Yet another weekend of boating and staying up late

Once again I tried to cram as much excitement into this weekend as I do just about every other weekend. Really, this weekend began on Thursday evening when I met up with Joe and Eric for a couple laps on the Branch. All the rain brought in to a really nice level for us. I went back for second on Friday evenm though I couldn't rally anyone to come with me.

The real excitement came when I met Phil on Saturday morning to run the West Branch of the Oswegatchie. This is now my new favorite run in the western Adirondacks. After Phil and I were finished hucking ourselves off all the big drops I headed East, and he headed back to Syracuse.

I stopped by Chestertwon to have dinner with the folks, then it was off to Sara Lindsay's surprise birthday party. Let me tell you...she was surprised. To make a long story short I stayed up waaaaaaay toooo late, and paid for it in the morning for sure.

Sunday morning I rallied over to the Middlebury to meet up with Xavier, Nick, Trip, and Adam. Despite the less than optimal flow the Middlebury gorge is fantastic place to spend a morning, especially afte you've been staying up real late.

After two laps I was headed home, ready for a nap.

There are some pretty big plans on tap for next weekend. I'll wait to divulge them until they actually happen.

When 13 people paddle together in Quebec something is bound to go wrong...

and it did...The numbers speak for themselves.

13 people
4 days
4 swims
1 dislocated shoulder
1 severely broken kayak
almost 40 miles of river paddled

We got to paddle the Saturuski, the Nilelsen twice (Sunday being a lot more successful than Saturday), and the Tewksbury on the way home on Monday. All quality classic Quebec runs.

It all ended well. I had a great time hanging out with people from all over the northeast. We've got to do stuff like this more often.

The plan is to return in a couple of weeks to get on the Teaureau.

The Lake Placid Weekly Workout Plan

Looking back on this week, I realized that most of the stuff I did after work could be considered "training." I rode a bike in a number of different capacities, went kayaking, and even took a "rest day." The only thing my training plan is missing, is the main event, the goal, the one thing that I am "training" for. I am sitting here on Saturday morning waiting for my main event. I feel well prepared, because I followed the Lake placid weekly workout plan. Here it is:

Monday: Mountain Biking
Bill, Bagel, Matt S, Kyle, Scoots, Adrienne, Brad and myself went for a pretty significant mountain bike ride over in the Loggers Loops. The trails are riding great!!!
We somehow lost Scoots and Matt S. somewhere along the way, but we found them again safe and sound when we got home.

Tuesday: Off Day
Cinco De Mayo. After a full day of teaching, and an afternoon of working at Placid Planet, Bill and I hopped in the Ranger and grabbed a free load of firewood from Saranac Lake. We returned with our bounty to find a full-on party going on at my house. Scotty discovered the blender and made some tasty margaritas, but he couldn't figure out how to keep the stuff in the pitcher. I woke up in the morning to find some very sticky counter surfaces.

Wednesday: River Road Time Trial
The first Placid Planet Time Trial of 2009. 26 riders out there, very good turnout. Special thanks to DJ for the pre-race beer. I was slow on the "fixie", but there are 5 more TT"s to go and I will get faster.

Thursday: Kayak practice with Eric and Joe
We met up for some runs on Hulls Falls. I was surprised to find such a great level. I feel really fortunate to have such a fun piece of whitewater 20 minutes from my house.

Friday: Downhill practice
After getting absolutely destroyed at Plattekill last weekend, I decided I needed some more time on the downhill rig before Whiteface opens. It was a good opportunity to rake the "Fawn Ridge Downhill" and have some fun on the new bike. We followed up the DH session with a much needed evening at Lisa G's with the ladies.

So...here I am, after a full week of "training",fully prepared for whatever adventure will come my way. I'm actually not sure what I'm going to do. I might go get some truck loads of mulch, might go kayaking, might check out a new mountain bike trail. Anything can happen. I am ready for my main event.