Adventures | The Blog of David Glover

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My Road Back to Kona: On Deck for 2010

My Road Back to Kona: On Deck for 2010...

When I raced at the Ironman World Championship in Kona in 2002, I suffered like a dog. I left with no immediate desire to come back. Just a few weeks prior to the race, I had broken the 9-hour mark in an Ironman for the first time at the inaugural Blue Devil Triathlon in Durham, NC. I put everything I had into that race and it left my physically, mentally and emotionally drained. At the time, Kona...

Mountains of Misery: I wish I had a 27 on my back wheel

Mountains of Misery: I wish I had a 27 on my back ...

I really wish I had used a 12-27 tooth cassette on my back wheel on Sunday instead of the 11-23 I used. Bill Goodrum and I rode down to Blacksburg on Saturday When Bill had told me a few weeks ago that he was doing the ride, I asked if I could come along. I’ve always wanted to do Mountains of Misery but have conflicts in the past like Triple-T. I had already decided not to do Triple-T this year so my weekend...

Tour de Skyline: 220 Miles and 20k Feet of Climbing

Tour de Skyline: 220 Miles and 20k Feet of Climbin...

Last weekend was a good weekend for riding. Organized by Reston Area Triathletes, the annual Tour de Skyline Ride is HILLY, not mountainous ride—around 20,000 feet of climbing in the two days—and 109 miles each way (105 on Skyline Drive, 4 from Drive to motel on U.S. Hwy. 250) In spite of not having ridden more than 3 hours at a time this year, my legs felt good, although admittedly tired afterward. It was fun...

VentureQuest: A Triathlete’s Intro to Adventure Racing

VentureQuest: A Triathlete’s Intro to Advent...

Photo: Bean and Her Boys: KenBob, JeanBean, Monkey Butt David “Monkey Butt” Glover wrote: Hey Jean and Ken, Are you either or both of you interested in doing this as a 2-person or 3-person team? It’s local! Website: http://www.ex2adventures.com/venturequest-ar.php Long Sprint Adventure Race (Sport Level), 28-35 miles, 5-9 hours Segments: trekking, paddling, mountain biking, navigation Teams of Two...

Pura Vida Adventures: Adventure Racing in a Nutshell

Pura Vida Adventures: Adventure Racing in a Nutshe...

Biking under Bridal Falls in NC Pura Vida Adventures: Five Day Adventure Racing Camp September 10-14, 2008: Pisgah Forest, NC Web: www.pvadventures.com Ever since the Special Operations Force Academy in April, I’ve been toying with the idea of doing some adventure races for something new and exciting beyond triathlons. “Expedition-style [multi-day] adventure racing is the closest thing that you’ll get...

Hiking the Swiss Alps Days 6-7 of 7: Ramslauenen to Oeschinensee to Kandersteg

Hiking the Swiss Alps Days 6-7 of 7: Ramslauenen t...

Dave eating a typical breakfast Day 6 of 7: July 22, 2008 After eating a typical breakfast of muesli with yogurt, coffee with steamed milk, rolls, croissants, cheeses and meats, we began our last day of real hiking. The morning was damp with dense fog. We had two options: around the side of the mountain or over the mountain. On the advice of our host from the Berghaus Ramslauenen, we chose to go around the mountain,...

Hiking the Swiss Alps Day 5 of 7: Alpiglen to Ramslauenen

Hiking the Swiss Alps Day 5 of 7: Alpiglen to Rams...

View of the valley from the Eiger TrailDay 5 of 7: July 21, 2008 My first good night’s sleep was at Alpiglen! My stomach FINALLY seems to be settling down after four days of nausea and frequent bowel movements. After a typical breakfast of rolls with butter / jam / honey, coffee with steamed milk, meats and cheeses, Dave and I leave the Berghaus to hike along the Eiger Trail along the base of the Eiger mountain. We...

Hiking the Swiss Alps Day 4 of 7: Gspaltenhornhütte to Alpiglen

Hiking the Swiss Alps Day 4 of 7: Gspaltenhornhüt...

Dave crossing a snowfield Day 4 of 7: July 20, 2008 After another sleepless night with multiple trips in the dark, cold, windy night to the toilet on the side of the mountain, I climbed out of my bunk around 0630. The early morning risers had already eaten breakfast and left to summit the mountain. Dave and I left the hut around 0730 in anticipation of afternoon showers, which we hoped to avoid while on the mountain....

Hiking the Swiss Alps Day 3 of 7: Kandersteg to Gspaltenhornhütte

Hiking the Swiss Alps Day 3 of 7: Kandersteg to Gs...

Above the Oeschinensee Day 3 of 7: July 19, 2008 When Dave had asked the girl at the visitors center in Kandersteg about our planned hiked from Kandersteg (where we were) to Gspaltenhornhütte (another Swiss Alpine Club mountain hut), she laughed and stated that it was not possible to make the hike in one day. We did the make the hike in one day – 8.5 hours of mostly climbing. We checked out of Hotel Ericka before...

Hiking the Swiss Alps Days 1-2 of 7: Zermatt and the Matterhorn

Hiking the Swiss Alps Days 1-2 of 7: Zermatt and t...

View of the Matterhorn from Zermatt Days 1 of 7: July 17, 2008 My friend, Dave Tipler, and I spent a week traipsing through the Swiss Alps in July. Dave was in Darmstadt, Germany for business, and I was in Roth, Germany for the Quelle Challenge. The timing worked out perfectly! On Wednesday, July 16, I took the train from Roth (near Nurembourg) to meet Dave in Darmstatdt (near Frankfurt) and we drove down to Randa...

SOF Academy: Ghost and the Power of Team

SOF Academy: Ghost and the Power of Team...

The Power Of Team: Three Ordinary People and Their Run to Greatness by Peter Wortham I had the opportunity and privilege to meet Joel Burrows AKA “Ghost” when we both participated in the Special Operations Force Academy in the last week in April. With an extensive background in endurance events including Ironman-distance triathlons and marathons, Joel was the one participant at the Academy with whom I could...

Waterfall Rappelling: An Exhilarating Alternative to Swim, Bike, Run

Waterfall Rappelling: An Exhilarating Alternative ...

Photo: David rappelling off of Cullasaja Falls Thanks to extreme adventure athlete Jono Senk of Hairy Scary Evolutions, I had the opportunity on Sunday to rappel through the Cullasaja Falls near Highlands, NC. WOW, what a RUSH!!!! That’s the best description that I can think of to describe thousands of gallons of deafening, blinding water crashing down on my body, as I attempted to maneuver myself down 200 feet...

SOF Academy: The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday

SOF Academy: The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday...

“The only easy day was yesterday.” - Navy SEALs motto Photo: David ready to skydive (Photograph by: Gunnar Örn Arnarsson) Each day was different. Each day brought new challenges to push each of us outside of our comfort zones. We learned to skydive and ended the week with an assisted freefall jump. Two skydive instructors jumped with us out of the plane at 13,000 feet and stayed with us until we arched,...

SOF Academy: Regret or Glory – Which Do You Want Burned into the Memories of Your Soul?

SOF Academy: Regret or Glory – Which Do You ...

“There are 2 aspects in life that will haunt you for the rest of your life that will last forever: Regret and Glory…which one do you want burned into the memories of your soul – Regret or Glory?” - Special Operations Force Academy Instructor Jono Photo: Team “Slit Throat” dressed up for our late night Field Training Exercise (I’m in lower right hand corner) The following is a...

SOF Academy: I Earn My Nickname “Monkey Butt”

SOF Academy: I Earn My Nickname “Monkey Butt...

This was one of the lighter moments during my week long adventure at the Special Operations Force Academy in Virginia Beach, VA. After a morning of SCUBA training in the pool in Virginia Beach, we drove to Lake Rawlings on Tuesday afternoon to practice our open water SCUBA diving. On Wednesday around noon, while we were packing up our gear (personal gear, air tanks, BCD’s, wetsuits, etc) in order to head back...

Special Operations Force Academy: Was It Worth It?

Special Operations Force Academy: Was It Worth It?...

Photo: Special Operations Force Academy Participants + Instructors (me on far left) When I completed 7 days of the Special Operations Force Academy and SEAL Adventure Challenge yesterday, I cried. This week was arguably the longest week of my life and I walked away learning more about myself than I expected. This week also brought me full circle on on a number of significant life events that have been haunting me for...

A New Challenge: Special Operations Force Academy (Apr 27 – May 4)

A New Challenge: Special Operations Force Academy ...

“The only easy day was yesterday.” - Navy SEALs motto Image: SEAL Training Adventures logo Ok, I admit, I should be taking it easy for a few more weeks, but I can’t pass up this opportunity as a writer on assignment for Tri-DC Magazine to participate in the week long Special Operations Force Academy starting April 27 and run by SEAL Training Adventures. Navy SEALs are the “best of the best,” and I want...

The Goofy Challenge: Part II

The Goofy Challenge: Part II...

What and Why I’m technically not a runner – at least I don’t consider myself one. I’m a triathlete. I like to run – and can run relatively fast – but I have a hard time running for the pure enjoyment of running. I need a goal – an endpoint – a destination – a purpose – in order to want to run. My best marathon time to date was 2:53 at Myrtle Beach Marathon in 2003. At the halfway point of Myrtle...

A Goofy Challenge: Disney Half Marathon plus Full Marathon

A Goofy Challenge: Disney Half Marathon plus Full ...

The Goofy Challenge - What a great name for an event and appropriately named! The idea of running a 13.1 mile half marathon on Saturday then running a 26.2-mile marathon the very next day sounds kind of “goofy” in a warped sort of way, which exactly what Disney calls this event on Jan 6-7 in Orlando, Florida. The first question that might come to mind is, “Why do it?” My answer: “Because...

24 Hours of Booty – a Different Kind of Race

24 Hours of Booty – a Different Kind of Race...

Catchy title. The name is a real attention grabber – it's one of the reasons I picked up a t-shirt, a bike jersey and a pair of socks with the logo. I want to tell people about the event and they will be curious to know about the "booty." About the event (from the Website): "The fifth annual 24 HOURS OF BOOTY … is the one and only 24-hour road cycling charity event in the country! This unique...

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