Training Log Archive: syd

Event: 2019 Legend of the Dogman
 

Legend of the Dogman 24h Rogaine
3/12 OA
1/2 Coed

Overall, this race was a lot of fun. Kevin and I worked really well together and we achieved my goal of travelling >50 miles. We actually went well beyond and logged 58 miles to make it the farthest we have travelled in 24 hr to date! I am drawn to these types of events to push my physical/mental limits so I was really happy with that result. My navigation was pretty solid too. We got lost in a swamp overnight, which always seems to happen when we race in MI, but otherwise I just had a few minor mistakes. Fitness wasn’t where I wanted it to be for this race (really for most of this year), but we still had a solid performance and I’m excited to see what we can do next year with more training! Huge thank you to Lost Arrow Sports for hosting this event! Full race report below.


Kevin and I both managed to stay healthy before the race this year so we got to race as a team! This was our first race together in a long time so I was really looking forward to the adventure. My goal was to travel >50 miles, and to have fun :) We drove up to Michigan on Friday, arriving at Camp Munhacke just before 4 pm. We had packed our drop bags in advance so all we had to do was check-in and put them in the proper locations before waiting for maps. Maps were handed out at 5:30 pm and we got to work planning a route. We were given 3/6 maps and would need to get the points we wanted on those maps before returning to the central TA to receive the rest of the maps. We decided on a CCW route so we would hit TA1 later.

At 7 pm we took off! After a quick prologue around the boy scout camp we headed W. We were with a couple of teams through the first few controls, but then we were mostly on our own. The navigation was going well and we were keeping up a good pace - a trot on roads and a quick walk everywhere else. After 81 we decided to cross the swamp to get to 87. The low for the night was 37F, but we weren’t feeling cold and it saved so much distance. We headed down the hill after 81, made it to the power line and crossed a swamp. It wasn’t too wide and only knee deep so not bad at all. But then there was more swamp in all directions… We probably lost 15 minutes wandering around trying to figure it out. I really seem to struggle with MI swamps at night... Turns out we hadn’t actually crossed the swamp we needed to cross. We had crossed a wet reentrant?? Finally figured that out and crossed the correct swamp. It was still only knee deep. Apparently, others found much deeper spots. I was glad we stayed mostly dry! Then it was smooth sailing through the rest of the CPs to TA1.

Made it to TA1 at 2 am. I changed my socks, re-lubed my feet and had a few snacks. We talked with Jens for a few minutes and then headed out again. The return trip to the TA was pretty straightforward navigation. Mostly trails with short detours to CPs. We got in some very thick vegetation by 55. I took us in too early so we had no trouble getting to the flag, but we ended up basically crawling to get back to the indistinct trail. We should’ve gone back out the way we came in! We kept up a good walking pace all the way back to the central TA. We were both feeling pretty good and keeping up with eating/drinking. The sun was starting to come up as we got the last CPs in this section and we made it back to the S/F around 7:45 am.

When we arrived at the TA we received the last 3 maps. I changed my clothes, sorted my gear and then quickly planned a route. We decided to go CCW since it seemed to offer more options for dropping toward the end. Our goal was 30 min, but I think we were there for closer to 45 min and it still felt rushed!

We headed out and were enjoying the daylight. Ran into some trouble on our second CP when it wasn’t where I expected. It was a stream bend and should have been very obvious. We continued on toward the marsh just in case it was farther down and I heard someone yelling at us to ‘not go any closer to the marsh.’ There was a hunter in a tree stand nearby. We asked if he had taken the flag and he replied ‘no’ in a very unconvincing manner. At this point I was sure the flag was gone so we quickly headed back toward the trail and let Steve know that it was missing. I think he was able to get out a replacement before anyone else came through. We continued heading E and checking off CPs. We were moving rather slowly through this section. I’m not really sure why? We were in good spirits and still feeling decent. My feet were getting tired, but not too bad. After 74 we made the decision to drop 39, 40, and the 8 Peach Mountain controls. I was kind of bummed because I like that map and it looked fun, but Kevin convinced me that it made the most sense. We made it to TA2 around 11:30 am.

Sat down for 20 min or so at TA2 and chatted with Steve, Todd, and Julie. I changed my socks and re-lubed my feet. I’m not really sure what Steve said to us, but we left the TA reenergized and ready to clear the rest of the course (except 60 and 58). We settled on a plan of walking for 55 min and then resting for 5 min. This worked great. It was easy enough to ignore the pain of tired feet knowing there was a break coming up soon. We hit the bonus control after reading the clue at 76. Hesitation on the way to 84 when we stopped early. Got a bit confused exiting 96, but sorted it out with minimal time lost. Wandered a bit at 62 when I couldn’t quite make sense of the trails or the contours. Our navigation was pretty solid considering how long we had been staring at squiggly lines. The rest of the CPs went smoothly and we made it back to the finish in just over 23 hours :)

A few random thoughts: Changing socks and lots of lube is the key to happy feet. I have always had issues with blisters in the past, but I didn’t have a single blister after 24 hrs! And my feet were even wet for a portion. We could definitely TA faster. That wasn’t really a focus for this race, but something to consider in the future. Teddy grahams are awesome. And I am so lucky to have an awesome husband who is willing to trek through the woods with me for 24 hours :)

My climbing strength is coming back more quickly than I expected! Or they started setting routes easier... Finished a couple of V3-5 today.

A beautiful fall day :)