Trip Leader Training at Kent State

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

It was going to be a tight evening. I had to be at Kent State University by 7 p.m. to attend a pre-trip planning session for the weekend course I was taking on ‘Trip Leader Training’. We would be kayaking Saturday afternoon in LaDue Reservoir and then camping out at Punderson State Park. The course was designed to prepare trip leaders for all of the issues related to the planning and leading of outdoor/backcountry group trips. I’ve been taking small groups into the Adirondacks for several years and have taken the training to be a Master Educator for Leave No Trace Camping as well as Wilderness First Aid and Map Reading/Orienteering, but this would be a new twist…and an important one. Planning the food for the group is one of the biggest challenges, but more important is the pre-interview of the participants to learn as much as you can about their health and fitness levels. You don’t want to be learning about allergies to things like foods and bee stings when you’re in the back country and hours from any professional medical attention. I tend to these things lightly because in the past I have known all of the people I’m leading pretty well…but not well enough. The course will put structure to what I’m already doing and likely give me many valuable ideas to make trips safer and more fun. There’s nothing I enjoy more than taking new folks into the Adirondacks and giving them a chance to experience the beauty of the back country and anything I can learn that might enhance their experience…I’ll do.

Anyway…I had about 90 minutes to get in a workout and grab something to eat before making the drive down. I wasted little time changing into my biking clothes once arriving home and was headed out the driveway in about 10 minutes. There was a fierce wind blowing out of the south…which is unusual…and I was heading north on a long, flat stretch of SOM Center Road next to the North Chagrin Reservation. I noticed I was riding about 25 mph without trying too hard and decided I’d shift gears and see what speed I could maintain. I pushed it up to 31 mph and was able to hold that speed for about a mile before I had to turn. I’ve followed the Tour de France for years and know that those guys can ride a 30-40 mile time trial on the roads…alone…at average speeds of 35 mph. I did it for 5 minutes with gale-force winds at my back and wondered…are they human? The capabilities of the human body are quite amazing when proper training is combined with superior God-given talent. I’m privy to neither.

I rode reasonably hard for almost 90 minutes, cruising into the driveway with about 20 minutes to pollute my neighbor’s pool with my sweaty body, make a smoothie and grab something to eat for the trip to Kent. I completed the tasks with 5 minutes to spare and headed for my meeting.

By the way…I’ve started to calculate my ‘calories burned’ at a lower number per minute because of the weight loss. Weight and effort both have to figure into the equation. My effort has stayed the same with training heart rates in the 130-140 range, but because I’m carrying around less baggage (my missing fat), I’m burning less calories per minute. Small price to pay and I can make up the difference by just going a few minutes longer.
Oh...thanks to Rachel for the tip to try Ivy Dry.  Apparently there's a way to slow the itching...though I'm kind of becoming used to it.
Bike workout: 86 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 140 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1200.