Flying Update

This is just a short post to add some photos of my flying adventures. I have over 25 hours now and should be going solo in June after we return from our Alaskan trip.

I've been a lot of 'pattern' work which is flying that rectangle around the airfield as you prepare to land - takeoff again and then land again. Landings are so bloody hard and the wind is never kind to me. My instructor recorded my landing pattern shape one day to show me that I was a bit wide on some efforts and my pattern was looking more like an egg rather than a rectangle. Practice makes perfect I guess. 

I also had some exposure to instrument flying. While I do use the instruments, I am only allowed to fly when it is visually clear (not cloudy etc). Pilots rely on instruments in bad weather when they cannot see. My instructor put this very un-flattering google shield on me to limit my vision to only the instruments - I couldn't see ahead or out the sides so I was flying only by the instruments. This was not what I imagined. It was very very hard to not have your vision outside and I can only describe it like reading in a car without seeing out the windows. I think I could easily vomit after some time as it can be quite unsettling on your balance. I didn't expect it to  be easy but it was just harder in a different way than I expected. 

We also went to a different airfield to do some patterns and it was right next to the ol' Chesapeake Bay bridge. I loved this. This bridge is sentimental to me as we ran over this in 2016 with a friend in a 10km run. It was a cool thing to do so to fly so close to it was quite awesome. I told my instructor that this would be like taking off at Sydney Airport and flying beside Sydney Harbour Bridge. 

I am currently in Anchorage, Alaska as I write this and will be writing about our adventures in my next few posts. Alaska has been gorgeous. The people are friendly, helpful and the mountains, rivers and animals are incredible. We leave on our cruise today headed for Vancouver and we are super excited about the next 7 days of sailing and tours we have planned. Definitely stay tuned to this bat channel for more bat adventures up on top of the world in Alaska.

Odyssey Relay Race Wrap

This weekend I ran in the American Odyssey Relay for the 2^nd time. This relay race is 200 mile (315km) from Gettysburg to DC. It’s mainly run by teams of 12 but we were an Ultra Team of 6 meaning we run twice as many legs as the bigger teams. So it’s 6 legs each totaling 30 mile (52km). The team were again the Aussie Drop Bears and our van was Priscilla Queen of the Odyssey. We went well prepared this year with those window marker pens to draw on the van and lots of Aussie marketing stuff to tag other team vans. I love this tagging stuff. Teams bring little magnets and stick them on other team vans. It goes on all day and night. You’ll be sitting in your van and her this little ‘doink’ as someone walks past and tags your van. We scored quite a few tags but we equally put little koalas and Aussie postcards on other vans which were very popular. Everyone was talking about the little koalas. We usually put them on the aerials/antennas. One lady said she was driving for five minutes and got a shock to see something on her antenna. She yelled ‘what’s that?’ and they had to pull over and check it out. They loved it. Even some of the transitions were asking if we had spare koalas and people wanted photos of our t-shirt. Man we were legends !! And of course we rolled out the Drop Bear story for those wanting to know about them….yet another Aussie animal that will kill them...and they really target Americans (bloody Aussies, we're such jokers).

There were 86 teams including 20 Ultra teams. The route takes us from Gettysburg Pennyslvania, through Shepherdstown, West Virginia, into Maryland and then DC. We go through small towns, country roads, farm area and along the C&O canal towpath into DC. The night run passes through Antietum battlefields which was quite eerie.

The weather was a mixed bag for us starting in cool light rain, moving to heavier rain, warming up in the day and then cold at night. The following day running into DC was lovely with warm weather but not as hot as last year. The van was like a fashion model change room as we were all contemplating running clothes as the weather changed for each leg.

Pre-race carb loading is always enjoyable. I made some sultana (raisin) pancakes for snacks on the run and the team enjoyed great Italian food at Bella Italian in Gettysburg - a great place to eat - we ate there last year and definitely went back again this year.

 

So our team of 6 was all Defence with a dash of Police. The bears consisted of Rudy The Bullet, Tom The Cleaner, Georgia The Bird, Mel Snakeskin Oil, Bernie Hot Shots and me The Burper. Our race driver Mark was affectionately known as Pilot and he also moonlighted as our race photographer. He drove us last year and came back again this year fully tech’ed up with an iPad he had loaded all the legs into with GPS routes so he could track our every move and drive to each transition with ease. We all used our Find My Friends apps so Pilot could follow our dots and know whether we were walking or not, oops I mean where our location was on our leg route. He was super organised and looked shit hot up there in his cockpit with The Cleaner helping navigate and marshall him into those tight parking spots. We also had a personal cheersquad, Sarah and Aprille who were looking very much like our official security and protection detail as their window Aussie flags flew strong as their car followed behind our van. 

The Bird kicked off the first leg for us from Gettysburg on Friday at 7.15 am. It was a cool start after a night of rain and there was more wet stuff ahead. The Bird was not looking forward to 6 legs of pain but started out super strong and we wondered if she was instead the wrong animal and ‘foxing’ us. She earned the title of The Bird as she was regularly giving us the ‘bird’ as we cheered her on from the van or roadside and she yelled that she hates us all. She really did love us but after 2 and 3 legs of sheer pain, we could fully understand that ‘I hate you all’ feeling as we all wondered why the hell we were doing this. The Bird suffered a bad achilles injury after leg 4 and with some remedies from Snakeskin Oil woman, she rested as much as possible to absolutely dig deep and finish the final two legs. The Bird is a tough ol’ bird, pure guts, determination and feathers and I think by the end, she had changed her heart to love us all again. Totally top effort by The Bird with 52 km under her belt. And yes, you started this whole Odyssey thing years ago so I think it all comes back to you.

Hot Shots is not ideally built for running. A solid muscle chunk of man known for his paddling prowess and rugby has a physique that is not kind to 6 hours of running. Sharing the back seat with Hot Shots gave me first hand insight into his pre-run excessive use of Body Glide, Paw Paw ointment and anything that would grease his solid legs and arms to avoid chaffing. He was a total champ and was prone to cramps which he counteracted with Hot Shots – a shot of drink that prevents cramps but I did hear him say he had an oven in his shorts a few times? Hot Shots ran super great on all legs, was clearly the funny guy in the van and ran 6 pretty sucky legs as he always seemed to be running long distances. He totaled 54km in the end. Hot Shots also moonlighted as a graffiti menace and was always drawing on the van at every transition. Some of his famous marks were #convict express, #will run for rum #Bloody Galahs and G’day Ladies. I never did check to see if he marked the roof of the van as there was not much untouched by the end of the race. I have sore ribs from laughing so much thanks to Hot Shots and he definitely wins the snoring award. Fabulous running Hot Shots, you have inspired me in so many ways and I admire your spirit to give anything a go.

Snakeskin Oil woman had disrupted training and endured the dreaded flu in the weeks leading up to the race and was expecting a very tough, painful run. She earned her name immediately on her arrival to the van with the hugest bag I’ve ever seen, full of every medicinal remedy you could imagine. As a mother, she told us that she had refined the ‘travel with kids’ process to a fine art and it was ALL in her bag….this, that, sticky this, tacky that….it really was all in there. Hot Shots and Snakeskin Oil were like partners in crime with connections going back many years and I enjoyed listening to their stories on the ride up to Gettysburg. Hot Shots told us that she will ‘get the job done’ and was well known for this in her career. Snakeskin Oil endured her 6 legs of pain by listening to audio novels. I’m sure it was 50 Shades but she says it wasn’t. She was consistent, did indeed get the job done and also endured a knee injury after leg 4. She also scored a fat blister by the end too so she gets battle honours for this run. But like The Bird, she just turned the next page of her book and got those kilometers behind her to finish a total of 51 km. She did miss a transition (not her fault) so we have to give her an extra 3km credit. Snakeskin Oil kept all our sinus passages clean with Tiger Balm and reduced me to tears at one point with the smell. Snakeskin Oil earned my respect in a lot of ways and I enjoyed our conversations and hope she recovers well. I last saw a photo of her feet in a hot tub (probably listening to 50 Shades again).

The Cleaner was the smooth operator of the team. Sitting up front there with Pilot, he helped navigate, negotiated parking spots at transitions, logged our leg times and was chief cowbell ringer - and we had a kick-ass cowbell too (we had 3 bells all up). The Cleaner was there to essentially clean up everything. He was always there, leg start, leg finish, middle of the night, just there to keep us going. He also cleaned up every leg he ran as he was a quiet machine mowing down the kilometers. The Cleaner is an experienced runner and took the lion’s share of 55 km of running. I have memories of seeing The Cleaner emerging from the forest on one leg with the Aussie flag in his camelback flying behind him as he raced to the transition line. But then he had a flashing fluro necklace around his (shaved) head for most of the night too. We had a mid-race stop and booked a room at a hotel so we could all take a shower and feel human again. I was running my double night legs and The Cleaner came to collect me in that dark wee hour. I ran wearily in the dark towards that Aussie Aussie Aussie chant that The Cleaner was also well known for. Full credit goes to The Cleaner as he was the only true champion by getting pancakes at the mid race shower stop – the Scouts serve pancakes as a fundraiser – he hoovered down the $10 all you can eat pancakes as the rest of us showered and got horizontal for an hour or so. The Cleaner is an awesome runner, a great friend and I have immense respect and fondness for him.

The Bullet was our fast man of the team. He could also have been called Iron Guts but I didn’t want him to think he had great abs or anything. The Bullet is a natural athlete who runs, rides, hikes and god knows what else. The Bullet was a great team motivator and deputy chief cowbell ringer when The Cleaner was otherwise busy. The Bullet was our anchor runner and that was an easy decision from the get-go as he had the shitty highest hill climb – I’m groaning thinking about it. He was happy to do it and we were happy to give it to him. It was a bastard of a hill climb and was his first leg, about 400m over 6km (in a 10km leg). The Bullet flew up that hill and received his free beer glass – that was his goal for doing this leg. He ran over 52 km with ease and I can’t be sure who ate the most McDonalds for breakfast – him or Hot Shots. But Pilot and The Cleaner were quietly chowing down several egg bacon McMuffins next to us so who knows. The Bullet was co-navigator for The Cleaner and always there booming out the Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi that could be heard way in the distance as we approached transition. As anchor runner, The Bullet brought us home across the finish line waving the Aussie flag. I ran with The Bullet and The Cleaner last year and these two guys are impressive experienced runners. He makes me laugh and I hope I get to do another race with him one day. You’re amazing mate.

Pilot was our race driver. We are all in debt to him as he was the lynchpin of our team. Pilot drove last year and came back again to get us to the transitions safely and on time. He was well prepared this year with his phone and iPad mounted up front in the cockpit. He’d loaded all the leg GPS routes into the iPad so he knew exactly the route to each transition. We all used Find My Friends app on our phones and Pilot tracked our dots on each leg so he knew where we were, even when Hot Shots went off course into the bush…for a pee. Pilot grabbed some sleep at some transitions by finding a quiet spot with his sleeping bag or snoozing with his pillow in the cockpit. Pilot is a former copper and his driving skills came into play on the final legs into DC as he had to navigate through crappy Saturday afternoon city traffic to rush us to the finish line and meet The Bullet as he ran to the finish. Hot Shots and I got airborne in the back seat a few times but we were numb from pain by this stage. Pilot moonlighted as race photographer again and was getting some awesome photos with his super long lens as we ran our legs. Like last year, we grew more and more thankful and grateful to Pilot as the race progressed because his driving was a huge relief for us. Words cannot express how lucky we were to have him to be our race driver and photographer. Like I said, he was the lynchpin. I like Pilot and I would likely not got to have known him had it not been for the Odyssey races. You’re a great guy Pilot and we could not have done this without you.

Priscilla Queen of the Odyssey. She was our team van. It seemed fitting she be called Priscilla. We did have a big shoe offered to us and while it would have been awesome to put her on the roof, it just would not have been possible or fair to Pilot to navigate bridges with that. We also got offered a mannequin in an evening dress which really tempted us but again, we passed as we were not sure if she would survive the bear-handling over 34 hours and we decided space was premium in the van. We doubt the US runners knew what the legend of Priscilla was but our van certainly got a lot of reading attention (many thanks to Hot Shots again for his handiwork). And she got tagged a lot - you can see some tags below. Also note the leg matrix on the windows - we each tick our legs off as we finish them on the matrix.

 






Cheersquad came along for the ride to Gettysburg and followed us for day one on Friday. Cheer 1 and Cheer 2 were super excited and motivating. They tagged the vans at every transition and special props to Cheer 1 as she ripped those t-shirt sleeves off and really got the cool look going. Cheer 2 had a big Aussie flag tattoo on her cheek so that was awesome. Cheersquad drove ahead to secure coffee and food for the team and were simply super great support. They flew Aussie flags on the car window and I think people thought they were our ‘security detail’ for the Aussie van. They were a fabulous sight to see again at the finish line and we were very lucky to have them come all the way to support us. Thanks girls, love you lots.

Burper, yes that was me. While I was farting like a big bear also, thankfully the team only noticed my burps (I think?) I was also the team Captain by virtue of the fact that as I don’t work, I had time to do the logistics and planning to get us to the start line.  I ran 6 good legs but my 5^th leg was horrible. I ran the legs that The Cleaner did last year and he warned me of the hills at the end of the leg. If The Cleaner warns you of hills, you know they will be mountains. And I just hated those hills which were about the last 3km of a 13k leg (and my 5^th leg when pain was bad). The team were, as always, there cheering, cowbelling and smiling and even told me Sandra Bullock was in the van waiting for me to ensure I ran that little bit harder to finish. They asked me how the leg was and I could only grunt ‘it sucked balls’. So glad it was over. Anyway, I ran about 52 km and felt a little bit better than last year as I managed to get a little more rest in the big van. I’m still really stiff and sore but I’m enjoying eating and not moving. My next goal is to get all those Aussie tattoos off.

 

I ran Odyssey last year and had a really fun time, I enjoyed myself a lot. The race is a challenge, that’s for sure especially as an Ultra 6 person team. But the atmosphere is fun, the people are friendly and my teams have been the greatest teams to spend 35 hours in a van with. I have enjoyed both races and am sorry I won’t be able to do it again next year as we will have left by then.

One of the really good things about endurance events is the refuelling !! I love it. After we left the finish, Deb took me to a local Italian place for pasta and pizza on the way home. I just put jeans on but the rest of me was Odyssey attire, hairstyle and smell. It was yummy and the body started to relax and sink into a coma. Came home, had a hot shower and I could feel that unconscious state coming. I slept solid for 12 hours and spent the day eating more pasta and drinking. I also had a wonderful surprise text message form a kind friend telling me to check out the front door. There was a box of Georgetown Cupcakes for us. OMG, I was squeeling with delight. I had just made a coffee and very happily enjoyed the cupcakes. Thank your to D&DP for your thoughtfulness and kindness. I wish you had come in for coffee !!

 

And here's final pic of me with a firetruck at a small town volunteer fire house. They let me use their microwave to heat up my porridge. The lovely lady said yes, follow me but you have to keep talking as I love your accent (crikey, I'm so bogan). So I kept rambling on about having to heat up my 'porridge' and she cries out 'oh PORRIDGE, oh that's so cute' - cause they call it oats over here. I was having a Love Actually moment when that guy goes to the US to get laid and he's in the bar with the sexy girls as they get him to say words cause he sounds different (British). Unfortunately, this lady was not the type in that Love Actually movie...if she was I may not have made it to my next leg.

So that's the race wrap. I start marathon training program this weekend so it will be a slow 7 mile jog if I can manage it and then we are off to Alaska which we are very excited about. Thanks for following the race with me and your encouragement on Facebook was fantastic.

Cherry Blossom Time

Well spring is still NOT HERE but it’s the famous cherry blossom time here in DC and they are reaching peak bloom now. The annual cherry blossom 10mile (16k) run was on today and I was not looking forward to another freezing cold morning run. It was meant to be shorts weather, not beanies and gloves again. The forecast was for snow but thankfully that died off yesterday. We carpooled with some friends to make logistics easier and Deb once again came along to carry our coats once we de-robed to run. She took shelter in a nearby Starbucks as she waited for us all to come back. The sun came out for the run and it was actually a little warmer than expected so it was good weather to run as far as cold weather goes. I think there were around 20,000 runners so it was quite packed all the way along the route. Suprisingly the course was wide enough to allow fairly minimal dodging and I took the time to ‘smell the roses’….look at the pretty cherry blossom trees as the course wound it’s way through DC around the memorials. I did see two great signs….You Run Better Than The Government, and Why Do All The Cute Ones Run Fast? There was also a little table setup by random people to give away shots of beer and oreos!!  And people were drinking it !!!  There were heaps of spectators and DC is currently overrun with tourists for cherry blossoms. I ran a good time and was so glad to finish and come home to a warm shower and long nap.

Despite not wanting to walk any further than the kitchen after running this morning, we decided to go back to the look at the cherry blossoms and took the dogs for a ride. It is so busy during tourist season here but we walked around the memorials where the trees line the Potomac Tidal Basin area. It really is pretty as they bloom from white to pink. Impossible to get a photo without 200 strangers in your shot. The dogs enjoyed the day out although Cricket would much preferred to have been off leash and running wild. They get so many nawwws, oooh and ahhh sweet dog comments from everyone and they love every second of attention. I sat down with the dogs and enjoyed a coffee (check out Cricket laying on me below) while Deb wandered off to do some photography with her new camera.

 

 

Easter last weekend was spent locally. We did a long run on Good Friday and saw a movie. I had a flying lesson on Saturday and then we did this long hike on Sunday with a local adventure store (REI). It was longer than planned being 16k rather than about 12k so we were fairly exhausted by the end of the day. It was in the local Shenandoah National Park and did a loop to see some falls. It was a nice day out, a little climbing involved and a great way to ensure a good night sleep. We were shattered. My legs were tired for days and I didn’t run all week. Instead running the Cherry Blossom today on fresh legs.

 

Flying is progressing. I’m now around 15 hours and have started pattern work which means takeoff, going around the runway in a rectangle pattern, landing and then taking off again. Well, I scared myself the other day as I can’t seem to do anything straight or level and my takeoff was something like Tom Cruise buzzing the tower sideways. I’m enjoying the challenge but I wish I could just get better quicker. I am also about to start doing S turns and other manouveurs to keep polish those turning skills. We are still missing lessons due to bad weather and hoping things will improve as the warmer weather arrives. Although storms apparently get in the way then. I also have to start doing comms on the radio which is bound to be fun :o At the moment we have to file our flight plan before each flight. When I phone in my flight plan each time there is an automated system. I have to say ‘briefer’ but say it slowly like ‘bree-fur’ and then the state of ‘Maryland’ but it’s like ‘Maaarell-lund’ with a bad yankee drawl. Else it doesn’t recognise my accent. Oh the challenges so comms is going to be very interesting with the air traffic controllers as they try to decipher this Aussie pilot’s lingo.

We went to visit friends to meet their new baby girl. We had been shopping to buy some cute little gifts and realised we had completely no idea about all things baby. We couldn't believe how small the clothes were. I had to ask a lady if she had kids and if this is really big enough for a baby. She assured me yes, this was the right size. Crikey!! I had to take a photo of the jeans as they were so cute. It's like a reverse Jenny Craig advertisement where I"m holding tiny pants instead of the big pants.

We also bought a nice plush squeaky touch feely toy and I couldn't resist the little red tractor that was on the counter. Probably not safe for a small child but it was the closest thing to a car or truck I could find. Have to be gender neutral right.

We finally got a photo of the dogs in front of the White House. Of course it took about 100 attempts but this was the best we could do. Cricket's rescue parents have always asked for a photo of Cricket in front of the White House so this is our first attempt. We hope to get another one with both dogs wearing a little tie. But for now, at least we have this.

And here is a photo of a sign on a fence near where we hiked. Pretty much sums up the local folks.

And a final shot of Macey checking out the water temperature of the creek....it's nearly swimming time.

The two pups snoozing while I do my flying study - very cute.