Training Log Archive: briangardnerIn the 7 days ending May 19, 2019:
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Saturday May 18, 2019 #
Transition race (Kinetic Swazi Full Moon) 49:00 [1] 1.0 km (49:00 / km)
Total transition time.
T1 - 6 mins
T2 - 21 mins
T3 - 22 mins
T1 - 6 mins
T2 - 21 mins
T3 - 22 mins
10 AM
Trail Run race (Kinetic Swazi Full Moon) 1:56:00 [5] 12.6 km (9:12 / km) +940m 6:42 / km
ahr:130 shoes: Inov8 Trailroc 285
Leg 1 - hike/run from Bulembu lodge to the top of Emlembe peak and then to to the Police Station in Bulembu. raced with Nicky, Dave and Stewart.
Got a good start out the gates from Bulembu lodge and set a fast tempo up the tar road. We dropped Jabberwock just as we turned off the tar (they took another road, not sure why?). We then got a 50m gap on Nevarest with some sneaky Nav cutting off a hairpin in the road. We just kept pushing hard up the hill, taking the main path while Nevarest and Jabberwock went straighter, but they lost a bit of time being off-trail. We headed off the mountain with about a 4 minute lead, and built on it was we ran all the way from CP3 to T2. In and out of T in 6 minutes, no other team in sight. They were both just down the road though.
Got a good start out the gates from Bulembu lodge and set a fast tempo up the tar road. We dropped Jabberwock just as we turned off the tar (they took another road, not sure why?). We then got a 50m gap on Nevarest with some sneaky Nav cutting off a hairpin in the road. We just kept pushing hard up the hill, taking the main path while Nevarest and Jabberwock went straighter, but they lost a bit of time being off-trail. We headed off the mountain with about a 4 minute lead, and built on it was we ran all the way from CP3 to T2. In and out of T in 6 minutes, no other team in sight. They were both just down the road though.
12 PM
Mountain Bike race (Kinetic Swazi Full Moon) 7:09:00 [5] 71.0 km (9.9 kph) +2450m
ahr:130 shoes: GT Zaskar 29er 2013
Leg 2 - MTB from Bulembu to Maguga Dam via Piggs Peak, Ekuthuleni and Melete areas.
The toughest bike leg for a "shorter" AR I can remember. Nevarest cought us as we entered Piggs Peak, but then they stopped for water. They caught us again just before CP4 when Dave had his first strategic lie-down and got rid of all his breakfast. We caught up to them again, and then we both went wrong on a big dirt road which was not on the map. I stopped and checked things out, and turned back, and Nevarest kept going. They ended up doing over 120k on this bike! Epic! As we got back to near the junction where we should have gone straight, Jabberwock were there, also having gone about 100m down the wrong road. We rode with them for about 15 mins before Dave had another episode of calling George, and they gapped us. The nav wasn't really that tricky, but we had to keep sharp with lots of roads (some on and some not on the maps!). Stopped at a homestead to fill up with water. Then the CP7 decision - either hike-a-bike out and back to CP7, and ride about 5km further around, but then still hike-a-bike down. I remembered this exact hike-a-bike from EA Swazi, and I knew it well. We took the out and back hike, and it seemed to work out. Jabberwock had taken an overgrown path closer to the river, and lost lots of time on us here. At CP7, we could not have been more than about 8-10mins behind them then. Dave was still pulling amps, and I could see Stew was at the end of his biking limit (this was his longest bike yet). We pushed on to the Transition, and Jabberwock were still there. We focuses, and kept pushing as best we could. We were all pretty buggered after that bike-ride though.
The toughest bike leg for a "shorter" AR I can remember. Nevarest cought us as we entered Piggs Peak, but then they stopped for water. They caught us again just before CP4 when Dave had his first strategic lie-down and got rid of all his breakfast. We caught up to them again, and then we both went wrong on a big dirt road which was not on the map. I stopped and checked things out, and turned back, and Nevarest kept going. They ended up doing over 120k on this bike! Epic! As we got back to near the junction where we should have gone straight, Jabberwock were there, also having gone about 100m down the wrong road. We rode with them for about 15 mins before Dave had another episode of calling George, and they gapped us. The nav wasn't really that tricky, but we had to keep sharp with lots of roads (some on and some not on the maps!). Stopped at a homestead to fill up with water. Then the CP7 decision - either hike-a-bike out and back to CP7, and ride about 5km further around, but then still hike-a-bike down. I remembered this exact hike-a-bike from EA Swazi, and I knew it well. We took the out and back hike, and it seemed to work out. Jabberwock had taken an overgrown path closer to the river, and lost lots of time on us here. At CP7, we could not have been more than about 8-10mins behind them then. Dave was still pulling amps, and I could see Stew was at the end of his biking limit (this was his longest bike yet). We pushed on to the Transition, and Jabberwock were still there. We focuses, and kept pushing as best we could. We were all pretty buggered after that bike-ride though.
8 PM
Paddle (Kinetic Swazi Full Moon) 2:03:00 [5] 13.0 km (9:28 / km)
ahr:130
Lag 3 - Paddle from Maguga Dam campsite at the dam wall to T3 next to the Komati River on the far western extent of the dam.
An uneventful paddle. We tied the boats together and just put our heads down. Jabberwock stayed about 10 minutes ahead all the time. A horror of a take-out point. Dave and Stew took a swim while slipping on the rocks. It was cold at T3, but at least a fire was going. Jabberwock left as we portaged the boats into Transition.
An uneventful paddle. We tied the boats together and just put our heads down. Jabberwock stayed about 10 minutes ahead all the time. A horror of a take-out point. Dave and Stew took a swim while slipping on the rocks. It was cold at T3, but at least a fire was going. Jabberwock left as we portaged the boats into Transition.
10 PM
Hiking race (Kinetic Swazi Full Moon) 3:56:00 [5] 16.0 km (14:45 / km) +1140m 10:53 / km
ahr:130 shoes: Inov8 Roclite 305
Leg 4 - Hike from T3 at Komati River over the mountains to Bulembu.
We set off at a good trot after warming up. I am sure we had a slower transition than Jabberwock. We ran all the way to the hydro station where we turned off onto the jeeptrack into the mountains. We caught sight of Jabberwock lights on the other side of a valley when we were coming down into the same valley. A time check had us about 30 minutes behind. They were moving fast. I somehow lot the main track near a homestead, and then investigated an incorrect spur. My micro-nav let me down a bit, but it didn't help that my compass broke, and we didnt have a spare.... We ended up contouring around a valley (going in the right direction), but literally 50m lower then the main path. That was a stupid mistake, which was much slower then the main path. i finally spotted the road with my nav-light it and made a bee-line. An uneventful hike after that, but I knew Jabberwock were gone. I took the careful option of taking the road around from CP8 into Bulembu, because I just didn't feel like bush-whacking all the way to the finish line, but apparently it wasn't that bad.
We were stoked with ending in 2nd place, but knew we should have been closer to Jabberwock. Our team was strong, and worked together well. I loved this race, it was super tough, tricky nav and felt like proper AR. Certainly a step-up from the usual "off-road triathlon" Full Moon races.
We set off at a good trot after warming up. I am sure we had a slower transition than Jabberwock. We ran all the way to the hydro station where we turned off onto the jeeptrack into the mountains. We caught sight of Jabberwock lights on the other side of a valley when we were coming down into the same valley. A time check had us about 30 minutes behind. They were moving fast. I somehow lot the main track near a homestead, and then investigated an incorrect spur. My micro-nav let me down a bit, but it didn't help that my compass broke, and we didnt have a spare.... We ended up contouring around a valley (going in the right direction), but literally 50m lower then the main path. That was a stupid mistake, which was much slower then the main path. i finally spotted the road with my nav-light it and made a bee-line. An uneventful hike after that, but I knew Jabberwock were gone. I took the careful option of taking the road around from CP8 into Bulembu, because I just didn't feel like bush-whacking all the way to the finish line, but apparently it wasn't that bad.
We were stoked with ending in 2nd place, but knew we should have been closer to Jabberwock. Our team was strong, and worked together well. I loved this race, it was super tough, tricky nav and felt like proper AR. Certainly a step-up from the usual "off-road triathlon" Full Moon races.