Training Log Archive: mayer22

Ran around and explored the Turkey Run Trails with my dog Baxter. Had only done the main trails in Turkey Run Park before. Started my run from Langley Forks park. Had trouble finding a trail that led towards the river but eventually yealized there are A LOT of trails here and think I explored most of them. There is a white blazed trail and yellow blazed trail to the south of the Parkway to go along with the TR trails and the PHT. Look forward to going back here and knowing where I am and what I am doing instead of just wandering. We did end up "crawling" through a 200m tunnel about 5 feet wide by 5 feet tall. I thought I was running up Dead Run but it was a much smaller creek. Didn't realize this until I actually got to Dead Run and saw the GW Parkway bridge over it.

I was glad Kyle was navigating because I have limited experience navigating boats in the dark and it was pitch black. I think we would have lost more time had I been navigating.

Odyssey ended up putting in the water only 40 minutes behind us a major mistake could mean losing a place. In the same sense WEDALI could make a major mistake that could cost them the race.

We paddled out of the bay across the lake on a bearing using a star that soon disappeared in the clouds and fog. We managed to bypass the sandbar enough this time so we didn't have to get out and drag the boats. Kyle held our bearing by going one fist's width to the left of the moon, but then we lost the moon in the clouds and fog and he had to use his compass. This meant moving a lot slower but Julia and I just stuck right behind Kyle and Marco. We hit the other side a bit further north than we wanted to. We spent 5 mins or so confirming our location and then continued due east to the finish line. We couldn't see the lights at the finish until we were within 50 meters of shore because of the fog.

We finished 90 minutes behind WEDALI which means we had the same paddle. Odyssey on the other hand struggled and finished 80 minutes behind us for third.

We definitely had our sights set on first and thought we had the win but we couldn't close the deal. WEDALI had a great race and really rode their hearts out. Congrats to them and all the other teams for a great race.

Checkpoint Tracker Championships - 2nd place

After we ran around in a circle after the first start (really?) Marco and Kyle did the surprise prologue paddle. Figured they would work well together and be faster than Julia and I. They came off of the paddle prologue in 2nd place behind WEDALI.

We traveled in a huge pack to the first CP, took our own route up to the road towards the second CP by ourselves, saw CP0 running the road in the opposite direction!?!?, and saw Wedali and others drop down a trail / road / spur too early. We got to the second CP in 1st place with everyone else coming towards it as we ran away. We ran a reentrant down to attack the third and final CP. Ran trails/cut corners in the woods back to the start of the paddle in 1st place. Other teams cut a big section of trail we didn't and were able to catch us.

Paddled with Julia for familiarity. Out a bay/inlet across Lake Barkely and into another bay. Got grounded on a hidden sand bar and had to boat drag for 10 meters or so where we saw about 100 white cranes all hanging out on a sand bar. Questioned whether boat drag counted as an illegal portage but decided it didn't. First team across the lake.

Left our boats at the ramp and ran to the start of the Ocourse. This was clearly the crux of the race. It was a very technical orienteering section with over 20 CPs. We were shooting for a time of 6 hours (~6kph).

We chose a loop in the clockwise direction. Bushwhacker and WEDALI went opposite. We passed them about midway so we knew it was still close.

For the first half of the course we had two maps so Kyle and I tag teamed the nav. This worked excellently. He stayed back to verify where we needed to go as I ran ahead attacking CPs. Once we switched to one map it was a bit slower. Kyle handled primary nav but I tried to look at the map as much as possible. This might have had more of a negative effect than positive. We ended up making a mistake attacking CP 28 out of a LONG reentrant and ended up on a parallel feature. Had trouble following the ridgeline to CP 21 and got a bit lazy attacking CP 11 and ended up a bit north. All together lost about 40 mins.

Got lucky and came across a nice creek just as we were running low on water before CP 11. Another team was there as well and took a video of us.

Several top teams lost more than an hour on this section.

We came out of the rogaine in 2nd place 15 minutes behind WEDALI. They saw us running into the TA as they were pushing off for Paddle #2. Game on! The crux part of the race was over and we hung with WEDALI on their strongest discipline.

We put on the water 10 minutes behind WEDALI. Pulled out of the water 10 minutes behind. A HUGE fish more than 18 inches long jumped in Julia's lap and she had to pick it up by its tail to get it out of the boat. It was pretty crazy.

Kyle and Marco were moving faster than us so we hooked up a tow line to stay together.

Got out of our boats and had a gear check which slowed us down a bit (removed time). We had a short run to CP 35. Marco was a little low on energy so I was pushing and pulling him a bit.

There was a northern route as well around Honker Lake, but we chose the southern. Distance rolled equally the night before.

Rolled into the CP 35 while WEDALI was still there. We got the remainder of the course and learned that all we had was a large bike ride on trails and roads that Kyle was familiar with and a return paddle the exact reverse of paddle 1. We TAed rather slowly. I helped Kyle plot the 15 or so CPS and he looked at our route to CP 36 and no more. We rolled out 18 minutes behind WEDALI. Night fell. The first bike CP was an out-and-back and we got a fresh split on WEDALI of 10 mins back. We made up 8 mins in only 13k of biking. We hit a bunch of single track and our pace seemed to slow. Julia's tube popped out of the tire (Odd?) so we fixed it in about 5 mins.

We biked on the very well marked north/south trail for a long while. Our course notes told us that this trail wasn't mapped correctly between 2 CPs and we were to just follow the trail markers. Some times the single track trail would join a dirt road or go through a farmer's field and you had to search out the next cut off to stay on the trail. We had a really hard time finding where the trail went at one point (as did other teams). At one spot the trail joined a road, the road dropped steeply into a ditch, climbed out of the ditch and then the trail started right away on the left after the climb on the road out of the ditch. Well with all for of our heads down we missed the trail marker on the left 3 times and searched the road and perimeter of 2 corn fields. Finally on our 4th pass as we got lucky and spotted the marker. 15 mins lost.

We checked in CP 40 which was manned 40 mins behind WEDALI. Our hearts sunk. Our 2 issues out there only added up to 20 mins plus the 10 mins we were back at the last split = 30. They put 10 mins on us. This hurt us since we though we were reeling them in. Then things got far worse as 3k later we rolled into CP 41 just over 1 hour behind. It was hard to imagine we lost even more time in that short section.

At CP 41 we were instucted to take some raft building supplies across a bay to get the CP. Only 2 had to go. It was below 40 degress, we didn't have proper equipment, the penalty for skipping was 2 hours. I immediately was trying to think of other ideas of completing this task. I thought the water looked shallow and suggested walking/swimming. I was quickly informed that was a bad idea. Kyle then looked at the map and said we could go around the lake on foot maybe bike. Julia and Marco got all the gear (20 some pool toy noodles, 3 or 4 PVC pipes, 2 PFDs, box or string, cutting tool, 2 canoe paddles) tied up and Kyle and I set off on bikes. we quickly had to ditch the bikes and we resorted to hoofing it in ankle deep mud about 3k total to get the control. (Estimated time removed from log)

Several teams tried to paddle across and lost time at this CP. I think we managed it very well.

We joined back up with Marco and Julia (who were wearing all of their clothes and freezing). They were really cold once we left on the bikes again as they were standing by a fire while we ran around the bay.

I changed the batteries in my bike light before we left and accidentally left my bike gloves at the CP. We biked a bunch more single track to locate CPs Kyle was great at leading the way and navigation didn't slow us at all. We had a 100 meter bike whack to connect trails, and missed another 200 meter bike whack to connect trail to road that could have saved us 5 minutes or so. Kyloe and Marco continued to lead the way. My hands were starting to get cold and I was getting sleepy. Not to the point where I needed to sleep but I was losing focus on the single track trail which slowed me down significantly.

We started biking roads again and I had to ask Marco if I could borrow his gloves as I was starting to fear frostbite. This definitely save my fingers. We continued and biked our frozen bodies to the paddle put in. WEDALI was now 90 minutes ahead of us. We definitely weren't moving as fast as we could have but it was impressive that they still put time on us.

Event: USA Adventure Racing National Championships
 

We arrived back at the lodge around 11pm and 5 minutes after we arrived, Tecnu arrived. The race had essentially just re-started. The final o-course contained 12 CPs and had an estimated completion time of 5 hours. There was no time to waste. Scott plotted a route and we took off.

On our first couple of CPs we came across more cliffs and had to begin planning routes to avoid ‘cliffing out’ (something we really wanted to avoid, as it would add precious minutes to this final leg…with Tecnu so close, there was no room for error). About 3 CPs in, we heard Tecnu coming up behind us. We all talked as we searched for a point side-by-side and they let on that they were taking a different route. We now also had to be more aware as we did not want to give away information as we were attacking points. Ironically this is where we made a mistake. Luckily Tecnu followed us, making the same mistake. Again we collected ourselves, re-attacked and bagged the point. On our way out of the point we saw WEDALI and realized they were on the same route as us and were not far behind. The race was now between 3 teams.

The route we chose had us cross the Cumberland River next, just below Cumberland Falls. The map had a fording area marked which was supposed to be waist high. We arrived at the river and found the area to cross was much deeper! We realized it would require us to swim versus walk/wade across the river. Unbelievably, we wasted about 10 minutes debating how to cross: we needed to avoid the cliffs on the other side and be in the water for the shortest amount of time. We should have just jumped in and gone for it as soon as we saw our access point across the river. Finally we did just that and while the water was cold and the current strong, we had no problems as we stayed close to each other & worked as a team. Once on the other side, our pace was fast enough that we warmed back up in no time and we continued on our way.

We started seeing other teams, including Odyssey, and knocked off the next couple points with them nearby. Scott constantly had to remind me to be quiet and not give away what we were doing and where we were going. Odyssey later told us that they could hear me a mountain away! One of the points in this section was on top of a fire tower with an amazing view of the river valley filled with pre-dawn fog: another halcyon view that was such a bonus this late in the race. Other points required significant bushwhacking and navigating around more cliffs. We continued finding the points without error thanks to Scott’s spot on navigation and awesome team work.

We were down to our final 3 CPs…we knew we were getting close and that Tecnu & WEDALI were both pushing for the win as well. Our nav needed to continue to be impeccable and we needed to continue to move super fast. The next clue was “Base of waterfall”. We saw that the terrain would be steep so we tried to approach from the best angle, but this still led us to a 60 foot drop-off. Fortunately we knew the CP was at the bottom and could see it from the top. The question was how to get down there? I suggested one direction to see if the cliff would fade out. As we explored, this was not the case. We traveled back to the waterfall in hopes of finding a way down. We started making our way down and came to a 10 foot drop. We knew we could get down but getting back up would prove a true challenge. Luckily, Stephanie had suggested teams carry an optional 10 foot piece of webbing to aid in getting over ledges. We chose to carry this webbing and it paid off here allowing us to get back up the cliff in minimal time. We used team work, a little ingenuity and strength to capture the CP and move on to the next. It was a defining team moment: a true test of team work, and it didn’t require any cheesy games, alligators, or toxic waste. We took the time for a team hug and then hit it!

We were on our way to the last two CPs. Thanks to the help of some campsites and roads that were not on our map we were able to limit the amount of bushwhacking. After the last CP we were ready to finish. We started running towards the Cumberland Falls State Resort Park at around 4 am. We began to here cheering as we approached the finish line and they told us we were first.

After plenty of celebrating and chatting with the race staff and volunteers we saw more headlights. Tecnu was arriving at the finish line. We cheered our rivals as they had done a great job and overcome several obstacles including 5 flat tires. Only 2 minutes later WEDALI, the defending champions, also arrived: another great race by a truly great group of people. What a close race! The first 3 teams within 30 minutes of each other.

USARA Nationals - 1st place

I wasn't even scheduled to race this but after an injury to Doug I quickly took his spot and we set our sights on winning the race. Scott and I had finished 3rd and 4th respectively at last year's nationals. Teaming up proved a winning recipe.

When we received the prologue required teams to run map, we realized we would be running across an old mining bridge and up to an overlook where the race passports would be given out. The gunshot rang about 8:10am. After running along a trail up near the front of the pack for about a mile we arrived at our bikes…and thinking we were at the overlook, we started transitioning, only to realize that we had not yet reached the overlook! We took off, Scott with one bike shoe on and one running shoe on and another running shoe in hand and now closer to the back of the pack. Man!
We quickly got the passport and got on our bikes to begin our journey.

About 2 miles into the ride, Kristin asked Brian for the SOG knife she had handed him back at the overlook. He looked at her with dismay, confessing he had left it at the overlook. Grappling with the decision to turn back or move forward, we realized Kristin had a pair of scissors. We decided these would suffice as a backup and chose to continue on instead of turning back. The race continued. We rode on to where CP 1 was plotted and began searching with several of the front of the pack teams. The CP was nowhere to be found but we knew we were in the right spot. Oh CP1 where are you??? After about 20 teams showed up it was discovered, hiding behind a tree! Everyone punched and took off to the next CP.

A pace-line formed right ahead of us but stayed just out of our reach as we desperately tried to catch up and take advantage of it.
We soon arrived at the point of our first route choice: We could take the longer, but more well defined road or the shorter, less defined road. We chose the shorter but trickier-to-ride route and it paid off as we were one of the first teams to arrive at CP2. Sections of this road were thick with sand in spots and it was along here that Kristin, deciding that she didn’t get enough of the beach this summer, dove off her bike to enjoy the sand up close…this encouraged Scott and Michelle (from Checkpoint Zero/Tech4O) to do the same. After locating the CP we pace-lined with a few other teams to the first O-course at Hemlock Grove.

We had a fast transition and found ourselves running to the first point right behind Odyssey/ImONPoint and CheckpointZero/Tech4O. This was a rogaine-style course. We were also instructed to get only 4 out of the 5 CPs and we could choose which one to skip. Strategy, good nav and speed would all come into play here. It seemed that Odyssey and CP0 blew by the first point, but since we were in back we were able to peel off without being noticed. We got this point and then the next 3. Scott would navigate us through the trails and as we approached the point he would tell us what terrain to look for and show me on the map so that I could attack the point and punch it. We later saw the other two teams we were running with earlier and realized we had made the better route choice – nice work, team! For parts of this o-course we traveled along the Sheltowee Trace Trail. We also had at point at Gobbler’s Arch and negotiated our first big cliff.

We were the first team in at the TA and we hustled to leave before any other team came in. It was now off to the King of the Mountain Time Trial which started at Bell Farm Horse Camp and climbed 500ft. We hadn’t discussed our goal as a team for this section of the race and while we rode steady, we were not pushing the pace to win King or Queen of the Mountain. At the top – Peter’s Mountain Lookout, Stephanie Ross, Patrick Harper and a handful of fabulous volunteers were cheering us on!

On our way to Yamacraw Day Use Area, we needed to find CP5…which turned out to be at another amazing natural arch. Along the way to the canoe put-in, Kristin had a flashback to the overlook where the SOG knife was left behind…she remembered picking the knife up off the ground as she packed Scott’s shoes away…she checked her side pockets and Wa-La! There was the knife!!!

At the Yamacraw boat ramp we transitioned as fast as possible because we didn’t want any of the teams catching a glimpse of us. We chose a canoe (Buffalo 16) and started paddling. There was an immediate decision to go to the left or right of the rock in the middle of the river…we quickly remembered Stephanie’s Race Brief: she had mentioned that soon after the paddle start, there would be a decision to go right or left. She said left. Thank goodness we remembered…many teams went right and many teams went in the drink! This first river section was a 5 mile stretch that would take us to Alum Ford boat ramp. We paddled fast, with Scott keeping us focused and our tempo upbeat!

After pulling our canoe ashore we were greeted by more fabulous volunteers and noticed the Chuck Wagon!! The Chuck Wagon was a blur as we received the map for the second o-course and took off quickly. Again we could gather points in any order and needed to punch only 4 of 5. Still no sign of any teams behind us. We rolled through the course and on our arrival back to Alum Ford, Scott decided to take advantage of the Chuck Wagon: a huge, mouthwatering burger that he received faster than you can sing ‘two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun”! Scott & I shared the burger. A great treat.

We left on the second paddle section which was 10 miles long with 2 CPs to punch along the way. The scenery was idyllic, like we were floating through one of Bierstadt’s landscapes. We were joined by a few Kingfishers, a Great Blue Heron and we even saw a beaver dam! Scott kept Kristin & I focused…he pressed us to paddle paddle paddle and keep the tempo up! We spotted the controls easily along the river.

At Turkey Creek, we pulled up onto the boat ramp and began a short but challenging bike leg. This bike leg would require close attention. We were losing daylight and the 3 CPs were just off the trail. So Scott paid close attention to the map, I watched the bike odometer, Kristin kept her eyes open for the CPs and kept us on the trail. We were working well as a team and kept moving forward as darkness fell.

This o-course took place at THE Natural Arch. We would be completing this o-course in the dark and our Princeton Tec lights proved their worth as they helped us spot the reflective strips on the CPs. On our way out on the loop we passed by these huge walls that were straight up 50+ ft…so incredible! We had difficulty with the first point but after regrouping and a second look at the map, we found it! We then ran into Tecnu Extreme/Staphaseptic who was doing the loop in the opposite direction. They were close and we felt the heat! On our way back to the TA we ran under the Natural Arch with the almost full moon shining through… amazing. We got back to the TA and left ASAP again…before anyone else returned.

We now had to bike back to Cumberland Falls State Resort Park for our final o-course. There were 2 CPs along the way. One CP required us to decide between 2 routes: one that was marked on the map as a trail or one that was marked as a road. We began exploring the trail and it ended up being a paved road that led us right to the CP. Good choice!