Training Log Archive: glewisIn the 7 days ending Jun 22, 2019:
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Saturday Jun 22, 2019 #
Event: Maine Summer Adventure Race
Adventure Racing 23:58:00 [3] 95.16 mi (15:07 / mi)
Raced with NH Trail Vets - Mason, Rob, and Nick
Drove up the day prior, stopping at Louis' Lunch for some burgers and grabbing an Italian from Amato's for the race and a pizza from Otto's for dinner. The drive was seemingly never-ending, and I didn't get to Craig's house until around 9:30. A little bit of gear packing and I was off to sleep. Didn't feel like I slept great, but all of a sudden my alarm was going off at 4:30, so it must have been alright. The race this year had a new location, staged out of Pineland Farms. That meant a shorter drive, and I was parked by 5:40. Some gear fiddling, some map looking over, and some breakfast sandwich eating took us to the race start. The guys had agreed to let me handle the maps. The course looked straightforward, with the only big question mark being the paddle in Casco Bay. We would figure out our plan when we go to the bay later in the day.
Stage 1: O-"Relay"
Each teammate got a separate o-map of Pineland and had to get 3 points on their own, the consequence being that as a team you received the score of the lowest scoring team member. Mason grabbed the toughest map, we gave Nick the simplest, and Rob and I ran out together to get oriented on our courses, as the start wasn't shown and we had to get oriented by an overview map. It was simple enough, although I struggled with scale at first. I ended up back at the start after about 25 minutes and an emergency stop at my car to put up a window that was down. With 4 team members there is a lot of variability on a leg like this. Many teams had left by the time that I had even finished. By the time Mason returned we were geared up and ready to start the big bike leg. One note: it was already warmer than expected, and I had foolishly dumped water before the start (didn't I learn from last year?!?!). There was water at each TA, and I had figured that we could make it through with a limited supply.
Stage 2: MTB
This was the biggest leg of the race. A large section of bike trails connected by some road riding, and a little MTBO section at Bradbury Mountain thrown in as well. We popped in to the woods shortly after the start and began knocking off CPs in order, pretty efficiently. By the time we reached CP6 at the start of the MTBO, we had passed 3-4 teams who started ahead of us. We had also discovered that the thick clouds of bugs from last year's race had been replaced by thick clouds of pollen. Seriously, the stuff was blowing through the woods in sheets.
The map for CPs 7-13 was given out at 6, and while strategizing here Rootstock arrived and we took off just ahead of them. We planned to use the double tracks to save time, but they were muddy and wet, so we abandoned that strategy after our out-and-back to CP7 proved to be a wash to Rootstock's riding of the trails. Essentially in lock-step with them, we found 8-12 without issue. We chose a different strategy for 12, involving a bushwhack. The tracker shows that we nailed it really well, but we were a little hesitant at the time, so we just rode around on trails, passing Rootstock as they left the CP. We finished out this section and began to head south. We made really great time on the roads, with Nick leading the way for most of it. It was in this time that I began to find it tough to both ride in the paceline and look at the map. Every time I looked down I would instinctively slow up and get dropped. Something to work on, as these guys are fast!!
As we approached the next section of woods for which I had scouted out the maps, there weren't too many decisions to be made. We hit 14-21 in order with only a small whoopsies on 21. We had been out of water since around 14, and the sun was blazing and we were getting cooked. I had us take a small wrong turn, but it only cost us 5-10 minutes. I had tried to socialize and navigate, but quickly learned my lesson. We we popped out onto a road after 21 we made the wise decision to try to find water. Fortunately there was a house and an obliging homeowner who let us spend 5 minutes with a hose. Feeling more refreshed we took off into the woods, passing NYARA at a split, and finishing 22-24 without issue. We rolled into the TA just before 3PM, with Rootstock and Dave Lamb still hanging around.
Stage 3: Ocean Kayak
As we TA'd, we heard info about weather including increasing winds and the chance of storms. We planned to attempt all the CPs, but were leaving it open to a final team choice before we entered the Casco Bay. The start of the paddle was a simple paddle down the Premsumpscot River, with a small waterfall portage. I had my spray skirt on, but had to continually remove it to get the copious amounts of ticks off of my legs. The feeling of crawling ticks is rather gross, and it was a foreshadowing of how bad they would get at night. We struggled mightily with tracking the kayak, and only really got it all straightened out after we put back in below the waterfall. By the time that we arrived at 25 at the Mackworth Island Bridge the winds had picked up and the swells were increasing. We were surprised to not be able to see Rootstock or Dave; they must have been moving. We made the group decision here to skip 26-29 and focus on 30/31, which were both on Fort Gorges. This choice saved about 10 miles of paddling and also kept the rest of the course in play as the day went on.
The paddle to the fort was fast and rough; we arrived and found the points without much work. It was a really neat location with some wonderful views of Portland. Putting back in the water was a chore, as it took Mason and I two attempts to get in without getting the kayak swamped. By the time we finally loaded up and got into open water, we found the paddling simpler than expected with the tenacious headwind. The 1+ mile paddle to the takeout took 30 minutes, and we arrived to learn that we were the 3rd team in and that Rootstock/Dave had actually gone for additional paddle points. This reinvigorated us, as we knew that we'd know we racing at the front of the field and that we could keep putting pressure on them by giving them someone to chase through the evening and night.
Stage 4: Urban "Party-O"
The TA took a little longer than usual as we had access to food and dry clothes. They were very much needed after the paddle. This type of section is quickly becoming a favorite in AR. We had 6 points to collect (all clues to answer) around downtown Portland. We visited some neat areas, even running past Portland Tug (I could almost hear Craig crying in sadness for missing the race). We also stumbled upon a wedding ceremony in the gazebo that was the clue for 32 - thankfully the informative plaque was outside! We moved very efficiently, running when Nick got his way and trekking when Mason got his. To finish the stage we had to shuffle across the Casco Bay Bridge, where we found Cliff waiting with all of our bikes. ERECT arrived shortly after us and another C2 team came shortly after we left.
Stage 5: MTB/Road Bike
This TA involved filling up with water (as did most others) and getting ourselves ready to ride into the nighttime. We began with some paved riding and grabbed some checkpoints on some single track and dirt. No real issues and a smooth fun ride. We popped out on roads in the western part of Portland and found a store for some refueling. It ended up being a point of comedy for the rest of the race, as we stopped at a shady convenience store that stocked mostly energy drinks and cigarettes and spent the rest of the stage passing restaurants and grocery stores. We made great time on the road and were passed on our way into TA by the race staff. We arrived just before 10 and took our time getting ready for the ttrek, as this was the last time that we would see our drop bags in the race.
Stage 6: Trek
We had a topo map for this trek along with a supplemental for each half. We started in the Blackstrap Hills Preserve, and worked clockwise to the points. The topo map was pretty good, but the supplemental ended up being helpful only at certain times. The best map was the trail map that hung at junctions in the trail system. We found ourselves checking our position and reorienting when necessary from these. They showed accurately the colors of the trail markers, which is a big help when there are so many trails to choose from. The first point was 45, which gave us more trouble than I wish. I learned a good bit about the mapping system from it. 43, 42, 44 were simple. 46 was the next to throw us. Each map showed every trail leaving the powerlines at the CP, but we were still on a trail on the powerlines more than 500m past. A nasty bushwhack and some backtracking got us to the CP. We should have just stuck to the marked trails, which would have led us right there. 47 was easy enough, and that eventually led us across the road to the next chunk of points.
The first half took almost 3 hours, and we thought that the next set could be done faster, if a bit more clean. We started off zooming, getting 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53 in order in only 90 minutes. The supplemental for the Lowell Preserve was a better map. The approach to 54 was frustrating, as the topo map showed a clear cut that didn't exist, and we struggled following a stream to the CP. We ended up on it, but we weren't confident and it was further than expected. It probably took an extra 30 minutes. I found a nice trail on the supplemental to help us approach 55, but that trail ended up doing some crazy things. Our tracks looked nuts in that area, but I knew exactly where we were. The trail was just junk. We ended up with a bushwhack, followed by futily searching for a sidetrail that never materialized. During that time, we came onto a hoard of ticks whose steadfastness cannot be overstated. I was pulling them off of my legs and they were returning faster than I could remove them. One of the more disgusting experiences that I've had in a race.
In retrospect, we wasted about 40 minutes trying to be cute with the trails when we should have just followed a bearing and the features. We found the point and began our way to the next TA. What should have been easy took us an extra 20 minutes as I couldn't get the trails sorted out. There were some unexpected twists and some dead ends. To add to that it was approaching 4AM, which is the start of my miserable time every race. We arrived at TA just after 4, as the first team in. We had only seen two other teams on this leg - ERECT starting the first half and the same C2 team from earlier in the northern section of the Lowell Preserve.
Stage 7: Bike
We TA'd and headed out, with plenty of time to spare to get back to Pineland for the last MTBO and trek. This should have been an easy 20km ride on roads, but ooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh did I screw this up. We ended up flying down a private road and popping out facing south. It took a while to correct, and we ended up having to ride back through a section of singletrack from stage 2 to get home. The whole snafu took an extra 40 minutes, and it was terribly embarrassing. I kept us moving efficiently and accurately all day; this mistake was a one-of-a-kind screw up. Looking at the map and tracks afterward, I just lost contact for a few minutes and thought we were 2km ahead of where we were. I was tired, my brain was mushy, but it was still stupid. We got back to Pineland just before 6AM, having been passed by at least 3 teams :(.
Stage 8: MTBO and Trek
This was a unique stage. There were 4 cps on a MTBO map, and 4 on a topo map for trekking. We would receive credit for CPs only in pairs, so we would only get credit for 2 at a time. The MTBO section started off rocky, with a field trail towards A that I couldn't find. We corrected quickly and got the rest well. Fortunately for us, my brain had woken up and we were moving smoothly again. We finished quickly and left ourselves 75 minutes for the final trek.
The trek was simple but slow. We hit D efficiently, but struggled slightly with C. We had crossed paths with Rootstock, and they pulled us slightly off of our line. It took a reset to the train tracks to get the CP. By the time that we navigated to B, we only had 17 minutes left and a bit of a bushwhack to get back. The team decision was to skip A and get home in time. This ended up being the correct call, as we were the last team to finish with only 2 minutes to spare.
What a fun race! I loved the variety of terrain and stages as well as the linear nature of the course. Mason, Rob, and Nick were fantastic teammates and incredibly strong racers. Our hard work netted us 3rd overall, behind only Rootstock and Dave. My nav was mostly good; it sounds like every team had their struggles and that no one ran a clean race. Thanks to StrongMachine and Kateness for another terrific race - can't wait for next years edition!
Drove up the day prior, stopping at Louis' Lunch for some burgers and grabbing an Italian from Amato's for the race and a pizza from Otto's for dinner. The drive was seemingly never-ending, and I didn't get to Craig's house until around 9:30. A little bit of gear packing and I was off to sleep. Didn't feel like I slept great, but all of a sudden my alarm was going off at 4:30, so it must have been alright. The race this year had a new location, staged out of Pineland Farms. That meant a shorter drive, and I was parked by 5:40. Some gear fiddling, some map looking over, and some breakfast sandwich eating took us to the race start. The guys had agreed to let me handle the maps. The course looked straightforward, with the only big question mark being the paddle in Casco Bay. We would figure out our plan when we go to the bay later in the day.
Stage 1: O-"Relay"
Each teammate got a separate o-map of Pineland and had to get 3 points on their own, the consequence being that as a team you received the score of the lowest scoring team member. Mason grabbed the toughest map, we gave Nick the simplest, and Rob and I ran out together to get oriented on our courses, as the start wasn't shown and we had to get oriented by an overview map. It was simple enough, although I struggled with scale at first. I ended up back at the start after about 25 minutes and an emergency stop at my car to put up a window that was down. With 4 team members there is a lot of variability on a leg like this. Many teams had left by the time that I had even finished. By the time Mason returned we were geared up and ready to start the big bike leg. One note: it was already warmer than expected, and I had foolishly dumped water before the start (didn't I learn from last year?!?!). There was water at each TA, and I had figured that we could make it through with a limited supply.
Stage 2: MTB
This was the biggest leg of the race. A large section of bike trails connected by some road riding, and a little MTBO section at Bradbury Mountain thrown in as well. We popped in to the woods shortly after the start and began knocking off CPs in order, pretty efficiently. By the time we reached CP6 at the start of the MTBO, we had passed 3-4 teams who started ahead of us. We had also discovered that the thick clouds of bugs from last year's race had been replaced by thick clouds of pollen. Seriously, the stuff was blowing through the woods in sheets.
The map for CPs 7-13 was given out at 6, and while strategizing here Rootstock arrived and we took off just ahead of them. We planned to use the double tracks to save time, but they were muddy and wet, so we abandoned that strategy after our out-and-back to CP7 proved to be a wash to Rootstock's riding of the trails. Essentially in lock-step with them, we found 8-12 without issue. We chose a different strategy for 12, involving a bushwhack. The tracker shows that we nailed it really well, but we were a little hesitant at the time, so we just rode around on trails, passing Rootstock as they left the CP. We finished out this section and began to head south. We made really great time on the roads, with Nick leading the way for most of it. It was in this time that I began to find it tough to both ride in the paceline and look at the map. Every time I looked down I would instinctively slow up and get dropped. Something to work on, as these guys are fast!!
As we approached the next section of woods for which I had scouted out the maps, there weren't too many decisions to be made. We hit 14-21 in order with only a small whoopsies on 21. We had been out of water since around 14, and the sun was blazing and we were getting cooked. I had us take a small wrong turn, but it only cost us 5-10 minutes. I had tried to socialize and navigate, but quickly learned my lesson. We we popped out onto a road after 21 we made the wise decision to try to find water. Fortunately there was a house and an obliging homeowner who let us spend 5 minutes with a hose. Feeling more refreshed we took off into the woods, passing NYARA at a split, and finishing 22-24 without issue. We rolled into the TA just before 3PM, with Rootstock and Dave Lamb still hanging around.
Stage 3: Ocean Kayak
As we TA'd, we heard info about weather including increasing winds and the chance of storms. We planned to attempt all the CPs, but were leaving it open to a final team choice before we entered the Casco Bay. The start of the paddle was a simple paddle down the Premsumpscot River, with a small waterfall portage. I had my spray skirt on, but had to continually remove it to get the copious amounts of ticks off of my legs. The feeling of crawling ticks is rather gross, and it was a foreshadowing of how bad they would get at night. We struggled mightily with tracking the kayak, and only really got it all straightened out after we put back in below the waterfall. By the time that we arrived at 25 at the Mackworth Island Bridge the winds had picked up and the swells were increasing. We were surprised to not be able to see Rootstock or Dave; they must have been moving. We made the group decision here to skip 26-29 and focus on 30/31, which were both on Fort Gorges. This choice saved about 10 miles of paddling and also kept the rest of the course in play as the day went on.
The paddle to the fort was fast and rough; we arrived and found the points without much work. It was a really neat location with some wonderful views of Portland. Putting back in the water was a chore, as it took Mason and I two attempts to get in without getting the kayak swamped. By the time we finally loaded up and got into open water, we found the paddling simpler than expected with the tenacious headwind. The 1+ mile paddle to the takeout took 30 minutes, and we arrived to learn that we were the 3rd team in and that Rootstock/Dave had actually gone for additional paddle points. This reinvigorated us, as we knew that we'd know we racing at the front of the field and that we could keep putting pressure on them by giving them someone to chase through the evening and night.
Stage 4: Urban "Party-O"
The TA took a little longer than usual as we had access to food and dry clothes. They were very much needed after the paddle. This type of section is quickly becoming a favorite in AR. We had 6 points to collect (all clues to answer) around downtown Portland. We visited some neat areas, even running past Portland Tug (I could almost hear Craig crying in sadness for missing the race). We also stumbled upon a wedding ceremony in the gazebo that was the clue for 32 - thankfully the informative plaque was outside! We moved very efficiently, running when Nick got his way and trekking when Mason got his. To finish the stage we had to shuffle across the Casco Bay Bridge, where we found Cliff waiting with all of our bikes. ERECT arrived shortly after us and another C2 team came shortly after we left.
Stage 5: MTB/Road Bike
This TA involved filling up with water (as did most others) and getting ourselves ready to ride into the nighttime. We began with some paved riding and grabbed some checkpoints on some single track and dirt. No real issues and a smooth fun ride. We popped out on roads in the western part of Portland and found a store for some refueling. It ended up being a point of comedy for the rest of the race, as we stopped at a shady convenience store that stocked mostly energy drinks and cigarettes and spent the rest of the stage passing restaurants and grocery stores. We made great time on the road and were passed on our way into TA by the race staff. We arrived just before 10 and took our time getting ready for the ttrek, as this was the last time that we would see our drop bags in the race.
Stage 6: Trek
We had a topo map for this trek along with a supplemental for each half. We started in the Blackstrap Hills Preserve, and worked clockwise to the points. The topo map was pretty good, but the supplemental ended up being helpful only at certain times. The best map was the trail map that hung at junctions in the trail system. We found ourselves checking our position and reorienting when necessary from these. They showed accurately the colors of the trail markers, which is a big help when there are so many trails to choose from. The first point was 45, which gave us more trouble than I wish. I learned a good bit about the mapping system from it. 43, 42, 44 were simple. 46 was the next to throw us. Each map showed every trail leaving the powerlines at the CP, but we were still on a trail on the powerlines more than 500m past. A nasty bushwhack and some backtracking got us to the CP. We should have just stuck to the marked trails, which would have led us right there. 47 was easy enough, and that eventually led us across the road to the next chunk of points.
The first half took almost 3 hours, and we thought that the next set could be done faster, if a bit more clean. We started off zooming, getting 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53 in order in only 90 minutes. The supplemental for the Lowell Preserve was a better map. The approach to 54 was frustrating, as the topo map showed a clear cut that didn't exist, and we struggled following a stream to the CP. We ended up on it, but we weren't confident and it was further than expected. It probably took an extra 30 minutes. I found a nice trail on the supplemental to help us approach 55, but that trail ended up doing some crazy things. Our tracks looked nuts in that area, but I knew exactly where we were. The trail was just junk. We ended up with a bushwhack, followed by futily searching for a sidetrail that never materialized. During that time, we came onto a hoard of ticks whose steadfastness cannot be overstated. I was pulling them off of my legs and they were returning faster than I could remove them. One of the more disgusting experiences that I've had in a race.
In retrospect, we wasted about 40 minutes trying to be cute with the trails when we should have just followed a bearing and the features. We found the point and began our way to the next TA. What should have been easy took us an extra 20 minutes as I couldn't get the trails sorted out. There were some unexpected twists and some dead ends. To add to that it was approaching 4AM, which is the start of my miserable time every race. We arrived at TA just after 4, as the first team in. We had only seen two other teams on this leg - ERECT starting the first half and the same C2 team from earlier in the northern section of the Lowell Preserve.
Stage 7: Bike
We TA'd and headed out, with plenty of time to spare to get back to Pineland for the last MTBO and trek. This should have been an easy 20km ride on roads, but ooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh did I screw this up. We ended up flying down a private road and popping out facing south. It took a while to correct, and we ended up having to ride back through a section of singletrack from stage 2 to get home. The whole snafu took an extra 40 minutes, and it was terribly embarrassing. I kept us moving efficiently and accurately all day; this mistake was a one-of-a-kind screw up. Looking at the map and tracks afterward, I just lost contact for a few minutes and thought we were 2km ahead of where we were. I was tired, my brain was mushy, but it was still stupid. We got back to Pineland just before 6AM, having been passed by at least 3 teams :(.
Stage 8: MTBO and Trek
This was a unique stage. There were 4 cps on a MTBO map, and 4 on a topo map for trekking. We would receive credit for CPs only in pairs, so we would only get credit for 2 at a time. The MTBO section started off rocky, with a field trail towards A that I couldn't find. We corrected quickly and got the rest well. Fortunately for us, my brain had woken up and we were moving smoothly again. We finished quickly and left ourselves 75 minutes for the final trek.
The trek was simple but slow. We hit D efficiently, but struggled slightly with C. We had crossed paths with Rootstock, and they pulled us slightly off of our line. It took a reset to the train tracks to get the CP. By the time that we navigated to B, we only had 17 minutes left and a bit of a bushwhack to get back. The team decision was to skip A and get home in time. This ended up being the correct call, as we were the last team to finish with only 2 minutes to spare.
What a fun race! I loved the variety of terrain and stages as well as the linear nature of the course. Mason, Rob, and Nick were fantastic teammates and incredibly strong racers. Our hard work netted us 3rd overall, behind only Rootstock and Dave. My nav was mostly good; it sounds like every team had their struggles and that no one ran a clean race. Thanks to StrongMachine and Kateness for another terrific race - can't wait for next years edition!
C • Yayy 9
Wednesday Jun 19, 2019 #
1 PM
Mountain Bike 32:57 [3] 7.11 mi (4:38 / mi)
Short MTB ride on roads from home. Picked up the bike from the shop yesterday, testing it out to make sure it all feels good.
Had planned on biking to DVOA at Hibernia tonight, but my left knee was very sore on Tuesday morning after soccer, so I think I'll leave it at this and save everything for the MSAR this weekend.
Had planned on biking to DVOA at Hibernia tonight, but my left knee was very sore on Tuesday morning after soccer, so I think I'll leave it at this and save everything for the MSAR this weekend.
Monday Jun 17, 2019 #
7 PM
Soccer 40:00 [5]
Coworker convinced me to join a men's summer league at USTC. Surprisingly not very sore after playing a full 40 minutes in big time humidity.
Sunday Jun 16, 2019 #
11 AM
Road Bike 1:49:58 [5] 34.0 mi (3:14 / mi)
Ride from home to KOP and back on the CVT. Beautiful day out, busy trail. Beat my goal of 2 hrs for the ride; I was pushing very hard. Strava app kept pausing, so I had to play with it to get the ride recorded.