against the odds

No, not the sappy Phil Collins song.

That's just how I feel about our performance after we won our most recent adv race despite making several mistakes that I thought WOULD have cost us the race.
Thankfully, we didn't have to travel too far for this one. The next race in the Blue Hills adventure Race series took us to Smithville Lake which us Trail Nerds have trained on before and I've raced this park last year. It was projected to be about 93 degrees with a heat index of around 110. In reality, the temp got up to 102 ACTUAL temperature later that day, but it didn't hurt anyone too badly. We had a puker, and someone stopped sweating halfway through her race, but other than that, most everyone hydrated pretty well and I didn't even notice the heat. The rude locals were harder to deal with than the heat, but that's just another part of the challenge in an adventure race.
After the pre-race meeting, everyone started off running down a short road toward an open grassy area strewn with ziplock bags with race numbers on them. These contained maps and the directions we were to follow for the race. After getting these we returned to the Transition Area and got on our bikes. We were warned/advised to take our running shoes with us on the bike leg. Of course I listened to this part due to some past mistakes. Certainly I wouldn't make it again...
We got about a minute and a half into the trails when I realized that in our transition rush, I in fact DID NOT strap my running shoes to my camelback! Not wanting to risk it this time, we turned around and headed back to the transition area to retrieve my running shoes and then continued on the first mountain biking section. We lost what seemed like about 3 or 4 minutes on this mental error, but it was probably only maybe 2 mins. Still, it wasn't good for our mental state so early in the race.
We hammered pretty hard on these trails passing what was a mostly courteous field, but once we got to the front few teams we had a little harder time passing them and their egoes. We did about 4-5 miles in the trails on the bike punching checkpoints along the way when the map brought us to a second Transition Area (TA2).
From here, we were instructed to drop the bikes and proceed on foot through the next four checkpoints. This portion was approximately 4 miles. The heat didn't really bother me, but for some reason, I was having a hard time catching my breath on this part and consequently, was running much slower than I wanted. Still, we didn't get caught by any other teams and we also caught the final (lead) team back at the Transition Area as we got back on the bikes. They took off a little before us, but we eventually caught them in the trails and left them behind. From here, we rode another 3 or 4 miles back to the start/Transition Area 1 for our next set of instructions. We received a special test telling us to run the half-mile down the road out of the park to a "General Store". Here we were to use 4 quarters that was in our ziplock bag to purchase an item (less than a dollar) and bring that item, the receipt, and any change back to the race officials. Shane picked up some sunflower seeds and we were out and on our way. This was a quick mile run and we were in the store for just at a minute.














Once back in the Transition Area, we had to get a kayak 2 paddles and 2 PFDs and head down to the kayak put in point on the lake. There were 3 check points to hit during this leg and although we saw several teams enter the water after us, we were well enough ahead that was never any threat of getting caught. After having raced together in several of these, Shane and I work well together in the inflatable boats and as long as it stays inflated, we normally gain ground of the rest of the field while paddling.
After exiting the water, we had to portage the boat, paddles and PFDs back to the TA and get our next special test.
This test was a word/number game with a set of 10 instructions for doing simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to get certain letters from their corresponding numbers. If you followed the directions carefully, it was very easy and we blew through it quickly spelling our words (appropriately enough) "the winner".
After this we were handed another set of instructions stating that the FINAL mountain bike leg would take us east in the park along some paved trail approximately 3 miles to the last checkpoint. Thankfully, Shane had a functional computer on his bike and he clocked the mileage. During this ride, my legs began to tire. When we hit the three mile mark, Shane let me know so we both started to keep an eye out for the checkpoint. After passing it and turning around, we saw it lying on the ground. I thought this to be odd since they're normally hanging securely from a tree in plain sight. We approached it and Shane grabbed the punch to punch our control card. I mentioned that we should probably hang it back up in the tree since I assumed it had fallen by accident when we both smelled this horrible stench of feces! After asking my teammate if he was feeling alright, we noticed that someone had intentionally ripped the checkpoint down and then did their own business on it! HOW RUDE! We were able to avoid the mess and still got the CP hung back up in the tree so that other teams didn't pass it like we did.
I don't mind helping out other teams, but I'm glad that others benefitting from our misfortune didn't cost us any placement in the race.
After this last punch on the control card, we rode the final three miles back to the Finish line with huge smiles on our faces. This race was a great win for us as we had to overcome several obstacles and some mental errors. This really helps build confidence.
Tonight, I think I'll do a recovery run of about 6-7 easy miles with the KC Track club. Then it's back to training as usual.

shaking off the vacation cob webs...

I'm a little behind with this, but here's a summary. The week after we got back from our Colorado trip was hectic preparing for going to Orlando and catching up on work, getting a sick cat back to health, and a few other things. Then we headed down South to our previous home in Orlando, FL where WE are now the tourists! :-D The trip went ok but we spent way too much money. :-( I got in 2 runs and 2 light workouts while there so maybe that prevented me from gaining a full 20 pounds. My sister ran with me once and during that, I realized how much I'd missed the heat and the humidity. Of course you all think it sounds crazy, but I really do like the humidity! It's comforting and I LOVE to sweat. The heat is comforting and feels good to me. No insanity comments necessary: I think that's already been established, but I'm just different.
Anyway, tonight, I'm going to run with the road running group and then hit the trails tomorrow night for a full session of biking and then running with the group. Looking forward to that. I've missed it for a while!
A little off topic, but still something I find interesting... a few weeks ago, I was riding with some local mtn bikers and afterwards we were all discussing some of the things that make us different with regard to how we feel about the equipment we use. One of the guys said that he orders stuff often, but keeps it on the shelves. He's neurotic about using it and doesn't want to wear it out so he keeps brand new stuff around often without even using it. One of the other guys said that he can't race on something unless it's been ridden on hard for at least several months. He doesn't wash his bike and rarely lubes it. He does MINIMAL maintanence on it and is afraid to race on new parts for fear of the unknown. I, on the other hand, am still different from the former two. Often I obsess that my components are worn out, broken, mal-adjusted (freudian slip?) or otherwise just not right. Consequently, I am constantly tweaking/adjusting my bike and am psyching myself out during a race that I'm not as fast as my mind wants me to be because my bike isn't operating at peak performance! This is probably a lot more common than we all realize, but I thought it was interesting how two guys/riders/fellow racers that I admire and respect also have somewhat irrational (neurotically motivational?) fears just as I do. One other difference is that they win often and I'm usually finishing in the top 5 so MY fears are probably justified! ;-)

Forgot to add...

During our trip to CO, I forgot to mention what a great time we all had going white water rafting on the Arkansas River. Our guide was great and since it was the first time for Allison and myself, it was quite an adventure for us.

Leadville Marathon

Most of my friends who understand what I do for fun think I'm crazy. My family, who doesn't understand what I do for fun, just thinks that I like to run 5k or 10k races. They have a hard time grasping the adventure part of the races that I do. I don't find a whole lot of adventure in your average 5k or 10k road run. That's why I take most of my running and biking off road and in the trails whenever possible.
Since moving to Kansas, I have enjoyed being part of a trail running group that has inspired me and motivated me to run distances that I've never considered before. Earlier this year I took part in two 50k (31+ miles) trail runs and enjoyed them immensely. Running on the roads, I had never done more than a ½ marathon (13.1 miles) at one time before. In trail running we reguarly do fun runs over 12 miles and it's easier on the body than doing 7 or 8 miles on the road. Even though I had already done the 50k runs, I had never just done a marathon. So I decided to go ahead and do one and get that under my belt.
Considering my love for adventure and trail running, a road marathon just didn't seem like a fun option. So when looking for a trail marathon, the options are a bit fewer since most organized trail runs are set up for ultra (50k and higher) distances. Being the tech weenie that I am, I immediately began using the internet to help me search for a trail marathon. When I discovered the one in Leadville, CO, I thought that sounded like a good idea because I've heard of Leadville before with regard to the Leadville Trail 100. I thought to myself, “how hard could it be? I've already done longer runs”. I guess I have a knack for underestimating things or over estimating myself.
Allison and I arrived in Leadville a day and half before the race started to try and get acclimated to the altitude. Please bear in mind that living in Kansas City (800 feet above sea level) doesn't afford me the opportunity to do much altitude training. My adventure race teammate, Shane also decided to this marathon. He and I decided to do a short warm up run on Friday while exploring part of the course. We quickly realized the race was going to hurt more than we thought, but hey, I love challenging adventures right? So instead of fearing the potential pain, I embraced it and was looking forward to it.
Leadville is at 10,000 feet elevation and this marathon course would take us up to the top of Mosquito Pass at 13,200 feet elevation, with lots more big ups and downs in between. This was a very well organized and supported race and about 360 people participated in it or the Heavy Half Marathon. We began promptly at 8 am on the road leading up into the mountains. The first and last ¾ of a mile contains the only asphalt that you encounter during this run. The rest is all dirt and rock with much of it being gravel roads and some of it being single track. Getting into a regular rhythm is almost impossible during this race due to the constantly changing incline. The first 3.2 miles is all up hill with only a short respite of downhill after the first aide station. After the short downhill, we resumed climbing which lead us above the timberline, through some snow patches, and around Ball Mountain. Coming down from Ball Mountain there was quite a bit of downhill, (approximately 4.3 miles) and even though this gave your hamstrings and calves some rest, the downhill exhaust your quads. After another aide station, we began the long and torturous climb up Mosiqito Pass. At the base of Mosiqito Pass, a fellow runner told me his Garmin was reading 11,100 feet elevation. This meant that over the next 3.1 miles, we would be gaining about 2,100 feet of elevation, it felt like 5,000. Although the scenery was breathtaking, the switchbacks up the side of the mountain seemed endless and the footing on the trail was not entirely stable. The higher we got, the temperture kept dropping causing me to put on gloves and a hat. I had also brought a light weight Go-Lite top just in case the weather got really bad. Near the summit of Mosiqito Pass to say that breathing was labored would be an understatement. I couldn't get enough air to keep my brain happy much less my screaming and exhausted muscles. The peak of Mosiqito Pass was the halfway/turnaround point of the marathon, so I knew what I had to look forward to for the rest of the run. More climbing for a downhill finish. A few times during the run I actually got very lightheaded but I never got dizzy so I was able to push through it. After downing three gels already, I decided my body needed somethimg more substantial to get me through this run, so at the aide station at the base of Mosiqito Pass, I shoved down a half of a banana and continued on. It was right after this (between mile 16 & 17) that I started really hurting. The balls of my feet were getting tenderized from all the sharp rocks on the downhills and turning my legs over step after step was getting harder and harder due to the lack of oxygen to use whatever energy I may have had in my body. Between miles 18 and 22, I just wanted to sit down or lie down and wait for some other runners to come along and encourage me. I never did though because I knew that stopping would probably end up being more than just temporary. During the run, I was able to slow down enough several times to take some pictures of the beautiful scenery. After reaching the last aid station, I knew that I just had a 3.4 mile downhill run remaining to the finish. Even though I love the fun downhill stuff, every step of this last part was painful. Although I am going to loose the toenail on my second toe of my right foot (again), I didn't get any blisters. The last ¾ of a mile on the pavement to the finish hurt worse than the trails (stupid asphalt) but no matter how bad I wanted to, I couldn't walk it, I had to finish strong. So to the cheers of my favorite cheerleader (my wife), I strided across the finish line full of pride. Mentally, this was very challenging and physically it was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I'm glad I did it and would recommend it to anyone.
While out there, Shane and I got the chance to do some biking. That was a lot of fun. Dinner at Wynkoop's brewery was excellent as was their beer. We also took the families to see a Colorado Rockies Game on July 4th. It had an hour and a half rain delay but after the rain, the Rockies finished beating the SF Giants and then we got to see one of the best fireworks shows I've ever been to! All in all, it was a very fun trip.

Lighter but not slimmer?

The last few days have been pretty hectic. Last weekend, (Saturday morning) the Trail Nerds had the first in the series of trail races. I didn't do this one, but instead decided to help out with timing, pictures and course clean up afterwards since Shane and I were doing another adventure race on Sunday. After the race I went home, showered, packed up, picked up Shane and headed up to Lincoln, NE for our race on Sunday. We stayed with fellow trail and ultra runner Rick Hoopes. He and his wife generously hosted us at their place so we didn't have such a long drive to make the day of the race.
The adventure race was fun and we were happy with our third place finish until we realized that we only came in behind the second place team by a minute and a half. We could EASILY have done better if we didn't have to stop and change two flat tires and air them up another two times during the race. THAT was frustrating.
Even WITH the third place finish, we still retained the series lead in the points standings. I'd normally have a race report done for this by now, but I have way too much going on to do one of those at the moment.
Today after work, Allison and I are headed to Leadville, CO. We're meeting Shane and his wife Brandi there. We'll stop in Highlands Ranch so I can work on Thursday before continuing on to Leadville for our marathon on Saturday. While out there, we're going to try to get in some biking and maybe even attempt a fourteener if we have time.

In all of the preparations, training, helping, racing, and working, I haven't weighed myself in a while. I know this may not seem significant to most of you, but I had put on 25+ lbs a while back and have been working on getting it off the healthy way for the past year. When I first came to KC from Orlando, I was just over 165 lbs and am happy to say that I'm FINALLY back down to 133 as of this morning! It's been hovering between 137 and 140 for a while but I guess the race last weekend helped me get that last 4-5 lbs off! Now I just need to get in the gym and get the body composition back to a more respectable level and maybe I'll be racing stronger! Peoples' reactions to hearing about my weight is funny because first, they can't believe that I'm that light now (I look 140-150) and they can't imagine that I was ever 165+. Maybe it's because of my frame I hold weight proportionately or maybe I just wore baggier clothes, but either way, nobody but me ever really noticed.

Adventure Racing: What it is and why I do it

Even amongst mountain bikers, trail runners, and multi-sport athletes, I often get asked "What is an adventure race?" It seems everyone knows what a triathlon is, (although most NON-triathletes automatically think of Ironman) but relatively few people know what an adventure race is. My usual response is that an adventure race is like an off-road triathlon, but instead of the traditional swim, bike, run, the events are trail running, mountain biking, and kayaking (in no particular order) with special tests or mystery events throughout the race. As with triathlons, there are varying distances, but this is pretty much where the similarities end.

Triathlons usually consist of a sprint, olympic distance, half-ironman, or ironman distance, but the disciplines and order of events are always (borishly in my opinion) consistent. Swim - transition - Bike - transition - Run. Triathlons are a great way to motivate some people to stay healthy and they're a decent measure of fitness, but they are also a decent way to get people to push themselves physically and mentally more than they otherwise might in their daily routines or hobbies.

Adventure Racing not only incorporates these physical disciplines, it also adds several other dimensions like scenery, interacting with the varying terrains, mental/intellectual challenges, team building skills, and an unpretentious comraderie amongst competitors that is hard to find in triathletes. I know this from first-hand experience. Many adventure racers were once triathletes that (like myself) made the cross over and stuck with it after discovering how much there is to love about it.

There are no prerequisites to be an adventure racer other than having a love of life and wanting to have fun. There are a few solo ARs, but most are team events consisting of 2, 3, or 4 person teams. The rules for adventure racing are simple. During the race, teammates must stay together and complete each event as a team. This is for safety as well as a necessity for completing the race successfully. Racers must respect the land they're racing on and practice the "Leave no trace" philosophy. During ARs, competitors cannot receive assistance from spectators or anyone outside the race, but MAY get help from other racers. This happens frequently and is sometimes necessary to complete a race. The "special tests/mystery events" can be anything from orienteering/navigation, an obstacle course, completing a run while zip-tied to your teammate at the wrist, crawling through a mud pit, solving a rubix cube, guessing a movie from clues, solving a sudoku puzzle, hitting paintball targets, or various other mental and physical challenges.

Hopefully, this gives at least a basic understanding of what adventure racing is. That being said, hopefully you'll want to get involved in one some day.

Happy Trails!

I don't lern too good

You'd think I'd learn more as I get older. Not necessarily the case. I keep finding new mistakes or new ways of making the same old mistakes. What would really help is if I could be consistent enough (in training, diet, and pretty much everything) to learn how to recover correctly and/or completely. That's such a necessary part of training, but still not a part that I'm embracing very well. After taking off thursday and Friday last week after Wednesday's fiasco, I went for a bike ride on Saturday with a couple of guys. One was the current mountain biking champion of Missouri and the other is a phenomenal rider who used to work for and ride for Manitou. He also wins many of the area bike races so I knew I'd be in for a workout. Riding with these guys is fun and makes me better. I was really hoping others would show up for this ride to help keep the pace down, but it ended up just being the three of us. I held my own and dont' think I held them up too much, but I also had to hold back a bit as I knew I was going to TRY to do 2 loops at Wyco on Sunday. Didn't matter. I let my pride get the best of me and used my quads harder than I should've on the ride and felt it on Sunday's run. My knee is also bothering me a little worse now. It was feeling a bit better most of last week so this has me concerned.
The next three weekends are all race weekends with the first (this Saturday & Sunday) being the first in the Trail Nerds Trail run series. As soon as that's over, Shane and I head up to Lincoln, NE for our next Adventure Race on Sunday. THEN, we leave next Thursday morning for Leadville, CO where we'll be doing the Leadville Marathon and the weekend after that is another adventure race. Hope my knee holds out because my confidence in my training isn't.

Overtraining?

Wednesday night runs are usually pretty easy ones for me. Those are the pot-luck dinner runs that are hosted at a different person's home each week and the host provides the route and the main dish. Every one else brings their appetite and a side dish and it's usually a laid back pace allowing us to see different parts of Kansas City and the surrounding areas.
This past one, I was coming off two (relatively) fast runs on Monday night and Tuesday night back to back after running 11 on Sunday. I had planned on doing about 7-8 on Wed nite and since I knew the route, I felt comfortable with it. Starting out, my legs immediately felt like I had done a HARD bike ride that day (which I had not) and took them a while to get warmed up. Even once they did warm up, they still didn't get much energy to them. I was struggling to keep up a medium pace with the lead guys and eventually fell off. I told myself that it was alright and I'd just run my own pace to finish. Didn't happen. After the turn around point, I did one more mile and had to walk it back. Did about 4.5 or 5 miles running and did the final 2 or 2.5 walking! My legs HURT the rest of the evening. So I had to take Thursday off even though I REALLY wanted to hit the newly remodeled Psycho Wyco trails on our thursday night runs. Shane and I want to do 2 laps this weekend at Wyco to get in at least 20 miles of hills, and I think I'll be ok for that, but I'm also thinking about riding Clinton lake on Saturday with the guys from Cowtown cycling. If I do that, I may not have enough left for Wyco on Sunday. I guess all this rambling leads me to conclude that eight years of racing STILL has not taught me how to balance pushing it to get stronger without hurting myself by overtraining. I HATE this because it makes me feel like such a friggin weakling!

Fun but short weekend

Allison and I headed out to Eden, UT for a wedding reception of some friends of ours. While there, I got to go for a great bike ride and an awesome mountain run in the Wasatch mountains as well as getting to party with our friends. The weather was gorgeous. 70s and low 80s during the day and 40s at night. They still have a LOT of snow on the ground and Brighton (the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon) even got a foot of fresh snow on Memorial Day weekend before climbing back up into the 80s again. Strange weather, but it sure is beautiful!
One of the friends we stayed with is a Doctor and after talking with him about some of my knee troubles, we've pretty much concluded that I have a bruised Meniscus in my right knee. Not too threatening, but it is a bit uncomfortable and if not allowed to heal, it could lead to worse. Somehow, I have to find a way to get in some longer runs this month in preparation for the Leadville Marathon on July 1st while still somehow taking it easy on my right knee. Looks like lots of ice and anti-inflamatory stuff is in order.

3...2...Won!

Shane and I headed down to the 3rd in the series of the adventure races ready to vindicate ourselves for the missed opportunity in the last race. He stayed at our place the night before and getting to bed a little after midnight, we got just under 3 hours sleep before getting up at 3 to make the 4 hour drive to the race. Allison and I had JUST arrived back home that evening from El Paso from partying with a friend of mine after he graduated from Seargents Major Academy so we were already exhausted and a little dehydrated if you know what I mean.

The drive down to Camp Horizon was just under 4 hours from Kansas City, but several teams made the worthwhile trek. Camp Horizon is a Methodist owned and operated Church camp with some great trails and fantastic scenery. They were also very accommodating in allowing us to use their bathrooms and showers. This is a very clean and well kempt camp and next year, we’ll probably stay down there in the cabins the day before the race instead of driving down the morning of.

This time, we had several new faces among the racers so Clay pleaded with everyone to pay attention to the directions in the pre-race meeting. Some did, some didn’t. Due to past mistakes, Shane and I made sure that we listened for his guidance as to whether or not we needed to take our running shoes with us during the bike leg. No mention of it. WHEW!

Everyone started off running from the start. The beginning run was short but immediately difficult as it made use of the fairly dramatic terrain. There were sections of the trail that had us bouldering down rock ledge drop-offs that had ladders bolted to them for our use if necessary. Shane and I threw caution to the wind in our frenzy to stay on top that we went off the rock drop-offs and saved some time. The footing was very tricky sometimes, but being the avid trail runners that we are, our training ensured us sure footedness. Once down in a river canyon, we hit a double-wide gravel trail for about a half-mile leading us to some waiting race staff with kayaks.

The kayak leg should be considered more of a special test rather than a paddling event because the river was so low that paddling in it was impossible in most places. This had everyone portaging the boats, paddles, and PFDs UPriver to the next two checkpoints. The sandbars were full of the coarse, gritty sand that filled everyone’s shoes and socks and made for an uncomfortable run/walk/jog experience for many. After hitting the second checkpoint with the boats, we were able to get in the water to paddle back downstream somewhat for about 10 minutes until the low water forced everyone to finish portaging back to the start of the kayak section where we GLADLY turned in our rubber duckies and paddles.

Once done with that, we proceeded back up the canyon walls to the transition area (TA1). Going down was much easier than up for obvious reasons, but also because the trail markings were easier to follow when descending. Heading back up, it was difficult at times to see which way the trail led and a couple of teams went slightly astray here.

Once back in the TA, Shane and I were in about 7^th or 8^th place. NOT where we wanted to be, but we were still feeling good and knew that pacing ourselves and using our experience would eventually pay off. Upon entering the TA, we were told to read the instructions that Clay was handing out. A circuit drill type of course was set up and getting to each, we had to alternate doing the human wheelbarrow and then complete each task detailed at the stations. The first had us doing 25 pushups each. On to the next station, we completed 25 sit-ups. Then we had to alternate the wheelbarrow to the next station where we were to complete 25 squat-thrusts. And finally, we finished up with 30 jumping jacks before doing the wheelbarrow back to the start point.

Although each of these tasks was in itself not too hard, altogether, it was very tiring to do while adrenaline was already going and trying to stay competitive. Nothing like having an intense little workout DURING a race!

After completing our circuit drills, we were handed a card in which we were to write a minimum of a 30 word thank you to one of the race sponsors. Shane and I had the privilege of writing to World Multisport for their involvement in helping these races take place. Unfortunately, I don’t think my handwriting was very legible at the time, but hopefully, they’ll get the sincerity that Shane and I both felt while writing these thank you cards.

Once the cards were completed and verified by a wonderful volunteer race official (my wife), we headed out to complete the running course. The run had us in a maze of trails cris-crossing each other in ways that could’ve been frustrating if you didn’t follow the markers. During the run, our instructions were to find four poker chips of different colors. There were red, blue, green, and white ones and if the trail was followed as marked, you eventually came to each. If you tried to take a short cut, the resulting time loss and frustration ruined some pretty athletic teams’ chances of finishing higher than they did.

The maze of a run eventually led us back to the TA where we were given directions with maps and were on our bikes. Since there was again no mention of needing the running shoes during the bike section, I didn’t take them. Shane did, but I opted not to. Luckily, we DIDN’T need them so this time, we were on track. Almost… As soon as we got to the trailhead which was only about a half mile from the TA, Shane realized that he’d left our punch card at the TA and headed back to get it. At this point, we were still in about 5^th or 6^th place and the other teams had been in the trails ahead of us for several minutes. We knew we’d really have to hammer hard on the bike if we were to have a chance of making the top 3 or 4. The map we had just had the trail marked on it with no scale to help identify how long it would be. Shane and I hit it pretty hard and it was here that we’d hunt down the rest of the field. I love the rough stuff and my bike shows it. It usually takes most of the punishment, but I ride hard in training so I know what it can take. The trail was very technical in some parts and hilly. So much so that many teams (including us) had to walk some of them. The combination of hills and technical rock gardens on the trail made for slow going for some of the teams. Due to varying levels of technical ability in the teams, we were able to fairly quickly catch up to, and overtake most of the teams before the halfway mark. Some strong riders had some unfortunate mechanical difficulties which took them out of contention. The trails took a toll on everyone in one way or another. At one point the trails doubled back on itself 3 or 4 times for long sections between checkpoints and Clay made it very clear before the race that we had to get the punch cards punched IN ORDER for this part to ensure that nobody had an unfair advantage in case they knew the course. This worked in our favor because we did NOT know the course, but the hours of hard technical running and riding paid off for us in a big way. For this race, our dominant technical skills on the mountain bike is what enabled us to take control of the race. Once out of the treacherous rock gardens, the trail led us up a BIG lung busting hill on a gravel road then put us back into the trail maze we had previously run on. Once again, following the markers made it easier to navigate and after punching the last two checkpoints, it led us out and back to the TA for the finish.

During this race, I think several lessons were learned by many teams. I saw one team lose their punch card in the river during the kayak leg. I yelled it out to them and they recovered it, but had everyone else kept silent, their race would have been over too soon. Several other teams learned the importance of following the course AS MARKED and hopefully, will listen carefully to the helpful pre-race meeting instructions. WE learned from now (purely by accident) to always keep the person with the punch card in the front. That way, if he or she drops it, the following teammate has a chance to see it and recover it. Hope this tip helps someone out in the future.

Straining training

Ever since the race on Sunday, I've had a little soreness in the back of my right knee. Did a short 3.5 mile recovery run on Monday night and then went out on Tuesday night with the Trail Nerds in some muddy conditions. During the slippery run, I had a couple of mis-steps that I think may have torqued the knee slightly, but didn't feel any immediate pain and we were in a pretty decent groove at the time, so I didn't think anything about it. Once I got home, it started tightening up and hurting pretty bad and by Wednesday morning I had a hard time moving around. I could put weight on it, but it hurt to bend the leg (curl it upwards) and stairs were tough. Thursday morning, I went to see my Dr. and she said that she didn't think anything was torn, but she did think I have a pretty good strain of something. She said to rest and ice it for a few days and take it easy once I started back with the activity. TAKE IT EASY??? I have another adventure race coming up and need to train harder to get stronger. This is frustrating, but necessary for the long run I guess.

Live and Learn (or keep making the same mistakes - your choice) stupidstupidstupidstupidstupidstupid...

Shane and I had another Adventure Race on Sunday and it was a pretty exciting race day. It had been raining most of the week prior to the race and was drizzling lightly the morning of, but the precip stopped by start time. We knew it would be muddy and were hoping it would work in our favor being that our workout runs with the Trail Nerds are often muddy.
The pre-race meeting included most of the usual safety stuff and the thanking of the sponsors etc. but also included ANOTHER warning to carry our running shoes with us during the biking leg of the race. I'm not sure what's wrong with me that would lead me to dismiss such advice with so cavalier an attitude. We made this mistake in the last race and paid the price. Didn't hurt us TOO much (still finished 2nd) but we definitely could've benefitted from having our running shoes during the bike leg last time. So did we learn our lesson THIS time! Well, I refer you back to the title of this blog...
After everyone lined up at the starting line, the race director, Clay, gave some last minute directions. One teammember from each team had to grab a kayak paddle which we would carry with us for the duration of the race. We were instructed NOT to disassemble it and if it was returned broken or damaged, we'd be assessed a BIG time penalty. Hmmmm.... oh well. Not too bad I guess. The paddle was light and only a little cumbersome. Then, instead of starting us off with a gunshot, he said GO into a radio and without giving us any instructions as to where to go, we were to follow the sound of a distant air horn. We all ran in the direction we had heard it which led us to a nearby picnic area of the park and all the teams received a sudoku puzzle. My teammate Shane had never done one of these and had no idea what it was about. I had limited exposure to them, but understood the basics of it so we got started right away. It took us about 7 or 8 minutes to complete it and we then had it checked by the race staff before proceeding on to the kayak leg. If we didn't do the puzzle or did it wrong, the teams were assessed a standing 15 minute penalty. Some of the strongest teams were still standing on the shore by their boats due to this penalty when we started out on our paddle. At this point there were 5 other teams ahead of us. No biggie.
We made good time on the kayak and put ourselves into second place coming out of that event. The next special test made us peel and eat a banana without using our hands. It's tougher than it sounds and makes for some interesting pictures.
We then had to change into our bike gear and head out on the bike course (kayak paddle in hand) to get the next few checkpoints. THIS is where we should've carried our trail shoes with us. Brain fart #1!
We quickly passed the lead team while on the bikes and when heading back towards another checkpoint, we misread the directions and headed back to the transition area. Made a left instead of a right taking us out towards a dam and our next event. Brain Fart #2. We quickly realized our mistake and only went about a mile off course, but this lost us about 5 minutes of our lead. When we got back to the original point where we made the wrong turn, we could see the second and third place teams on our heels.
Getting to the dam and the next event (trail run) we were all back together again. The top three teams entered the trail run at the same time except Shane and I had to run it in our bike shoes. (Consequence of Brain fart #1) We had no idea how far it would be and it was very muddy and hilly. The 5 miles seemed like much farther, but eventually, when we made it out, we were well in 3rd place. Biking back to the Transition area/finish line, we hammered as hard as we could on the bike making up a little ground, but the damage had already been done. We finished up 1 minute behind the second place team and 7 minutes behind the winners to take the third spot in a race we SHOULD HAVE WON!
These little mental errors may happen again in the future, but it won't be the SAME ones again. This I promise you. For the next race, I have renewed determination to vindicate our team!

Coping?

Over the last few days, I've wanted to blog about several things, but haven't. I want to be clear when I write about something, and I want it to be meaningful, so I struggle with what to blog and what not to. So I guess I'll just lay out what's been on my mind lately.
Dealing with the loss of our baby has been another hardship that many have to endure in life. It hurts, and strangely enough, it brings out other insecurities that we have, but it isn't insurmountable. We all have to learn how to deal with disappointments in life, but some are harder to swallow than others. Of course most of us come to the realization that we'll not be rich beyond our wildest dreams and our jobs may not even be what we'd like, but we find a way to move on anyway. We also may wonder "what if..." about many things in our past, but most normal functional adults find happiness in other things and try not to dwell on the disappointments in life. Lately, I've been wondering about some of my priorities in life and why I do what I do. Exercising is a smart thing to do because it's a stress reliever and the elevated heartrates are good for my heart and metabolism, etc... Then there's the competitive aspect of what I do. To really be competitive, I have to put in more hours of training and train harder I do for "maintenance" workouts and this takes away time from other things in my life. As I get older, it becomes more of a problem as other things move up on the priority list. This is frustrating because I don't feel I'm satisfied with my performance(s) in competitions. I don't know if I'll ever be completely satisfied and that scares me. It's easier to resolve myself to things I know I'll never have, but the things that ARE attainable, but are just out of reach (or seem to be) are starting to wear on my patience and tranquility. Once, I heard happiness defined as "Being content with what you have while working towards what you want." But what if you never achieve what you want? Then what?
Settling for mediocrity makes me so ill to my core that I find it intolerable. Especially for myself, but I find myself compromising all the time. Yeah everyone has to deal with this in life, but I HATE knowing that I've wasted potential.