Training Log Archive: Sandy

Feeling surprisingly good today. My knee was *really* sore after the race and my back was starting to cramp. I think the biking was just a little too much given that I haven't been training for it. But the long car ride home with heated seats seems to have fixed my back and my knee is pretty normal toady. Sore in the shoulders from paddling and biking but I expected that.

Event: Brake the Habit 8 Hour Adventure Race
 

Got there early (6am) and got the race maps and had a plan pretty quickly about what we would try and what we would definitely skip and what we might try if we had enough time. In the end, we did pretty much what we originally thought we could with a few less controls on the paddle section (the wind on the lake was brutal and we are by no means experienced paddlers) and a few more on the second bike section since we had time. The race was divided into 4 sections: a short orienteering section, a bike section that was mostly on roads, a paddling section on the lake where there were a lot of orienteering-like controls to go get inland around the controls on the lake, and a final bike section. You had to check in and out of the transition areas between each section, but the controls in each section were all optional.

The "prologue" had us heading to a few places in the park before we were given our official control cards ("passports" in AR speak) for the first two sections. The first section was a short orienteering section. We originally had planned to get all three of these controls but we were told during the race briefing that there was no way to cross the creek without two significant get-very-wet creek crossings unless you wanted to go way around. We decided we didn't want to get wet (or at least I didn't want to get wet and Valerie didn't want to deal with me having to get wet) and that the around option was just too far for us since we weren't running. So we got 2 out of the three and went into the bike transition.

We had decided to skip the two far away bike controls and just do an out and back to get the first three and then go get the last one if we were feeling up to it. We did well on this section and nailed all 4.

Then into the canoe. As I said, we're not expert paddlers and we've never paddled together but we did reasonably well getting coordinated. But once out of the protection of the cove we were hit with a horrible headwind and it was really hard work to keep the canoe headed forward. We finally made it out of the finger where the put-in was and out onto the main section of the lake and it was even worse there. It took us several attempts to get under the bridge as the wind through the uprights was twice as strong and we got pushed back out a few times (2 or was it 3 or maybe even 4?) before finally hugging the shore line and giving it everything we had and finally making it around the corner. Somewhere in there we tried switching up places (I had started in the back) but it didn't make a whole lot of difference. Since we had been pushed into the relatively calm cove just around the bend from the bridge we decided to get the lake control that was in there. And then we actually thought about just heading back in. But, we decided to give it one more try to get across the lake to the other side where there were a whole bunch of orienteering-like controls.

So back out into the wind we went and by just paddling and not giving up we eventually made it across. We ended up pulling up an inlet before the cove where the lake control was that we wanted, but we figured we could there and back by foot a lot faster than we could by canoe. So we found a great place to beach the canoe and headed out for some orienteering.

This section was relatively straightforward. We had been given two maps at check-in, one map having the controls and trails needed for the first orienteering section and the first bike section. The bike route actually got changed because of all the rain on Friday and they didn't want us on all the single track that wound it's way up the side of the lake wiggling around all the inlets. The other map had the lake controls and orienteering controls for that section plus the bike controls for the last section. I spent some time (apparently not enough - see below) copying later controls from the second to the first and trails from the 1st to the 2nd. This gave both me and Valerie a map to use for this orienteering section and so we just made our way through the 5 controls we had decided to do plus the lake control where we hadn't landed. We briefly discussed trying to go for two other controls but then we remembered that we regretted getting ambitious like that at the Crooked Compass two weeks ago. So better sense prevailed and we stuck to the plan. We were feeling pretty good - a little too cocky it turns out - when we got back to the canoe.

I was in the canoe and Valerie was getting into it when we flipped it. Me and all our gear went into the water. We were right by the shore so it wasn't deep and I didn't get submerged but I was soaked through up to my armpits. I decided that trying to get dry was a losing proposition so I just wanted to get back to the transition as soon as we could. Valerie had lost her waterproof camera in the dunking but luckily she was able to feel around in the muck and find it. Would have been very disappointing to lose the pictures of the race so far.

So sopping wet, we made our way back across the lake and under the bridge and up the finger to the canoe transition. It was a much faster trip back because the wind had died down but what there was was mostly at our backs. I was getting tired but just kept paddling - one, it would get us back faster and two, it was keeping me warm. When we got to the take-out, both my legs cramped and it was all I could do to crawl out of the canoe and onto the dock while Valerie held the canoe for me. Portaging that sucker back up the ramp and the 20 or 30 feet up the road was tough - maybe the toughest part physically of the whole race!

Anyway, we got back to our gear bins by the bikes and luckily we both had dry clothes and shoes stashed there - I had even thrown in my second jacket since I wasn't sure when I packed which one I would want to wear. Very happy to get out the wet shirt and jacket and into dry shoes and socks! Didn't have dry pants though. At that point I was pretty tired and just wanted to finish so we got on our bikes for the last section.

This was mostly single track. The first control we goofed on. I went right to the control circle on my map - but unfortunately I circled one bend too far when I had copied the controls. When looking at Valerie's map it was easy to spot the mistake but backtracking was really hard to do when all I wanted was to be done. We made our way back and got the control (it was under the bridge we had crossed so we hadn't noticed when we rode across the first time). Then we hiked our bikes through the woods to another trail. We got the last four bike controls without too much trouble. We overshot another one, saved by someone coming back to it. I had been looking for it right around there, but it was tucked behind a tree so not visible from the direction we were riding. I fell a few times on this section - a combination of just being tired and not having ridden single track in a long time. I was reasonably happy with what I did though.

And then finally down the road and into the finish. Very tired and very happy to be done but very glad to have done it. We were second out of two in our category, but we had done pretty much what we thought we could do so very satisfied with our performance.

The actual time is more like 7:15 but my watch once again died before we finished. Will add more details soon but another race with Valerie that I'm glad I did. We make a good team.

C • Adventure Race 10

Training session plus some stretching before and after.

I was very discouraged that something - stepping up onto a step with weights in my hands and bringing the other knee up to my chest and then stepping down - that seemed relatively easy in previous sessions seemed hard today until she pointed out that she had raised the step a good bit so that it should have felt harder. Whew!

C • Harder 1

A quick hike around the statue loop (I've decided to PC about it).

Beautiful day - wish I didn't have to go in to the office in a bit.

Was feeling really low energy as I went to today's training session, but she worked me hard and I was a lot peppier when it was over. Added in some things that hurt my shoulder a month ago but were fine today (maybe my shoulder issues are somewhat fixed with this regular workout schedule?) and a little bit of cardio that bothered my knee the last time we tried it but was fine today.