Training Log Archive: glewis

Stubborn Mule with Cliff and Kate.

More to come, but here's the short version:

I loved Wisconsin.
I hated Wisconsin.
I re-learned to love Wisconsin.

Long version:

When the idea was first raised in the spring, I jumped at the idea of getting to Wisconsin for a summer race, bolstered by the fact that it would be a great dry run navigationally for nationals. It was easy to get permission to attend, once I learned that the secret was to ask Rebekah and Noah to come along!

The lead-up was not ideal. We drove and camped through Cuyahoga Valley NP, Indiana Dunes NP, and Kegonsa SP, arriving in Washburn exhausted and sore from the trip. The Whites welcomed us into their rental cabin - it was perfect for getting prepped and for Noah and Wilder to become best friends. Pre-race was fine; I had plenty of food and a perfect fit on Starker's bike (I was borrowing for the weekend), but I did have a dead watch battery, which proved to be more frustrating than anything else, as I had to rely on Cliff for time and altitude throughout the race. Nice pre-race dinner at the local bar and got to sleep at a decent hour - the alarms went off at 3:45 and we were off to Mt. Ashwabay for check-in.

The pre-race hour consisted of getting the 3 huge maps sorted out and plotted (made much more difficult by the made-up scale and the lack of UTM lines), routes planned, TA staged by a large pile of trash (the van was being picked up), and ourselves ready to race. After my last few races, it was nice not knowing anyone, as it gave me a little more time to get situated. We started with a van ride to Lake Superior, where we'd be paddling ~15miles to start. Due to a ...misunderstanding... we were randomly assigned a paddle partner. Kevin (the Nine Lives Ninja) turned out to be the perfect partner. New to AR, but incredibly strong and a perfect fit for us. After we fiddled about getting prepped at the start and found our missing epunch, we launched into the water right before 7AM, just after WEDALI and Rib Mountain.

Kate handled the paddle nav perfectly. WEDALI was in sight the entire time, and Rib was a shade behind us throughout. The paddle was beautiful if not basic (stuck to the shoreline), and I only required one pee break! I enjoyed chatting with Kevin and hearing about his start into the sport as well as his insights into American Ninja Warrior. The time flew by, I stayed rather well fueled, and we hit the beach about 3:30 after we put on the water. We TA'd quickly before taking off down the railtrail towards the first trekking section.

I found that I had trouble getting my mind wrapped around the subtle topography on this simple road run, which should have been a sign of things to come. We turned onto a trail towards CP1, where mind should have again noticed that the raging creek that I expected was a simple little stream. After finding CP1, I lead the team on an embarrassing search for CP7, culminating 2 hours later in a panic bearing that took us out to a road near CP2. We were all over the map (and at one point, not even on that any more!) in the worst section of navigation that I've had in at least 4 years. After we found CP2, it got marginally better, as we found CP6 and CP5 before struggling a bit on CP4. After we found 4, I led us again on a wild ride to CP10, which ended with a re-find of CP4. From there we chose to get 10 in a simpler way, get 11, and get out of this section before I retired from racing. Retrospectively I was able to identify the key issues for me on this leg: I was treating the 1:15000 map like a 1:24, I was expecting the 10' contours to be 20', and most importantly I tried to fit my preferred way of navigating into an area that was not at all appropriate for it. I just kept expecting to see huge features, and when I didn't I bulled my way forward refusing to believe that they wouldn't be out there. Two positives were the way that we got re-found a few times, identifying features that we could see and pairing them to the map and also how well we attacked the section as a team. Kate was a phenomenal help, giving me room to figure things out while providing the perfect input at just the right times. Cliff used his keen sense of direction and spatial awareness to let me know where we had been, an area that I struggle greatly with when my nose is in the map. Without those two, I might still be in the woods.

After a long bushwhack towards HQ, we mercifully arrived in TA. We had spent way too many hours on this leg, left 5 points, and we clearly out of contention for any podium spots. Resolved to just continue racing our own race and treating this like a trial run for nationals, we transitioned to bikes and set out on a super fun MTB leg. I had a trail map for the wonderfully groomed trails, and we had to pair it with a list of directions telling us which trails to ride in which order to find 6 CPs. Before we started, Mari Chandler had mentioned to me that the longest trail contained only 1 CP, so it seemed like a logical point to drop for us. We moved efficiently throughout. These trails were absolutely phenomenal, maybe the best that I've ever ridden. Personally, I most enjoyed the tailor-made technical uphills, which were specifically designed to be climbed. Cliff definitely enjoyed the downhills - I could hear his excitement.

We pulled back into HQ after 2:15ish, ready to trek around Mt. Ashwabay, this time on an aerial photograph. It took a short bit to get oriented while finding CP13, but after that it was smooth all of the way around, with the exception of a small bobble on CP15. I was happy to have sorted it out quicker than MAD S who was with us, and we punched through the rest of the section without issue, gaining confidence and speed as we traveled.

We TA'd to bikes again as darkness fell, and we began our leg with a bike push straight up the ski slope. It could have been much worse, and we arrived at the top soon after we began. From there, we had to make our way to BP1 on the XC ski trails. We were mostly efficient, arriving a the gravel roads behind the skill mountain smoothly. We passed about 4 teams on the way to BP2 and then the remote TA at Valhalla, right near our cabin, where we changed to trekking. It wasn't the quickest, but it was tough to pedal on the soft sandy trails and we did rather well considering.

The TA at Valhalla was a bit more deliberate. Rain had begun to fall on the ride, so we took advantage of the building there to get ourselves set for what appeared to be a tough section of night nav. Thankfully the map featured a number of trails that we could use for covering ground quickly while also staying found. We heard that WEDALI had finished this section in just over 3 hours, having daylight for their first 3 CPs. I had a 1:15 for this, and we also got Kate set up with the 1:20. This was critical, and we realized that it was a large oversight from the opening trek. We worked expertly together, bouncing ideas back and forth while moving clockwise through the course. The only bobble was CP28, which was placed in a tricky reentrant without a real bottom or top. I was pretty tired at that point, but once I snapped myself back into it we hit it without issue. I also struggled with some back chafing on the lower back that was caused by my pack. We finished the leg in just under 4 hours. Using a co-navigator like this was a great experience - I really enjoyed learning some of the tricks that Kate honed in terrain like this.

We finished with the sun rising, and decided to drop 3 of the bike points before heading home. Decisions like this are easy when you've already dropped points on the course. We took the long bike route home so that we could stop by the cabin and leave a little rock heart on the porch. We arrived back at HQ without issue, but we had been a little slower on the bike that we'd hoped - the sloppy sand was no fun.

We TA'd slowly before setting out on this big section. We only had the supplemental, but I was feeling incredibly confident now. Once again, it took a few minutes to get oriented, but once we did I was able to get us around the course really efficiently, with only a slight bobble on CP32. Once we got to CP36, we decided to cut it short. We had juuuust enough time, but CP37 looked to be the toughest, and we figured that the singular point didn't matter. We backtracked to get 41 and 42, but decided to drop 39, hoping to end the race on a high note and get back before Kate suffered more from her suddenly-boiling stomach. We finished with Noah and Wilder just at noon, 29 hours after we started.

The race was certainly not what I had hoped for in terms of results, but it was better than I could have asked for in terms of learning about this race organization as well as the terrain. I adored my teammates; it'd been a long time coming for us to race together, and it was well worth it. Despite the frustration early on, I'm really excited and ready for Nationals!!

C • For those who care... 7

Saying goodbye to Indiana Dunes with a walk around Miller Woods at the Douglas Education Center. This park (and the surrounding towns) has been eerily empty all 3 days, and this no exception. But the park ranger gave Noah a personal tour of the building and let him feed the turtles! The walk outside was highlighted by a few beaver dams and Noah getting a colossal load of bird poop dropped on him.

Walk around the Chicago Riverwalk ending with a deep dish pizza. Nice city - Noah loved it!

Wonderful walk around the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. Noah has declared this his favorite city. The rain was frustrating but didn't deter us.

We arrived at Indiana Dunes last night with time only for witnessing a perfect sunset over Lake Michigan. We started today with a trip to the state park and a short hike that goes to the top of the 3 highest dunes. Noah was in heaven with the sand, so much so that he made it a 4 dune challoby descending unnecessarily to visit the lake. The walk was easier once I took off my shoes. Strenuous for what it was.

A post-lunch trek to the beach at Mt Baldy. Hard to describe how happy Noah is to be in the sand. He logged twice the distance that I did. We only turned around due to some sprinkles and a dog that tried to eat my child.

Beautiful hike around Cowles Bog. Odd weather: I put on a long sleeve about 10 minutes in and later was roasting on some open areas. Noah did very well but got tired and silly. I really enjoyed this area.

One last item to finish off our busy day at Indiana Dunes. Bailly Homestead and Chellburg Farm. Noah once again enjoyed himself. Really neat terrain today. From dunes to beaches to bogs to what felt like the Pennsylvania woods!

Nice walk at the Ledges. Cool morning after a cold night in our shelter at the Christmas tree farm. The rocks were amazing, and Noah had a super fun time. A park ranger recommended each of these and they were all fantastic. To top it off, Noah become a junior park ranger.

First stop on the family road trip to Wisconsin...Cuyahoga Valley! We hiked the Brandywine Falls trail. Forgot to start the recording, so this is an estimate. Beautiful trek.

Casual stroll at Beaver Marsh. No beavers, but a snapping turtle, two muskrats, and plenty of birds.