuff in and decided I should pick up a few things at Walmart like milk, eggs, and butter. I got to the register with 38 dollars of groceries in my cart. I swiped my card and put in my pin. DID NOT ACCEPT. Tried again and still no dice. I made a phone call to my bank, which took about 15 minutes and I ended up only being able to pay for 13 dollars worth of groceries because most of my money was in my savings. I also forgot I bought a new pair of running shoes last week and deposited some money into my ING Direct account. I only got the essentials and held off on the oversized pepperoni stick, Gatorade, and strawberry jam (they didn't have raspberry). I arrive home after a stressful trip to the store. I am holding all my groceries in my left hand and trying to unlock/open the door with my right. SMASH goes my eggs on the ground. Luckily only two broke and I salvaged them by using them that night for my pancake batter (Bisquick). Plus, I used my knife to cut part of the egg carton off because it had egg all over it. I felt like a real man. Before the night was over, I made my way down to Main Street and checked out what it had to offer for stores and restaurants. The best part was the free wifi at the Pemi Valley Laundry Mat. Ca-ching! Hoping to find a part-time job on my off days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). Wish me luck!

Food: 2 bowls of frosted fruit (store brand fruit loops), foot long subway, red bull, protein shake, pancakes

Sunday, June 12, 2011

First week using the blog

June 6: 7 miles (a couple hard mile+ efforts on a hilly grass loop with a half mile jog in between each back in Newtown) 8 in the evening with my buddy Pat through FF Hills

June 7: 7.5 (4 ez with my dad, another 3.5 on my own at a quicker pace)

June 8: 10 (hilly run through town, finished up castle hill)

June 9: 10 (down to the river for a dip at 5 miles, 5 miles back mostly uphill, just missed getting caught in a thunderstorm)

June 10: day off because I knew I was going long on Sunday (arrived in Keene)

June 11: 11 (with Tim and Thomas to Stonewall farm)

June 12: 18 (ran @Georges with Tim, Hammett, And Fyffe through the infamous trails. Second run out here and it was even better than last time. Best run of my life so far. Cruised the last 1/2 mile with Fyffe and Hammet for fun)

Total: 72 miles. Good week. Volunteer internship starts this Tuesday up in the White Mountains (Lincoln, NH). I'm going to be the caretaker for Franconia East Brook Campsite Friday to Monday over the summer months. Let me know if you wanna visit or you are in the area and we can get in a run. On my off days, I will be chillin in Plymouth, NH, most likely working at a restaurant of some sort. My goal is to get at least 70 miles a week minimum. I am excited to literally be training in the mountains. This blog is dedicated to both my running and my volunteer experience for my family and friends to follow along.