tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41748818542679902272024-03-13T18:28:53.973-05:00Emily KorschEmily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-44679340545829774842018-05-21T13:31:00.000-05:002018-05-21T14:27:08.190-05:00Race Report: 2018 MISSION 18hr ARI haven't written a race report in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0H6R7xRytk">for...ev...er</a>, but the Adventure Racing Cooperative's new <a href="https://www.arcooperative.org/racereportlist">Race Report Library</a> inspired me to put some thoughts down on the recent <a href="http://www.dinoseries.com/mission-18-hour-race/">2018 MISSION 18-hour Adventure Race</a> hosted by DINO. In case you don't have time to read, DINO has commissioned a really cool race recap video, which you can see here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy08mE8v97Q&feature=youtu.be">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy08mE8v97Q&feature=youtu.be</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UiIu-ZICFhI/WwMDQYCP3OI/AAAAAAAAOh4/KeIi7FUWcmQtSUMc-azZpukPCN-jfMf5ACLcBGAs/s1600/2013_scooter.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="442" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UiIu-ZICFhI/WwMDQYCP3OI/AAAAAAAAOh4/KeIi7FUWcmQtSUMc-azZpukPCN-jfMf5ACLcBGAs/s320/2013_scooter.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the 2013 edition of MISSION - time to scooter! (race report here: http://www.emilykorsch.com/2013/05/race-report-2013-mission-18hr-ar.html)</td></tr>
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Normally I race with Jeff and David of Alpine Shop, but we have been suffering from the loss of David's race presence due to <a href="https://davidfreiblog.com/2017/03/01/an-unfortunate-announcement/">ALS diagnosis</a>. We've each been racing a bit with other teams, race directing, or just focusing on solo events to cope without David's stellar adventure racing skills, knowledge, and speed. Jeff has been racing a bit with the folks from <a href="http://www.kuatracks.com/about-us/">Kuat</a>, I've joined them on occasion, but Jeff planned to team up with them again at this year's MISSION as a 3-person team. Then, out of the blue, Jeff Ryan of St. Louis called me and asked to form a team for the race. Great idea!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ebBkEkguL8I/WwMD7CnSMVI/AAAAAAAAOiA/xbn4KuI00RsxdKajO-KUA1sawIgmCtuewCLcBGAs/s1600/jeffR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ebBkEkguL8I/WwMD7CnSMVI/AAAAAAAAOiA/xbn4KuI00RsxdKajO-KUA1sawIgmCtuewCLcBGAs/s320/jeffR.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeff R. with his normal team, 30-something Down.</td></tr>
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We planned to race as a 3-person with me, Jeff Ryan, and Erl. However, on the Wednesday before the race, Erl and I got our mountain bikes tangled up during a training ride and Erl went over the bars, injuring his ribs. His ribs were still too painful on Friday to leave for the race. So Jeff and I planned to race as a 2-person team and give it our best go against the 3-person Kuat and <a href="http://www.ribmountainracing.com/AR/Rib_Mountain_Racing.html">Rib Mountain Racing</a> teams.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pack choice infographic!</td></tr>
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Prep for the race was a little bit frantic, as we had to divide all of the mandatory gear normally carried by Erl into my and Jeff's packs. I opted to use my Nathan VaporAiress pack, which is basically a hydration vest with a bit of extra storage. It is much smaller than what I would normally use for adventure racing, but the forecast hot weather, the minimal gear list, and the looped nature of the course meant I wouldn't have to carry too much at any one time. That, plus Jeff was using an Osprey Talon 33 so he had plenty of room to carry my shoes when needed! I think this pack selection was critical for me to have a good performance. I saw other 2- and 3-person teams, all with normal sized packs, and they just looked HOT during the race. My super-light pack kept me cooler, happier, and therefore faster.<br />
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Anyway, fast forward to the bus ride (a first for MISSION, and well-timed), we unloaded at about 0540 on the banks of the East Fork White River and grabbed a map to learn about the race for the first time. There would be 5 CPs on the first paddle, requiring a fair bit of attention be paid on the twisty-turny river to find the best take-out points for each of them. We grabbed a boat, which had a broken front seat, so quickly opted for another one with two functioning seats and handles. Jackpot! We put into the river and struggled to maintain position against the current and other teams while Brian went through the pre-race announcements. I just wanted him to say "GO!" instead of the standard speech because we were hanging onto the bridge pier by a thread. Finally we were released and paddled into the race.<br />
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<h4>
LEG 1 - PADDLE (CPs 1-5, 0600-1000 ??)</h4>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of the first leg of the race - paddling from CP1 to CP5. Thanks for the pre-plotted CPs, DINO!</td></tr>
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It is still a bit dark but I turn my headlamp off anyway - paddling with a headlamp is so annoying. The sky is lightening up by the minute and we'll be able to see soon enough. A few 3-person teams get a good jump on us but we're able to hang within sight of the top 5 teams even with our 2-person paddle power. The East Fork White River is twisty, turny, and has enough log debris to make things interesting. Also it's fun to paddle with a new teammate so my stories are all brand new! We are with the main group for CP1 and CP2 so we all work through the tricky take-out selection and finding the flag. For CP3, the take-out is obvious (a covered bridge) but the actual CP is hung at a cemetery where the roads are incorrectly mapped. This causes a bit of confusion among the teams and is really unnecessary, especially since it involves all of the teams crossing a major highway on foot - Race Director, hang your CPs on accurately mapped features! After CP3, the river straightens out and we start to lose time on the top, 3-person teams. But we "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hkn-LSh7es">just keep paddling</a>", punch CP4, and start seeing the MISSION-LITE teams paddling at us. We must be near the take-out! Sure enough, the DINO yellow truck comes into sight and we drop our canoe off with a LITE team that needs it. We pass a quick gear check and receive the coordinates for the next leg of the race.<br />
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<h4>
LEG 2 - TREK/BIKE (CPs 6-10, 1000-1200)</h4>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leg 2 - We are at CP5, bikes are at CP10, do you get CPs 6-7-8-9 by foot or by bike or both?</td></tr>
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The next leg gives us the option to use either our feet or our bikes (which are back at Camp Pyoca). The first checkpoint, CP6, is rather obvious to get on foot, but after that we could run back to camp, get our bikes, and get 7-8-9-10. However, we choose to get everything on foot to avoid double-backing on the bikes. We set out running on a busy road into the town of Brownstown, grab CP6, and then continue heading east out of town instead southeast back to camp. There are a few teams with us, who we're able to catch on foot. We're first into the woods on the attack to CP7, making sure to avoid the (unmapped) private property. We run with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Michigan-Racing-Addicts-351212174990845/">Michigan Racing Addicts</a> to the CP, which Jeff nails. From there it's a subtle ascent of the backside of Pinnacle Peak. We try to work with the unmapped logging roads, using them when possible but also staying true to our intended course. Finally we hit the trail up to the peak and punch the CP. There are two "regular people" up on top who say they haven't seen any other teams, which surprises us. So we run down the steep trail, eventually popping out onto the gradually downhill trail that leads us straight back to Camp Pyoca, and our bikes. On the way, we see Rib Mountain and Kuat running in their biking gear up to the top of Pinnacle Peak (CP8). From our position, we think we can beat them back to camp, thus making up the time lost on the paddle. This is huge! We run hard, but actually too fast and right past CP9. We have to back-track a bit and end up losing our advantage, but at least we're still even with the leaders instead of 15 or more minutes back (like we were at the paddle).</div>
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<h4>
LEG 3A - ROPES (CP11, 1200-1300)</h4>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MRA on the ropes course (video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy08mE8v97Q&feature=youtu.be)</td></tr>
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When we get back to camp, we punch CP10 and are given instructions for the next part of the race. It's a ropes course and then some biking, with an embedded trek. Instead of plotting everything right away, we transition into biking gear and ride straight over to the ropes course to get a good spot in line. It's only Rib Mountain ahead of us so Jeff and I are able to work our way through the ropes course without waiting, which is huge. The course involves climbing up a cargo net tube to platforms 30 feet in the air, completing 10-12 elements, and then zip-lining back down to the ground. Some of the elements are simple, but most of them are physical and fear-inducing. I just try to stay focused on the present task and work through each element in an efficient manner. Jeff has a little bit easier time due to his long legs and arms. We make it through and Rib Mountain is still at the ropes, plotting the rest of the checkpoints on this leg. We do the same, quickly plan a route, and then take off on bikes about 10 minutes behind Rib.<br />
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<h4>
LEG 3B - BIKE (CPs 18-15-16-17-13-14-12, 1300-1600)</h4>
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It's a short road ride out of Camp Pyoca and into Jackson-Washington State Forest. This forest is a terrain anomoly in Indiana...super steep, 400' hills in the middle of flat farmland. It's really quite remarkable, especially when we have to ride up to a Lookout Tower for CP18. At least this part is paved. I hike up the steps to the checkpoint at the very top, take a quick look around, and then jog back down to get back on bikes. From there we ride a bit more pavement, then hop on horse trails/fire roads to get 15, 16, and 17. There are some extremely steep climbs in this section and we have to push our bikes quite a bit. This, plus the physical ropes course, confirms Erl's choice to not race - his already injured ribs would have been destroyed in the first half of the course! Plus, it's getting really hot. This is a really tough section!! There is a short break on a paved road in between CP17 and CP13, but the trails after CP14 are brutally steep again! Finally we hit some easy riding, see Rib Mountain on foot, and then pop out into TA.<br />
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<h4>
LEG 4 - TREK (CPs 24-25-28-27-26, 1600-1845)</h4>
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The volunteers at the TA are wonderful. They have shade, a table, cold water, cold Gatorade, and coordinates for the next section. And, they're friendly despite getting attacked by ticks! We quickly plot the next checkpoints in the shade, re-fill bladders with cold water, and head out into the woods. Jeff is overheating, and I don't feel spectacular either, so we decide to hike uphill to the first checkpoint and focus on re-fueling. This strategy works, we're able to nail the descent into CP24, and then continue to 25 and 28 at a moderate pace. We honestly don't run very much in this section due to the hot temperatures, but Jeff's navigation is very direct and we don't waste any time looking for checkpoints. We see Kuat and MRA going the opposite direction (it seems), and hear the voices of another team but aren't able to see them through the thick underbrush. We finally punch CP26 in the extremely thorny saddle and quickly debate how to return to our bikes. We could either go somewhat direct on trails (with at least one major climb) or go around on roads (relatively flat). At first I wanted to go direct on the trails, but after looking at the map again and talking it through with Jeff, we decide on using the road. To make this option faster, we have to run the whole way (about 5 km), which will be difficult. But we hit the road and start shuffle-running, using the easy terrain to eat some food. We arrive back in TA, and the volunteers tell us that Rib hasn't returned yet, but Kuat left a while ago. Unexpected on both accounts!!<br />
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<h4>
LEG 3C - BIKE (CPs 19-22-20-29, 1845-2200)</h4>
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The route back to camp, with all of the biking CPs, is long. But mostly flat. The Race Director has told us that after we complete Leg 3, the fast teams will need 2 hours to clear the last trekking section at camp. He had also told us we could clear Leg 4 in 2 hours, but it took us almost 3. So we estimate that we'll need to be back at camp by 2100 to have a chance at clearing the course. That means we have to bike a long ways...57 km...about 35 miles...in 2.25 hours. But it's mostly flat, paved roads so we think we have a chance. We head out and Jeff is not feeling spectacular. Thankfully, I am feeling OK, and have been putting in a ton of biking training, so can pull for most of this section. As we approach CP19, we turn onto a gravel road right next to a pasture full of baby cows and mama cows. They are so cute. All of the baby cows are right next to the road, and they run away as we ride by. They are so cute. We punch the CP and ride back past the pasture to the paved road. They are still so cute!! But the fact that no other teams have scared the baby cows make me realize we might be the first team to CP19. Which maybe means we are in the lead!! This is motivating to me, which is fortunate because Jeff is going through a low spot so he sits in my draft as we ride northward. I am able to pull to CP21 (covered bridge) and then it's gravel to CP22. The sun is starting to set and it's a beauty - pinks and purples everywhere. On the way to CP20 (out and back, similar to CP22), we see Rib going the other way. CP20 gives us some issues since the stream junction is well south of the plot. When we finally punch, we've wasted valuable time. So it's full speed back to Camp Pyoca (CP23) and Rib catches us! But we're able to hang onto their tail and chat a little bit on the approach to camp. Jeff ventures the all-important question, "Did you get all the bike CPs?" and Rib answers, "No.". That's huge information to us, and confirms that we are in the lead!<br />
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<h4>
Leg 5 - TREK (CPs 30-35, 2200-2330)</h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y5KK-3oR9Mo/WwLbJz5oAOI/AAAAAAAAOhs/3lrg0-1D8Ocmj5QYhy_B4qOVQsNfZqX6ACLcBGAs/s1600/Leg%2B5%2BTrek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y5KK-3oR9Mo/WwLbJz5oAOI/AAAAAAAAOhs/3lrg0-1D8Ocmj5QYhy_B4qOVQsNfZqX6ACLcBGAs/s320/Leg%2B5%2BTrek.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final trekking section.</td></tr>
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We arrive back at HQ basically tied on time with Rib Mountain, but ahead by 1 checkpoint. We quickly plot the remaining 6 checkpoints to see how our race will end. After plotting and stuffing our faces with food, we have about 70 minutes left. In the dark, in this terrain, that's about 4km. To get 3 CPs (35, 31, 30) that would be a huge push, and because we think we have the advantage over Rib, we plan to play it save and just get CP35 and CP30. That way, they will have to gamble and get 3 CPs faster than we can get 2 to take the win.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tUxIf3V2-Vg/WwMNWXhfk8I/AAAAAAAAOik/4KXcD6MRtnsCUNU7vtkWn768fqlI4CoHwCLcBGAs/s1600/cp35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tUxIf3V2-Vg/WwMNWXhfk8I/AAAAAAAAOik/4KXcD6MRtnsCUNU7vtkWn768fqlI4CoHwCLcBGAs/s320/cp35.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me punching CP35.</td></tr>
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The approach to CP35 is quick and 100% on trail, which is a great thing for night-time navigation. We return back to CP9 from the previous leg and attack up to CP30. We hike up to the ridge and down the opposite side spur to find the CP. Except...nothing. We hike back up an adjacent spur, thinking that we're just one feature off. Nothing. Back up on top of the ridge, it's a little tense, as we try to decide how to re-attack. It's difficult to judge where we are exactly on top of the ridge, so we don't quite know which way (east or west) to re-locate. There are some lights down below us, so Jeff hikes down a bit and calls out "Any luck down there?" The response comes back, "No luck..." and we are sad. Then..."ONLY SKILL!" and the All Terrain Females emerge out of the darkness with huge smiles on their faces. Steph has navved them to CP30 the hard way and nailed it, and they were kind enough to share their success. So we scamper down the spur, punch our final checkpoint, and run behind All Terrain Females back to the finish line. Rib arrives shortly after, but with 2 checkpoints as well, so Jeff and I have won the MISSION 2018!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We won a medal!</td></tr>
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<h4>
POST-RACE</h4>
I had such a great time at the 2018 MISSION 18-hr Adventure Race. I thought the course was one of the most well-designed courses that the DINO has offered, and made effective use of a bus ride. There were some good navigation choices, and I think the RD's time estimates would have been pretty close if the temperatures had been cooler (i.e. in the 50s/60s). I felt like the pressure to "race" was completely removed when we dropped into the 2-person co-ed division, so we just spent the day navigating accurately and taking care of ourselves, which gave us the advantage late in the day. I was surprised to be in contention for the win but it felt great to be strategic and have those choices pay off. Jeff was a great teammate, always staying positive and we collaborated on the navigation really well. We helped each other where we could, didn't overthink the course, and kept up with eating/drinking. I think the day exemplifies one of my favorite quotes, which I'll leave you with:<br />
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<br />Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-40256372269963765882015-04-30T15:36:00.001-05:002015-04-30T15:36:18.511-05:00Race Report: FLX Sea2Sea 72hr AR, Part 4 (Race Day 3)<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://blog.emilykorsch.com/2015/04/race-report-flx-sea2sea-72hr-ar-part-3.html">Day 2 here</a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>PADDLE 3 - 9k - Newnans Lake - night</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Before we get to Newnans Lake proper, we have to negotiate a really cool cypress swamp. It's like boat tetris trying to fit our canoes and teammates through the maze of trees and knees. Erl and I get through a bit more quickly than Rev3 because we only have 2 people to manage, so once we finally pop out into the lake we have a few minutes to soak it all in before we're joined by Rev3. And soak it in we do - the shoreline is protecting us from the bitter winds for the moment, and the clouds are ripping across the nearly-full moon. We play "what does this cloud look like?" game for a bit, and then settle into the business of paddling across a very wavy, dark, and cold lake. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rev3 playing boat tetris in the Newnans Lake swamp.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">This being the Night 2, sleep monsters are sitting on my shoulder, but my mind fends them off with some totally rad optical illusions instead of letting me sleep. Rev3's boat looks like it's doing flips in the middle of the lake, but Jeff, Joe, and Britt are still sitting upright. Then for a while it's like we're on a boat treadmill, with the water moving past us but not making any forward progress. I narrate everything to Erl and I'm sure it sounds crazy but at least it gives us something to talk about as we paddle to Palm Point Park. We were there earlier in the day, and now, the park looks NOTHING like a remember it. Talk about a total mind-screw. To top it all off, both Joe and I are freezing cold, bundled in jackets, making communication really difficult as we scour the park for the CP. Finally, Britt gets out of the boat too and finds the flag for us. We punch and get back in the boats for another wild ride on the windy Newnans Lake.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">More hallucinations (boat flips and water treadmilling), plus now the trees on shore are morphing into New Orleans-style houses with ornate iron fences. It's actually kind of scary because falling asleep now would mean almost certain disaster - capsizing in a really cold lake. Not fun. We follow Rev3 along the shore as we try to locate the final CP on this stage. If it wasn't for Erl in the back of OWWWP's boat, I would be super freaked out as we paddle through crosswinds and lots of chop on the water, but I trust his paddling so much that I was mostly just concerned about keeping my eyes open. Finally, we slip into a side channel to the take out and are greeted with calmer waters. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">TA - Kate's Fish Camp - very early morning</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kate's Fish Camp during the day...we arrived in the dark.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">The first thing I do once we've got the boat out of the water is give Erl a huge hug. That was a short but super stressful paddle, and I'm so so glad we got through it together and intact. All five of us are really cold, but we have bin access here, so we move slowly through the motions of putting more layers on, eating, and trying to avoid the tempting fire. It's clear that Rev3 went through some tough times in their boat as well, and it takes some effort to get all 5 teammates on the road in a cohesive group for the next trek. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>TREK 6 - 12k - Prairie Creek Pet Cemetery - morning</b></span><br />There are 9 CPs in this section, separated into clusters of 6 and 3. The group of 3 is pretty far away in one direction so we decide to skip the whole thing, attacking the group of 6 instead. The 5 of us hike out of TA, the sun already lighting up the sky with a beautiful sunrise, but things are tense in Rev3/OWWWP-land. Joe got super stressed out by the tough conditions on the paddle, and is having a hard time focusing on the maps. We do our best to support him, but to me it's unclear if he needs silence or hugs to feel better. We stumble on the first CP almost by accident, since it's hung next to the trail but plotted much farther away. But that first flag seems to help Joe click back into the maps and pretty soon we are pinging the next 3 CPs around a swampy pond with ease. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-emnERYj6r-s/VUIh478hX7I/AAAAAAAAOMc/W3HGp-FOw_0/s1600/greenburialsweb2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-emnERYj6r-s/VUIh478hX7I/AAAAAAAAOMc/W3HGp-FOw_0/s1600/greenburialsweb2.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://www.thefineprintuf.org/2010/11/11/where-the-red-fern-grows/</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">I wore Hoka Mafates on the 30k Newnans Lake trek, fully aware that I was choosing comfortable cushioning over excessive water retention, and now that we're back trekking in swamps, my feet are starting to pay the price. I can literally feel the wet skin folding under itself and macerating. It's really uncomfortable. But bad feet sort of go hand-in-hand with multi-day racing so I just try to suck it up, reduce excess movement, and stuff my face with Girl Scout cookies. It just so happens that the area we're trekking in is a <a href="http://conservationburialinc.org/">pet cemetery</a> and it's really beautiful to me. The sun is shining on a clear morning, birds are chirping, and hundreds of pet owners have hand-crafted beautiful tombstones scattered across the meadow to honor their pets. Maybe it's race brain, but the area is so serene and soothing that I don't even care we can't find the final 2 CPs on this section. Joe does care, however, and is hell-bent on figuring out this map and getting the CPs. Britt and Erl are really proactive in helping him, and Jeff and I are sort of trotting along behind, trying to keep our feet intact while offering our teammates cookies. After several re-attacks, strategy sessions, and head scratching, we finally find the final 2 CPs and then shuffle the bike trail back to TA.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">On the way back, I realize I've been wearing 6 layers (LS baselayer, SS jersey, LS shirt, LS fleece, waterproof vest, waterproof jacket, plus gloves/buff/hat) since we got out of the boat, and I'm still not sweating or overheating. This is another affect of multi-day racing that's new to me: the inability of your body to regulate temperature effectively. I peel off layers as we shuffle back and it's like watching clowns emerge from a tiny car...it just keeps going! When we get back to TA, race staff inform us that the final 2 CPs were mis-plotted on the race maps which is why they were so difficult to locate. No idea how Joe figured that one out, but his I am in total awe of his skill as a (angry) navi-GATOR. Go team!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE 4 - 120k - afternoon/evening</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JxWfPOMM8g0/VUIe8JgueOI/AAAAAAAAOMA/79-ekTjF8tg/s1600/DSCN0248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JxWfPOMM8g0/VUIe8JgueOI/AAAAAAAAOMA/79-ekTjF8tg/s1600/DSCN0248.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Re-uniting with my people!</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">I finally get to change out of my soaking wet Hokas into dry socks and mostly-dry bike shoes. Such a luxury! I also choose my most obnoxious blue-and-PINK jersey because we're in for a long ride across Florida. We are on mostly roads to start, and the traffic is manageable. We stop at a human cemetery for a CP, and shortly after pass by a horse farm where some little kids are taking a lesson. Since I grew up riding horses, I have to go over and say hi, and Erl gets a pic of that for race mojo...sweet!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fv42O6iVSlY/VUIe8KJuAOI/AAAAAAAAOL4/XX0Z1JbBmB8/s1600/DSCN0251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fv42O6iVSlY/VUIe8KJuAOI/AAAAAAAAOL4/XX0Z1JbBmB8/s1600/DSCN0251.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me pretending to help Joe.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">As we continue riding, the roads get more and more busy. We're on some state highways with a shoulder, but it's still really stressful to keep our sleep-deprived selves out of harm's way. For a while we're able to find a parallel bike path to ride on, and we find a kid with a broken chain whom we stop to help. Then we get chased by another team who glom onto our paceline (organized by Jeff) without asking...boo. We inadvertently lead them into the incorrect location for the Little Blue Springs CP anyway so that backfires on both of us. It's pretty tough to keep our spirits up as we get pack on the traffic-filled paved roads, but then we realize we're going to ride through a town (Chiefland) and start making plans for an ice cream stop. We spot a gas station and Erl and I have visions of slushies and sitting on the curb with our shoes off...such luxury! But as we roll in, Britt cracks the whip with a "Just grab something you can eat on the bike, we're leaving here in 5 minutes." WHAT!?!? I'm so deflated but I know Britt's right - we have to get on the water with some amount of daylight left so we grab cold Gatorade and frozen Snickers, fill our bottles, and eat the ice cream while continuing the ride.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nQL31O_VAeg/VUIe8Nvfg3I/AAAAAAAAOL8/GemvOjyP86s/s1600/DSCN0253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nQL31O_VAeg/VUIe8Nvfg3I/AAAAAAAAOL8/GemvOjyP86s/s1600/DSCN0253.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">me and Britt: can we get off our bikes yet?</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">We ride past the next TA to get one last CP on this huge ride (75+ miles). It's on a distinct iron bridge over the Suwannee River, but we struggle finding the access trail in a neighborhood and ask for help from the locals. Finally we are riding over the river and into TA at a State Park, each discussing what needs to happen as we prepare for Night 3. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">TA - State Park - sunset</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7d1CtFyobxU/VUIg3x-1ItI/AAAAAAAAOMU/bU7ap21UDpE/s1600/2015-03-11%2B14.07.32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7d1CtFyobxU/VUIg3x-1ItI/AAAAAAAAOMU/bU7ap21UDpE/s1600/2015-03-11%2B14.07.32.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OWWWP legs. scratched up but still stylin!</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">I'm feeling pretty sleepy, so we plan to get all of our transition tasks done and take a 10 minute nap before getting on the water. Turns out the race staff has hot dogs for us, which I can't eat, but also oatmeal which I can eat! I share that with Jeff and it hits the spot for both of us. So yummy. Erl and I find a quiet tree to take a quick nap under, and even though I don't actually sleep, it turns out to be the best break of the race for me...my mind just unlocks and I get up feeling truly refreshed. We finish up boat prep and then put in to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S0keeGIgcY">Suwannee River</a> for another night of paddling!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>WANT MORE?</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">http://canyoneros-ar.blogspot.com/2015/03/flx-sea-to-sea-ar-72hr-expedition-day-3.html</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">https://plus.google.com/photos/106792793417724781370/albums/6132050305760847361 </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">http://ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_9015/period-1/enddate-2015-03-05</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">http://wetfeetar.blogspot.com/2015/03/florida-sea-to-sea-report.html </span><br />
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Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-14217900722975480272015-04-28T09:33:00.002-05:002015-04-28T09:33:22.087-05:00Race Report: FLX Sea2Sea 72hr AR, Part 3 (Race Day 2)<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://blog.emilykorsch.com/2015/04/race-report-flx-sea2sea-72hr-ar-part-2.html">Day 1 here</a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE 2 - 56k - 0100-0618</span></b></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">After leaving our first TA with bins, we ride roads (in a paceline organized by Jeff, natch) to Dunns Creek Conservation area, which has lots of wide grassy trails - similar to what cross-country skiing trails look like in the summer, except I'm pretty sure there is no cross-country skiing in Florida. We have a really hard time with these CPs - #1 because the map scale is NOT 1:24k and it takes a while to figure that out, and #2 because the clues are infinitely unhelpful for trekking in the dark. There is almost no way to tell a "burnt pint" (actual clue) from a "live pine" or "plaid pine" or "pink pine" at night. Joe navigates us easily to the circle for every CP in this section, but then we spend tons of time trying to locate the actual flag. Hugely frustration for a team with a stellar (albeit angry) navi-GATOR. And it's not just us - we trade places with several teams, everyone's headlamps scanning the Florida vegetation for some hint of a reflective CP flag. Here is one time a 5-person team is an advantage, and Joe uses each set of our eyeballs to help find these rascally flags. One exchange in particular stands out when Joe commands Erl "As your navigator, I am asking you to go in those woods and find a swamp!" Erl replies "Okay SIR!" and marches into a woods, immediately knee-deep in cold water. Joe asks "Is there a swamp?" And Erl (happily?) shouts back "AFFIRMATIVE!" OK maybe you had to be there but we all laughed about that. A couple times Joe has to ask us to "Quit being so jovial" so he can focus on the nav and we do our best to keep the chatter to a minimum. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6DBGWEEYaEg/VT-ZlfcNMNI/AAAAAAAAOKk/5zGlPWTcn5Y/s1600/DSCN0212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6DBGWEEYaEg/VT-ZlfcNMNI/AAAAAAAAOKk/5zGlPWTcn5Y/s1600/DSCN0212.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what night trekking looks like. Please find the burnt pine in this picture.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One CP in particular, the clue being "lone pine", gives us heaps of trouble and we end up spending at least 45 minutes wandering in a field/grove of trees looking for a lone pine with no topographic features to relocate off of. At least 5 or 6 teams are doing the same thing, each secretly watching each other to reveal the flag's location. Finally, Joe spots a small patch of orange and white fabric, crumpled and hidden in some weeds under a scraggly tree next to a trail. He clues Britt and I into its location, but we can't punch because there are at least 20 people within 20 meters of us who will see, and we don't want to give away the advantage of Joe's eagle eye. So Britt turns off her headlamp, scurries to the flag, punches her passport, and scurries back without anyone noticing. Sweet, except now I have to do the same thing and I am a horrible lier. I am super nervous but I inch my way off the trail, turn off my headlamp, find the flag, punch, and then run back to my team and we all jump on our bikes and leave, nervously glancing over our shoulders to see if anyone else caught on to your game. Victory! At least...a small one. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We continue on roads through the towns of San Mateo (including the biggest climb on the course...an overpass) and Palatka. The weather cools down considerable from this mornings steamy beach run, with misty fog rolling in and we're all wearing our rain jackets. And, for some horrible reason, I start to get sleepy. ON THE FIRST NIGHT OF A THREE DAY ADVENTURE RACE! So </span>embarrassing<span style="font-family: inherit;">. I roll up to Jeff, admit my problem, and he chats away to try and keep me focused as we ride through the witching hours. There are a few other teams with us too, which makes things a bit more stressful since I'm trying not to crash anyone out. But finally we roll into the Rice Creek TA where our bins are waiting! Warm clothes! When we get to the TA, </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">race staff inform us that a trek/paddle loop has been removed from the race as teams are behind schedule. It's no big deal for us, we are pretty cold and happy to go straight on to a trek instead of a trek/paddle. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o4PB_FvkWDw/VT-MFWreeuI/AAAAAAAAOJo/nSFXcp_9BUM/s1600/DSCN0221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o4PB_FvkWDw/VT-MFWreeuI/AAAAAAAAOJo/nSFXcp_9BUM/s1600/DSCN0221.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trekking in the Rice Creek area. Pretty fun!</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">TREK 3 - 17k - Rice Creek - 0618-noonish?</span></b><br />We receive a warning at the beginning of this trek: <i>boardwalks may be slippery when wet.</i> Huh? We haven't suddenly passed GO, collected $200, and arrived in Atlantic City, have we? But we strike out, happy to be on our feet and warming up a little bit as the world gradually turns lighter shades of gray. We struggle finding the correct trail for the first CP, way more trails in real life than on the map, but we finally do and figure out that the trails are actually a network of boardwalks through a swamp! It's really cool and we trot along, doing our best to stay upright. FLX Adventures planned a really cool CP that requires us to balance on multiple logs to get the punch - Britt and I take this one since she smartly is still wearing her helmet. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-apYfprlQQWY/VT-M-43bjrI/AAAAAAAAOJw/qvj04GG_JvU/s1600/DSCN0226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-apYfprlQQWY/VT-M-43bjrI/AAAAAAAAOJw/qvj04GG_JvU/s1600/DSCN0226.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There was still another balancing log after this one!</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We use an elevated viewing </span>platform<span style="font-family: inherit;"> as an attackpoint for another CP - Joe stands there and commands me and Britt as we fetch the punch. Except, at first he sends us off in the wrong direction, not realizing it until he turns around for a pee break and spots the CP flag almost 180 degrees from his original instruction. So Britt and I get a little bonus trekking through the soggy swamp...it's all part of the fun on Rev3/OWWWP! Towards the end of this trek, we're feeling a little beat down, my feet especially, and we trot into the next TA eager to get on our bikes again!</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /><b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">TREK 4 - 12k - Marjorie Harris Carr Greenway</span></b><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mHjnJMtnFrw/VT-YN4264uI/AAAAAAAAOKU/ZjitVfLxNIw/s1600/DSCN0233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mHjnJMtnFrw/VT-YN4264uI/AAAAAAAAOKU/ZjitVfLxNIw/s1600/DSCN0233.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe is an excellent pooper in addition to being a brilliant angry navi-GATOR.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Except...surprise! We have another bonus trek! No one is really excited about spending more time on their feet, but YogaSlackers are in TA with us so we use the competition to get motivated. We head out in opposite directions and on our way to the first CP, see an adult wild boar! On our way to the second CP, we hear some crashing in the underbrush and a momma boar with three baby boars runs across the trail right in front of us! We're super happy to see these animals, but also happy that they're not interested in messing with us - boars can me really mean. Most of the rest of the trek is on logging roads, with cow-related decorations that Joe uses for inspiration. As we're making our way back to TA, the road turns to powercut FULL of standing water, making us glad we didn't have the option to change socks/shoes in TA because we would be soaking wet anyway. That's life in adventure racing.</span><br /><br /><b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE 3 - 67k - afternoon</span></b><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">After completing the bonus trek, we're allowed to get on our bikes, just behind YogaSlackers and just in front of Journey Racing. We ride roads thru Interlachen, and Jeff gets the brilliant idea to look for fast food places to get some hot food. Ever since midnight, it's been cold and misty, and we're starting to accumulate a little fatigue. As we ride through town, we spot the golden arches not 100m off course...TIME TO STUFF OUR FACES! </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">We barge into the McDonald's in soaking-wet race gear and each order about $10 worth of food - I get large fries, a chicken sandwich, small coffee, and small hot chocolate. Total score. We sit down with our food and plan to watch Journey Racing ride right by, ignoring the </span><span style="background-color: white;">delicacies</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> of theAmerican obesity epidemic. Except...they have the same plan as us and park their bikes outside the same McDonalds! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z0a6GpZR7gY/VT-YNalLMHI/AAAAAAAAOKQ/BE0DfDH4dhg/s1600/DSCN0234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z0a6GpZR7gY/VT-YNalLMHI/AAAAAAAAOKQ/BE0DfDH4dhg/s1600/DSCN0234.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3-team party at McDonalds on Day 2!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So it turns into a 3-team McDonald's party which is super fun. But the party doesn't last much longer than a large fry, as Joe herds us back outside and onto the roads through Hawthorne, to Palm Point Park, and into the Newnans Lake TA. In a paceline. Organized by Jeff. Natch. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>TA - Newnans Lake - evening</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">When we arrive at Newnans Lake TA, we have exhausted our supply of maps and are given the final set by race staff. Also, they tell us we can't have access to our bins. What? This news is contradictory to what we were told in the race powerpoint, and we were planning on restocking food. So we have a few panic moments of <i>do we have enough calories to last 5 people another 5 hours?</i> Turns out, if we all pool our remaining food, we do. OK. Crisis averted, and we get set for the next trek which looks to be longish. As we're transitioning, the YogaSlackers roll in to the same race news and have a completely different reaction...let's just say there were some words. And in the end, it all turns out to be a non-issue because the bin truck arrives and we all get our bins anyway! PLUS...race staff orders hot pizza and feeds us! Total oasis!</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>TREK 5 - 30k - Newnans Lake Conservation Area - evening/night</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">We trek out of TA with new shoes for some of us (dry Hokas for me) and an hour or two of remaining daylight. Joe attacks the cluster of CPs nearest the TA together with Lattanzi and Bacon from Odyssey, and then as we move away (north?) we end up taking different routes. We still struggle with actually locating the flags - getting to the circle is easy enough, but it seems every flag is crumpled or half-hidden in vegetation. The struggle is getting real as we go into Night 2! We choose to trek an extra 2 kilometers instead of swimming 100 meters because it is really cold out and we're all shivering after a few seconds of non-movement. Eventually our route kicks us out onto a long road out-and-back for just one CP, which Britt and I go get, and when we return to the team we find Joe succumbing to Night 2 sleep and cold monsters. He's walking along, but not really in a straight line, and chattering away, but not making any sense. We pile all of our extra clothes on him, but it's not very helpful since the open road offers no protection from the bitter wind. I offer to "navigate" which really means just hold the map so Joe can put his hands in his pockets to warm them up too. We bumble on down the road in this rag-tag fashion, Joe slipping further into oblivion, but then emerging with a few coherent sentences when I have a nav question. It's really fascinating to watch his nav experience take over like instinct, even though his primary </span>consciousness<span style="font-family: inherit;"> is failing. Finally we get into a more protected forest section and Joe takes the map back over, and we are all super relived that his condition has improved. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aLzmTpWCKd0/VT-XK1RLi1I/AAAAAAAAOKE/G66azye65RU/s1600/DSCN0240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aLzmTpWCKd0/VT-XK1RLi1I/AAAAAAAAOKE/G66azye65RU/s1600/DSCN0240.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Britt punching a rare nicely-hung CP with Lattanzi from Odyssey.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A few CPs later, we decide a team sleep is needed, so we find a sheltered pine grove and choose our spots carefully - well, Erl and I take the time to find a nice tree to lean against, while Britt, Joe, and Jeff each just pass out on the forest floor and are snoring in less than 30 seconds. Not a joke. Erl and I rest against the tree and keep track of time - after 10 minutes, everyone is still snoring, so we add 5 extra minutes and then get everyone back up and moving. The nap seems to help our Rev3 teammates and we knock out the rest of the CPs, using mostly roads to travel. Lattanzi and Bacon join up with us for a few CPs, and we pass Shane, Jen, and Alex from the other Odyssey going the opposite direction, along with the YogaSlackers (accompanied by their "media director") and a bunch of other teams as well. Everyone's bundled against the cold and windy night, but trekking helps keep everyone somewhat warm. We hike the paved road back into Newnans Lake TA, having cleared this section despite the difficult flag placement, challenging temperatures, and sleep deprivation setting in. Go team! </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9MEFqAq2yrE/VT-XKSVGT4I/AAAAAAAAOKA/y3B6YbRCI44/s1600/DSCN0243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9MEFqAq2yrE/VT-XKSVGT4I/AAAAAAAAOKA/y3B6YbRCI44/s1600/DSCN0243.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The road back to Newnans Lake TA.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In TA, our biggest concern is putting on as many layers as possible to protect us on the paddle across Newnans Lake. It's really cold, really windy, and dark - lots of things can go wrong in these conditions so we layer up, and eat some hot food from our bins with the hot water provided by race staff. Turkey tettrazini! Cup O Noodles! Hot chocolate! All of these things are so delicious, and pretty soon we</span> walk, Michelin-man style,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> to the boats and put-in to the dark swamp channel.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b>WANT MORE?</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #505050; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">http://canyoneros-ar.blogspot.com/2015/03/flx-sea-to-sea-ar-72hr-expedition-day-2.html</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">https://plus.google.com/photos/106792793417724781370/albums/6132050305760847361 </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">http://ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_9015/period-1/enddate-2015-03-05</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">http://wetfeetar.blogspot.com/2015/03/florida-sea-to-sea-report.html </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><br /></span>Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-6339126764527950912015-04-27T19:18:00.000-05:002015-04-28T09:34:10.166-05:00Race Report: FLX Sea2Sea 72hr AR, Part 2 (Race Day 1)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x8LwPCgp05E/VT7KxbwHwLI/AAAAAAAAOIU/5SS5Dhe2FLg/s1600/2015-03-05%2B06.36.12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x8LwPCgp05E/VT7KxbwHwLI/AAAAAAAAOIU/5SS5Dhe2FLg/s1600/2015-03-05%2B06.36.12.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erl and me in full race regalia.</td></tr>
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It's a funny thing to wake up and think, "I might not sleep again for 3 days. At least not in a bed". And this is the thought I wake up with on Thursday morning as we prepare for the start of FLX's Sea2Sea 72hr Adventure Race. Erl and I (On Wednesdays We Wear Pink) and Britt, Jeff, and Joe (Rev3/Mountain Khakis) pack up all of our non-race gear into cars, park them in the designated parking lot in Cedar Key, and then board the (coach!) bus for the trip east across Florida. The bus ride passes uneventfully. Erl and I use the time to mark up our set of maps, hoping never to have to use them during the race but wanting to get an idea of the course. We also steal a few naps and get our feet ready to go. At 1100 right on schedule, the bus arrives at Ormond Beach for the start of the race. A hundred or so adventure racers unload to tropical temperatures - 80s and sunny - which is probably normal for Florida but definitely not normal for our team. Regardless, the sun feels great and Erl suggests not wearing our (pink) calf and arm sleeves for the opening trek. "It's hot," he says. "We don't need these right now." And since Erl has <b>SEVEN</b> (Michigan Coast To Coast 05/06/07, Primal Quest Badlands 09, Abu Dhabi 10, Raid The North British Columbia 11, and GodZone New Zealand 14) multi-day races under his belt compared to my <b>ONE</b> (Cowboy Tough Wyoming 14), I take his advice. As I plan to continue doing for the next three days. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wxwnuO2zfd8/VT7LLeNNXcI/AAAAAAAAOIc/MxE-TP89FKQ/s1600/11021524_896990223686157_8552420066790489497_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wxwnuO2zfd8/VT7LLeNNXcI/AAAAAAAAOIc/MxE-TP89FKQ/s1600/11021524_896990223686157_8552420066790489497_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And they're off! For the start of the 2015 Sea2Sea 3-Day Adventure Race!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>TREK 1 - 6k beach-o at Ormond Beach - 1100-1200</b></span><br />
Teams On Wednesdays We Wear Pink (OWWWP) and Rev3/Mountain Khakis are giddy at the start line, excited to start 3 days of non-stop racing that we've been planning for so many months. Ron the RD from FLX Adventures counts us down, and pretty soon we're sprinting (!) on the beach road to our first CP. The pace is fast, especially considering the amount of racing left to do, but we don't really care because WE'RE RACING IN FLORIDA! IN SHORTS! WHEEEEEEEE! That is, until a few short minutes later. Joe attacks our first CP by bushwhacking through 500 meters of razor-sharp palmetto and scrubby brush. All of us (well, besides Britt, who kept her calf sleeves on) start bleeding immediately as our legs get torn up by the defensive vegetation. We struggle a bit with the first few CPs, but it's hard to start the race by navigating on an aerial photo map. Joe makes the best of it and we get around the short loop, but not before I trip in the dunes and grind a bunch of sand into my bloody legs and arms. I can't help but laugh that this is the perfect way to start my first true expedition race - cut up and dirty in the first 30 minutes! We run back into TA to find ourselves securely in the middle of the pack, but it doesn't bother us as we pick out 2 canoes and start paddling.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wd2fK4t91Ao/VT7LbyskBII/AAAAAAAAOIk/0v7woGM26Z4/s1600/11051948_897047310347115_8075751156295549564_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wd2fK4t91Ao/VT7LbyskBII/AAAAAAAAOIk/0v7woGM26Z4/s1600/11051948_897047310347115_8075751156295549564_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">me and Erl in the first paddle section.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>PADDLE 1 - 14k - 1200-1430</b></span><br />
We put in on a windy, windy (both pronunciations and meanings) grass-lined river. It's hard for OWWWP to keep up with the horsepower of Rev3's boat - they've got one extra paddler, plus all three of them are ripped (Britt's guns are bigger than all of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tecnu-Extreme-Adventure-Racing/162254323809953">Tecnu</a> combined). And it's clear that Erl and I haven't paddled since...since...December at the <a href="http://blog.emilykorsch.com/2014/11/race-report-2014-bonk-hard-castlewood.html">Castlewood 8hr</a>? But all we can do is put our pink-bedazzled-visored heads down and WORK. Erl keeps track of our effort and suggests spots for "10 hard paddles" and "20 hard paddles" and we scoot along the Florida water. There are TONS of birds flapping around, several different kinds, and it's cool to take that in. We see Journey Racing and YogaSlackers ahead of us on an out-and-back section of the paddle and give them some early-race cheers. Finally we make it to the take-out and hustle through transition. The volunteers give us instructions to "run down this here road for 200 meters and you will get your next passport". So we do and find the passport in the middle of a really cool ruin - like an old mossy castle. Super sweet. Then we run back to TA and get on our bikes!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w6F6F4UIXSM/VT7LoWt1OnI/AAAAAAAAOIs/b2XHYlLUmiI/s1600/1507935_897134187005094_6220445219741433962_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w6F6F4UIXSM/VT7LoWt1OnI/AAAAAAAAOIs/b2XHYlLUmiI/s1600/1507935_897134187005094_6220445219741433962_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Surprise singletrack at Graham Trailhead. I don't always wear sunglasses while mountain biking, but when I do...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>BIKE 1 - 43k - 1430-1730</b></span><br />
It's not long before we get to ride some super fun rooty trails to kick off the biking of Sea2Sea. The trails are awesome and the SegSlayer is crushing them! Then we get on to some pavement and Jeff organizes us into a paceline as we make our way to the Graham Trailhead. YogaSlacker's "media director" (yes, really) is there to greet us along with race staff. The staff informs us of a surprise singletrack section with instructions to "just follow the trail, it's easy". All of us have heard this before, and all of us have been burned by the "easy to follow" trails. And, wouldn't you know, not 100m down the trail there is an unmarked junction! We flail around for a bit before I spot Ron in the woods and ask for help. He shows us the correct trail to take and we ride on. The trails are surprisingly technical and full of short punchy climbs (much like Council Bluff for you MO people). They are awesome and all of us are riding really well, but both Odyssey teams catch us and we let their faster legs go ahead to avoid early-race stress. Back on the roads, Joe's pedal starts seizing up and we worry about its potential to survive several hundred more kilometers of riding. We put some chain lube on it to try and get it to rotate again, but Joe is still having to work really hard to keep the pedals turning over. My bottom bracket seems to be overly noisy as well...oh great! We roll into the next TA with some concerns, but lubed the crap out of Joe's pedal and my bottom bracket, all we can do is load them on the race trailer and hope for the best. Then we get to turn our attention to boat selection and more paddling!<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-889thUHlgGk/VT7MDkCIDhI/AAAAAAAAOI0/gFGaNBQ7hiE/s1600/DSCN0197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-889thUHlgGk/VT7MDkCIDhI/AAAAAAAAOI0/gFGaNBQ7hiE/s1600/DSCN0197.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A super sweet pic from Erl's race camera on Black Branch.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>PADDLE 2A - 13k - Black Branch/Haw Creek - 1730-2045</b></span><br />
We put in to a small river on the side of a road, and immediately the river is full of vegetation - cypress knees, downed trees, lily pads, etc. Luckily we have a few hours of daylight in which to negotiate all of the deadfall - Erl gives new meaning to my "princess" paddling style as he drops me off on the (dry!) riverbank before each downed tree, then jumps into the waist-deep water to lift the boat up and over the tree, then jumps back in the boat and picks me up on the other side. Yeah. See what I mean about Erl being the best teammate ever? It's true. I stay dry until we get to a somewhat-mapped portage which is just ankle-deep mud, but there's no princess option for the 400m or so we must slog with our boats. Eventually the mud opens back up into a real river, with islands even, but the islands prove to be tricky as we can't find CP18 immediately after a mapped portage. We circle the island in question several times, certain we are in the correct location, but the flag is elusive. We are forced to bail with an impending early-race cutoff looming over our heads, so we abandon and motor on down to Russell Landing for a heavily-hinted-at "surprise" trek. It's dark and relatively cold at this point and we're all pretty excited to warm up a bit by running. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MnuT6BjZaHo/VT7MnMZ0nAI/AAAAAAAAOI8/6JzNGhoGxHw/s1600/DSCN0209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MnuT6BjZaHo/VT7MnMZ0nAI/AAAAAAAAOI8/6JzNGhoGxHw/s1600/DSCN0209.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Russell Landing. This was the norm for trekking sections throughout the race.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>TREK 2 - 7k - Russell Landing - <a href="tel:2045-2300" x-apple-data-detectors-result="5" x-apple-data-detectors-type="telephone" x-apple-data-detectors="true">2045-2300</a></b></span><br />
We take out at Russell Landing and sure enough, surprise trek! We have to be back by 2300 which is a pretty aggressive cutoff for so early in the race, but we vow to do our best. It's hard to manage the TA with so much to do and new teammates - with Alpine Shop we all have our jobs but now I'm a bit lost on how to best help Rev3, especially Joe. But with plotting and re-fueling managed, we head out into the still-sharp Florida vegetation, still with no <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAY_OhFRxgA">calf protection</a>, still donating blood. And even better, half of this trek is through a swamp, so we get to wash out our cuts with swamp water! We manage our time pretty well, but the maps are confusing (waypoints with no CP value are shown...strange) and we end up not clearing this section. It's a bummer but not much else we can do except keep racing! We get back to our boats and put in with a herd of teams all fighting the early cutoff as well.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BI6slpPB4ZE/VT7N7-AlrCI/AAAAAAAAOJQ/gX3DZJMygEc/s1600/11046728_897519666966546_1139006157573544095_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BI6slpPB4ZE/VT7N7-AlrCI/AAAAAAAAOJQ/gX3DZJMygEc/s1600/11046728_897519666966546_1139006157573544095_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty sure this is the first TA with bins.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>PADDLE 2B - 9k - Haw Creek/Dead Lake - <a href="tel:2300-0030" x-apple-data-detectors-result="6" x-apple-data-detectors-type="telephone" x-apple-data-detectors="true">2300-0030</a></b></span><br />
The rest of the paddle isn't very eventful - it's dark, but it's Night 1 so we aren't very sleepy. We continue downstream easily, paddle a few kilometers in a lake, and then get to a very busy transition area. We get to see our bins for the first time! I might have changed socks/shorts here, but honestly I can't remember. I do remember Andy Bacon from Odyssey trying to <a href="http://blog.emilykorsch.com/2015/02/im-alpha-gal.html">poison me</a> with bacon. Nice try, Bacon/bacon. My body is a non-mammalian-meat temple.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>WANT MORE?</b></span><br />
http://canyoneros-ar.blogspot.com/2015/03/flx-sea-to-sea-ar-72hr-expedition-day-1.html<br />
https://plus.google.com/photos/106792793417724781370/albums/6132050305760847361 <br />
http://ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_9015/period-1/enddate-2015-03-05<br />
http://wetfeetar.blogspot.com/2015/03/florida-sea-to-sea-report.html <br />
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<a href="http://blog.emilykorsch.com/2015/04/race-report-flx-sea2sea-72hr-ar-part-3.html">Day 2</a><br />
<br />Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-24186252112890880702015-03-13T09:21:00.001-05:002015-03-13T09:33:45.836-05:00Race Report: FLX Sea 2 Sea 72hr AR, Part 1 (Pre-Race)One of the first lessons you learn in adventure racing is: getting to the starting line is actually the hardest part of the race. You've got a team to assemble, people to get fit, body parts to keep uninjured, travel to complete, mountains of gear to sort and pack and unpack and repack and unpack and repack, thousands of calories to prep, and you still need to get some sleep and do some "real" work in between. The road to my first non-stop expedition race was no different.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oT5p14OvKCU/VQLqSo_AuJI/AAAAAAAAOGk/oRWou7Vs_G0/s1600/47a239ca808345a9f599a5e061181fd1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oT5p14OvKCU/VQLqSo_AuJI/AAAAAAAAOGk/oRWou7Vs_G0/s1600/47a239ca808345a9f599a5e061181fd1.png" height="232" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://flxadventures.com/races/2015-2/adventure-races-2015/the-florida-sea-to-sea-2015/">http://flxadventures.com/races/2015-2/adventure-races-2015/the-florida-sea-to-sea-2015/</a></td></tr>
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It started with an email from one of the top teams in the country, <a href="http://www.rev3adventure.com/">Rev3/Mountain Khakis</a>. They won the <a href="http://www.rev3adventure.com/#!teamblog/c22dq/post/6855632107309281714">Sea2Sea in 2014</a> and were looking for a repeat, but their normal girl (Britt) was unable to race. At that point in time I was already planning to assemble a team with Erl from GearJunkie/WEDALI, one of the most experienced multi-day racers I know and also one of my favorite people. But it turned out that Rev3 had room for both of us so we jumped at the chance to join Jeff and Joe of Rev3/MK. A few weeks later, Britt's schedule opened up and was able to join us as well, so we shuffled the teams into one 3-person coed (Jeff, Joe, and Britt) and one 2-person coed (me and Erl). Since Erl and I aren't known for our navigation skills, Rev3 promised to stick together and guide us through the swamps of Florida. Game on!<br />
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Now the biggest issue we were facing was a team name. Jeff, Joe and Britt, obviously, would be racing for Rev3/Mountain Khakis. But I would be representing <a href="http://www.alpineshop.com/">Alpine Shop</a> and Erl would be representing <a href="http://wedali.com/">GearJunkie/WEDALI</a>. Normally in these situations we come up with a really creative team name mash-up, but nothing was making sense. Then Erl and I raced with Rachel, Jeff, David, and the Garrison at <a href="http://www.purdueoutingclub.org/pocar">POCAR</a> and had a hilarious team joke about underwear. Kind of a long story, but all you need to know is that Erl and I would be racing Sea2Sea honoring the movie <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBbOAVSBvpE">Mean Girls</a>...our team name was On Wednesdays We Wear Pink.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d-smhKjeP4c/VQLmJ-lWCzI/AAAAAAAAOGY/r4_6cLockTM/s1600/owwwp%2Bundies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d-smhKjeP4c/VQLmJ-lWCzI/AAAAAAAAOGY/r4_6cLockTM/s1600/owwwp%2Bundies.jpg" height="400" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the photo that started it all!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-04J1sZjGJgk/VQLrkeEjT3I/AAAAAAAAOGw/uFrnPdWWk1s/s1600/2015-02-23%2B09.21.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-04J1sZjGJgk/VQLrkeEjT3I/AAAAAAAAOGw/uFrnPdWWk1s/s1600/2015-02-23%2B09.21.02.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OWWWP fo eva!</td></tr>
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In the weeks and months leading up to March, Erl and I took our pink-wearing duties very seriously. Pink visors were purchased and bedazzled. Pink duct tape was acquired and applied to all gear. Pink arm sleeves and calf sleeves were bought and worn. Pink bracelets were made. We even thought about dying our hair pink but didn't want the dye to run into our eyes during the race. Team mojo was through the roof when Erl rolled into St. Louis on Saturday and we started Part 1 of gear prep.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d3Ci52eQ1ss/VQLsECns9KI/AAAAAAAAOG4/ynSu9eHU06E/s1600/2015-03-01%2B16.49.58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d3Ci52eQ1ss/VQLsECns9KI/AAAAAAAAOG4/ynSu9eHU06E/s1600/2015-03-01%2B16.49.58.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Race food from the grocery store. This doesn't include the bars/gels/sports drink stuff either.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vARGX2dGhgA/VQLsn3UoqYI/AAAAAAAAOHA/TCSaQKbIqB8/s1600/2015-03-01%2B23.46.58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vARGX2dGhgA/VQLsn3UoqYI/AAAAAAAAOHA/TCSaQKbIqB8/s1600/2015-03-01%2B23.46.58.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">gear bomb.</td></tr>
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Then on Monday, Britt drove in from Illinois and we started our 3-person road trip to Florida. We had many hours to drive but used the time to get to know Britt and talk through potential race situations. Everything went really well and we rolled into Cedar Key late Tuesday night, just in time to grab our hotel keys and eat an amazing seafood dinner at the only restaurant open on the tiny island. Jeff and Joe arrived late that night as well and finally we were the 5-person mash-up team we'd been planning for so many months.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iV4N1zQSRZY/VQLuQIkgVhI/AAAAAAAAOHM/IkDIMQGNY1g/s1600/2015-03-04%2B10.27.06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iV4N1zQSRZY/VQLuQIkgVhI/AAAAAAAAOHM/IkDIMQGNY1g/s1600/2015-03-04%2B10.27.06.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">adventure racers like to have fun, too!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PhuIgZEPvLw/VQLyP-_s6qI/AAAAAAAAOHg/JUymVY5_zPM/s1600/IMG_1096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PhuIgZEPvLw/VQLyP-_s6qI/AAAAAAAAOHg/JUymVY5_zPM/s1600/IMG_1096.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our home on Cedar Key, the Beach Front Hotel.</td></tr>
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Wednesday morning the 5 of us grabbed cruiser bikes from the hotel and rode to a leisurely breakfast on island time...meaning nothing is ever in a hurry. Then it was back to the hotel to explode our gear all over the parking lot for last minute prep. Fittingly, our hotel was painted pink and purple so Erl and I immediately felt at home. The pre-race meeting had to be rescheduled a few times, but thankfully everything on Cedar Key is a 3min bike ride away so we used the down time to get dinner and ice cream and finish up bike prep. At the meeting, we were handed a race summary page, race book (aka "the powerpoint"), and maps for the first half of the course. The maps were small, mostly 8.5" x 11", pre-plotted, and not waterproof. We had a combination of aerial photos and some sort of topo (not USGS). We took everything back to the hotel to put the finishing touches on our clothes and food based on the race information. Then it was another 3min ride to load the bikes and bins onto race trucks, and finally collapse into sleep!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ev5MsDE4QdM/VQLxEKyhd-I/AAAAAAAAOHY/_lrNeB7GXRE/s1600/2015-03-04%2B21.10.57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ev5MsDE4QdM/VQLxEKyhd-I/AAAAAAAAOHY/_lrNeB7GXRE/s1600/2015-03-04%2B21.10.57.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Race summary sheet. Sean Clancy is complaining about it already. Can you tell why?</td></tr>
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Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-71174191158338239612015-02-26T18:39:00.001-06:002015-02-26T18:39:11.255-06:00I'm an Alpha Gal?When I was in elementary school, I was lucky enough to have a bunch of friends who hosted sleepovers on a fairly regular basis. We would spend these nights watching scary movies, playing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqtUl44ZcBk">light-as-a-feather-stiff-as-a-board</a>, prank-calling boys in our class, and other classic sleepover activities (that almost never involved sleeping). Eventually, morning would dawn, and the host family would make some sort of breakfast while, most likely, silently grudging how late we kept them up last night with our incessant chatter.<br />
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I never liked cold cereal growing up (still don't, actually) so I would always stress about what would be offered for breakfast. Usually, the parents would make something special like waffles or pancakes. But in the rare occasions when cold cereal was the only item on the menu, I tried to avoid it without seeming rude. Sometimes I asked for toast. Other times I said I wasn't hungry. And in one particular instance, I flat-out lied. "I'm allergic to cereal," I remember telling the host mom. In the early 90s, before gluten-free became a thing, I'm fairly certain the host mom thought I was crazy. An allergy? To Cheerios? What a weird little girl.<br />
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I've since learned that it's okay to dislike a food item, and haven't experienced any other allergy, to food, medication, plant, animal, or otherwise. That is, until the past 6 months...dun-dun-dunnnnnnnn.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ThswOMLwZq4/VO-5r-oL8iI/AAAAAAAAOEg/JYbJ6Fl03to/s1600/10384123_10100542518914572_2327833340348137092_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ThswOMLwZq4/VO-5r-oL8iI/AAAAAAAAOEg/JYbJ6Fl03to/s1600/10384123_10100542518914572_2327833340348137092_n.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finish line of Berryman 2014...Jeff, me, Doug, Garrison.</td></tr>
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It all started with getting to know my <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/search/label/WABAR">WABAR</a> teammate Mike "The" Garrison. In one of our first "here's what kind of competitor I am" conversations which are so essential to adventure racing success, he mentioned he is allergic to mammalian meat and that consuming it may result in anaphylactic shock (a potentially fatal condition if untreated). This struck me as weird, especially when he explained that he acquired this allergy later in life from tick bites. But as long as he didn't eat beef, pork, rabbit, venison, bison, goat, or any other mammal, he was the same top-notch racer he's always been.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6ZPwn6_iUpM/VO-6DdA83uI/AAAAAAAAOEo/40htHSMW0WE/s1600/20140925_111435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6ZPwn6_iUpM/VO-6DdA83uI/AAAAAAAAOEo/40htHSMW0WE/s1600/20140925_111435.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was 5 days post-race. Not my leg.</td></tr>
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I raced with Mike (and Jeff and Doug) at the <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/12/guest-race-report-2014-bonk-hard.html">Berryman Adventure Race</a> in September 2014, and all of us got attacked by seed ticks during one of the trekking sections. As we were paddling away from the TA, Jeff happened to look down to see hundreds of ticks crawling all over his legs. The same thing happened to our friends the WhackaDALI-ans, and in the weeks after the race we had a pretty hilarious "photos of my bug bites" email chain going. I remember eating pepperoni and bacon during that race with no ill affects. But a few weeks later I had pork for dinner and broke out in head-to-toe hives later that evening. Some frantic texts were sent to Garrison, who didn't respond... And also to Carrie Sona who advised me to take a few Benadryl and sleep it off if possible. I did, promptly passed out, and woke up in the morning to significantly reduced hives (or "urticaria" in medical-speak).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After having pork for dinner in October. My leg.</td></tr>
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That got my mental wheels turning, and I decided to avoid mammalian meat until my next regularly scheduled doctor check-up a few months down the road. The check-up happened in January 2015, and I got referred to an allergy specialist for February. At the allergist's office, I described my history and self-diagnosis, and she decided to perform skin and blood tests. The skin test came back positive for every mammalian meat they applied: lamb, pork, and beef. She also tested cat which was positive, and chicken was negative as expected. These results were suspicious enough to order blood testing, and we just got those results back this week: I have developed an allergy to alpha-gal.<br />
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What is alpha-gal? First, it's a shorthand term used to describe g<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #0b0080; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; text-decoration: none;" title="Galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose">alactose-alpha-1,3-galactose</a>, which is a carbohydrate found in mammalian meat (but not primates or humans). What does that have to do with ticks? Ticks ingest alpha-gal when they bite mammalian hosts...deer, raccoons, possums, etc. Then, ticks transfer alpha-gal to humans when they make a subsequent bite.<br />
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Normally, human antibodies (immunoglobulin E in this case specifically) understand that the alpha-gal introduced to the body, either via tick saliva or via ingesting mammalian meat, is no big deal and do not react. The alpha-gal carbohydrate gets digested normally and people go on their merry hamburger-eating way. But in certain cases, especially in instances of historically high tick bite volume, the body misconstrues ingestion of alpha-gal from mammalian meat as a tick onslaught and produces a specific type of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody to fight against the invasion. The IgE antibodies bind to the alpha-gal CHOs, producing histamines, which manifest initially as hives and can progress to anaphylaxis. <br />
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Alpha-gal allergies are unusual among food allergies in these ways:<br />
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<ul>
<li>they are associated with a carbohydrate, and all other food allergies are associated with proteins</li>
<li>they manifest 2-4 hours after ingestion, not immediately like most other food allergies</li>
<li>they can develop later in life in a person who has previously ingested mammalian meat with no problems</li>
<li>the intensity of their reactions can change based on recent tick bite volume, hydration state, and a few other systemic factors.</li>
</ul>
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My interpretation of the whole thing is one more of fascination than of sadness. Sure, I'm going to miss steaks and bratwursts. But I think it is weirdly cool that I had a medical hunch, my doctor believed me, there was a conclusive test available, the test was covered by insurance, and the results were definitive. I've taken steps to replace the lost iron in my diet, which I believe is incredibly important for female athletes, and otherwise have adjusted well to eating a ton of fish and chicken. I'm writing this post to bring some awareness to the issue. Most of the research on the alpha-gal allergy has only been ongoing for the last 10 years. The connection between red meat and ticks wasn't even made until one of the researchers happened to develop the allergy himself (after a tick bite). Most doctors aren't aware of the condition, but I feel a lot of the people who read this blog spend a lot of time in the woods and may be susceptible. So if you experience head-to-toe hives a few hours after eating mammalian meat (beef, pork, venison, bison, lamb, etc), please consider visiting an allergist and getting tested.<br />
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<b>WANT MORE?</b><br />
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/11/21/165633003/rare-meat-allergy-caused-by-tick-bites-may-be-on-the-rise<br />
http://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2014/08/07/bad-bite-a-tick-can-make-you-allergic-to-red-meat<br />
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3545071/<br />
<br />Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-41727352693682242072015-02-12T20:08:00.000-06:002015-02-15T20:56:26.802-06:00Emily's Epic Birthday Adventure 2015: All 31+ HoursThe idea for my 31st birthday party happened in the middle of my 30th birthday party. I was driving home on Saturday morning from <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/02/emilys-epic-birthday-adventure-day-2.html">Stage 2</a>, the Aerie's 12hr Ultrarun, after running/hiking all night and covering 40 of the hilliest miles in the STL area. I had the entire day to sleep/recover and then was planning to slay a Double Berryman with Dwayne and HH on Sunday morning. I remember thinking <i>I just want to go get my mountain bike and ride The Berryman right now. Screw this wait-and-recover strategy.</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The plan.<br />
<a href="http://instagram.com/p/yvWmcYK7cW/?modal=true">http://instagram.com/p/yvWmcYK7cW/?modal=true</a></td></tr>
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So for 2015, my 31st birthday, that's what we did. 31 hours, straight through. I <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2015/01/emilys-epic-birthday-adventure-2015-its.html">planned out</a> a giant loop around St. Louis that incorporated running and biking and 2 ferry rides. Weather in the week leading up to the event melted the singletrack, so we stuck to gravel and pavement and did the whole thing on our cx bikes, which honestly made logistics a TON easier. We had several different combinations of <a href="http://teamnoahfoundation.com/">Team Noah Foundation</a> members and friends on each stage - 12 different people in total. And no one person did exactly the same thing, everyone tailored their participation to their interests, fitness, and availability. That was exactly how I wanted this to work. I wanted to plan something on a massive scale, and then have my friends pick and choose how they wanted to participate. Sort of like how <a href="http://teamseagal.blogspot.com/2015/01/even-though-blogs-are-so-2006-here-is.html">DBMFH</a> works, no one person does exactly the same thing but everyone ends up crushed.<br />
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Of course this whole event raises money for the <a href="http://teamnoahfoundation.com/">Team Noah Foundation</a>, which is my mountain bike team. Last year we raised just over $2,100 and this year we want to do better than that. So if you have a few extra dollars, please <a href="http://www.plumfund.com/pf/teamnoah15">click over to our donation site</a> and put them towards a good cause. Team Noah Foundation helps the families of children with a Congenital Heart Defect spend as much time as possible with their kiddos while they are receiving treatment. Dwayne and Bettina, Noah's parents, got to spend <a href="http://teamnoahfoundation.com/about-us.html">10 beautiful weeks</a> with their baby boy, and want to give other families the gift of that much time or possibly more. So after Noah's death, the Foundation was created and his memory is what we are riding for today.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.plumfund.com/pf/teamnoah15"><span style="font-size: large;">http://www.plumfund.com/pf/teamnoah15</span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">STAGE 1</span></b><br />
<b>Bike from Alpine Shop (Kirkwood, MO) to Aerie's Winery (Grafton, IL)</b><br />
<b>55 miles, mostly road</b><br />
<b>1600 Friday - 2030 Friday</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GhR7i2a5VwA/VN1IPCANh8I/AAAAAAAAOCc/YwvniAKGM6w/s1600/stage1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GhR7i2a5VwA/VN1IPCANh8I/AAAAAAAAOCc/YwvniAKGM6w/s1600/stage1.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks Maria for the pic from the Alpine Shop parking lot!<br />
<a href="http://instagram.com/p/y_eEYdEj1D/?modal=true">http://instagram.com/p/y_eEYdEj1D/?modal=true</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I meet up with Dwayne, Peat, JZ, Chuck, Maria, and Jim in the parking lot of <a href="http://www.alpineshop.com/">Alpine Shop</a> on Friday afternoon. It's beautiful - sunny and high 50s, RealFeel. It takes a long time for us to get Chuck's tires swapped, admire Peat's new van (with Stow-and-Go and electric doors, holy cats!), get my car packed, etc etc etc but we finally roll out on this adventure around 4pm. There is no rush as we ride through Kirkwood, Webster Groves (hi <a href="http://www.thehubbicyclecompany.com/">The Hub</a>!), Forest Park, DeBaliviere, super sweet bike path, then into THE CITY on Goodfellow which is actually not a bad road to ride. Some ladies even stop to chat with us and JZ invites them on our adventure. Smiling, they decline. We make it up to The Circle and then veer east on Riverview, eventually smacking straight into the Riverfront Trail. About then we start turning on our various lighting systems and continue up to the Chain of Rocks Bridge, crossing our fingers that the gates are still open. Even if they weren't, Peat assures us that he's lifted full kegs of beer, and bikes, and trailers, over the locked ones so we're in good hands. Turns out the gates are open, HOLLA!, and we cross the Mighty Mississippi and say goodbye to Maria and Jim (they're allergic to Illinois). Then it's onto the MCT system to bring us northbound to Grafton.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZVKBI-63sLw/VN1JsFY9ZvI/AAAAAAAAOCw/Wn7wotxEY5A/s1600/bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZVKBI-63sLw/VN1JsFY9ZvI/AAAAAAAAOCw/Wn7wotxEY5A/s1600/bridge.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dwayne and Chuck on the Chain of Rocks Bridge.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once we pass Alton, it starts to get a bit cold, but thankfully our support car, driven by Matt, is nearby so we stop to get some heavier clothes and he feeds us heart-shaped doughnuts. Then it's flat flat flat roads and bike paths to Grafton which Peat and Dwayne and JZ use to sharpen their high-cadence skills (they are on SS, Chuck and I are on gears). We roll in to Grafton just before 8:30 PM and check in at Race HQ. I see a lot of my running friends but I don't have much time to get ready for the 9:00 PM start. I change shorts, socks, shoes, put on new gaiters, add lights, EAT, quick picture, and then we're off into the next adventure. 4 hours down, 27 to go!<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">STAGE 2</span></b><br />
<b>Run Aerie's 12hr Ultramarathon (Grafton, IL)</b><br />
<b>40 miles, all trail</b><br />
<b>2100 Friday - 0748 Saturday</b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OgWVLhoA3II/VN1bfBpjoiI/AAAAAAAAODw/bbzQT28oZ00/s1600/aeries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OgWVLhoA3II/VN1bfBpjoiI/AAAAAAAAODw/bbzQT28oZ00/s1600/aeries.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peat, Dwayne, Chuck, me, JZ at the start.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://www.aeriesview.com/februaryfreeze">Aerie's</a> is a 12hr race. The course is an almost-5-mile loop that you do as many times as possible in the allotted 12 hours. The loop is pretty heinous - 1,000' of climb (ridic for IL) of mostly trail and some pseudo-bushwhacking. This is a race that rewards constant forward motion over pure speed. So, perfect for me. Robin, the race director, sends us off and Dwayne and I run/hike the first loop together. The course changed from last year and at the major point of deviation, isn't very well marked, so we spend 10 or 15 minutes floundering in the woods trying to figure things out. But we finally do (really it's our fault for not looking at the 2015 map) and settle into 12hr pace. I'm running with 3 other women and I have no idea who 2 of them are...are they fast? I know the third, Melissa, completed 6 laps last year which is no joke so I try to stay ahead of her. My legs actually feel great and it's fun to run! But as we get to Race HQ, she has a lightning-fast transition while I stop for several minutes. So atypical for me but in my rush to make the start, I forgot to take care of some things so I'm forced to do those now (retie shoes, plug in phone, find food, fill bottles, etc).<br />
<br />
Laps 2, 3, and 4 are pretty hard, but mostly in my mind. Melissa is staying solidly in front of me by about 5 minutes and I'm starting to crack mentally. I keep telling myself that racing doesn't actually start until the sun rises (about hour 9), but I am trying to run/hike pretty fast and only making up a minute or so on Melissa. I start to project the effort I will need to make up the remaining 4 minutes and that makes my head hurt. I start to doubt that I can win. This is pretty crazy because we are SOOOOOOO not about winning on the Epic Birthday Adventure - it's an ADVENTURE for godssake. But if you've known my last 6 months of solo racing, it's been a mind-screw for me, and 2nd place here will not help that. Thankfully, I hear a familiar voice behind me and it's DWAYNE!! I almost hug him in relief and blabber on about all of my fears and insecurities. Like the good teammate/mentor that he is, he gets my head straightened back out and we move. Not 2 miles later, Melissa appears in front of us, we run with her for a bit, and then motor on up the signature climb on the course, the "Big Long Turd" as named by Jeff in 2014.<br />
<br />
Looking back at the splits, we made up 11 minutes on Melissa on Lap 5. 11 minutes is how hard my mind was screwing with my body. That is crazy. Thank you Dwayne.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xDL0Pxll54o/VN1b1ljGPAI/AAAAAAAAOD4/HEZ4Lgv8G3w/s1600/final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xDL0Pxll54o/VN1b1ljGPAI/AAAAAAAAOD4/HEZ4Lgv8G3w/s1600/final.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final meters of Aerie's 12hr. My number was 34. I got 7th place overall. 7 is special.</td></tr>
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Laps 6-8 are all good. I don't feel as great as I did last year (in worse conditions), or as I did a few weeks ago at POCAR in Indiana, but I just try to ignore that and focus on constant forward motion and conversation with Dwayne. We talk about pretty much everything, including bikes that have a treadmill on them and the purpose of time. What is time? Who decided how long a day should be? Is time getting longer? The sunrise on Lap 7 is incredible, despite Dwayne not knowing which way is east. It totally makes up for the fog-fest last year. On Lap 8, the course swings close to the cabin that we've adopted as our HQ and we see JZ outside. We convince him to join us and he even runs a little! We finish the lap, securing the women's win for me and 7th place overall, cheer on the men's winner as he crushes out his <a href="http://www.finallapracing.com/documents/results/2015AeriesTrailUltra_Overall.htm">TWELFTH LAP</a>!!!<br />
<br />
I spend the next hour or so piddling with my bin (adventure racers will appreciate this) and getting ready for Stage 3. Kate rolls in right on time (she rode STL-Grafton solo this morning due to work obligations yesterday) and Ian gets dropped off as well. Chuck, having pushed far past his perceived limits, decides to call it quits and gets a ride home with Matt. The rest of us saddle up and ride out. 16 hours down, 15 to go!<br />
<b></b><br />
<b></b>
<b></b>
<b></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">STAGE 3A</span></b><br />
<b>Bike from Aerie's Winery (Grafton, IL) to Bike Stop Cafe (St. Charles, MO)</b><br />
<b>26 miles, mostly road, 2 ferries</b><br />
<b>0930 Saturday - 1230 Saturday</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oZtpQQRjrSo/VNoOYTGT0iI/AAAAAAAAOCE/-n2Kd2MWuvs/s1600/stage2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oZtpQQRjrSo/VNoOYTGT0iI/AAAAAAAAOCE/-n2Kd2MWuvs/s1600/stage2.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chuck, Dwayne, Adam, Matt, Jason, Kate, Peat, me, Ian. Ready to roll south!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Our first task is to ride 4-ish miles west to the Brussels Ferry. That is mostly on bike path, along with a super-sketch connector trail to the ferry entrance which is pretty fun. We board the ferry with minimal waiting and cruise across the Illinois River with high spirits and a group pic. We're on a ferry!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-osjf22P9BXM/VNoPOx10uuI/AAAAAAAAOCM/RLnMUMURvIw/s1600/stage2f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-osjf22P9BXM/VNoPOx10uuI/AAAAAAAAOCM/RLnMUMURvIw/s1600/stage2f.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We are on a ferry!! The Brussels ferry.</td></tr>
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Then we land in Calhoun County and have about 11 miles of road riding to do on the way to Golden Eagle Ferry. The nav isn't hard, we just follow the signs, but there is a significant headwind and the start of many rollers. Also the start of my inability to ride a bike in a speedy manner. I have ZERO power in my legs, I am pretty sure because of not eating enough after Aerie's. So I try to eat a bunch of food, but it's kind of difficult to operate the zippers on my pack without stopping. I have no idea why. I'm in a nutritional hole when we reach the Golden Eagle Ferry, but Peat gives me a birthday cookie, SS Kate shares a delicious rice krispie treat, and I eat another bar. The Golden Eagle Ferry ride across the Mississippi River goes well and pretty soon we're in St. Charles County, riding the flat floodplain roads another 11 miles towards lunch.<br />
<br />
My favorite moment of this stage happens when we hop onto the Boschert Bike Trail and I see a giraffe. A real giraffe! I start excitedly yelling at everyone, "Hey look at that giraffe over there!!" and then I realize it's a fiberglass giraffe. Not alive. Whomp-whomp.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YDlZkzdi0fU/VN1J8uwZDYI/AAAAAAAAOC4/6zULIhS5WWo/s1600/bsc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YDlZkzdi0fU/VN1J8uwZDYI/AAAAAAAAOC4/6zULIhS5WWo/s1600/bsc.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adam, Dwayne, Peat, Kate, JZ, and my empty bowl of chili at Bike Stop Cafe.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We take surprisingly well-connected bike paths all the way into St. Charles historic downtown, and begin the search for the Bike Stop Cafe. I know it's just off the Katy Trail but not exactly sure where, so we have a few map checks while Dwayne's stomach growls loudly. Finally, we spot the Cafe and barge inside to do some serious ordering of food. I think everyone buys 2 or 3 meals. I order an egg/avocado burrito, a bowl of veggie chili, and a cup of coffee. We enjoy a relaxed lunch outside on their patio, wait while JZ puts down an extra order of waffles, and then get back on our bikes to take the Katy all the way to The Mound. 19 hours down, 12 to go!<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">STAGE 3B</span></b><br />
<b>Bike from Bike Stop Cafe (St. Charles, MO) to The Mound (Weldon Spring, MO)</b><br />
<b>20 miles, mostly road</b><br />
<b>1330 Saturday - 1600 Saturday</b><br />
Except, the warm temps (60 RealFeel) have turned the Katy into a soggy, tire-sucking, slow pea-gravelly mess so we decide to re-route on pavement. JZ knows a way through the discombobulated subdivision hell of St. Charles, so we follow his lead through miles of cul-de-sacs and tan vinyl siding. My slight slowness in Calhoun County has devolved into absolute anchor-laden bike riding. I think I ate too much at lunch and now all of my body's blood is in my stomach, trying to digest and distribute those calories. I can't do anything to help the situation either, besides pedal slowly and try not to get too down on myself.<br />
<br />
Luckily, my teammates realize what's up and come to my rescue. Dwayne does a ton of pushing, which is crazy because he's on his <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1068997216450678&set=p.1068997216450678&type=1&theater">singlespeed franken-bike</a> (mtb frame, cx tires, thud-buster post, trunk rack, aerobars). Peat even gets in on the fun too with a triple push. Everyone else keeps the pace moderate in front so I don't fall too far behind. Struggle Street can be many lengths, but today it is 20 miles long. Even 20 miles has to end sometime, and finally we cruise through the Research Park and onto the brand-new GRG trail that links up with the Hamburg that leads straight into The Mound. Jeff, Maria, and Melisa are there as a terrific welcoming committee, but my first priority is getting off the Warbird and laying on the pavement for a while. I'm seriously WORKED and I just need some time to digest. Jeff knows exactly what's going on, he's been through this before too, and luckily everyone else finds things to do during the break so it doesn't feel like I'm holding anyone up. 22 hours down, 9 to go!<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">STAGE 4A</span></b><br />
<b>Bike OT Night Ride Route</b><br />
<b>30 miles, gravel/road combo</b><br />
<b>1700 Saturday - 1930 Saturday</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-007cddG5Ce0/VN1I7XHy6wI/AAAAAAAAOCk/7SlWq5dRTc4/s1600/stage4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-007cddG5Ce0/VN1I7XHy6wI/AAAAAAAAOCk/7SlWq5dRTc4/s1600/stage4.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready to leave The Mound. Thanks Melisa for the pic!<br />
<a href="http://instagram.com/p/zAy7b8Ej-R/?modal=true">http://instagram.com/p/zAy7b8Ej-R/?modal=true</a></td></tr>
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The Mound is a perfect staging point for any variety of mountain bike or gravel rides, so we have plenty of options to choose between. Too many options, almost. In the end we decide to embark on a 30-ish mile loop of gravel and pavement known to many as Rich Pierce's Tuesday Night Ride. We put our own spin on it by using the Lost Valley doubletrack to connect to the Katy. The Katy is pretty soft still, but Peat motivates everyone with "POWER SECTION!!!" yells and we all motor through. I seem to be handling the flats a bit better and can actually hang, sort of, with the group. We get to the base of Terry Rd, one of the larger climbs in the STL area, just as the sun is setting and share my 630-calorie QT PB/Chocolate rice krispie bar as a group. Despite lingering bronchitis, Jeff hangs back and helps push me up Terry. I would be no where without my teammates.<br />
<br />
Do you know how long a sunset lasts? Longer than it takes me and Jeff to haul my tired ass up Terry Rd. I keep wanting to stop and enjoy the cloudless perfection, rich oranges and golds silhouetting my friends, their bikes and the bare Missouri woods, but getting going again would take too much effort. So I just steal quick glances here and there, trying to conjure up a sense of gratitude for the beautiful day, however painful it's been.<br />
<br />
We bomb down the pavement to Defiance, have a quick group conference to discuss gin shots at the biker bar, decide against them, then get back on the Katy towards home. Again, I can hang with the group on the flats but once we hop onto the Hamburg and its slow uphill grunt, I'm off the back again. But Peat sticks back to chat so we have a great time grinding out the final-ish miles. 25 hours down, 6 to go!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">STAGE 4B</span></b><br />
<b>Hike Clark Loop of Lewis & Clark</b><br />
<b>5 miles, insanely muddy trail</b><br />
<b>2030 Saturday - 2230 Saturday</b><br />
Now, the real purpose of sticking in some running-slash-hiking-slash-oh-come-on-you-really-thought-we'd-be-running-at-this-point?-Hiking-FTW! was simply to give our butts a break from the bike saddle before the final ride home. Also I wanted to introduce my cycling friends to some hike-only trails, which happen to be my favorite in MO. So we say goodbye to Jeff (thank you so much for driving support), hello to Yvonne, and switch into our running shoes for some time on foot. Yvonne tells us the story of the Love Connection trail as we access the Lewis & Clark trail system and start the Clark Loop. And we find a lot of mud.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jnntHEno06Y/VN1PKwc7yLI/AAAAAAAAODI/MnbREXfllEg/s1600/arwc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jnntHEno06Y/VN1PKwc7yLI/AAAAAAAAODI/MnbREXfllEg/s1600/arwc.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/peakperformanceadventureracingteam">https://www.facebook.com/peakperformanceadventureracingteam</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Maybe not as much mud as Adventure Racing World Championships 2014 in Ecuador, but almost! And it's dark! We all spread out along the super-muddy trail, gingerly picking our way towards the bluff overlook. Maria turns back to save her newly-purchased running shoes before we get there. We spend a few minutes watching the moon rise at the overlook and I'm excited to start my second night of no sleep, which is uncharted territory for me during endurance sports. Sure, I've done a bunch of 24-hour races, even staying up a second night to cheer other teams on, but I've never actually pushed straight through the second night on foot or bike. After some nice group time at the overlook, Dwayne, Ian, Adam, JZ, Yvonne, and I press on, leaving Kate and Peat to retrace their steps back to The Mound (Peat's hip is still recovering from Aerie's).<br />
<br />
My hip flexor isn't feeling awesome either, but my desire to do the "whole" Epic Birthday Adventure is stronger than the discomfort so I slog through the remaining 3 miles. It doesn't sound like long, especially to me since I've ran this loop so many times, but tonight it is long. So long, and full of mud that each step is like a slip-n-slide. Mud cakes onto my shoes, adding to the load my overworked hip flexor has to deal with. Yvonne chats with me for a while, and I grab a stick to function like a trekking pole, but eventually it's just me, alone in the woods following the faster progress of 5 bobbing headlamps in front of me. They wait for me every so often, but honestly in my emotional state it's better to just be alone, and somehow everyone understands that without saying anything and lets me bring up the rear.<br />
<br />
The miles tick by so, so slowly. I get sadder and sadder. I cry a little. I know this is normal and a sign of being pushed to the limit, which is exactly what I asked for when planning a 31-hour birthday party. Whose idea was this anyway? Oh yeah, mine. I encourage myself by drawing on the strength of my friends - Peat refusing to let a broken hip ruin his bike racing. Adventure racers worldwide who battle through 12" of mud like it's a road 5k. Dwayne and Bettina absorbing more pain than I'll ever know after losing Noah. I can deal with a whiny hip flexor for 1 more mile. Finally, The Mound comes back into view and I tumble into the Interpretive Center, eager to sit down, eat something, and saddle up for the final part of tonight's journey. 27 hours down, 4 to go!<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">STAGE 5</span></b><br />
<b>Bike from The Mound (Weldon Spring, MO) to Alpine Shop (Kirkwood, MO)</b><br />
<b>30 miles, gravel/road combo</b><br />
<b>2330 Saturday - 0300 Sunday</b><br />
After returning to The Mound, we find out that Peat and Kate have already started their ride back to Alpine Shop, so it's me, JZ, Dwayne, Adam, and Ian left for the remaining 30 miles. Maria and Yvonne make sure we've got everything we need and then wish us good luck as we connect back into the Research Park and onto the Katy. Before we cross the Missouri River on the Page Bridge, we stop at the gas station across the street in hopes of pizza. No pizza, but they do have coffee, hot chocolate, turkey wraps, and potato chips, all excellent sources of fuel for a midnight ride.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TBDGYEIpEvM/VN1V6oLUzDI/AAAAAAAAODY/qDX52nYtik0/s1600/snacksfirst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TBDGYEIpEvM/VN1V6oLUzDI/AAAAAAAAODY/qDX52nYtik0/s1600/snacksfirst.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Real cyclists eat on the curb. Eyeballs.<br />
<a href="http://instagram.com/p/y1LwxXq7UF/?modal=true">http://instagram.com/p/y1LwxXq7UF/?modal=true</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Engines re-stoked, we crush out the Page Extension bike path and decide to execute a rare climb up Marine. During normal daylight hours, the climb is a bit sketch given its frequent traffic, limited sight lines, and no shoulder, but tonight it's perfect. I haven't regained any climbing power but everyone waits at the top and we cobble together a route back to Kirkwood using Craig and New Ballas. The pace is easy and I'm reminded about the joys of urban night riding - no traffic!! Dwayne gives me some more pushes and finally we're rolling into the <a href="http://www.alpineshop.com/">Alpine Shop</a> parking lot and our waiting vehicles. DONE AT 3:00 AM!<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">EPILOGUE</span></b><br />
There wasn't much to do once we finished. No finish line, no crowds, just a quiet parking lot. Ian and Adam still had to ride home to their houses, an extra 45-ish minutes, and they both refuse rides from me. Studs. I say goodbye to Dwayne and JZ and we just all drive away. So simple and so complicated.<br />
<br />
I knew that 31 hours was going to be hard. We ended up being outside a long longer than that, thanks to several leisurely stops for meals and changing clothes. For me, I woke up Friday 0600 and went to sleep Sunday 0400. 46 hours awake and 31 doing some form of exercise is great prep for a <a href="http://www.floridasea2sea.com/about.html">72-hour race</a> I have next month in Florida. We covered more than 160 miles on our bikes, and everyone had different foot miles, about 45 for me. But more than numbers, the support I felt from my friends and teammates was far beyond anything I'd expected. It's hard to explain, maybe I can only explain it to someone in the woods at 3:00 AM, but to everyone who joined in on this Epic Birthday Adventure, thank you for picking me up when I was hurting and telling me my crazy plans were not crazy at all. They just take a long time.<br />
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Also thank you Noah for the stunning weather.<br />
<br />
Please consider a donation at <a href="http://www.plumfund.com/pf/teamnoah15">http://www.plumfund.com/pf/teamnoah15</a> if you can :). Fundraiser closes Friday 13-Feb at midnight!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">WANT MORE?</span></b><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/chuck.sevick.9/posts/328405034027291?pnref=story">Chuck</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/dwayne.goscinski/posts/1069494743067592?pnref=story">Dwayne</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/adam.clarke.756/posts/10100278319507990?pnref=story">Adam</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/mlink325/posts/10153700461980931?pnref=story">Melisa</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/doug.bristow/posts/10153084467367288?pnref=story">Doug</a><br />
<a href="http://www.finallapracing.com/documents/results/2015AeriesTrailUltra_Overall.htm">Aerie's Full Results</a><br />
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<br />Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-954395393247228972015-01-08T19:06:00.001-06:002015-01-08T19:06:27.609-06:00Emily's Epic Birthday Adventure 2015: It's Happening!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1GfQuw8MMN4/VK34jXJ8YlI/AAAAAAAAOBE/aPBGAS6U6qE/s1600/31birthdaycake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1GfQuw8MMN4/VK34jXJ8YlI/AAAAAAAAOBE/aPBGAS6U6qE/s1600/31birthdaycake.jpg" height="355" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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By their very nature, birthdays come around every year. And mine is coming up soon, January 29th, to be exact. Last year, to "celebrate", I hosted the first ever <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/01/emilys-epic-birthday-adventure.html">Emily's Epic Birthday Adventure</a> fundraiser for <a href="http://teamnoahfoundation.com/">Team Noah Foundation</a> - a 3-day extravaganza of biking and running with friends. We raised over $2,100 for children with <a href="http://www.cardinalglennon.com/MedicalSpecialties/CardiologyCardiothoracicSurgery/Pages/what-is-congenital-heart-defect.aspx">Congenital Heart Defects</a> and their families. This year, we're at it again, but with a few new twists! Please join me and my Team Noah Foundation teammates Friday, February 6th and Saturday, February 7th for a whole lot more of biking and running with friends.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://www.plumfund.com/pf/teamnoah15</td></tr>
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First of all, the easiest way you can help me celebrate my birthday is by <a href="http://www.plumfund.com/pf/teamnoah15">making a donation</a> to the Team Noah Foundation. The Foundation was created to memorialize Noah Goscinski, son of Bettina and Dwayne, after he passed away at the age of 10 weeks. Although Noah's time on Earth was brief, he was loved every second by his parents, his brother Lucas, and his team of medical professionals. Team Noah Foundation strives to provide this same experience to other children with Congenital Heard Defects and their families through several short- and long-term goals. Last year, with the money raised by my Epic Birthday Adventure, we purchased hundreds of heart pillows for children and families receiving care at the <a href="http://www.cardinalglennon.com/MedicalSpecialties/CardiologyCardiothoracicSurgery/Pages/default.aspx">Cardinal Glennon Dallas Heart Center</a>, where one of Noah's main surgeons now practices. This year, we are again working with the folks at the Dallas Heart Center to help fill their short-term needs. How do you donate? Visit http://www.plumfund.com/pf/teamnoah15 to donate via credit/debit card or PayPal. If you are more comfortable donating by check or cash, please email me for instructions. Please share the link with your friends, family, employers that match funds, and anyone you think might find it in their heart to contribute.</div>
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There are a few incentives for those making above-average donations. If you donate over $31.00, you will receive an embroidered winter hat from <a href="http://dogfish1.com/">Dogfish Custom Apparel</a>, one of the main sponsors for Team Noah Foundation. If you donate over $131.00, you will receive a coveted Team Noah hoodie. I have one of these hoodies and practically live in it during the winter, and it's especially nice to wear to chilly mountain bike races. Thank you, <a href="http://dogfish1.com/">Dogfish</a>!</div>
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What's that? You donated already? Now you want to participate in the fun stuff? I have plans for you! Last year, I organized three separate stages of birthday adventure on three different days. This year, I'm mashing it all up into 31 straight adventurous hours to test your endurance. The 31 hours are broken down into 5 stages, so you can join in on the whole darn thing if you want, or just select the stages that seem the most fun to you. We will by supported by Team Noah member Matt driving a <a href="http://www.houzz.com/pro/dwayneandbettina/dwayne-custom-house-inc">Dwayne Custom House</a> box truck with our gear and extra bikes, just in case things go wrong and the weather is bad. Here <span style="font-family: inherit;">they are, the stages in all their glory:</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2pJ5ygjuZeY/UuwrjYComTI/AAAAAAAAMyk/JcKSsYfSYWM/s1600/1546106_10100374522700332_232543283_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2pJ5ygjuZeY/UuwrjYComTI/AAAAAAAAMyk/JcKSsYfSYWM/s1600/1546106_10100374522700332_232543283_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, Jeff, Dwayne, Peat, and Maria on last year's road stage.</td></tr>
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<span class="im"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="il">STAGE</span> <span class="il">1</span>: ROAD BIKE, Friday 3.30pm-8pm</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="im"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Meet at the <a href="http://www.alpineshop.com/">Alpine Shop</a> in Kirkwood, MO at 3:00 PM on Friday, February 6th. Load up your gear/clothes/mountain bike into the Dwayne Custom Homes box truck which will be our support vehicle. You will be able to park overnight at Alpine Shop if necessary. We will ride roads from Kirkwood to Grafton, IL which is mainly flat. Bring front and rear lights, clothing appropriate for the weather conditions, and any water/sports drink/snacks you need for 50-55 miles of road riding at a relaxed pace.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qj61Wl7MD08/UvAf6z9OGII/AAAAAAAAMzU/cl_hM255vS0/s1600/aeries%2Bstart.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qj61Wl7MD08/UvAf6z9OGII/AAAAAAAAMzU/cl_hM255vS0/s1600/aeries%2Bstart.JPG" height="246" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Start of Aerie's Trail Run in 2014.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="il">STAGE</span> 2: TRAIL RUN, Friday 9pm-Saturday 9am</span></b></div>
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This is a 12-hour trail race called <a href="http://teamgodzilla.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=252&Itemid=58">Aerie's February Freeze</a>. If you are planning to participate in this part of the Epic Birthday Adventure, you need to enter the race at trail run <a href="http://www.finallapracing.com/ariesfebruaryfreeze.html">here</a>. The course is a 5ish mile loop with a TON of climbing - this is a great course for hikers because they move almost as fast as the runners up the steep hills. The best thing is you can do as few or as many loops as you want! Bring trail running/hiking shoes, clothing appropriate for the weather conditions, lights, and any water/sports drink/snacks you need to move on your feet for up to 12 hours. A CamelBak, trekking poles, and spare dry clothes are all good things to consider. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fqu9gYFTS10/UvG0A3h7niI/AAAAAAAAM0s/dtfJYw_FI_E/s1600/2014-02-01%2B03.40.53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fqu9gYFTS10/UvG0A3h7niI/AAAAAAAAM0s/dtfJYw_FI_E/s1600/2014-02-01%2B03.40.53.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, Dwayne, and Adam at Race HQ at Aerie's Trail Run 2014.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="il">STAGE</span> 3: ROAD BIKE/FERRY, Saturday 10am-3pm</span></b></div>
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After the trail run, we'll change back into biking clothes, climb back on our road bikes, and ride from Grafton to "The Mound" in Weldon Spring, MO. If you're geographically inclined, you'll realize that there are not one but TWO river crossings involved with the shortest route between these two points. Never fear! That's where the ferries come in! We'll use the <a href="http://www.greatriverroad.com/secondarypages/ferries.htm">Brussels</a> (free) and <a href="http://www.greatriverroad.com/secondarypages/ferries.htm">Golden Eagle</a> ($4) ferries to connect these two great states. Hopefully there will be some bald eagles to watch, too. If either of these ferries are shut down due to ice, we will re-route with the <a href="http://www.houzz.com/pro/dwayneandbettina/dwayne-custom-house-inc">DCH</a> box truck in support. Bring clothing appropriate for the weather conditions, and any water/sports drink/snacks you need for 35 miles of road riding at a relaxed pace.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0HV_H_srqMM/UvKBu1qiDwI/AAAAAAAAM2E/IByoJM1ju7I/s1600/2014-02-02%2B08.55.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0HV_H_srqMM/UvKBu1qiDwI/AAAAAAAAM2E/IByoJM1ju7I/s1600/2014-02-02%2B08.55.42.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">me, Hunter, and Dwayne on last year's MTB stage.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><span class="il">STAGE</span> 4: MOUNTAIN BIKE/TRAIL RUN, Saturday 3pm-10pm</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When we get to The Mound, we'll swap to the mountain bikes that are so carefully stored in the <a href="http://www.houzz.com/pro/dwayneandbettina/dwayne-custom-house-inc">DCH</a> box truck and roll out for a bifecta of Lost Valley and Matson trails (35 miles/4 hours). We'll be back after dark so bring lights. Then a quick-ish change of shoes and we can hop onto the Lewis & Clark foot-only trails for some running (in the dark!)...if anyone can still move at this point. The only caveat is we need to leave the parking lot by 10pm when the area closes. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-clGgseANpG0/UvKOxxajqoI/AAAAAAAAM20/8NOyxgptDLE/s1600/2014-02-02%2B10.34.57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-clGgseANpG0/UvKOxxajqoI/AAAAAAAAM20/8NOyxgptDLE/s1600/2014-02-02%2B10.34.57.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, last year, dying going over a mere twig.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><span class="il">STAGE</span> 5: ROAD BIKE, Saturday 10pm-Sunday 1am</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">All that's left between you and finishing <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1562810857286589/">Emily's Epic Birthday Adventure 2015: Don't Be A Ferry</a> is 30 miles of pavement between The Mound and <a href="http://www.alpineshop.com/">Alpine Shop-Kirkwood</a>. It will be dark. It will be cold. But you will have at least one of the finest riding buddies you could ever imagine (ahem...ME!) that will help you push through the pain and make it back to your car. You will need front and rear lights and extra layers, and food, and maybe even some money for some gas station hot chocolate. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KNX8S-oK0Ic/UvKiEa4BraI/AAAAAAAAM3U/6nQZ6E1wz_Y/s1600/2014-02-02%2B17.32.32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KNX8S-oK0Ic/UvKiEa4BraI/AAAAAAAAM3U/6nQZ6E1wz_Y/s1600/2014-02-02%2B17.32.32.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset on the last day of 2014 birthday adventure. #nofilter</td></tr>
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OK. Yes. This is a massive undertaking if you intend to participate in all five stages. One of my esteemed Alpine Shop co-workers called it "the S&M version of an athlete's party". And I guess that is partially true, except look at the distances and times I've got on here. NOTHING is fast. I'm assuming a road speed of not more than 12mph. That is totally doable for hours on end. In Stage 2, the 12hr trail run, you can do however many loops you like - hiking a single loop is fine and then you can chill in the (heated) Race HQ until the rest of us are done. Or maybe you just want to ride your mountain bike, in that case just meet us at The Mound on Saturday. This is also a 100% no-drop event. If you are struggling, we will help you, maybe even put you in the <a href="http://www.houzz.com/pro/dwayneandbettina/dwayne-custom-house-inc">DCH</a> box truck for a bit so you can recover. We're not here to race, or sprint, or put the hammer down. Children with Congenital Heart Disease and their families are in it for the long haul, and so is Team Noah Foundation.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">DONATE NOW: <a href="http://www.plumfund.com/pf/teamnoah15">http://www.plumfund.com/pf/teamnoah15</a></span></b></div>
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Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-54235306763442608252014-12-31T15:45:00.000-06:002014-12-31T15:50:32.184-06:00Guest Race Report: 2014 Bonk Hard Berryman 16hr AR, Part 1<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.714285714rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Greetings! I have a race report for you, except not written by me. This one's <strike>penned</strike> typed by <a href="http://myracebrain.wordpress.com/">Mike aka "The Garrison"</a> of <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/search/label/WABAR">WABAR</a> fame, and I'm just double-posting it here for you, my lovely readers. We asked Mike to navigate for us (Team <a href="http://www.alpineshop.com/index.cfm">Alpine Shop</a>) because David had a family reunion to attend that weekend and, despite the common misconception that we train 24hrs, we actually encouraged him to leave us because family is important!! So Mike wrote most of this, but I added some <span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">color commentary</em></span>. Be warned, Mike got really wordy, so this is actually going to be a multi-parter. Yeah. For a 16 hour race.</span></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Trek 1 – Don’t Try To Be Funny When You’re Clumsy</span></strong></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Before" class="size-medium wp-image-642" height="265" src="https://myracebrain.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/pre-race.jpg?w=300&h=199" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 1px 4px; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-size: xx-small; font-style: italic; line-height: 32px; text-align: start;">Before</span></td></tr>
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<i><span style="color: red;">(CPs 1-7, 3.5k, 0:41) </span></i><span style="color: #444444;">As with most AR’s the start was a mass start under the banner. This first leg was point to point, so everyone was heading the same direction, to the same control. That control was located about 300 meters downhill from the start. I was racing with people I knew, but as a (fil in) member of Alpine Shop for the first time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Put all this together and what do you get? Mike running. Mike running fast(ish). Mike actually running at the <b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">front</b> of a large pack of racers. Yeah, that was pretty fun.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">HA! I get to take over the comments in red italics now! Hopefully I will be as witty as The Garrison was for the Cowboy Tough race report.</span></i></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Calm before the storm" class="size-medium wp-image-643" height="266" src="https://myracebrain.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/start.jpg?w=300&h=200" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 1px 4px; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-size: xx-small; font-style: italic; line-height: 32px; text-align: start;">Calm before the storm</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Fortunately despite my frenzied dash down hill the team managed to stay together and as we popped out on the gravel road on our way to CP2 we were jogging along with WEDALI/Bushwhacker (heretofore to be known as the WhackaDALIans).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">These first few controls would surely not make or break the race but everyone is, as usual, pretty amped up while we roll along at our “EZ” pace. <span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mike and I have developed a joke about running. I think it happened in the woods at POCAR 2014, I was pretending to run slowly and he had a hard time keeping up with my “EZ” pace. So now whenever we are running fast we just say that is is EZ. NBD. Why are you breathing so hard? </span><span style="border: 0px; color: blue; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">OK, Mike commenting on the commentary. I have two speeds basically. Crawl and sprint. Emily was getting snarky (I know, shocking) about her EZ pace at POCAR so I sprinted by her saying something along the lines of “how’s this for EZ?!?”. And then I kept it up just long enough to get her a little worried about how long we’d have to go at that pace. Now, dead sprint is “EZ”. </span></i></span>We dive into the woods and snag CP2 with no issues. On our way down hill towards the ridge with CP3 I catch/stub my toe and almost face myself into a tree. Unfortunately this is pretty common for me, especially when running the maps.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">On the way up the aforementioned ridge I slip on a rock and go down for real this time. Luckily, falling uphill is not all that painful so I shrug it off. Again, pretty normal for me. Plus, having your face buried in a piece of paper rather than watching where you are going is likely to cause some issues.<em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> (So, now that I’ve established myself as clumsy…)</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We crest on the ridge at CP3 and head another 40m or so up to the punch. At this point we’re running close to the WhackaDALIans and Fusion/Kuat and one other team I think.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="map2" class="wp-image-639 size-medium" height="400" src="https://myracebrain.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/map2.jpg?w=225&h=300" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 1px 4px; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-size: xx-small; font-style: italic; line-height: 32px; text-align: start;">Opening trek section</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I choose to take us along the ridge to the SE that will drop us almost due north from CP4. In hindsight I’m not sure I like this choice. There was no real distinct attack point there, so I should have probably just taken the beeline route. Wish I could think a map through while racing as well as I can 3 months later while sitting on the couch.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As we jog downhill, the terrain starts to get a little rocky and I’m pretty sure I yelled out to everyone to watch their step because, you know, one of THEM might fall and hurt themselves. I’m a very considerate teammate that way. We near the bottom and I check the map one more time to make sure I haven’t missed something before leading everyone uphill.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">That’s when I spot it. A chair just sitting in the woods. Although not as humorous as a toilet, (<em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">You’d be surprised how often you come across a toilet just sitting there in the woods while racing in the Midwest. And the weird part is that it’s not always near any kind of civilization. I would love to hear the discussion that led up to one or more people lugging a porcelain potty out into the woods…</em>) this is for sure a comedic opportunity that I can’t pass up.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="toilet-in-woods" class=" wp-image-644" height="353" src="https://myracebrain.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/toilet-in-woods.jpg?w=231&h=204" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 1px 4px; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="400" /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m ahead of everyone else, but I still don’t want to cost us any time, so I speed up (<span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">EZ-ily</i>) </span>to get to the chair for a good “photo” op (we have no camera, so there will be no actual photo). Buuut, instead I just catch my foot on a vine and do a full face plant on the rocky terrain that I had just warned everyone about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ouch. Like, big big ouch. Like, I’m pretty sure I just ended my race by doing something REALLY stupid and breaking my wrist ouch. Jeff asks if I’m OK. I unconvincingly say “yes?”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ahhh a dream come true. First race with a new team and I DNF the team by trying to be funny and falling on my face instead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Fortunately as I stand and shake myself off I realize that I probably didn’t break my wrist, but just gave myself one heck of a bruise that I’ll no doubt be feeling tomorrow, (<em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I actually wouldn’t, but that’s another story</em>).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As Jeff catches up to check on him I hear him say “Hey, check it out. A chair.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yup. A chair.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now that I’m bleeding, the racing can begin in earnest. (<span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And this is why I love it when The Garrison writes race reports. They’re so stinkin funny!!</i></span>) We grind our way up the hill to punch CP4 then turn to the SE to head for the road. Another team (Kuat I think) was there with us and headed due east downhill. I was worried about missing the road to the north and fighting unnecessarily through the weeds at the bottom of the hill, so I stuck to the SE route.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="10441071_10100542480795962_1681603725146330013_n" class="wp-image-645 size-medium" height="265" src="https://myracebrain.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/10441071_10100542480795962_1681603725146330013_n.jpg?w=300&h=199" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 1px 4px; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-size: xx-small; font-style: italic; line-height: 32px; text-align: start;">One of many cool running pics, only one with all of us.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Turns out there was a really nice N/S road at the bottom of the hill that the other team grabbed and took off on while we fought our way l to the corner of the main road. We lose sight of them here, but it’s early, so nothing to be too concerned about. (<em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Still frustrating though. Stuff like that really erodes any feeling you have of being super clean on the nav</em>.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We run a little too far on the main road before I turn us across the big field to CP5 located in a silo. Literally IN the silo. Poor Jeff does a lap with the punch card before we think to look inside and spot the CP. <span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But on the plus side, this allowed the race photographer to get plenty of shots of us looking confused. At least he made up for it by getting some really awesome pictures of us (and everyone else in the race) running across the big field in the misty morning.</i></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Watcha doin' Jeff? Control's right here!" class="size-medium wp-image-624" height="265" src="https://myracebrain.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/1-trek2.jpg?w=300&h=199" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 1px 4px; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-size: xx-small; font-style: italic; line-height: 32px; text-align: start;">Watcha doin’ Jeff? Control’s right here!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">From the silo it’s a quick run down to the river and along the river for CP7. (This was originally a paddle CP, which had everyone a little perplexed as it involved us going for 2-300 meters the “wrong” way on the river to get the CP before continuing downstream to CP8. However, as we arrived at the actual put-in Gary advised us that it was now a trek CP. I never did ask why this was adamantly a paddle CP before the race but then got changed to a trek anyways. <span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I can help you out here. The boat rental folks showed up quite late to the race, so Gary (the race director) made an on-the-spot change to allow the rental folks a bit more time to unload boats before racers started attacking them.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We make a respectable transition to the boats and are off.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Paddle 1 – A Brief Study In ROI <i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(</i></strong><i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">can you tell Mike is a CEO?</span></i><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">)</i></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: red;"><i>(CP8, 6k, 1:13) </i></span><span style="color: #444444;">I know at least three (possibly four?) teams are neck and neck at the front at this point. Pretty common result for the first hour of the race. So far so good.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Nav for this section? Stay wet." class="size-medium wp-image-635" height="400" src="https://myracebrain.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/map-paddle-1.jpg?w=225&h=300" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 1px 4px; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nav for this section? Stay wet.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Time for some insightful wisdom (that is neither all that insightful nor wise for anyone that actually knows anything about paddling). When a team is right in front of you in the boats, or right behind you for that matter, it’s really hard to resist paddling harder to catch (or stay away from) that other team. Thing is, the return on the investment of paddling harder, especially in a short race, is garbage. Sometimes it feels like you can put in 200% as much effort for about 1.68% improvement on your speed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Then again, I’ve not always raced on the strongest paddling teams? I mean, we’re not bad, but compared to Canadians (<em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">who all seem to be frighteningly good at paddling</em>), we’re average at best.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444;">Anyways, we paddled to CP7. Sometimes a little harder, sometimes not so hard. In the end, we got there. Not much else to say. </span><i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: red;">J</span><span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">eff and I were in a different boat than Mike and David, and we thought we had an excellent paddle. Fusion/Kuat was in the lead and we felt that we gained a little bit of time on them, which is awesome because Fusion/Kuat are great paddlers. Of course, just as one of us mentioned that, we ran aground on a small sand bar and Jeff had to get out to push. Just another day racing with Alpine Shop!</span></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://myracebrain.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/10460210_10100542502532402_772703362756809422_n.jpg" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; color: #9f9f9f; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="10460210_10100542502532402_772703362756809422_n" class="wp-image-646 " height="266" src="https://myracebrain.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/10460210_10100542502532402_772703362756809422_n.jpg?w=407&h=271" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 1px 4px; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="400" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Paddling</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Trek 2 – Time to SHINE*!</span></strong><br /><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">*Yes that’s an acronym, read on for the definition.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: red;">(CPs 9-24, 15k, 4:28) </span></i><span style="color: #444444;">Now it was time for the first true nav/trek part of the race. When we inspected the maps the night before, the sequence of controls had seemed pretty obvious, it was just a matter of which direction we would attack them (clockwise vs. counter). Since we were the second team in behind Kuat, we quickly agreed that whichever direction they went, we would go the other. We felt reasonably confident that we would be strong on this section and didn’t want to get tangled up with another team.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="map trek 1" class="wp-image-637 size-medium" height="400" src="https://myracebrain.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/map-trek-1.jpg?w=225&h=300" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 1px 4px; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="300" /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444;">They chose counterclockwise so we took off to the north for CP18 to complete the loop clockwise. All in all things were going pretty well for us in here. The temps and humidity were rising, but we seemed to be keeping up a pretty good pace. Although not perfect, my nav and route choice were reasonably solid. I would say in the first 12 controls I didn’t have more then 15 minutes of total time loss due to little slips or overshots. </span><i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: red;">In particular I remember Garrison successfully relocating on some pretty subtle terrain towards the northern end of this trek. He got a bit nervous, slowed up, then hopped over 1 small reentrant and BAM! There was the flag! This stuff is definitely not as easy as it looks and he was crushing it.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Not enough for us to be confident of coming out of this section with a lead by any means, but I hadn’t cost us the race.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Then came CP23 and with it my time to SHINE <em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(<b>S</b>uck <b>H</b>ard <b>IN</b> <b>E</b>xcess).</em> At one point I would have sworn that this control was attached to the back of a wild hare that was just running all over that spur. It was that bad. I was sloppy with the first attack and the sight lines were not great. Not an uncommon mistake, even for an experienced navigator, but one that should be recovered from quickly and efficiently.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I did neither.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The safest bet would have been to head back north to the trail we attacked from originally and start over, but more carefully. Instead, we reset and re-attacked from the fence line to the south. THREE TIMES.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(I know that woods all start to look the same after a while but I swear that all the of those attacks felt like Groundhog Day moments.)</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-size: xx-small; font-style: italic; line-height: 32px; text-align: start;">What I’m pretty sure we did at 23</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We also tried attacking from (what I thought was) a small re-entrant to the west. All with no luck. (I should have been freaking out at this point. New guy on the team taking over for a trusted and highly accomplished friend/teammate/navigator in David Frei, and now I’m bumbling like mad through the woods. But, everyone kept their cool and helped me talk through the options. In the end I think it was Jeff or Emily that said “let’s try doing it this way”, and that ended up being the trick. The best (good teammates) and worst (SUCKING at nav) of AR all wrapped up in a nice little package.) <span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Even when Mike started to get a little desperate, we all stuck together and kept trying different things. Jeff is probably one of the best “navigational consultants” around because he can always suggest a logical sequence of solutions, and doesn’t make you feel stupid in the process.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So it’s down to the wire and we do one last reset. (one last before having to move on the next control then decide whether or not to use THAT as our next reset point. A grim proposition at best.) All the way south back to the fence, then west and north up the huge re-entrant. Even though things don’t look right at the start we stick with it and sure enough, at the top of the small re-entrant (that we thought we had used 25 minutes prior, turns out we didn’t) we walk right to it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">At this point I’m struggling with overwhelming feelings of relief and anxiety. At least we found it, but the big question is how much time did it cost us?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The last two controls are easy and we make our way to the TA to get back in the boats. Which is where we discover that we’ve lost <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">over an hour</strong> to the WhackaDALIans, and about 45 minutes to Kuat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444;">Ugh. </span><i><span style="color: red;">I felt the same way too. Not upset with any of my teammates AT ALL...just fearful of the amount of pain we were about to put ourselves in chasing these two speedy teams, with no guarantee that we could ever catch them.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-90303501336208561882014-12-29T10:29:00.001-06:002014-12-29T10:31:11.419-06:00Project Deliverance: How I Got HereI've alluded to it many times in my 2014 race reports: I had a secret weapon this year. Not a pill or superfood or piece of carbon gear. Well, I suppose you could call it a piece of gear, but this secret weapon was designed to be as heavy as possible instead of lightweight.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-847SBfpKVk8/VKF_iqLZbpI/AAAAAAAAOAc/CQw7nNj7Elo/s1600/AcK_U0ACAAAU6rw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-847SBfpKVk8/VKF_iqLZbpI/AAAAAAAAOAc/CQw7nNj7Elo/s1600/AcK_U0ACAAAU6rw.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.3333339691162px;">Visiting GoSonja in 2011!<br />
https://twitter.com/goSonja/status/126874103792664576</td></tr>
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Like many things in my athletic life, it all goes back to my former triathlon coach, <a href="http://gosonja.com/">GoSonja</a>. I was coached by her in 2011 and 2012 as I <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2012/01/on-being-coached.html">got more serious </a>about doing well in long-ass races, specifically <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/search/label/IMCdA">Ironman triathlon</a>. Before becoming a speedy triathlete herself, Sonja had a background in trail <a href="http://gosonja.com/?p=2382">ultras</a> and mountaineering, and I felt she would be able to understand training me for on-road triathlons while also accommodating my need to throw in an off-road adventure race every so often. Early on in our coach-athlete relationship, she sent me an article written by a climber that she felt described training me: TNSTAAFL by <a href="http://www.gymjones.com/gym/disciple/1/">Mark Twight</a>.<br />
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It's hard to find a copy of the entire TNSTAAFL article on-line, but I'll give you the acronym: There's No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. Mr. Twight specifically references pursuing aerobic fitness through anaerobic interval training, and how it doesn't work. Then Mr. Twight further writes about the need to develop aerobic base through actual aerobic training, which is time consuming and deceptively easy, instead of more intense anaerobic efforts, like interval workouts, that can be squeezed in to a much shorter time frame.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oEDap8WFooU/VKF_9pScH_I/AAAAAAAAOAk/zyBnXTYwvhE/s1600/twight_03%2B(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oEDap8WFooU/VKF_9pScH_I/AAAAAAAAOAk/zyBnXTYwvhE/s1600/twight_03%2B(1).jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.3333339691162px;">http://www.gymjones.com/gym/disciple/1/</td></tr>
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I read the article. I read it again. And again. It educated me and fired me up at the same time. Who was this Mark Twight guy, anyway? Google to the rescue, natch. To sum things up rather primitively, Mr. Twight is the founder of <a href="http://www.gymjones.com/knowledge/">Gym Jones</a>, a gym based on Salt Lake City that prepares people to do all sorts of mind-bendingly amazing things, from lift large amounts of weight off of the floor to go to the top of tall mountains to some things that are probably classified to the American public. Oh yes, and they also train a bunch of movie stars.<br />
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Fast-forward to December 2013, this Gym Jones place had been floating around in my consciousness for about two years, but I never quite knew where to start along their path to badassery. I certainly couldn't show up to Salt Lake and ask to join in a few sessions, plus that's not really how the place works, anyway. And then I heard about a gym in St. Louis, <a href="http://www.projectdeliverance.com/">Project Deliverance</a>, which was expanding into a new location and hosting an open house for new athletes. I didn't know anyone associated with the gym, but when I found out that its owners were in tight with the Gym Jones folks, I had to check it out. So I stopped by their open house on my way home from one of my most satisfying <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2013/12/race-report-2013-pere-marquette.html">solo race victories</a> of all time, just to see what was up.<br />
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I liked it right away. A bare-bones gym set-up, no fancy machines or mirrors, just a space with racks, rings, and a mis-matched fleet of AirDyne bikes, C2 rowers, and a SKIerg or two. Yes, this will do. I liked what I heard even more. After chatting with <a href="http://www.projectdeliverance.com/mattowen.htm">Matt Owen</a>, owner and chief motivator/trainer/coach/interior decorator, I knew this would be a great fit. He was interested in adventure racing and how he could use his knowledge of strength to help my capacity for endurance. The thing that sealed it was Matt asked me to send him a copy of my training plan, so he could concoct some strength workouts that would compliment the rhythm of my season.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jxclX3RcmjY/VJ3unW8valI/AAAAAAAAOAE/zOYrPifrtgM/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2014-12-26%2Bat%2B5.18.01%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jxclX3RcmjY/VJ3unW8valI/AAAAAAAAOAE/zOYrPifrtgM/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2014-12-26%2Bat%2B5.18.01%2BPM.png" height="392" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.3333339691162px;">from one of my first sessions at PD. I think that's 165# on DL which was my 1RM at the time.<br />
http://instagram.com/p/iKs-vkq7QA/?modal=true</td></tr>
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I agreed to send him my <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/p/schedule-results.html">schedule</a>, and after a few more emails, I found myself in the gym the next week. Matt paired me up with a few other veteran girls and coached us through a workout, stopping often to demonstrate proper form and make technique suggestions. Here it is, my <a href="http://www.ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_9015/period-1/enddate-2013-12-18">first ever Project Deliverance session</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">WU: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">10min EZ AirDyne, foam roll, 2x10 air squat, 3x5 wall squat, 2x10 shoulder dislocate, 2x20m forward/backward walking lunge</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">THEN: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">back squat: 10x45#, 5x70#, 3x105#</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">AND: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">5 rounds of: 5x70# back squat, 40m sled push +15#, rest</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">CD: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">some core stuff and 50cal AirDyne relay.</span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white;">Even after that short session, I was hooked. What got me most was the atmosphere at Project Deliverance seemed to balance all sorts of life goals. Some people in the gym were obviously athletes, focusing on Olympic lifting or bike racing. Some people were there for weight loss. Some people were there to reclaim their youth, or postpone getting old, whichever way you want to look at it. But despite the wide range of fitness and goals, everyone had a mission and was executing it. That sort of community is really hard to develop, but here it was, just 3 miles from my apartment. I had struck gold, thanks to a long-lost Gym Jones article landing in my lap and refusing to be ignored.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">Next up: what it's like to train at Project Deliverance.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">While you wait, check out Project Deliverance's <a href="http://instagram.com/pdeliverance/">instagram feed</a> full of awesome people doing awesome things, and <a href="http://www.projectdeliverance.com/apps/blog/">website</a> with examples of daily training. Oh yeah, they're on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ProjectDeliverance">bookface</a> too.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-38712936165982996512014-12-20T16:25:00.000-06:002014-12-20T16:25:08.314-06:00Race Report: 2014 Cowboy Tough 3.5day Adventure Race (Part 5)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i style="line-height: 16.8666667938232px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b>NOTE: </b>This is the fifth in a series of posts about Cowboy Tough multi-day adventure race. I (Emily) worked together with my teammate Mike to write most of the text, and then Mike added in his own comedic flair in red italics. Enjoy!</span></i></div>
<span style="line-height: 20.533332824707px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.8666667938232px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/07/race-report-2014-cowboy-tough-35day.html" style="background-color: white;">Part 1</a></i></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 20.533332824707px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.8666667938232px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/08/race-report-2014-cowboy-tough-35day.html" style="background-color: white;">Part 2</a></i></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 20.533332824707px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.8666667938232px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/08/race-report-2014-cowboy-tough-35day_8.html" style="background-color: white;">Part 3</a></i></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 20.533332824707px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.8666667938232px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/12/race-report-2014-cowboy-tough-35day.html" style="background-color: white;">Part 4</a></i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20.533332824707px;"><span style="line-height: 16.8666667938232px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 20.533332824707px;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 16.8666667938232px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>START OF DAY 4</b></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9fQQL9vM7Xc/VJXug9wcdRI/AAAAAAAAN-U/puPRBAqtaEU/s1600/CT4_start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9fQQL9vM7Xc/VJXug9wcdRI/AAAAAAAAN-U/puPRBAqtaEU/s1600/CT4_start.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrei prepping his bike for the start of Day 4. Photo by Chris Radcliffe.</td></tr>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-50e689ea-67fd-bb09-b275-48f963e71b70"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our alarms go off around 0400 after a solid 4hr sleep and we go about preparing for our final day on the Cowboy Tough 2014 course: a 50-mile road ride into Casper where we will drop our bikes off at the finish line, then run a paved trail to the paddle put-in, and paddle back to the finish line through a man-made whitewater park on the North Platte River. We pack our bins up for the last time, load them onto Rev3’s Mobile TA, and get set for the day with a slew of other teams.</span></span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE 1, CPs 47-49, 50mi</span></b><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fW73r0TPZsQ/VIUixc8ilPI/AAAAAAAAN5w/X4rIA9arZsg/s1600/2014-08-11%2B11.12.11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fW73r0TPZsQ/VIUixc8ilPI/AAAAAAAAN5w/X4rIA9arZsg/s1600/2014-08-11%2B11.12.11.jpg" height="400" style="cursor: move;" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final bike ride, 50mi on 1:gajillion scale Gazeteer map.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KiJ_KrWNo9E/VIUi0n71MII/AAAAAAAAN54/yZDxvko3cNQ/s1600/2014-08-11%2B11.12.30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KiJ_KrWNo9E/VIUi0n71MII/AAAAAAAAN54/yZDxvko3cNQ/s1600/2014-08-11%2B11.12.30.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333339691162px;">The final bike ride, 50mi on 1:gajillion scale Gazeteer map.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We roll out on pavement in a tight pack with Tecnu, Columbia, and YogaSlackers, among others. Our new friends on the YogaSlackers help WABAR stay together by letting us in their draft from time to time. The pace is quite fast but by working together, we are able to stay in the main pack, laughing and smiling with exhilaration as the sun rises on a picture-perfect Wyoming day. </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And at this point we were experiencing a first for the 2014 running of Cowboy Tough (at least for our team). WE WERE ACTUALLY USING OUR BIKE LIGHTS. I spent considerable time debating my current battery stash and ultimately opted to invest in a monster batter for my Lupine. That thing could easily get me through the night (probably two) on full gas. And this was, quite literally, the first time I turned it on. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fgwI4HRdvxQ/VJXvnholr9I/AAAAAAAAN-c/XRWsim0NSww/s1600/CT4_gravel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fgwI4HRdvxQ/VJXvnholr9I/AAAAAAAAN-c/XRWsim0NSww/s1600/CT4_gravel.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pack of YogaSlackers, Columbia/Vidaraid, and Tecnu that we got spit out of. Photo by Erik Sanders (Yogis)</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After several miles, the route turns south on some gravel and the pack breaks up a little bit, making drafting much harder and our effort levels rise.</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anyone that has ever biked in a group is very familiar with this situation. Phase 1, full of adrenaline, “yeah man, I got this, I’m a beast, bring it!!" Phase 2, concern, “wow, this is pretty tough, I might need to get a little closer to that person’s back tire for more draft while my legs warm up”. Phase 3, implosion immediately followed by ejection off the back of the pack, (no quote for this part because you are generally hypoxic and have lost the ability to speak).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ajnIvhWrUBY/VJXwYYhqU5I/AAAAAAAAN-s/-csDohDZ5Os/s1600/P1030603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ajnIvhWrUBY/VJXwYYhqU5I/AAAAAAAAN-s/-csDohDZ5Os/s1600/P1030603.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garrison and Rachel crushing it!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s a difficult conundrum to face, and an even tougher one to solve for a 4-person team on day 4 of an adventure race, but luckily Garrison decides to run over a nail and puncture his tire, thus making the choice for us. (</span></span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and avoiding Phase 3 above</span><span style="color: black; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">) We stop and fix the flat, then resume riding at our own pace. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ugRCcg6X8VA/VJXwFKh5_LI/AAAAAAAAN-k/retD-jXXK6k/s1600/P1030608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ugRCcg6X8VA/VJXwFKh5_LI/AAAAAAAAN-k/retD-jXXK6k/s1600/P1030608.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pigtails FTW!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we get back to riding, we weave through different teams we’ve met over the course of the race. It’s great to share a quick chat with everyone, and for several miles we hook up with the 4-guy team GUTS who are all from Wyoming. They give us the inside scoop on post-race restaurants in Casper, plus some intel on a good route back into town. We briefly scoot ahead of them, but once we reach Casper city limits, GUTS catches back up (probably due to Mike’s inevitable poop stop, yeah for real). (</span></span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Despite my best efforts to resolve this before starting I had to make one more stop in a cow field before returning to civilization. What can I say, I’m exceedingly regular</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">) GUTS then leads us the local way back to TA. It’s super fun to take the locals-only shortcuts, connecting sidewalks and bike paths with a few meters of dirt trails here and there. On one of the paths we see Tecnu and Columbia running so everyone gets a high-five...yee-haw!</span></span><br />
<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-cbeab379-6803-1412-bb35-c8cf69b3a1fa"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We reach the Start/Finish line with a cruel reality - the race isn’t over yet! We drop our bikes, but have a 5-ish mile run still to go, followed by the final paddle. In some consolation, we don’t have to bring any mandatory gear besides helmets, but Andrei still takes a pack for the team to carry everyone’s water. It’s pretty hot out and we can’t neglect hydration/nutrition even in the final hours. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">TREK 1, no CPs, 5.5mi</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The route to the paddle put-in is marked on our maps as mandatory, following a network of Casper’s paved pedestrian trails. It’s not that hard to navigate, but it is really hard to summon anything more than a shuffle from our legs. But a shuffle is still better than walking, so we slowly make our way along the path, reminding each other to keep drinking and keep our eyes on the prize. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I can say with certainty that this was absolutely the worst five miles of the race for me. I had NO desire to push myself, I think my normal “heading to the finish line” adrenaline boost was broken since we were heading AWAY from the finish line...</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4OsFS1l1cKc/VJXyWvPeZNI/AAAAAAAAN-4/D9j8Jz3_PeI/s1600/10494340_746229535418119_8805350111661232899_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4OsFS1l1cKc/VJXyWvPeZNI/AAAAAAAAN-4/D9j8Jz3_PeI/s1600/10494340_746229535418119_8805350111661232899_o.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tecnu and Columbia/Vidaraid on the run. Photo by Chris Radcliffe.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As we “run”, we get glimpses of the whitewater features on the North Platte River, and they look a bit scary. Sure, they’re man-made, so that reduces the chance of weird underwater rocks and foot entrapments, but they still look harder than anything we’ve ever paddled in a canoe before. So we give ourselves pep talks as we shuffle along - “keep your eyes up” “find a good line” and “no matter what, KEEP PADDLING”. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We finally reach the paddle put-in and experience a mixture of excitement and fear starting the final leg of Cowboy Tough. Just a 5-mile downstream paddle, how hard could it be? </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">PADDLE 1, no CPs, 5mi</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And for the first few miles, it’s NOT hard. The current is helping us out and, as Midwesterners, we’re plenty experienced in paddling canoes with our double-bladed kayak paddles. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And then, we hit the manmade whitewater park. There are 4 rapids, each somewhere around Class II or III. Mike and Emily lead off and hit the first one okay, but take on a ton of water on the second and have to pull over to bail out the boat. </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh boy was I missing the good old yellow bananas. These flat bottom boats were a bear to keep balanced once they got 3-4 inches of water in them</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Rachel and Andrei are following closely behind and have to do the same, although we’re all glad to be stopping of our own accord rather than unceremoniously dumping...t</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">hat is, until the third rapid. It’s big. We’re paddling giant bowls. Here, let’s just let Legendary Randy’s video explain what happened (click to 1:56 for WABAR footage):</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/101321407" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> </div>
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/101321407">Final Day</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/legendaryrandy">Randy Ericksen</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To recap: Emily and Mike take a slightly sub-optimal line into the whitewater. Emily gets knocked off-balance by the waves and does a ninja kick to compensate, but she DOESN’T STOP PADDLING and is able to recover. Mike and Emily explode into laughter as Legendary Randy cheers them on. (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Note from Emily: I honestly don’t know how I got knocked off-balance. The video doesn’t show any weird waves, but I just remember paddling along and then all of a sudden my foot was in the air above my head. What? But whenever I am scared on the water, I always try to picture Super-K <a href="http://youtu.be/dszIT8yysPs?t=3m8s">paddling a packraft at Untamed New England 2014 </a>, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">that girl just DOES NOT QUIT and everything is okay. So as soon as I got my foot back on the bottom of the boat where it belonged, I tried to resume paddle-like motions, and surprise! everything was okay!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Even as it was happening and immediately after all I can remember thinking was "WTF", followed by “at least we are not swimming”)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dV5zHt1vwiw/VJX1EdnnChI/AAAAAAAAN_U/pb-y_bHnufs/s1600/Whitewater-Ninja-5490d0b748a60.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dV5zHt1vwiw/VJX1EdnnChI/AAAAAAAAN_U/pb-y_bHnufs/s1600/Whitewater-Ninja-5490d0b748a60.gif" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite GIF of all time.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Andrei and Rachel take an even more sub-optimal line into the third rapid. No ninja kicks ensue, but despite taking on a ton of water, they both KEEP PADDLING and keep the boat upright. Except, a few more meters downstream, Andrei and Rachel’s boat has taken on so much water then it becomes unruly and they swamp. At this point, Emily and Mike had pulled over to the riverbank to bail out their boat and don’t see their teammates bobbing in the water. Emily and Mike get back in their newly-emptied boat, take a look around, no teammates. Oh no. What happened? We start paddling towards the fourth and final rapids in the whitewater park, and spot Andrei and Rachel running on the bike path next to the river, with their paddles but no boat. Oh dear. This could be bad. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">At this point I was extremely concerned that Rachel and my “paddling at the very end of the long race” curse had struck again. Two years ago at UNE we lost our packraft thanks to the unfortunately timing of an out of boat control and a damn dam release. 5 minutes away from the boat, and by the time we were back it was on its way to the Atlantic. At speed. Thankfully, Mark Lattanzi of GOALS was there to crush the one man packraft sprint and save our boat, and thankfully this little mishap was not as bad as it could have been...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Except, it’s not nearly as bad as it could be, thanks to the continuing kindness of the GUTS team. They find Andrei and Rachel’s boat in the river before the 4th rapids, grab it, and haul it over to the riverbank where Andrei and Rachel are stranded. The six of them (4 GUTS and 2 WABAR) maneuver the boat around the rapids and get everyone situated just as Emily and Mike come through the splashy-splashy. What a relief!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now that the best/worst part of the water is behind us, we just have a few more miles of downstream paddling to crush out before finishing (!!) Cowboy Tough 2014. We spend these miles reflecting on the adrenaline surge of the whitewater and the overall accomplishment of completing a 4-day stage race, which for 2 of us is our first multi-day effort ever. We cruise into the final take-out with GUTS and, out of appreciation for their continued sportsmanship all day, ask them to cross the finish line ahead of us, to the cheers of their waiting families. Great job guys! </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (One of the coolest things about doing the last couple of hours of the race near GUTS was the fact that they had a family and friend cheering section that we got to benefit from. I think it wasn’t until the third time we saw them on the running trail to the paddle (yeah, they kept leapfrogging so they could cheer their team on multiple times!) before we realized it was the same people. Then I’m sure it had to have been Emily that asked who they were, introduced us, shared emails and blog addresses then got herself invited to Christmas dinner. That’s just how she rolls.)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q_FPCsBoybw/VJXyxf9-PfI/AAAAAAAAN_A/bcGualxYrHU/s1600/CT4_finish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q_FPCsBoybw/VJXyxf9-PfI/AAAAAAAAN_A/bcGualxYrHU/s1600/CT4_finish.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WABAR at the finish line of Cowboy Tough! Photo by Chris Radcliffe.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">When it’s time for WABAR to cross the finish line, we are arm-in-arm, exceedingly grateful that we are all still friends. As any team does, we had our tense moments out there that tested the strength of our partnership. But in the end, the pull of the finish line and the commitment to represent the Midwestern AR community was plenty motivation to stick it out and keep pushing forward. We finish Cowboy Tough in 4th place overall, behind a highly experienced podium - Tecnu (1st), Columbia/Vidaraid (2nd) and YogaSlackers (3rd). </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dde1f3855tQ/VJXzBMh7izI/AAAAAAAAN_I/R4AatrN3MdU/s1600/CT4_awards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dde1f3855tQ/VJXzBMh7izI/AAAAAAAAN_I/R4AatrN3MdU/s1600/CT4_awards.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WABAR during the awards ceremony! Photo by Chris Radcliffe.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">After we finish, Rev3 has provided a plentiful post-race buffet from Qdoba so we all load up our plates and chow down, socializing with other teams and even Wyoming’s governor! Our stomachs are so happy to be filled with real food, and we’re grateful that the weather is nice enough to just lounge around outside and be comfortable. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We all start gradually checking back into the real world, turning on our phones that have been buried in luggage for the past several days. For Andrei, Mike, and Emily, it’s the usual emails and bookface messages popping up. For Rachel, it’s an entirely new level of emotion as she learns that one of her good friends in Arkansas has passed away after a mountain bike crash. This is difficult news to handle at any time, but in the physical and mental post-race exhaustion, it’s <a href="http://www.arkansasoutside.com/we-lost-a-hero/">just too much</a>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The news is hard on her and as a team, we try to do everything we can to help her cope, while at the same time sorting through gear and packing up for our flights back home tomorrow. Thankfully, Mike’s Dad is on hand to help shuttle people and bins, and even take us out to dinner! </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(It was very cool having dad there for a race, even if it was only the closing ceremonies.)</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We eventually get everything packed away, and hit up the local Dairy Queen with Tecnu, Silent Chasers, Adventure Capitalists/BDAR, and others for a late-night calorie binge. </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">French fries and ice cream? Yes please.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">POST-RACE:</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrei, cashed out.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">So there you have it folks, the long-winded race report from my first multi-day adventure race. Some </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">retrospective thoughts:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">--We definitely did not expect to get that much sleep/down time between each day (2hrs, 6hrs, 4hrs sleep, plus extra off-the-clock time spent socializing and dealing with bins). I came into this race expecting to go straight through and having to manage our own sleep. If I’d known we’d get that much sleep I might have packed more comfort items in my TA bin. I’m a little disappointed about not having the chance at pure exhaustion, but overall, it was probably a good thing because I still have a lot to learn about TAing fast out of a bin. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">--We were super conservative on water/food and each of us probably carried way too much in that department. But, the goal wasn't fast-n-light...it was steady-n-smart. We definitely accomplished that.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">--I was very, VERY happy with how we managed our effort throughout the race. We only focused on our steady-n-smart goal and not other teams passing us. We all had our low moments but really nothing catastrophic, and they were never all simultaneous. This paid off big time as we were able to push hard late on Day 3. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">--Eating went well for me, although I packed WAY too much food. </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Me too. Still working on the last of the gels I bought for the race…)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some of that was just a function of the course being short. Things that worked great for me on course: CR333, pecan sandies, dark chocolate/salt MOJO bars, flat pretzels. Things that were good in TA: Boost, Tortillas with dehydrated eggs, oatmeal, fruit cups. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Secret weapon form me, 3000 combined calories of dehydrated mac n’ cheese and Campbell’s Chunky Soup. Thank God for that 6 hours of sleep…)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> I never really got sick of anything, these were just extra good.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">--Gear that went well for me: CEP calf sleeves + swiftwick aspire socks. Loose shorts for trekking and paddling (the kind with built-in underwear). White arm coolers. </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(I’ll never ever ever go to a race without arm coolers again, even though I don’t think they’re quite as effective in midwestern humidity)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CHAPSTICK!!!!! </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><----Yes, just, yes. By the end of a long race chapstick has passed food and water on the needs hierarchy and making a hard run at oxygen.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">--Not a lot of nav required for the race. That was a bummer, but we did sort of expect that. We were super proud that when there was actual navigation, we crushed it (fastest split overall in Hell’s Half Acre). I could probably write an entire blog post on my thoughts on this. </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a teammate that generally provides value through his navigation skills this can be a tough one. It’s easy to feel marginalized when you’re not strong at all physically and all you have to do on nav is “not screw up”. Then, at the nav crux of the race I folded and turned the maps over. But, I feel pretty good about being able to swallow my pride/ego and let Andrei work his magic. Which he totally did!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">--I’m surprised more teams didn't run CX tires. I thought hard about it but at the last minute ran out of time. Even with the advertised singletrack (that didn't actually make it into the final course), I think CX tires would have been way faster because there was so much road riding.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-66621713697597795442014-12-16T21:01:00.001-06:002014-12-16T21:06:40.404-06:002014 By The Numbers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
December's the time of year that bloggers, especially athlete bloggers, start writing "Year in Review" posts, chronicling their achievements on a monthly basis. I did that in <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2013/01/well-that-was-fun-2012-in-review.html">2012</a>, and it just turned into an exhaustive list of racing (and <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/p/kilimanjaro.html">summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro</a>!). In 2013, I couldn't even bring myself to write such a thing again. But for 2014, I do want to give a shout-out to some of the awesome things that happened, but just not in a blow-by-blow sort of way. If you want that, check out my <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/p/schedule-results.html">Schedule & Results page</a> for race details. Instead, I'm going to go all "By The Numbers" on the blog, except I'm not quite sure which newspaper/magazine pioneered this concept, therefore I have no attribution other than I didn't think up this idea myself. So! I now present to you:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uZcvN0tok_w/VJDam8ExFUI/AAAAAAAAN7k/Il1O6F0Avak/s1600/Whitewater-Ninja-5490d0b748a60.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uZcvN0tok_w/VJDam8ExFUI/AAAAAAAAN7k/Il1O6F0Avak/s1600/Whitewater-Ninja-5490d0b748a60.gif" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full video here: http://vimeo.com/channels/cowboytough2014/101321407</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">0: </span><span style="text-align: center;">times I've fallen out of a canoe this year.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gp4sy8_I8ZU/VJDcvxHf2BI/AAAAAAAAN7w/AODRxarcbuA/s1600/ot100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gp4sy8_I8ZU/VJDcvxHf2BI/AAAAAAAAN7w/AODRxarcbuA/s1600/ot100.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early on in the OT100MTB. Photo by Stacey Hagen.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">3: </span></b>mountain bike hundo's raced in 2014. Top 10 in each of them (8th - <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/05/race-report-2014-cohutta-100.html">Cohutta</a>, 7th - <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/06/race-report-2014-mohican-100.html">Mohican</a>, 2nd - OT100MTB...race report not written yet).<br />
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<a href="http://photobukalo.zenfolio.com/p639101773/e364e5b4f" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Vladimir Bukalo Photography: 2014 USARA Awards Ceremony &emdash; " src="http://photobukalo.zenfolio.com/img/s8/v75/p911104847-3.jpg" height="387" width="580" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">5th: </span></b>place for team <a href="http://www.alpineshop.com/">Alpine Shop</a> at USARA Adventure Racing National Championships in October (race report not written yet). A race that showed me the real meaning of teamwork, and how deeply committed each of us are to the team's success.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RtaFZ09k9B4/VJDeJ-ODbYI/AAAAAAAAN78/NyaJTMzHt7Y/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2014-12-16%2Bat%2B7.36.20%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RtaFZ09k9B4/VJDeJ-ODbYI/AAAAAAAAN78/NyaJTMzHt7Y/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2014-12-16%2Bat%2B7.36.20%2BPM.png" height="400" width="396" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://instagram.com/p/uEJB4Qq7S-/</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">7: </span></b>laps of Council Bluff I rode consecutively at <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/10/race-report-2014-burnin-at-bluff-12hr.html">Burnin at the Bluff</a> in October to set a new women's 12hr solo record.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ACpn8PYCVzI/VJDtOCXUynI/AAAAAAAAN9s/i7HDq8uY36w/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2014-12-16%2Bat%2B8.40.08%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ACpn8PYCVzI/VJDtOCXUynI/AAAAAAAAN9s/i7HDq8uY36w/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2014-12-16%2Bat%2B8.40.08%2BPM.png" height="397" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://instagram.com/p/kVn0cEq7RP/</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">8: </span></b>pairs of shoes I went through in January/February trying to find something to work with my weird feet: <span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Hoka Stinson M7.5, Hoka Stinson W8, Altra Lone Peak M8, Brooks Cascadia M7.5, Brooks Cascadia W9, Salomon Mission M8, Salomon Mission M7.5, Altra Superior M7.5. Plus 2 types of insoles: Superfeet Orange and Superfeet Berry. Luckily, with the help of Certified Pedorthist Angie Bono at <a href="http://www.alpineshop.com/">Alpine Shop</a>, we found a combo that kept my feet happy for the whole year (Brooks Cascadia M7.5 + Superfeet Orange insole).</span><br />
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<a href="http://m.maploco.com/visited-states/mine.php?states=CA-GA-IL-IN-MD-MO-OH-SD-TN-WI-WV-WY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://map1.maploco.com/visited-states/ml/CA-GA-IL-IN-MD-MO-OH-SD-TN-WI-WV-WY.png" height="271" width="400" /><br />Create Your Own Adventure Race Map</a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">12: </span></b>states I've raced in this year. Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, California, Tennessee, Georgia, West Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Maryland.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R-gFq8MIvL4/VJDhWBZB-jI/AAAAAAAAN8Q/fHDa6JxCuM4/s1600/IMG_9698.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R-gFq8MIvL4/VJDhWBZB-jI/AAAAAAAAN8Q/fHDa6JxCuM4/s1600/IMG_9698.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeff, me, Doug, David at the Bonk Hard Chill.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SAdHjuhXj-E/VJDiX3RdLWI/AAAAAAAAN8c/92tszhm_zyQ/s1600/brawl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SAdHjuhXj-E/VJDiX3RdLWI/AAAAAAAAN8c/92tszhm_zyQ/s1600/brawl.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Jason, Kyle, Garret, Abby, me at the BAAR Brawl. Photo by Aaron Johnson.<br />
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100960628245093&set=pcb.627737533941129</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xFQcYOJ7MAE/VJDjm2YLhCI/AAAAAAAAN8o/QEPhSaKFOZY/s1600/P1060303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xFQcYOJ7MAE/VJDjm2YLhCI/AAAAAAAAN8o/QEPhSaKFOZY/s1600/P1060303.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Mark, me, Andy, Shane at Wild Wonderful...before Mark impaled himself.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4WA9daZB4uE/VJDg8hkO_LI/AAAAAAAAN8I/Cgf7phXT_Dk/s1600/ct.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4WA9daZB4uE/VJDg8hkO_LI/AAAAAAAAN8I/Cgf7phXT_Dk/s1600/ct.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrei, Mike, Rachel, and me at the finish of Cowboy Tough.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9X-3AGLBOhQ/VJDkrONSQFI/AAAAAAAAN8w/gXdEH0WsRqg/s1600/cw8_finish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9X-3AGLBOhQ/VJDkrONSQFI/AAAAAAAAN8w/gXdEH0WsRqg/s1600/cw8_finish.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">me, David, Erl, Jeff at the finish of Castlewood 8hr</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">14: </span></b>teammates I've raced with this year. Jeff Sona, David Frei, Mike Garrison, Rachel Furman, Kyle Peter, Garret Bean, Abby Broughton, Jason Popilsky, Doug Nishimura, Mark Lattanzi, Andy Bacon, Shane Hagerman, Andrei Karpov, Scott Erlandson. Proud to say I'd race with any one of them again in a heartbeat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P67FAddiqI8/VJDqK55XutI/AAAAAAAAN9g/_ErJMIIE9fE/s1600/start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P67FAddiqI8/VJDqK55XutI/AAAAAAAAN9g/_ErJMIIE9fE/s1600/start.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Start of the Wild Wonderful AR.<br />
https://www.facebook.com/ACE.AdventureResort.WestVirginiaVacations/photos/t.3101348/10152212436629748</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">15: </span></b>adventure races I started and finished, totaling roughly 233 hours. This is counting <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/search/label/WABAR">Cowboy Tough</a> as 4 individual races, given the stage race format and massive amount of sleep we got.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5AV69C4X2HI/VJBg9ESg-HI/AAAAAAAAN60/g0OMxYPXKe0/s1600/mfxc%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5AV69C4X2HI/VJBg9ESg-HI/AAAAAAAAN60/g0OMxYPXKe0/s1600/mfxc%2B2.jpg" height="241" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jerks. All of us.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Pw5ikukzQXs/VJBgv3K4CCI/AAAAAAAAN6s/xvckBmY6Odo/s1600/mfxc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Pw5ikukzQXs/VJBgv3K4CCI/AAAAAAAAN6s/xvckBmY6Odo/s1600/mfxc.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from above, courtesy Lawman.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">20: </span></b>roughly the number of jerks who drank beers in the Black River for MFXC <a href="http://teamseagal.blogspot.com/2014/07/mfxc-5-deets-n-mo-info-yo.html">The Karkness</a>. The most fun non-race weekend of 2014.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U-1jjj3Yo5s/VJBjVL4-LVI/AAAAAAAAN7M/MP2l1G8Aypk/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2014-12-16%2Bat%2B10.51.44%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U-1jjj3Yo5s/VJBjVL4-LVI/AAAAAAAAN7M/MP2l1G8Aypk/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2014-12-16%2Bat%2B10.51.44%2BAM.png" height="391" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">215# DL PR - April 2014.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0v-35QSo5W8/VJBhH7_ls9I/AAAAAAAAN68/FrqBHANlmsw/s1600/pd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0v-35QSo5W8/VJBhH7_ls9I/AAAAAAAAN68/FrqBHANlmsw/s1600/pd.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">jump squat at 45# - December 2014.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">55: </span></b>sessions at <a href="http://www.projectdeliverance.com/">Project Deliverance</a>. The secret to my durability this year. PRs (at an average body weight of 135#): deadlift 215#, back squat 155#, front squat 135#, power clean 105#, split jerk 95#, overhead squat 75#.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TY928ZFUCnc/VJDpOt-mMTI/AAAAAAAAN9Y/TnVRdXoFjAg/s1600/DSC09420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TY928ZFUCnc/VJDpOt-mMTI/AAAAAAAAN9Y/TnVRdXoFjAg/s1600/DSC09420.JPG" height="246" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrei, me, Garrison, Rachel at the Stubborn Mule 30hr.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">72: </span></b>checkpoints at my favorite event of 2014 - the <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/07/race-report-2014-stubborn-mule-30hr.html">Stubborn Mule 30hr Adventure Race</a> in Wisconsin, hosted by 180 Adventures. And, perhaps more incredibly, each checkpoint was hung correctly and none were missing. Super kudos to Paula the race director and her team!! The Stubborn Mule also had the most beautiful paddle of 2014 on the Wisconsin River (narrowly edging out paddling on the Gasconade River in Missouri at the 2014 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/silkychrome/media_set?set=a.10100542479962632.1073741828.3101348&type=3">Bonk Hard Berryman Adventure Race</a>).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P6VytnRuCQc/VJDlakAao1I/AAAAAAAAN84/9NmEw-i1NaA/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2014-12-16%2Bat%2B8.07.12%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P6VytnRuCQc/VJDlakAao1I/AAAAAAAAN84/9NmEw-i1NaA/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2014-12-16%2Bat%2B8.07.12%2BPM.png" height="242" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://www.ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_9015/period-365/enddate-2014-12-31</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">889 hours, 8 minutes, and 34 seconds: </span></b>duration of training and racing I've logged in <a href="http://www.ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_9015">AttackPoint</a> for 2014. Biggest volume year of my life. If you divide this among the 50 active weeks I've had (taking these final 2 weeks of the year off for resting), that comes out to an average training week of 17hrs45min.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e1n-IvF1K98/VJDmP-sUm6I/AAAAAAAAN9E/iA0RNw_AYM8/s1600/noah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e1n-IvF1K98/VJDmP-sUm6I/AAAAAAAAN9E/iA0RNw_AYM8/s1600/noah.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">https://www.facebook.com/teamnoahracing/photos/a.292318730932334.1073741826.117663505064525/292316817599192</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">$2,195.00: </span></b>dollars raised for <a href="http://teamnoahfoundation.com/">Team Noah Foundation</a> from my <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/01/emilys-epic-birthday-adventure.html">birthday party in January</a>. We used the money raised to donate a ton of heart pillows to the Dallas Heart Center at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis. Wondering what we're up to for 2015? Stay <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1562810857286589/">tuned</a> for details!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pyxY58er6cU/VJDnJLqKYVI/AAAAAAAAN9M/c70U9ET0hhc/s1600/sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pyxY58er6cU/VJDnJLqKYVI/AAAAAAAAN9M/c70U9ET0hhc/s1600/sunset.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the many beautiful moments Noah has given us.</td></tr>
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Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-91525279460858120902014-12-07T20:49:00.000-06:002014-12-08T17:35:24.353-06:00Race Report: 2014 Cowboy Tough 3.5day Adventure Race (Part 4)<i style="background-color: white; color: #505050; line-height: 16.8666667938232px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>NOTE: </b>This is the fourth in a series of posts about Cowboy Tough multi-day adventure race. I (Emily) worked together with my teammate Mike to write most of the text, and then Mike added in his own comedic flair in <span style="color: red;">red italics</span>. Enjoy!</span></i><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; line-height: 20.533332824707px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.866666793823242px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/07/race-report-2014-cowboy-tough-35day.html" style="color: #909090;">Part 1</a></i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; line-height: 20.533332824707px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.866666793823242px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/08/race-report-2014-cowboy-tough-35day.html" style="color: #909090;">Part 2</a></i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; line-height: 20.533332824707px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.866666793823242px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/08/race-report-2014-cowboy-tough-35day_8.html">Part 3</a></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.533332824707px;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 16.8666667938232px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>START OF DAY 3</b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After more hours of sleep (six!!) than some of us get during a normal weeknight, we are woken up by our 0500 alarms. We gather round our bins for breakfast and get ready for the day. Because we were a bit rushed with only 45min of morning prep yesterday, we each agreed on 60min today and it seems to be the perfect amount. We prepped all of our bikes last night (changed Mike’s flat tire, filled bottles and bentos) and they are hanging in Rev3’s Mobile TA. We dress ourselves for the day and then put our packs inside our bins and load those into the Mobile TA as well. Day 3 begins with whitewater rafting, and we aren’t allowed to have our packs in the rafts with us. Rev3 will drive them to the take-out instead. We gather around Mark for an 0600 start with the usual suspects: Tecnu, Columbia, YogaSlackers, Journey, Silent Chasers, and I think a few other teams. Mark shouts GO! and we all race off! </span></span><i style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: red; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This of course meant running, which had not been my friend to this point in the race. However, whether it was due to early morning adrenaline or all the food and sleep, I was feeling pretty darn good.</i></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AqAemnfgo5g/VIToi89wrlI/AAAAAAAAN2I/pnKqoQzuigM/s1600/CT3_start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AqAemnfgo5g/VIToi89wrlI/AAAAAAAAN2I/pnKqoQzuigM/s1600/CT3_start.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The start of Day 3. Photo by Chris Radcliffe.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The first order of business is to get ourselves to the whitewater rafting put-in on the Big Horn River. It’s located very close to our railroad trestle shortcut from last night, just a few downhill kilometers on a paved road. We’re running at a good clip and making sure that we’re all ready for the day. Someone mentions the “Start of Day” punch requirement and Rachel stops dead in her tracks. “You guys, I didn’t punch Start of Day, were we supposed to?” </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our stomachs drop. We start tentatively jogging forward again and spewing questions at each other. We downloaded the ePunch last night, does that count? Is the Start of Day punch mandatory or just a formality? We checked in verbally with Mark, is that enough? Wouldn’t Rev3 know that we’re gone and mark our time down anyway? After a few seconds, we realize this is a risk we simply cannot take, especially when fixing it would take only 10ish minutes of extra running. Emily offers to run back to TA with the ePunch, and Rachel hands it off. The trailing teams give her plenty of confused looks but when she holds up the ePunch stick (no extra breath for words), they seem to understand. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Back in TA, Emily locates Rev3 staffer Greg who has the Start of Day control, punches, and rejoins the team who is waiting on the road. We retrace our steps downhill and Mike strategizes on how to make up for our few lost minutes. This normally wouldn’t be a huge deal, but we’ve been told by Rev3 that they will only launch rafts when they’re filled with 8 racers. This means we’ve got to make it to the put-in with another team to avoid being stranded. With the front of the pack long gone ahead of us, we could be facing a long delay if there aren’t another 4 racers ready to paddle when we get to the put-in. Luckily, we spot two teams spread out ahead of us, so we run hard to place ourselves in the middle of them as we arrive at the put-in, thus guaranteeing ourselves spots on a raft leaving immediately. Crisis averted...</span></span><br />
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<span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I put it a considerable amount of mental effort doing the math on this one. Rachel was beside herself with anxiety because of the possibility of getting stuck at the put-in for quite some time. After doing the math (a number of times) I assured her that we were good to go based on all the numbers I had counted.</em></span></div>
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<em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We now return to the twist that everyone is expecting thanks to Emily’s ominous usage of the ellipsis…</span></em></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DgXdnI6RZnI/VITtnxyXmbI/AAAAAAAAN2o/-HVCQBSDl1M/s1600/2014-08-11%2B11.04.11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DgXdnI6RZnI/VITtnxyXmbI/AAAAAAAAN2o/-HVCQBSDl1M/s1600/2014-08-11%2B11.04.11.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of the WW paddle, northbound on the Big Horn River.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">...or so we thought. </span></span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(See? Ellipsis = plot twist!)</span></em><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once we check in at the put-in, the raft company informs us they will only release boats two at a time for safety. This means with need SIXTEEN racers ready to paddle, instead of 8. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px;"> (</span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">At this point I was pretty pissed at all that extra thinking I had just done. I mean come on, that was at least an extra .75 calories I burned!) </span></em><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">We look around. There are only 12 of us. We have to wait for 4 other racers before we can leave. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">None of us are happy about this new information, Rachel especially. We reassure her that this was a team mistake, that we are all responsible for communicating about punching requirements, especially in the hurried morning hours. There is no way she is at fault. Still, she takes the mistake to heart and we all need a little chill time as we keep glancing back at the road, silently willing another team to show up and allow us to get on the water.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First two boats on the Big Horn. Photo by Chris Radcliffe.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is a tense 10 minutes, but finally we spot 4 racers jogging down to the put in, and start cheering for them. Hoo-ray! We are paired up with Wind River Country Racing***, a team of 3 girls and 1 guy, all from Wyoming. The raft company gets us suited up in helmets and PFD’s and we launch onto the Big Horn River in two 8-person rafts, each with a guide using oars. Our guide is named Whitey and he tells us stories about the river as we make our way downstream. There is a big Class IV rapid near the beginning that we hit cleanly. Then we have a bunch of flatter water that requires good paddling. Rachel takes charge, calling out a “one! two! one! two!” cadence so everyone can match paddle strokes. After just a few minutes, Whitey pipes up with “okay, everyone, good job, now let’s take a rest break.” Rachel turns around and absolutely GLARES at him. And then, in the nicest way possible, she says, “Um, well, we really need to get this done quickly, I don’t think we really need rest breaks, so, let’s just keep paddling. One! Two! One! Two!” </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rapid on the Big Horn. Photo by Chris Radcliffe.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We keep paddling. Whitey calls for a few more rest breaks, and each time is met with refusal from WABAR (mostly because we know Rachel would disown us if we gave in). We all share the chore of counting the “one! two! one! two!” cadence for as long as possible, </span></span><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: red; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(</em></span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh how I resisted this, but when I gave in I ended up getting into a routine and I’m pretty sure (other than possibly Rachel) I kept up the count longer than anyone else. I heard “one, two” in my head for days if not weeks after the race), </span></em><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">and the Wind River Country racers help too. We swap positions here and there to ease tired muscles. Finally, the last Class IV rapid is staring us in the face and Whitey guides us through cleanly again. Then the take-out is just another mile or so downstream and we all work together to haul the raft up on shore. The Rev3 truck is waiting for us and we quickly change clothes for what we consider to be the queen stage of this race: a 90-mile bike ride. With no shade. Mike is thrilled. </span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: red; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(Yes, thrilled. Ecstatic. Euphoric. Rapturous even…)</em></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In order to keep this from being a repeat of Day 1’s sufferfest, we make a few changes. Mike’s wearing Emily’s white GJ/WEDALI shirt to help him keep cool. We’ve got a TON of water on us - everyone with full bladders, full bike bottles, and a few extra bottles in our packs as well. Emily’s got the magic 10mm hex wrench in her pack to avoid further crank issues. Okay! Let’s go! </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>***SIDE NOTE FROM EMILY: I'm glad I waited so long to post this day's race report because a cool thing happened recently. I work at the Alpine Shop in St. Louis, an outdoor retailer, and we had a visit from NOLS a few weeks ago. I coordinate those sorts of visits so when the NOLS rep arrived, I was there to help get her table set up. She greeted me with, "My name is Marina and I think I've paddled with you before!" Turns out she was a member of the Wind River Country team!!! Cray-cray!!! We shared a bunch of stories that night in between customers visiting the table. Adventure racing is awesome even after the race is over!</i></span></span></blockquote>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WABAR ready to start riding. Photo by Mark Harris.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We hop on our bikes and immediately, Emily knows something’s not right. NOT AGAIN!!! She pedals, gets off, squints at her frame, checks her crank, pedals again, still not right, what in the world? Finally, she gets it - her crank arms are tightened, but they are not oriented properly. When she disassembled her crank at yesterday’s TA, she retightened everything in “10-and-6” position instead of the correct “12-and-6” alignment. But it’s a quick fix with the proper wrench, and soon enough we’ve made our first turn onto some delicious Wyoming gravel.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ACeCakL7-Y8/VITyi-gks_I/AAAAAAAAN3g/FL93A4oS8Hw/s1600/2014-08-11%2B11.06.05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ACeCakL7-Y8/VITyi-gks_I/AAAAAAAAN3g/FL93A4oS8Hw/s1600/2014-08-11%2B11.06.05.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333339691162px;">Bike 1, eastbound, on the 1:gajillion Gazetteer map.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We start the long task of picking off teams that got to start ahead of us on the rafting section. First we catch up with fellow Midwesterners Jon and Eric from </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Unplugged-Adventures/374970642584184" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unplugged Adventures</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. We chat for a bit and then keep rolling on. There isn’t a whole lot of traffic on these roads which is great for us. We do run into one truck, however, whose driver stops, gets out, and waits for us to ride by him looking none-too-happy. Mike, Andrei, and Rachel cruise casually by as the old-time cowboy tries to talk to them. Emily tries to be a friendly Midwesterner and stops for a quick chat, cringing at the scolding that’s sure to come. Sure enough, the rancher starts complaining about our “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>bike friends up that-a-way</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” riding too close to his cows and scaring them as they were being herded down the road. “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>You know, when them cows git scared like that they git stressed, and that makes it so they won’t git pregnant. We’re scheduled to inseminate all them today and now I’m gonna lose a buncha money,</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” the rancher kvetches. Emily doesn’t really know how to respond except “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>I’m really sorry and we’ll try to tell the other racers not to upset your cows,</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” and hustles back up to her teammates. </span></span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: red; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(</em><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: red; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I have nothing to add here other than stating that anyone that knows Emily will not be the LEAST bit surprised to hear this little story.)</em></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pnPJB7yY8I0/VIUMI0phb9I/AAAAAAAAN4A/Y8TEvURR2IM/s1600/P1030565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pnPJB7yY8I0/VIUMI0phb9I/AAAAAAAAN4A/Y8TEvURR2IM/s1600/P1030565.JPG" height="296" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">90 miles of pure Wyoming gravel today. </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A few more miles down the road, and we spot the race staff tent for CP39. Rev3 has provided a 2.5gal water drop here for each team, but as we approach, we each realize we’ve got WAYYYY too much water on board. No one needs a refill, and we actually dump out about 1L that we don’t think we’ll need until the next known water stop at CP41. It’s too bad that we’ve already carried the extra weight this far, and we hope that we aren’t shooting ourselves in the foot by dumping “excess” water at this point.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-idV97Jwi0Gs/VIULmq5XbdI/AAAAAAAAN34/kJXHlkxK_X0/s1600/P1030567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-idV97Jwi0Gs/VIULmq5XbdI/AAAAAAAAN34/kJXHlkxK_X0/s1600/P1030567.JPG" height="296" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike and Andrei dumping water early in the ride. </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once leaving CP39, we start catching other teams from this morning’s first wave of boats. This makes us feel really good that our delay getting on the river hasn’t turned into a huge disadvantage. Mike and Emily start to feel the heat so Rachel and Andrei help out with pack carrying and towing. We pass our friends on Journey Racing, as well as a few other two-person male teams as we tick off the Wyoming gravel miles. Pretty soon we’re rolling into CP41, where Rev3 has provided some additional water and gatorade as we transition into our trekking gear. </span></span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(This is around when I switched into “if it’s liquid, drink it” mode. I had my normal HEED spiked water but if there was anything that anyone had with electrolytes or sugar in it, down the hatch it went. Normally this would spell disaster but with my body desperately needing any and all hydration, and with our pace being pretty reasonable, I managed to avoid any major issues.)</span></em></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">TREK 1, CPs 41-43, 6mi</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NUGCIX2tao0/VITyeLCbYdI/AAAAAAAAN3Y/YlzKkIlyxpI/s1600/2014-08-11%2B11.06.25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NUGCIX2tao0/VITyeLCbYdI/AAAAAAAAN3Y/YlzKkIlyxpI/s1600/2014-08-11%2B11.06.25.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Out-n-back trek in the middle of the big ride.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we’re changing out of our bike shoes and into our trekking shoes, we see Tecnu returning from the out-n-back trek. It’s always fun to see them on the course, especially when Kyle serenades us with his rendition of “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-DuC0tE7V4">Lollipop</a>”. Columbia is still a few minutes behind them and we see them inbound as we jog outbound. Phil and Kevin from Silent Chasers are also with us as we have a long dusty jog on an exposed gravel road. Things are getting really hot so we trade packs and punch duty, hoping to keep everyone’s effort under control. Garrison navs the 3 controls easily and we even spot YogaSlackers <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152379702502694&set=a.10152379715127694&type=3&theater">cooling off in a cow pond</a> a few hundred meters away.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-26w5H571PiY/VIUMtpAubGI/AAAAAAAAN4I/j-kptS2h8LY/s1600/P1030577.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-26w5H571PiY/VIUMtpAubGI/AAAAAAAAN4I/j-kptS2h8LY/s1600/P1030577.JPG" height="296" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the road. Full sun.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the way back, Andrei starts to overheat so we dial back the pace a bit and work together to keep him as comfortable as possible. He comes up with an ingenious way to wear his race bib as a shading device (no pic, sorry, but it was glorious) and it works great. Eventually we make our way back to our bikes and eagerly drink our liquid rations - 1 bottle of water and gatorade for each of us - before getting back on our bikes for more gravel grinding.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">BIKE 2, CPs 44-46, 50mi</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1Dr9bhLwkJA/VITyi-C16JI/AAAAAAAAN3k/zLjiT-hvy2M/s1600/2014-08-11%2B11.06.41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1Dr9bhLwkJA/VITyi-C16JI/AAAAAAAAN3k/zLjiT-hvy2M/s1600/2014-08-11%2B11.06.41.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bike 2, eastbound, on the 1:gajillion Gazetteer map.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">That map image above does not do justice to the actual amount of biking that had to be done. It also isn’t great at showing climb, and downright horrible at showing how FREAKING HOT it was… </span></em><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Silent Chasers are in TA at the same time so we convince them to combine teams into a 6-person paceline to knock out the miles to CP44, getting both of us closer to water and us closer to YogaSlackers. They agree and pretty soon we are flying along at a pretty fantastic pace. The added company, plus the promise of a full water restock in just a few miles, motivates us all and in no time we roll into CP44. Rev3 staff are there to greet us with extra water, along with several other teams, including the Yogis! We divvy up our allotted 2.5gal (=9.5L) between everyone’s bladders, and then add some extra water that previous teams didn’t use. After Garrison and Andrei do some sprinkler dancing, </span></span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(sorry, no pictures, but it was yet again glorious) </span></em><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">then the four of us roll out just a few minutes behind YogaSlackers.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UPAAdXlOfWo/VIUNR4RKbLI/AAAAAAAAN4Q/xPBy8rfYGWk/s1600/P1030576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UPAAdXlOfWo/VIUNR4RKbLI/AAAAAAAAN4Q/xPBy8rfYGWk/s1600/P1030576.JPG" height="296" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riding with Silent Chasers' Phil before organizing the paceline.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After just a few miles of road biking, we spot the Yogis, stopped on the side of the road next to a huge puddle. We roll up to ask what’s wrong, and it turns out someone’s bladder just burst at the seams. What a huge bummer! We don’t have any extras to lend them, so we keep riding, and pretty soon they are moving again too and catch us. It’s a slightly tense dynamic between our two teams at first as we ride in a loose pack, no one quite sure if we’re working together or trying to gain an advantage on the other. </span></span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: red; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(We knew they had a lead on us overall, but no one was quite sure how much. We also knew that both our teams didn’t feel great, but no idea how “not great”. Would this be a time where either they could completely put us away, or maybe we could end up putting some time on them and make it a real race for third?) </em><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">But pretty soon, we all get to chatting and it’s clear that we’re much better off spending these miles socializing, rather than trying to rip each others’ legs off. So we share snacks and gum and even stop at the same </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152379702747694&set=a.10152379715127694&type=3&theater" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">mud pit</a><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for a pee break and an attempt at bathing </span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(I want to clarify that the pee break and the bathing were in different areas.)</span></em><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Shortly after the mud pit, however, it’s clear that the YogaSlackers have got more gas in the tank than WABAR so they ride off the front as the four of us regroup and refocus on our team. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FC2KiDZXorc/VIUNuw5HPJI/AAAAAAAAN4Y/m_tG570cIx8/s1600/P1030583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FC2KiDZXorc/VIUNuw5HPJI/AAAAAAAAN4Y/m_tG570cIx8/s1600/P1030583.JPG" height="296" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan from YogaSlackers and Mike from WABAR breaking the ice.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mXOONVMgHaI/VITpTK5E9OI/AAAAAAAAN2Q/7usV31upcxw/s1600/CT3_wyogis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mXOONVMgHaI/VITpTK5E9OI/AAAAAAAAN2Q/7usV31upcxw/s1600/CT3_wyogis.jpg" height="400" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rachel and Emily w the YogaSlackers at a group stop. Photo by Erik Sanders.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Isolated once again in the stark Wyoming terrain, we struggle. Everyone’s ass is hurting, and we’re experiencing food fatigue - no calorie source sounds particularly appealing even though we know we need to keep fueling. Oh and Mike had his umpteenth poop stop and Emily took the opportunity for a selfie. </span></span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The stop below is from what I believe was my 39th mid race poop. I’m not sure when it started but the past few years I can barely even race 12 hours without needing to stop for a good natural break. Very annoying.</span></em><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N8YwmcbMkUY/VIY1NrMRr9I/AAAAAAAAN6M/JqZcia_RCg8/s1600/P1030590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N8YwmcbMkUY/VIY1NrMRr9I/AAAAAAAAN6M/JqZcia_RCg8/s1600/P1030590.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You don't want to know what's happening on the other side of that bike.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KvI3tDbAAaE/VIY1Nh-3AbI/AAAAAAAAN6Q/ev6rt3tGpSI/s1600/P1030591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KvI3tDbAAaE/VIY1Nh-3AbI/AAAAAAAAN6Q/ev6rt3tGpSI/s1600/P1030591.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At this point in the race, any excuse to stop and sit, packless, is a good one.</td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The wind is unrelenting as we battle our way east, finally collecting CP45 north of Arminto and turning south to Waltman. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">We see a couple more teams hanging out at a small store on Hwy 20, but it’s only another 10-ish paved miles to CP46 and the end of today’s biking section, so we push through. The pavement really brings our legs to life and we are able to ride fast!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sKZ9clksk2I/VIUOdRD8yDI/AAAAAAAAN4g/Elvo4vwNTaM/s1600/CT3_hhaTA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sKZ9clksk2I/VIUOdRD8yDI/AAAAAAAAN4g/Elvo4vwNTaM/s1600/CT3_hhaTA.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I swear, it FELT like we were hurrying in TA.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We’ve been warned that the next trekking section, in Hell’s Half Acre, is the most navigationally intense section of the entire race. We’re super stoked about that, but also we know we need to maximize the waning daylight hours to have a good split time. Emily hustles everyone through dealing with our bins, and we’re able to run out of TA just as the sun is starting to set.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">TREK 2, CPs 1-10, 6mi</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hB3vX9-MWXc/VIUO7tbmz3I/AAAAAAAAN4o/_tqHsB1VrCk/s1600/P1030592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hB3vX9-MWXc/VIUO7tbmz3I/AAAAAAAAN4o/_tqHsB1VrCk/s1600/P1030592.JPG" height="296" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Descending the unassuming doubletrack into Hell's Half Acre.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wow. Just….wow. The terrain of Hell’s Half Acre is other-worldly. It’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before, and no way the 1:24k USGS map can come even slightly close to representing the intricate towers, eroded boulders, and seemingly ancient streambeds in this bizarre canyon. Mike soaks it all in as we descend the double-track.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FnoyQ8yHiHo/VIUPc03G1EI/AAAAAAAAN40/CFY1Whs8D8k/s1600/GOPR2876.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FnoyQ8yHiHo/VIUPc03G1EI/AAAAAAAAN40/CFY1Whs8D8k/s1600/GOPR2876.JPG" height="296" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For Rachel, everything is runnable.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S3GoELPqMsY/VIUPchAb0eI/AAAAAAAAN4w/2JfnWloDh1A/s1600/GOPR2879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S3GoELPqMsY/VIUPchAb0eI/AAAAAAAAN4w/2JfnWloDh1A/s1600/GOPR2879.JPG" height="296" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The terrain is runnable for <span style="font-size: 13.3333339691162px;">Erik from YogaSlackers, </span><span style="font-size: 13.3333339691162px;">too.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tA36W1uuBCM/VIUPdrHxbVI/AAAAAAAAN5I/Fmaq_56E4ME/s1600/P1030595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tA36W1uuBCM/VIUPdrHxbVI/AAAAAAAAN5I/Fmaq_56E4ME/s1600/P1030595.JPG" height="296" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike relocates.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We decide to attack these 10 CPs in numerical order, and set off for CP1. We see <a href="http://vimeo.com/101321406">Legendary Randy with his camera set-up</a> (look for us around 3:15 of that video!), which must mean we’re in the right spot...right? We also see YogaSlackers, so we’re definitely in the right spot but...no CP1. The flag could be anywhere behind these intricate rock formations, and Mike scratches his head more than once trying to relocate. He calls for a knife and slashes a postage-stamp size (relatively) swatch out of the table cloth map, trying to help focus his navigation efforts, but we still struggle to find the first CP. After checking just about every miniature rock face/shrub we can find, the flag finally pops out and Rachel punches. </span></span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: red; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">OK, more than just quick commentary from me here. First off, I didn’t even get myself oriented enough to find CP1. I was trying to think of another way to approach it when Andrei asked to see the map. One AR skill that I’m pretty decent at is pride swallowing, so I did just that and handed it over. Within minutes he was oriented and walked right to CP1. He asked if he could do another and I said “go for it”. He nailed that one too. As disappointing as it was to my ego and pride to flop on the part of the race that I had hoped to redeem myself due to my poor physical performance, it was obvious that Andrei was in a zone. I think he was uncomfortable at first asking if he could nav the rest of this section but I encouraged him to have at it. And have at it he did!</em></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_k4S-nIg-0k/VITrmJcWemI/AAAAAAAAN2c/Uxi9hC80nIY/s1600/2014-07-31%2B13.18.18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_k4S-nIg-0k/VITrmJcWemI/AAAAAAAAN2c/Uxi9hC80nIY/s1600/2014-07-31%2B13.18.18.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map from Hell's Half Acre that Mike slashed out of the main map.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Andrei offers to take over the maps at this point, and Mike happily agrees. That’s the awesomeness of having a team full of navigators - we can hand the maps to just about anyone at any time and we’ll probably go in the right direction. And in this case, Andrei’s feeling strong and highly technical foot navigation is his specialty, so we’re stoked to let him shine. And shine he does - we fly though CPs 2-6, pinging each one accurately and running like it’s a 24hr race, eagerly responding to Andrei’s calls of “chop, chop!” and “hurry up, I already know where the next CP is!”.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6_hLSKDZRAs/VIUQMMXglAI/AAAAAAAAN5U/7qyakWJZKAA/s1600/CT3_hha1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6_hLSKDZRAs/VIUQMMXglAI/AAAAAAAAN5U/7qyakWJZKAA/s1600/CT3_hha1.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrei already running to next CP. Photo by Chris Radcliffe.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As the sun is setting, we catch up to YogaSlackers at CP6, put on our lights, and put in a big effort to push in front of them. They’re still well ahead of us in the overall standings, but we’re feeling great and want to prove a point that the harder the nav gets, the faster we can go. Even in the dark, Andrei continues crushing the maps, leading us straight to the final 4 CPs. </span></span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: red; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(Andrei needs to be commended for an outstanding effort here. He absolutely crushed this challenging nav that would make mince meat of a LOT of teams in the dark. In fact, I believe that we (he) logged the fastest nav time out of ALL teams for this section!) </em><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rachel is super speedy with the punches and we all motivate each other to run back up the final doubletrack into TA. We triumphantly punch the final CP for Day 3 and are rewarded with 2 hotdogs each, cooked by the illustrious Rev3 staff. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_L1A43HpP9U/VIUQL2QHfqI/AAAAAAAAN5Q/xBlt-ThzyK0/s1600/CT3_hha4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_L1A43HpP9U/VIUQL2QHfqI/AAAAAAAAN5Q/xBlt-ThzyK0/s1600/CT3_hha4.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Running into the twilight. Photo by Chris Radcliffe.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We chat with out Tecnu friends as we chow down, and then do some final piddling with our bins, cleaning out the accumulated trash and preparing our packs for the last day of the race. We get to sleep for one last night under the wide-open Wyoming sky, drifting in and out of dreams as teams continue shuffling through TA. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Rev3 Day 3 Photo Album:</b> </span></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.745596178814788.1073741865.148981488476263&type=3">https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.745596178814788.1073741865.148981488476263&type=3</a> </span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>YogaSlackers photo album:</b> https://www.facebook.com/erik.sanders.963/media_set?set=a.10152379715127694&type=1&pnref=story</span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Tecnu photo album:</b> https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.687589551276425.1073741858.162254323809953&type=3</span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Columbia photo album: </b>https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.679601542125729.1073741873.110888508997038&type=3</span>Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-34441524447669754372014-11-18T11:14:00.000-06:002014-11-18T11:14:05.998-06:00Race Report: 2014 Bonk Hard Castlewood 8hr AR<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">If anything, 2014 will be known as the <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/p/schedule-results.html">Year of the Mash-Up</a> for me. I've participated in 12 different adventure races with 6 distinct team configurations and 13 different teammates. As you probably know, Jeff and David have been my main teammates since 2013, and when we need a fourth we call on our good buddy Doug to complete team <a href="http://www.alpineshop.com/">Alpine Shop</a>. That was the plan for the 2014 running of the <a href="http://bonkhardracing.com/castlewood-8-hr/">Bonk Hard Castlewood 8hr Adventure Race</a>, the St. Louis area's largest adventure race. That is, until Doug's girlfriend Sunny (of <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2012/02/race-report-bonk-hard-chill-12hr-ar.html">WHOA!</a> fame) started kicking serious UCI cyclocross boo-tay and needed Doug's crewing skills at Jingle Cross...on the same weekend as CW8. Finding a replacement for Doug isn't easy, and we had a tense few days calling around to different folks. Finally, we convinced Erl (of <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/search/label/WEDALI">GearJunkie/WEDALI</a> fame) to make the long trip south to race with us. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">I've raced with Erl a <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2012/08/race-report-thunder-rolls-24hr-ar.html">few</a> <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2012/09/race-report-berryman-adventure-24hr-ar.html">times</a> before, and each experience is a highlight of my short AR career. There are very few people who know how to support and foster teamwork the way Erl does, and I was so excited for Jeff and David to get to experience that. We've been able to hang out a bunch this fall in conjunction with other races (Berryman and Perfect 10) and each time I've gained more and more appreciation for Erl's experience and perspective on adventure racing. So, basically, I was super excited to see him again!</span><br />
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Erl rolled in to the Alpine Shop around 4pm just as the place was starting to bustle with friends and family and adventure racers. We got all checked in with Bonk Hard and then picked up my traditional pre-race meal of Dewey's pizza before heading to <a href="http://emilfrei.com/">David's workshop</a> to prep maps. However, we didn't have any CPs to plot and only information on the first 2ish hours of the race. The biggest decision we had to make was which shoes to wear for the start...trekking or biking? Trekking shoes would be faster on the opening 2mi run, but would take longer to change after the paddle. Biking shoes would be a bit slower at first but then faster in TA. We hemmed and hawed and eventually (much to my relief) decided on trekking shoes. Then we ate a ton of pizza (seriously...the four of us polished off two 17" pies) and toured David's shop.<br />
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Then Erl and I went back to my apartment and piddled with gears, a classic Alpine Shop habit. I took some time to look at the race area on Google maps and noticed there were two parks on the south side of the Meramec River (West Tyson and South Castlewood) that had <a href="http://stlouisorienteering.org/map-purchases/">orienteering maps</a>. I guessed that maybe we would be given a surprise map sometime early in the race, and texted Jeff and David to let them know. Thankfully, we had already planned to wear trekking shoes so it wouldn't be a big deal either way.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B81vWgvL8bs/VGt9-uIPYKI/AAAAAAAAN1k/WVrKksM1VcE/s1600/bd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B81vWgvL8bs/VGt9-uIPYKI/AAAAAAAAN1k/WVrKksM1VcE/s1600/bd.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeff, Erl and I at the bike drop on race morning. Photo by Stacey Hagen.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Race morning was early and cold. Erl and I met Jeff at the bike drop in Castlewood at 0630 and it was in the low 20s. We dropped off our bikes and biking gear at the beach, and then drove over to Race HQ at La Salle Middle School. The school had its doors and bathrooms open for us, and it was so nice to have a warm place to get ready. About 10 minutes before the race started, Jeff noticed his passport pocket (custom-made of course) was attached in the wrong direction on the shoulder strap of his pack. To most people, this would not be a big deal, but in a sprint race where every second counts, we were worried. Thankfully, we just needed scissors and 2 new zipties to fix it, so we sprinted across the parking lot to Jeff's van, perform some lightning-fast pack surgery, and sprint back to the start line with a few minutes to spare. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">TREK 1, 2mi, CP 1-3, 0:15</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mggJmhL6wcY/VGq4vAaW6OI/AAAAAAAANzg/qALJUwtMpBY/s1600/cw8_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mggJmhL6wcY/VGq4vAaW6OI/AAAAAAAANzg/qALJUwtMpBY/s1600/cw8_2.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Team Alpine Shop among the top 5 teams at the start! Photo by Mary Welter.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">We take off in a herd of racers...172 to be exact...and immediately I'm so glad we chose to wear trekking shoes on the paved path. We let other teams set the pace and are quite content to sit somewhere in the top 10 overall. Jeff punches the CP1 cleanly and we take off to CP2. Here, the path turns to gravel and we start to encounter some Saturday morning dog-walkers who are a bit confused to see a mass of pack-wearing people barreling down on them. We pass them as politely as we can on the out-and-back run to CP2. I love out-and-backs early in races because they let us cheer for a lot of teams, and today is no exception. I actually get super out of breath from yelling "good job!" so much so I try to hide behind David to recover. We reach the end of the trek and tumble down the hill where all of the boats are staged. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BFMVhIWuG8c/VGq0VYNKMFI/AAAAAAAANzU/cOwia_E2XIM/s1600/CW8_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BFMVhIWuG8c/VGq0VYNKMFI/AAAAAAAANzU/cOwia_E2XIM/s1600/CW8_1.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeff, Erl, and not-a-serial-killer David running to CP3 with Nathan from Toporadicals. I'm just out of the picture. Photo b y Patrick & Donovan Feder. </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">It's basically mass chaos, but somehow we manage to collect 4 (short) paddles, 4 PFDs, 2 canoes, and 1 punch of CP3. Oh, and....SURPRISE! The volunteer hands us a bonus map which adds an unannounced trekking section to the middle of the paddle. Unfazed, we put in with minimal fuss and get <a href="http://www.bonkhardracing2.com/Photos2014CW/CP2CP3a/content/IMG_3412_large.html">paddling</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">PADDLE 1, 4.2mi, CP 4-5</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L4YxjrBSjYY/VGs87BnxogI/AAAAAAAAN0I/VO2ZewqsHmo/s1600/cw8_5b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L4YxjrBSjYY/VGs87BnxogI/AAAAAAAAN0I/VO2ZewqsHmo/s1600/cw8_5b.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the put-in. Steamy. Photo by Patrick and Donovan Feder.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">We're in the mix of the top 5 teams as we start paddling downstream on the Meramec. We're in our planned pairs, me in the back with Jeff and Erl in the back with David. I'm using my super-warm ski mittens to avoid the frozen hands like <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2013/12/race-report-2013-bonk-hard-castlewood.html">last year</a> and so far they're working great, even as the spray from the paddle starts to freeze on the gunwhales and thwarts. It's really a beautiful morning to be on the river, and I use all my concentration to keep the boat on the most efficient line. Jeff and I can't even enjoy our usual chit-chat because everytime I try to talk, the boat starts drifting one way or the other, so I just keep quiet and focus. We don't pass many boats, and a few others creep up into our loose pack, and I try not to get frustrated and just stay smooth. We punch CP4 at Sherman Beach and get back out into the main channel. Pretty soon, we start seeing the boats in front of us land at CP5. We get there quickly and do the same. Both Jeff's and my packs are soaking wet, but for some reason I don't even feel the chill when I throw it back on.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">TREK 2, 2mi, CP 38-42</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1N8SVHYqnH0/VGt0vEvN0-I/AAAAAAAAN08/xNB3Ei1aIIs/s1600/cwood%2Bsouth%2Bmap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1N8SVHYqnH0/VGt0vEvN0-I/AAAAAAAAN08/xNB3Ei1aIIs/s1600/cwood%2Bsouth%2Bmap.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the map we were handed at CP3. I added the orange arrows showing our route. Also ignore the red scribbles, that was from later in the race.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">We negotiate our way up the steep earthen bank with 5-6 other teams and take off on a clockwise loop for the five surprise/bonus trekking CPs. David's decided to route us 39-41-42-40-38, and we join a pack of teams on the trail run to 39. This entire map is a flat flood plain with only a few mapped vegetation features and basically one contour line to navigate off of. It's like a big group run until we get close to the CP, and then everyone fans out to try and spot the flag first. We're a little discombobulated attacking CP39, but as we leave the circle, Erl organizes us into "formation" and the rest of the CPs are much better. We don't gain much of a gap on any team, but we're moving well through the vegetation. Once we've punched all 5 bonus CPs, we run across a field of tall, dead grass, take a group pee-break, and hop back in the canoes. Somehow, even though we've been running with about 5 other teams, we get onto the water in the lead!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qfDTnm7qOkc/VGs_gtTCQfI/AAAAAAAAN0k/QwgfXGk4fqk/s1600/cw8_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qfDTnm7qOkc/VGs_gtTCQfI/AAAAAAAAN0k/QwgfXGk4fqk/s1600/cw8_7.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our friends on Team Virtus running through the field on Trek 2. Photo by Bob "Lifeskillz" Jenkins.</td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">PADDLE 2, 2mi, CP 6, 1:45 total for paddle-trek-paddle</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IDG-4h1hb_Y/VGs3S3FJfBI/AAAAAAAANz4/C8ezZvrACns/s1600/cw8_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IDG-4h1hb_Y/VGs3S3FJfBI/AAAAAAAANz4/C8ezZvrACns/s1600/cw8_4.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeff and I finishing out the paddling section. Photo by Patrick and Donovan Feder.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Just because we're leading for a moment, doesn't mean it's easy to stay there. Jeff and I make it a little harder on ourselves because we accidentally picked a different boat than PADDLE 1. It wouldn't be a huge deal, but one of the paddles is extra-long so Jeff takes it, but has a hard time keeping high cadence. "It's like paddling in the big ring!" he says, but gets it done anyway. Stud! We have 2 other boats for company through the first little congested section but I focus really hard on keeping my line and no-one dumps, although David and Erl tell us later that they came scarily close. This paddle is shorter than the first, so I work really hard to keep the boat moving as fast as possible. Finally, the Castlewood beach appears and we take-out with about a 30-second lead on Team CRX and AMTZ, and Toporadicals, 36 Down, and Extreme Electrical not far behind! CP6 has a gear check which is more mass chaos, but the volunteers do a great job at managing everything. A lot of teams opted to do this race with flat pedals, but we all take a bit of extra time to change shoes, hoping that our feet will appreciate being dry and warm after the paddle.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TGEBekZ47xY/VGs-HPAARvI/AAAAAAAAN0Y/6kOqVroNGoU/s1600/cw8_6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TGEBekZ47xY/VGs-HPAARvI/AAAAAAAAN0Y/6kOqVroNGoU/s1600/cw8_6.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the take-out, with AMTZ hot on our sterns. Photo by Stacy Hagen.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE 1, 6mi, CP 7-14, 0:40</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DvJ7jFslbE0/VGs2c1B5Z7I/AAAAAAAANzw/7YuQcXc2l3w/s1600/cw8_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DvJ7jFslbE0/VGs2c1B5Z7I/AAAAAAAANzw/7YuQcXc2l3w/s1600/cw8_3.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready to start riding, I'm helping Erl put on his glove. Photo by Donovan and Patric Feder.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">We've got a loop of Castlewood singletrack, and the route is pretty much the best-case scenario for me (keeping the most technical bits on the uphills instead of the downhills). We roll out, now firmly committed to our formation, but no idea if any other teams made it through the gear check more quickly than we did. We can't see anyone ahead of us, but that doesn't mean anything with the quality of the teams we're racing today. We get to work climbing Grotpeter, motor through Roller Coaster, and descend smoothly down Love. The trails are starting to thaw and get greasy as we hit the short out-and-back on the dirt crit loop, but we all keep the rubber side down as we knock out the last CPs on this leg. Then it's into TA where we will be given maps for the rest of the course! </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">As we approach the shelter, we spot AMTZ already there, so we know we're a few minutes down in second place. We punch CP14 and the volunteer hands us a map with instructions for 8 trekking CPs, 3 of which we have to plot ourselves. This isn't a big deal, until David digs around in his pack for our plotter and discovers it fell out at the gear check! We allow ourselves about 5 seconds of panic, and then Jeff tells me to make a plotter out of paper like we did at the Berryman 16hr. I rip off a piece of the map and use the printed scale to make a rudimentary plotter. David calls UTM coordinates and we slowly get the 3 CPs transferred onto the trekking map. I'm not even sure if they're right, but we have to leave NOW if we're going to have a chance of catching AMTZ. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">TREK 3, 3.5mi, CP 15-22, 0:45</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8hrB8r9-xA8/VGt2FpjsfCI/AAAAAAAAN1I/xUixQE2jmJ0/s1600/cwood%2Bmap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8hrB8r9-xA8/VGt2FpjsfCI/AAAAAAAAN1I/xUixQE2jmJ0/s1600/cwood%2Bmap.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The map for Trek 3. We ripped the bottom of the map off and used it to plot 17, 18, and 19.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">We storm out of TA on a mission, but I'm really, really scared about the 3 CPs we just half-assedly (is that a word?) plotted on the map. As we attack CP18, I'm expecting the worst, but to my relief Jeff spots the flag quickly. 1 down! We climb the spur to CP19 and descend into the reentrant, looking everywhere for the flag. Nothing. I yell that we need to re-check the plot right away, but at the last second, David spots the flag and gets the punch. 2 down! I'm feeling slightly more optimistic on the way to CP17, and sure enough, the David leads us straight to the shallow depression. 3 down! I'm SO RELIEVED that we've got these out of the way, and now only have the pre-plotted CPs left. We hit CP15 next, overrunning the side reentrant slightly, and as we descend back down after punching, we spot AMTZ approaching. Erl and I try to adjust our route to not give away the correct reentrant, but it doesn't really do any good. We cross back over Ries Rd (legal to cross but illegal to run along), climb up to CP16, and then run back down to CP20. We catch up with AMTZ here because they took a slightly different order (17-16-15-20) and we all meet up at the creek crossing. David, sensing an opportunity, leads us straight through a knee-deep section of the creek while AMTZ chooses a slightly longer and dryer route. Our feet are now soaking wet but we're in the lead! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GRhVy5ga06o/VGt4goYJmdI/AAAAAAAAN1U/7ti-FHXm4Wo/s1600/cp20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GRhVy5ga06o/VGt4goYJmdI/AAAAAAAAN1U/7ti-FHXm4Wo/s1600/cp20.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is a different team crossing the creek at CP20. We had crossed earlier in a deeper section, and then crossed here as well. We were not this careful. Photo by Patrick and Donovan Feder.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">We all know this could be a make-or-break moment and I have a flashback to the <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2013/05/race-report-2013-mnoc-ar-tune-up.html">2013 MNOC Tune-Up</a> where I was in a similar situation, racing with Biz. In that race, he gave me an awesome (-o-possum) pep talk that inspired me to dig deep, so I try to do the same for my team today. "Guys, we have a gap, we have to push it super hard up this hill and make it stick!" We charge up the backside of Lone Wolf, everyone red-lining in an effort to gain the lead. In between gasping breaths, I try to encourage as much as possible, and we make it to the top of the hill having opened up a slight advantage over AMTZ. We crash down the other side, David picks the correct reentrant for CP21, Jeff punches, and we race back to TA with about a minute's lead.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Back at the shelter, the volunteer hands us an entire <i>packet</i> of maps for the remainder of the race. It contants <i>four</i> 8.5x11 maps, double-sided, with 12 CPs scattered among them. It's really confusing to make sense of everything and plan a route to the finish line. David and I work together to get everything sorted, reading the clue sheet again and again to make sure we're doing everything according to the rules. Meanwhile, Erl and Jeff complete their TA and then help change David's and my shoes so we can leave faster. Finally, we think we've got it all figured out and hop on bikes, leaving in 1st place!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE 2, 23mi, CP 23-34, 1:46</span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">We know AMTZ is stacked with really strong bikers, so we organize into a towing paceline and hustle out of Castlewood State Park. The first three CPs (23-24-25) must be found in order, and David guides us smoothly to each one. Then we have a bit of a route choice, and, after further analyzing the map <i>as we're riding</i>, David decides to change his original plan and go 27-28-29-30-26, and then head into the west side of Castlewood for 31-32-33. We ride across Ridge Rd and descend down the paved Rock Hollow trail to CPs 28 and 29. On the way down, we actually see CP30 hanging in the woods, but race rules say we must bike to it (no bike-whacking allowed on this land) so we ride down to the Zombie trail head (CP29) and then take the singletrack uphill to the flag. This singletrack is newly-built by <a href="http://gorctrails.com/">GORC</a> and it's a really fun ride. We get the punch, ride the trail back down, and then take the Al Foster path to CP26 and continue into the west side of Castlewood.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">The three controls on the west side of Castlewood are really fun. The singletrack is straightforward and fast, and we're all still feeling decent. David guides us smoothly to each CP and we're out of there in a flash. Once we're back on the Al Foster, we know we just have a mile to the CP34 and the finish line. Time to empty the tanks! The boys each take turns pulling while we absolutely fly down the path. Pretty soon, we spot the iconic orange and white Bonk Hard Racing inflatable arch signifying the finish line. We ease the pace just slightly to make sure everyone's together and cross the finish line with huge smiles.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">FINISH 5:11:46</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FrsdJo5yNPw/VGtAgapZQ9I/AAAAAAAAN0s/weA7znuSWrY/s1600/cw8_finish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FrsdJo5yNPw/VGtAgapZQ9I/AAAAAAAAN0s/weA7znuSWrY/s1600/cw8_finish.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big smiles at the finish line. Photo by Mary Welter.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">It is incredibly satisfying to finish 1st at the Bonk Hard Castlewood 8hr AR. Sprint races are so stressful for me, since one mistake or mechanical can derail an entire race, where as in the 24hr races you have more opportunity to recover. We did make a few mistakes out there, we always do, but each one was small and we were able to recover quickly. That's the value of racing with three highly experienced teammates. Even though all of our transitions were chaotic, we were always communicating and trying to help the team as a whole. We were constantly checking on each other, making sure that no one was getting too cold or hungry or blown-up. When we had the opportunity to grab the lead, we all recognized it and had the legs to make it happen. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">It is so great to see a huge field in an adventure race, and we enjoyed the intense competition from several speedy teams. Everyone was so positive and encouraging, even when we were trying to rip each others' legs off. That is the spirit of adventure racing! Something else pretty cool happened, a group of students from Mizzou was at the race, filming and photographing and later interviewing racers for an article on the sport. I'll post the link to that as soon as I have it, and hopefully we can draw even more athletes into our AR community! If you are a beginner racer and have questions, please use the <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/p/contact.html">Contact</a> button at the top of the page to get in touch with me. I love talking to new racers!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>WANT MORE?</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Official results/splits: <a href="http://bonkhardracing.com/castlewood-8-hr/castlewood-8-hr-results.php">http://bonkhardracing.com/castlewood-8-hr/castlewood-8-hr-results.php</a></span><br />
Photos: <a href="http://bonkhardracing.com/castlewood-8-hr/castlewood-8-hr-photos-.php">http://bonkhardracing.com/castlewood-8-hr/castlewood-8-hr-photos-.php</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Ludicrous Speed gps track: <a href="http://www.strava.com/activities/219665728">http://www.strava.com/activities/219665728</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Toporadicals gps track: <a href="http://www.strava.com/activities/219662739">http://www.strava.com/activities/219662739</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Team Fusion/Kuat gps track: <a href="http://www.strava.com/activities/219958260">http://www.strava.com/activities/219958260</a></span><br />
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Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-20632353429920491022014-11-12T23:20:00.001-06:002014-11-12T23:59:56.423-06:00Race Report: 2014 BT Epic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6I1f1Y-t_6M/VGQ12CuzwzI/AAAAAAAANyo/hbiH2jZZ3Qo/s1600/bt%2Bepic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6I1f1Y-t_6M/VGQ12CuzwzI/AAAAAAAANyo/hbiH2jZZ3Qo/s320/bt%2Bepic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">For the past 2 years, I have arrived at the starting line of the BT Epic an exhausted shell of a mountain bike racer, bargaining with my legs and my mojo for "one last solid effort" to close out a hard summer of racing. Fortunately, the BT Epic is so soaked in <a href="http://semi-rad.com/2012/09/do-you-have-the-stoke-2/">stoke</a> that it hasn't been hard to go to the well on one of my favorite trails of all time, for two of the most energetic race directors of all time. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">This year, for some reason, was different. Despite <a href="http://www.ar.attackpoint.org/log.jsp/user_9015">logging</a> more race hours in 2014 than ever before, despite racing (hard!) for 3 consecutive weekends in October, I was feeling ready. I was actually EXCITED to race and treating it more like an actual competitive event than I ever have. (I have my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ProjectDeliverance">theories</a> on the difference this year...) That being said, it's still just a mountain bike race, so there's no need to freak out with spreadsheets and such. Oh wait, do you know who's writing this? Of course I had a spreadsheet. With split times. It's just who I am.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lMqgUpEitIU/VGQ2kz74dWI/AAAAAAAANyw/3StXrVQjWFc/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2014-11-12%2Bat%2B10.40.57%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lMqgUpEitIU/VGQ2kz74dWI/AAAAAAAANyw/3StXrVQjWFc/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2014-11-12%2Bat%2B10.40.57%2BPM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">#nerdalert</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Instead of getting a (really rather expensive) cabin this year, Maria and I just loaded all of our crap into my car at 0500 Saturday morning and drove down to Bass. We got there in plenty of time for Bass to go all <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2013/10/race-report-2013-bt-epic.html">Ceasar Augustus</a> on our poor souls. Seriously, can we just get the BS "day use fee" included in the race entry and be done with it?! We all know that Bass only charges it for big events, if you show up on any normal weekend there is no issue with parking and "day using". But on BT Epic weekend, oh no, we must be nickled-and-dimed (or, in this case, eight-dollared-PER-PERSON) to no end. That's my one and only complaint about the entire race. Rant over.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://coverage.zenfolio.com/p418849751/e2e67a1b3" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Coverage Photography: BT Epic - 2014 &emdash; " src="http://coverage.zenfolio.com/img/s6/v138/p778543539-3.jpg" height="387" width="580" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://coverage.zenfolio.com/p418849751/h2E67A1B3#h2e67a1b3</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">To ease some of the sting of dishing out cash at 0700 on a Saturday morning, we find ourselves parked next to some of the finest <a href="http://teamseagal.blogspot.com/">jerks</a> in all the land, and get started with our respective pre-race routines. I've honestly got things pretty dialed by now, except the one item I forgot was some duct tape to write my goal splits on and stick to my top tube. Why is this so important? Well, first of all, my splits came from my beloved spreadsheet so of course I treasure them greatly. And secondly, the women's field is THIRTY DEEP and I don't really know where I'll shake out in this pool of talented riders, so racing against my goal splits is a better way to stay motivated than trying to keep track of all the girls. So I can't find any tape, but I DO find a Sharpie, so I just jot a few notes down on my arm for reference during the race. Problem solved. I ride over to the start line and find that <a href="http://instagram.com/edjklein">EK</a> has an open spot next to him in the crowd! Huzzah! I honestly have no business being as close to the front as we are (anyone sense a <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/10/race-report-2014-burnin-at-bluff-12hr.html">theme</a> here...) but when you can you pass up the chance for an EK-EK line-up? Never, that's when. Scott counts us down and pretty soon 300 riders are streaming out of Bass. Whoop!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://coverage.zenfolio.com/p418849751/e128d4f56" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Coverage Photography: BT Epic - 2014 &emdash; " src="http://coverage.zenfolio.com/img/s7/v158/p311250774-3.jpg" height="387" width="580" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">EK-EK! far left.<br />
http://coverage.zenfolio.com/p418849751/h136e406f#h128d4f56</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Bass to Brazil = 1:03 (1:11) (1:17)</span></b></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Almost immediately I am being passed by what seems like hundreds of riders. It's just a fact of life, I am not fast off the line to begin with, plus I have a healthy fear of miles 37-39 (aka "<a href="http://www.strava.com/segments/8356420?filter=overall">Triple Trouble</a>") so I'm setting a conservative pace early on. I just settle into my 5hr effort and let it shake out watever speed that gets me. </span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">That works for about ten minutes, when I am passed by Matt Struckman. He's a former Pfoodman teammate of mine and also a really great technical rider. I am not a really great technical rider. I know if I can follow his wheel in the singletrack, it will help me ride more smoothly and ultimately faster. So I lift my pace to match his speed and we motor on through the remaining gravel miles. Once onto the OT, I'm rewarded with a fantastic carrot to chase down into Harmon Spring. I pre-rode these miles with Erl and Andrei last weekend so I know what to expect - mostly gradually swooping downhills but some gnarly bits in there as well. There are several people on my wheel as I accidentally lead them through a horrible line of downhill babyheads. I can hear their exclamations of dismay behind me...sorry guys! </span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Once we get onto the Berryman Trail proper, Struckman charges ahead and disappears. It's no big deal since I know this trail pretty well. Except the <a href="http://www.ozarktrail.com/">OTA</a> recently held a Mega-Workday and a lot of the curves have been "touched up"...i.e. leveled off on the outside/downhill edge. I</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">'m sure the changes are good for the longevity of the trail, but today they make</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> it harder (for me) to carry speed through the turn. I'm already sketched out by loose turns, so with the new trailwork in place, I ride cautiously. The rest of the trail into Brazil goes pretty much to plan, no surprises, just riding as hard as I dare. As I descend into Brazil Creek, I get to warn a few riders behind me of the super-sharp right-hander which helps us all stay rubber-side down. Crossing Highway W, I spot Struckman </span>apparently<span style="font-family: inherit;"> waiting for me. </span></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://coverage.zenfolio.com/p418849751/e50d5fb4" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Coverage Photography: BT Epic - 2014 &emdash; " src="http://coverage.zenfolio.com/img/s9/v90/p84762548-3.jpg" height="387" width="580" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think this was taken approaching Berryman Campground?<br />
http://coverage.zenfolio.com/p418849751/h50d5fb4#h50d5fb4</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Brazil to Berryman = 1:03 (1:07) (1:10)</span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">As we cross Highway W, I glance down at my watch and exclaim outloud, "HOLY CRAP STRUCKMAN!" and proceed to tell him that we made it to Brazil Creek 8 minutes faster than I did last year. We both concur that one of two things will happen: we'll either have a great ride, or we'll explode and be miserable for the rest of the race. Only trail will tell. I continue to chase Struckman as we ride south, but eventually lose him and pick up a trail of other guys on my wheel. I try to make passing for them as painless as possible, slowing down and scooting to the side whenever someone needs to get by. It's not a hard thing to do and makes everyone's day a little better. The 10 miles between Brazil and Berryman pass relatively quickly - I've ridden this section several times before and know the punches it throws. I tick off landmarks as we ride along: the waterbar switchbacks, fast bottoms, the tricky stub after the creek, the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100251905700782&set=a.637862730842.2187562.3101348&type=1&permPage=1">mushroom patch</a>, Dwayne's root wad, the last 5 climbs, the duathlon rootwad, and finally I roll into Berryman campround, again ahead of my projected split and grinning from ear to ear. Volunteers help me find my drop bag, where all I need to do is grab another water bottle, and I'm outta there!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Berryman to Harmon = 1:19</span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Now, we're into flashback country. The last time I was on this section of trail, it was at mile 80 of the OT100MTB. I had just worked really hard to create a gap over <a href="http://dailybinge.wordpress.com/">SS Kate</a>, but she closed it with a super fast stop at the aid station while I futzed with my lights. We rolled out together and I jumped ahead. We rode together for the next 7 miles, me trying to get away on the downhills and flats, and her trying to get away on the climbs. It was uncomfortable. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">But here, today, now, things are sooooo much better than 6 weeks ago. I'm in a great spot nutritionally, and therefore mentally, and having a wonderful time riding this amazing trail. The only worry is the rising temperatures, and the gurgling sound my Camelbak is making when I try to get water out of it. I'm running low on fluids, and the bottle I picked up at Berryman has CR333 in it, not the plain water I want. I'm stressing about rationing liquids when it dawns on me...Beecher Spring!</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PMhMUDPNJUE/VGQ-U6-9kiI/AAAAAAAANzA/H3g3v8QpS9s/s1600/beecher.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PMhMUDPNJUE/VGQ-U6-9kiI/AAAAAAAANzA/H3g3v8QpS9s/s400/beecher.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beecher Spring.<br />
http://compulsivehiker.com/2012/11/24/berryman-trail-2/</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Beecher Spring looks like a sketchy Blair Witch bathtub next to the Berryman Trail, but it's actually potable water (if you fill straight from the hose, NOT the tub portion). And the timing is perfect too, there's a train of dudes on my wheel so I pull over, let them by, AND refill on cool clean water at the same time. Total score! I ride off up THE climb, the one that SS Kate ultimately crushed me out on to take the final, decisive lead at OT100MTB, and I'm still in super-happy-mountain-bikey mode. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">I think somewhere after THE climb, I connect with local rider Dave and he starts chatting with me. Normally I'm not very good at riding singletrack and carrying on a conversation, but today I seem to be managing with enough "mm-hmmm"s and "awesome"s to keep Dave talking. I really don't mind the company, it's motivating me to keep pushing the edge of 5hr pace and moving me nicely down the trail. I make it back to Harmon with a split of 2:49 for the full Berryman loop, definitely a PR for me which spurs my trail stoke to new heights as we hop back on the OT.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Harmon to Bass = 1:05</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
We ride west towards Bass and through the field where I got chiggers so badly in 2012 that I had red welts on my legs for 2 months, I always like revisiting that place and that memory. Then we head up the doubletrack climb to the gravel, the one where I cramped badly last year, and, surprise, cramps are threatening again! I've been more aggressive this year with my electrolyte intake (double nuun in each <a href="http://www.carborocket.com/#!product/zoomqgk/1023934094/333---half-evil-all-in-one-endurance-drink">CR333</a> bottle PLUS a few e-caps) but the high temperatures and effort are catching up to me. I immediately dial back the pace and have to let Dave ride ahead.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
Once I'm up on the ridge, we turn right on the main gravel road and have a few miles to recover. I keep the pace as high as I dare, and also focus on eating a lot. The next section of OT singletrack is likely to be the toughest we face today - three back-to-back climbs, none especially long, but each especially steep. But first, we have a sweet 2-mile downhill that just floats down the edge of the spur and keeps....going...and....going.....these things are rare in Missouri!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
Once I hit <a href="http://www.strava.com/segments/8356420?filter=overall">Triple Trouble</a>, it's all business. These three hills made my life miserable in the dark at the OT100MTB, but this time around I'm prepared for their nastiness. I tackle them in granny-granny, passing a ton of dudes as they stop to stretch out their cramping muscles. Wellllll....maybe like 4 or 5 guys, not technically a ton. But it sure felt like a ton! Finally, I'm spit out onto the scraggly singletrack that leads into the backside of Bass, still reveling in the night-and-day (literally) difference in my attitude between OT100MTB and today. Life is good! One more loop left!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">West Loop = 0:52</span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">I make a quick stop at the aid station, ditch my empty CamelBak, and get to the business of climbing Butts Rd. This is not a joke. The climb up Butts (ugh, that sounds so horrible...) is long, but at least it's paved and I ride in the shade whenever possible. Then we hit the ridge road which goes on for much longer than I thought - I've not ridden this section of the course at all so it's all a bit new. But finally I spot the turn-off into the singletrack, negotiate some surprisingly rocky drops, and then...BAM. I'm just about blown off my bike by the beauty of these Missouri woods. The leaves are all shades of orange and yellow, the noonish sun is slanting through them brilliantly, and all I want to do is stop and take a picture (except I don't have a camera so....). THIS is why I am so lucky to live here, within a day trip of the OT, in these marvelous open woods. I try to soak in the autumnal beauty as best I can while maintaining some sort of urgency on the singletrack.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://coverage.zenfolio.com/p418849751/e136e406f" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Coverage Photography: BT Epic - 2014 &emdash; " src="http://coverage.zenfolio.com/img/s12/v183/p325992559-3.jpg" height="387" width="580" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">on the West Loop<br />
http://coverage.zenfolio.com/p418849751/h136e406f#h136e406f</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Surprisingly, my legs are still hanging in there with pep and energy. I can't see anyone in front or behind me, but that's exactly what I'm hoping for in these beautiful woods. Have I mentioned, it's gorgeous? Oh, the trail's not that bad either - exceedingly rideable and very fun. That is, until my wheels are washed out from under me on an uphill switchback. My body slams hard to the ground...THUD....and I'm left blinking in the aftermath. I check the trail, no weird rocks or roots or sticks, I'm just very suddenly lying stationary. And my perpetually-bashed-up left knee has been sliced open again! I shakily get back on my bike, willing my knee to bend properly, and exhale a sigh of relief when I can still put some power through the joint. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">I get back to riding, albeit slightly more conservatively, and try to replay the crash in my mind. How did it happen? I have no idea. And then....yes. It was <a href="http://teamnoahfoundation.com/about-us.html">Noah</a>. Whenever we on Team Noah have strange mechanicals, or weird crashes, we always picture Noah, being his angelic toddler self, giggling while he throws sticks and stones in our way, and laughing even harder when fall over, go boom. The thought of him messing with me, as only a toddler angel can do, strikes a big chord in my heart. Out of nowhere, I'm filled with immense sadness. I know it's Noah's presence combined with the exhaustion that only 4 consecutive weekends of racing can bring, but soon big fat tears are welling up in my eyes. I start sniffling and gasping for breath. I know if I stopped riding, I would melt into a full-on trailside sob-fest, so I blink back the tears as best I can and keep moving. Did you know it's really hard to ride singletrack and cry at the same time?</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://coverage.zenfolio.com/p418849751/e2ea6577c" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Coverage Photography: BT Epic - 2014 &emdash; " src="http://coverage.zenfolio.com/img/s12/v170/p782653308-3.jpg" height="387" width="580" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">approaching the finish line.<br />
http://coverage.zenfolio.com/p418849751/h2ea6577c#h2ea6577c</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">The remaining three-ish miles are indescribable. I want them to end immediately and I want them to last forever. I want to rejoin my friends and I want to continue by myself. I want to ride crazy hard and I want to soft pedal my way in. There's seemingly no middle ground, but somehow my legs know what to do, and continue to propel me to the finish line. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">TOTAL 5:22</span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">And just like that, it's over. I'm at the finish line 5 minutes faster than I predicted I would be, but in a completely different headspace than when I started. A few friends notice my finish and start to ask about the day, but in my emotional state, I can barely squeak out a "It's so beautiful out there" before wanting to sob all over again. Instead of treating the masses to an EK cry-fest, I flop onto a picnic table with the Scherffinator, put my head down, close my eyes, and just listen as everyone else's race stories swirl around me. This is my favorite part of racing anyway, and helps bring me back to Earth. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">After several minutes, or maybe even an hour, I'm feeling composed enough to grab a shower (thanks Gino for the quarters!) and eat something. I was so overwhelmed at the finish that I didn't even bother to ask my placing, but it turns out I finished 6th overall women - better than I've ever done before! 5th place was my adventure racing friend Britt, only about 90 seconds ahead of me, but I hadn't seen her all day so had no idea it was that close. I stick around for the awards and huge raffle, passing the time by eating ice cream and stealing gummy bears with the jerks, and it's definitely not a bad place to be. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">WANT MORE?</span></span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Strava: </span><a href="http://www.strava.com/activities/211693797">http://www.strava.com/activities/211693797</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Roxy: <a href="http://www.dirtgirldiary.com/2014/10/bt-epic-2014.html">http://www.dirtgirldiary.com/2014/10/bt-epic-2014.html</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Results: </span><a href="http://www.unitedindirt.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/bte_2014_times_agegroups.pdf">http://www.unitedindirt.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/bte_2014_times_agegroups.pdf</a><br />
Results: <a href="http://www.unitedindirt.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/bte_2014_times_overall.pdf">http://www.unitedindirt.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/bte_2014_times_overall.pdf</a><br />
Photos: <a href="http://coverage.zenfolio.com/p418849751">http://coverage.zenfolio.com/p418849751</a> <--- seriously check these photos out. buy some if you have the $$. Patrick does a great job capturing amazing shots!!!<br />
<br />Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-85594358879632099242014-10-14T23:42:00.000-05:002014-10-15T00:06:19.168-05:00Race Report: 2014 Burnin at the Bluff 12hr solo<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RpN3qggWTfU/VD3NIaW8G7I/AAAAAAAANwk/dAro6cl1KvY/s1600/burnin%2B2010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RpN3qggWTfU/VD3NIaW8G7I/AAAAAAAANwk/dAro6cl1KvY/s1600/burnin%2B2010.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me on my first lap ever at Council Bluff Lake. Changing one of about 5 flats. Photo by Stephen Venters.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My first time at Burnin at the Bluff in <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2012/10/hold-my-beer-and-watch-this-sht.html">2010</a>, I couldn't finish a lap faster than 2 hours. Multiple pinch flats and a serious lack of bike-handling talent humbled me on the 12.5-mile singletrack loop of Council Bluff Lake. Luckily I had saints (Todd Holtmann and John Peiffer) for teammates and they forgave my inexperience by throwing down some much faster lap times and we finished </span><a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2012/10/hold-my-beer-and-watch-this-sht.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4th coed team that year</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Uk80qFKbwWY/VD3NnEhtBbI/AAAAAAAANws/FwJMTA3sqww/s1600/burnin%2B2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Uk80qFKbwWY/VD3NnEhtBbI/AAAAAAAANws/FwJMTA3sqww/s1600/burnin%2B2012.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Wendy at Burnin 2012. I was barely sober enough to climb the podium.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wasn't able to race in 2011, but in </span><a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2012/10/race-report-burnin-at-bluff-6hr-no-12hr.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2012</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I woman-ed up on Friday night and jumped into the 12hr solo category against Wendy Davis. My fastest lap that year was a 1:39, but I was able to eek out the victory with 5 laps after building a 15ish minute lead. I distinctly remember slowly walking up one of the punchier climbs on the route, eating peanut butter crackers and wanting to cry. When I was able to finish with 5 laps, my body was wrecked and I attempted to fix it with Wild Turkey American Honey...not recommended!</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vTEUw79t3SE/VD3PspDuBPI/AAAAAAAANw4/JiJ8wd7uXFo/s1600/burnin%2B2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vTEUw79t3SE/VD3PspDuBPI/AAAAAAAANw4/JiJ8wd7uXFo/s1600/burnin%2B2013.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bootlegger's Burnin 2013. Photo by Sneat Pinkles.</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I also wasn't able to race in 2013 because of <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2013/10/race-report-2013-checkpoint-tracker.html">some adventure racing conflict</a>. That turned out to be okay since Council Bluff Lake is part of Mark Twain National Forest which was closed for the government shut-down. Bootlegger's Burnin was still held, but not as many people showed and they all thought emptying kegs of PBR was more important than churning out laps of CBL. They were only being polite - it's rude to expect someone to haul full kegs back to STL. Just your friendly neighborhood mountain bikers trying to make everyone's weekend a little easier.</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PekZ0RvRhaU/VD3QShW1u_I/AAAAAAAANxA/suLiRa3hYy8/s1600/ot100%2B2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PekZ0RvRhaU/VD3QShW1u_I/AAAAAAAANxA/suLiRa3hYy8/s1600/ot100%2B2014.jpg" height="400" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OT100MTB podium. Photo by Melisa Link.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And that brings us to 2014, the year of the inaugural OT100MTB where </span><a href="http://dailybinge.wordpress.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kate Wilson</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> beat me so convincingly in the 100-mile women's race that I didn't even want to toe the line at Burnin and potentially lose again. I was one text message away from joining an all-women's team and only being responsible for 3 speedy laps instead of more-than-3 steady laps. But after talking to my Team Noah Foundation teammates, I realized I couldn't just slink away from one tough loss. I had to re-evaluate my race logistics, strategy, and most importantly, mental focus. It's not like I made any huge mistakes at OT100MTB, but after carefully dissecting every mile of my ride, I found a few things that I could improve on to help Burnin go well.</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V6HzXc8_sEk/VD3QvUKHVxI/AAAAAAAANxI/iF8Im58cRs8/s1600/burnin%2B2014%2BPK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V6HzXc8_sEk/VD3QvUKHVxI/AAAAAAAANxI/iF8Im58cRs8/s1600/burnin%2B2014%2BPK.jpg" height="177" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting line of Burnin 2014. Photo by Patrick Kirkes.</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So I showed up at Council Bluff Lake on Saturday morning with a plan. Execute my race, smart and steady, and be ready to go to the well when the race demanded it. And I did plan on digging deep - I had raced for 29 hours the weekend prior at USARA Adventure Racing Nationals, finishing 5th overall with my Alpine Shop teammates Jeff and David. But I had taken it extremely easy the days in between and I knew that if I kept my brain in the right place, my legs would show up with an honest effort.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I set up my pit beneath a glorious Alpine Shop pop-up tent and got the SegSlayer all ready to go. The morning was cool but not freezing and no rain - perfect racing conditions. I had heard reports that the singletrack was in terrific shape despite constant rains on Friday and I couldn't wait to get on it myself. We all lined up for the long Le Mans start and I landed on the front row. I have no idea why. It's not like I planned on or even WANTED to be at the front of the race. But David and Peat and Dwayne were there so I just stood like I belonged. We sang the national anthem, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201760621776686&set=a.10201757961590183.1073741833.1815502498&type=3&theater">lit some smoke bombs</a>, and then took off for the run to our bikes.</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G-0B33neG7I/VD36CoLCaNI/AAAAAAAANyI/njEIJifHK18/s1600/Burnin%2B2014%2BKS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G-0B33neG7I/VD36CoLCaNI/AAAAAAAANyI/njEIJifHK18/s1600/Burnin%2B2014%2BKS.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Did someone have chili for breakfast? Photo by Kelly Skinner.</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">LAP 1, 1:30 (includes Le Mans run start)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZGrVFOQ72I">Clackity-clack-clack-clackity-clack</a>! That is the sound of getting passed by more than half the field at Burnin, and I am not bothered in the least. I don't want the pressure of people riding close behind me on the singletrack, so I just jog, find my bike which is exactly where I left it (not always the case at Burnin), jump on, and ride off down the hill. I note that Kate is ahead of me but she soon zooms out of my field of vision and I let her go. I've been really nervous all morning and now that the race has started, I can't shake the tension like I normally do. And I handle my bike like crap when I'm nervous. This isn't good. I know I just need to get a few miles under my belt so I try not to beat myself up too badly when I put a foot down in the easy sections. I finally make it to the campground climb that signals the end of each lap, and happily spin up it to find out my fate...how far ahead is Kate? As I ride through the pit area, I get reports from various people, ranging from 1 to 10 minutes. Not very helpful. But thankfully Carrie is there under the Alpine Shop tent, ready to help me with my stuff and with a reliable split - 3 minutes from when Kate left. I just grab some extra calories for my bento and ride out for Lap 2.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I am encouraged that despite my shaky bike handling, the gap up to Kate isn’t disastrous. Back on the trail, I focus on how lucky I am to be riding one of my all-time favorite pieces of singletrack in nearly perfect conditions. And, I get to do this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh3DRwPjP0k">ALL DAY</a>!! I think about my journey from total newbie to somewhat accomplished racer, and try to remind myself that no matter what happens at the end of 12 hours, I’ve come so far already. One of the many things that Team Noah Foundation has helped me focus on is the journey. Results are good but our evolution as people and as a community is what we’re all here for. I reflect on the many teammates I’ve raced with both mountain biking and adventure racing, how much I’ve learned from them, and how much their teaching fills me with gratitude and joy. I know this sounds incredibly sappy but it really was my mental state on Lap 2. Just before I get to the rock garden (near mile 8.5 out of 12.5), Heather (racing 6hr solo) catches up to me and we both clean the rock garden (victory!!!) and onto the dam. Heather hustles by and for a minute I just let her go. And then I remember how good of a technical rider she is and how much I could gain by following her wheel. So I sprint back up to her and am rewarded with 4 miles of fast, clean riding. Her pace is just one tick above mine, but her lines are immaculate and by following them, we absolutely fly through the remaining singletrack. We climb up the the campground together and once we get to the top, I tell Heather thanks as she stops at her pit. I also see Kate just leaving her pit so I know the gap is down to a minute or so. Great news!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top of the campground climb on Lap 1. Photo by John Gomes.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I ditch my vest, change into lighter gloves, and swap bottles before heading out on Lap 3. The previous lap helped me find my singletrack swagga and now I know that Kate is within reach. But we still have many laps ahead of us and I am in no rush to catch her as long as the gap stays manageable. Finally, just after the rock garden, I catch sight of her crossing the dam and am encouraged. I see no benefit to passing her now so I just ride 10-60 seconds back for the remaining 4 miles. I think I get close enough a few times that she figured out I was there, but not sure. In any case, it doesn't really matter since my left groin muscle cramps as we climb up to the campground. No bueno! I'm discouraged but not devastated, again this is still early in the day and I have plenty of time to fix this. I take it super easy on my legs and am able to get some encouragement from speedy Nad Snurb as he passes me on the right-hander switchback. Go 1993 Bulls! Once in the pit, I am focused on getting some salt. I double up on nuun tablets in my bottle and get some e-caps from Tara who set up her tent next to mine. Saved, thanks lady!!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fully restocked on nutrition, I roll out with a turkey sandwich in hand and a goal to fix these cramps ASAP before the race gets serious. Ironically, I purchased "low-sodium" turkey for my sandwich and am laughing at myself for that "healthy" decision. Anyway, I eat the entire thing before hitting the singletrack and then it's pure bliss once again. Gino catches me early and I give him a quick recap of the race so far before he zooms past. Strove Frodeman does it a few minutes later. I swear, these fast guys doing single laps seem like fighter jets compared to my 12hr pace. It's actually really inspiring to me and I try to visualize myself floating over the babyheads and shredding through the loose turns like they do. Zoom zoom! I catch back up to Kate at the rock garden (seems to be a theme here) but again don't want to try to pass her until I'm sure that my legs are good to go. So we ride loosely together for the rest of the lap until the start of the campground climb. Kate has gotten a little bit ahead of me and as I ride up, I notice she's standing still, off her bike, and a curious pssssssssst noise is coming from one of the tires. Oh no! A flat! I stop and offer to help but Kate says she has everything she needs. I don't need to be told twice to keep riding. But my "sprint" uphill is really comical since I still haven't quite fixed the cramping in my legs yet. So it's more like a slow-motion spin into the campground. I circle the field just as Aaro the announcer is calling time on the 6hr race and I am super-stoked to finish my 4 laps in 6hrs flat. 2 years ago it was my "stretch" goal to reel off four 1:30 laps in a row and now I've done it as a part of a much bigger race. This fills me with confidence as I execute another quick pit with the help of Maria and hit the road for another lap.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I didn't anticipate being in the lead of the women's 12hr race on Lap 5, but these are the cards the race is currently dealing, and I know I have to double down my effort here to have any hope later of staying in front. I was leading the women's race at OT100MTB until mile 87 and lost it because I wasn't riding as smart as I possibly could. So now I try to take all of the lessons I learned from that day and put them to use. Climb hard, but not too hard. Ride clean through the every tiny tech section that I possibly can. And on the downhills, RECOVER instead of push. I chat this out loud to myself everytime the trail turns down. Hands loose, shoulders loose, legs loose, deep breaths. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pZHXQ698Ok">Heart full, eyes clear</a>...or something like that. Actually my mental soundtrack was rockin all day thanks to Bronze Radio Return's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4lynO5FNkI">Further On</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUKJHKBw5P4">Up, On & Over.</a> Seriously, this band is so inspiring, check them out. Adding to the party in my brain is Dwayne and Peat who have finally lapped me, guess where, just before the rock garden!! I am pretty pumped to hold them off for 50+ miles, and they have news that Kate has successfully fixed her tire and is riding again. Woohoo! As I spin up the campground climb my legs seem to hold strong and Maria and Jeff help me in the pit. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As I ride off on Lap 6, I can't help but compare my mental and physical state from 2012. That year, I was completely crushed by 5 laps and couldn't <i>imagine</i> a sixth, let alone the SEVEN that Jen Goldstein rode to win the women's 12hr. Now, I'm still feeling reasonably strong, although my hands have started to go numb. I have a love/hate relationship with hand numbness. First, I like it because it means I've been riding a long time. Then, I dislike it because it hurts. Then, I like it because it means I brake less so I go "faster". Then, I dislike it because I get scared about braking less. Then, I like it because it forces me out of my comfort zone. So. There you have it. A peek into EK's racebrain. Oh yeah, and the real EK passes me just before the paved boat launch with surprising news that the 1993 Bulls are not living up to their destiny. And that's really all I can remember about Lap 6, just trying to stay strong but not too strong, take a few glances backward but not too many because "<a href="http://youtu.be/da8dHMmf4l4?t=8m37s">winning is that way</a>". </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I make it back to the pit around 6:00pm with the sun slowly setting so it's time to add lights to my bike and helmet. I felt like this took me a long time to deal with at OT100MTB so today I've prepped a second helmet with a Stella 300, and my Seca 750 is already on my bars, I just have to plug in a battery and I'm off! Maria helps me again with a quick pit and soon the dusk is settling over Council Bluff Lake. On the doubletrack leading into Enough Boat Ramp I start to turn on lights, and it takes me a few miles to get used to the transition. I crash pretty hard on one of the uphills just after Enough, and land on the downhill side of the trail with my bike on top of me. I feel panic rising in my heart, fearing that Kate will catch me while I'm tangled up on the side of the trail. I try to calm myself down and get going again, which is hard but I manage. I'm alternating between moments of joy and moments of despair. I remind myself to keep digging deep to make up for the apathy I battled (or rather...didn't battle) at OT100MTB. Throughout the rest of the lap, several lights catch me and for each one, I'm praying that the voice behind it is male. Lucky enough for me, they all are, including a repeat visit from Gino who tells me I sound much happier than earlier in the race. And he's right! It's hard to keep track of landmarks from earlier in the day, but the sharp right-hand turn that signals the start of the campground climb is hard to miss. All the way up hill I'm doing mental math...do I have time for another lap? Does Kate? </span></span></div>
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Once at the top, I check in with the timing tent to see if they have any idea what the gap is back to Kate. They say it's around 10-15 minutes, but then I realize I have no idea how much time I gave up crashing. Anything can happen here at Burnin and I'm in a tough spot. All laps have to be completed by 9:30pm or they don't count. It's 7:45pm and if I have to do another lap, it will take a near-perfect ride to finish before the cutoff. I would really, really rather not ride it if I don't have to. So, I prepare for an 8th lap at the Alpine Shop tent, drinking an Ensure and filling my bottle with Coke, while Maria stands guard at the singletrack exit to see if Kate is close behind. The clock ticks down, each second inching closer to being done. Finally, with only 1h25m remaining, we haven't seen Kate, so I walk back over to the timing tent to tell them I'm done. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you don't crash at least once, you're not riding hard enough. Photo by The Claw.</td></tr>
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They congratulate me unofficially on the win and then point out that my left knee is bleeding! I hadn't even realized it. Struckman digs out his first aid kit and The Claw hands me a delicious pumpkin beer as we work on cleaning out my disgusting wound. Fortunately, it's not terribly deep, just bloody, so I eventually just pack it with iodine swabs, slap a bandaid on it, and call it good. I have a few minutes to change into dry clothes and even have a beer before the awards ceremony! It's awesome to see the final riders come through, and to see Peat and Dwayne ride to the finish together after their 9-lap odyssey. Peat takes the win with a wheelie across the line in true Peat fashion.<br />
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So I can't find a picture of the 12hr women's podium, but it was me and Kate rockin the straw bales! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credit secret to protect the innocent.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And then, against all advice from The Voice Of Reason, we burned said straw bales. Maybe Scooter and I found some boxes to throw on the bonfire as well. We were just trying to be helpful - burning boxes is lot easier than hauling them to the dumpster. Maybe a flamingo or two was included in there too, but I can't say for certain. Once the fire had died (or had it?) we migrated to Campsite C and proceeded to demolish their buffet of perfectly charred corn, and potatoes, and red pepper hummus. Oh my, it was delicious. Just ask Carrie. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And then, with a rather quiet, tame, and strangely coherent walk back to my campsite, Burnin was over. The road leading into this race was hard for me. I needed to lean on the strength of my Team Noah Foundation and Alpine Shop teammates for the courage to even sign up, and for the skills and mental focus needed to have my best race. And, in a way that maybe only makes sense to me, I needed Kate to win the OT100MTB so I could have the day I had at Burnin. A few days after the race, both she and Peat thought that I had broken the women's 12hr solo record, and it was Kate who dug up the <a href="http://www.mylaps.com/en/classification/1724211?perClass=1">evidence</a> on the Interwebz. Turns out we both smashed Jen's previous best of 7 laps in 12:36 (Kate in 11:15 and me in 10:53). Now records in mountain biking are a little silly because they are so dependent on trail conditions, but I am still so proud of what we both accomplished at Burnin 2014. Dwayne is always about <a href="https://www.facebook.com/dwayne.goscinski/posts/987364531280614">the journey</a> and I can tell you that laps around Council Bluff Lake is one of the best journeys you can ever hope to take. </span></span></div>
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<b>RESULTS: </b>https://www.dropbox.com/s/fy1x5frj3276mbl/BATB%202014%2012%20Hour%20Solo%20Mens%20and%20Womens%20Results.pdf?dl=0 AND https://www.facebook.com/2TGLLC<br />
<b>MY STRAVA: </b>http://www.strava.com/activities/206644103<br />
<b>JEN GOLDSTEIN'S RECORD</b>: http://www.mylaps.com/en/classification/1724211?perClass=1<br />
<b>PATRICK KIRKES PHOTOS</b>: https://www.facebook.com/patrick.kirkes/media_set?set=a.10201757961590183.1073741833.1815502498&type=3<br />
<b>JOHN GOMES PHOTOS:</b> https://www.facebook.com/john.gomes.77736310/media_set?set=a.1550064728557556.1073741843.100006621314385&type=1<br />
<b>KELLY SKINNER PHOTOS:</b> https://www.facebook.com/kelly.skinner.779/media_set?set=a.216347128381882.67307.100000197886693&type=1<br />
<br />Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-8838140804890326572014-08-08T19:00:00.001-05:002014-08-08T19:00:43.119-05:00Race Report: 2014 Cowboy Tough 3.5day Adventure Race (Part 3)<i style="background-color: white; color: #505050; line-height: 16.866666793823242px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>NOTE: </b>This is the third in a series of posts about Cowboy Tough multi-day adventure race. I (Emily) worked together with my teammate Mike to write most of the text, and then Mike added in his own comedic flair in <span style="color: red;">red italics</span>. Enjoy!</span></i><br />
<span style="color: #505050;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.866666793823242px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/07/race-report-2014-cowboy-tough-35day.html">Part 1</a></i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #505050;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.866666793823242px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/08/race-report-2014-cowboy-tough-35day.html">Part 2</a></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Instead of being woken up by alarms, we’re rustled awake by the huge gusts of wind rushing through Sinks Canyon State Park. They’re strong enough to make Emily wonder if the rappel will still go as scheduled. But as our alarms start chirping at 0515, the winds start to die down somewhat as sunshine creeps into the campground. We've gotten about 2.5 hours of “rest”, and if we’re lucky most of that has been actual sleep. We hustle through prep for Day 2: getting food in our bellies, caffeine in our system, packs packed, teeth brushed</span><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (The value of good dental hygiene cannot be understated.)</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, bathrooms destroyed </span><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Andrei’s nugget of wisdom on this morning was to start every day of an expedition race with a good poop, something he picked up from the GearJunkie himself, Papa Regenold. Good advice I must say.)</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and the mandatory quarter safely zipped in the correct shorts pocket. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mark, the race director, calls all prepared teams to the center of the campground for Day 2’s official start. Since everyone made it into camp at various times last night, we all sleepily look around to see who’s answered the call for Day 2. Not surprisingly, Tecnu and Columbia look fresh and ready to go. The Yogis are there too, along with our friends Journey Racing and Silent Chasers. Mark reads off his list of starters and Emily doesn't hear WABAR’s number called, so after he’s done she shouts out “AND THREE-OH-SEVEN TOO!”. It’s a very, very proud moment for her and the team - after going through all of the challenges of yesterday, we have recovered</span><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and are ready to throw down again with the top teams of Cowboy Tough. Bring it on! </span><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">In this case “recovered” is a relative term and likely meant different things for each of us. For me it merely meant that my legs were no longer cramping. They were however more than a little sore from all that extra work they did while seizing up on me the day before. All things considered though, I was feeling ready to go.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-okN0SmJnAPc/U-POcY8XYDI/AAAAAAAANoI/LJGnOSogxCE/s1600/2014-08-07+10.42.48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-okN0SmJnAPc/U-POcY8XYDI/AAAAAAAANoI/LJGnOSogxCE/s1600/2014-08-07+10.42.48.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Start of Day 2. We slept at EOD01/SOD02. Then we ran to CP22 (The Sinks), then to an unmapped cave, then to CP23 (The Rise), then to ropes at CP24.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We all take off packless to CP22 at “The Sinks”, a unique feature of the state park where the Popo Agie River disappears underground. Then we run to “The Cave” which just looks like a boulder field. But race staff direct Andrei to the tiny hole in the ground and he gets the privilege of spelunking the 500-600’ for the underground punch. The rest of us WABARians get to chat with the other teams who are waiting as well. We’re super proud to let everyone know that yes, we did indeed clear the course yesterday! Once Andrei emerges from the cave (“what was it like, Andrei?” “it was a hole in the ground with a man at the end of it” </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Andrei is nothing if not concise and to the point with his assessments</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) we run to “The Rise” where the Popo Agie river comes back above ground and we use the mandatory gear quarter to feed some really large fish. Then we check into the start of the rappel which is directly across the road from our campground.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">ROPES 1, CP24</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eq4oBWuLIHQ/U-PPzFWw0RI/AAAAAAAANpE/JsImxh14H_U/s1600/CT2_topofropes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eq4oBWuLIHQ/U-PPzFWw0RI/AAAAAAAANpE/JsImxh14H_U/s1600/CT2_topofropes.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top of the rappel. Photo by Chris Radcliffe.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">At this point in the morning, we’re in 4th behind Tecnu, Columbia, and YogaSlackers. Since there are only three rappel lines set up, we take our time climbing the 200’ or so up to the top. Once we’re there, we only have to wait a few minutes for Tecnu to clear their line before we can start. Emily volunteers to go first and makes it to the bottom with no issues. Then Rachel, then Andrei, and pretty soon Mike’s flying down the rope and we’re all running back into TA. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GGerMzLIDkw/U-PRzyV0_vI/AAAAAAAANpY/6ycdpZVAfyw/s1600/CT2_TAview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GGerMzLIDkw/U-PRzyV0_vI/AAAAAAAANpY/6ycdpZVAfyw/s1600/CT2_TAview.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of TA from the top of the rappel, taken by Tecnu. You can see our bins still laying out!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We didn't really plan out our gear very well so we have to get back into our bins before leaving on our bikes. It’s a really slow TA, but we finally load everything up just before 8am. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(I for one had actually completely forgotten the requirement to leave TA by 8am. Phil from Silent Chasers mentioned the 8am timeline, which was a friendly reminder, although at the time he brought it up we did happen to be at the TOP of the rappel…)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r8orun0S-NQ/U-POcdw1B4I/AAAAAAAANoE/1SoUhF7tfZ8/s1600/2014-08-07+10.43.09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r8orun0S-NQ/U-POcdw1B4I/AAAAAAAANoE/1SoUhF7tfZ8/s1600/2014-08-07+10.43.09.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We rode from CP24 to CP25. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With Emily’s crank re-attached to her bike, we fly out of Sinks Canyon on a very smooth paved descent. We’ve got a quick punch at CP25, and then it’s into Lander for CP26 at Wild Iris Sports. Yesterday, if we couldn’t get Emily’s crank fixed, we had planned to stop here for professional assistance, but that is no longer necessary which is great because the shop’s not even open yet! It’s probably a good thing the shop’s closed, since Mike would have probably gone shopping for a new, lighter bike, costing valuable race time. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Yup, I was totally ready to trade my 31lb beast in for whatever they had under 23lb.)</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> We also get to say hi to one of our favorite volunteers, Emma from Orange Lederhosen!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NA7dDePrnlw/U-PTsoFQgYI/AAAAAAAANpk/YmIrZOWYsZQ/s1600/P1030546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NA7dDePrnlw/U-PTsoFQgYI/AAAAAAAANpk/YmIrZOWYsZQ/s1600/P1030546.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emily took a quick break from the paceline to take pictures.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Being a team of Midwesterners, we’re pretty stoked anytime the road doesn’t pitch up more than 100 feet. Once we’re outside of Lander, we organize into our paceline and start crushing out the 25 mostly-flat miles to Riverton. While riding on pavement is pretty boring for adventure racers, at least it goes by quickly! We are sharing the shoulder with road cyclists on the </span><a href="http://www.tourdewyoming.org/2014-route/" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tour de Wyoming</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and they all give us funny looks as we cruise past them. I’m sure they didn’t exactly appreciate getting passed by teams of people on mountain bikes with big packs, but they are all mostly polite about it. Emily’s especially excited to have a functioning bike again so she puts in a couple hard pulls as we make our way down the road. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Ok, I’m not letting this one go. I was third or fourth in the paceline but I could TOTALLY read her body language perfectly. She saw a pack of three roadies ahead (a half mile or more) and there would be no stopping until she mowed them down. Which she did.)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-apyxdu54XhY/U-PT_ghpWoI/AAAAAAAANps/7lX6Bqgbbl8/s1600/2014-08-07+10.44.51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-apyxdu54XhY/U-PT_ghpWoI/AAAAAAAANps/7lX6Bqgbbl8/s1600/2014-08-07+10.44.51.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ride from Lander to Riverton</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The only navigation challenge to this leg is very specific left-hand turn onto Rendezvous Road. Mike’s watching the maps carefully, but the intersections don’t appear to be signed as we fly down the highway. Suddenly, Mike yells “there it is!”</span><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*</span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, except Rachel and Andrei don’t hear him over the traffic noise and continue riding past the turn. This is not good. Emily and Mike start yelling for Rachel and Andrei to turn around, but it’s no use. Emily sprints after her teammates and finally gets their attention. </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i3FXxa044v4/U-PWAXwo_9I/AAAAAAAANq0/LFpg6H9bX98/s1600/P1030541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i3FXxa044v4/U-PWAXwo_9I/AAAAAAAANq0/LFpg6H9bX98/s1600/P1030541.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>*Full disclosure, I totally thought I missed the turn and was improvising. I knew the road would take us to Riverton, which would take us where we needed to go. It </i></span></span><span style="color: red; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>wasn't</i></span><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i> until AFTER the turn that Andrei mentioned that he saw a sign for Rendezvous Rd. Had I played it a little cooler I probably could have done a more convincing job of selling the fact that I made no mistake.</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We all regroup into our paceline after making the turn, but Emily can’t hang on, even with the draft. She yells again for a tow and Mike (or was it Andrei?) helps her out. “Are you okay?” Mike asks. “I’ll be fine in a bit, I just blew up a little,” Emily replies. She sits in the draft for the remaining miles into Riverton, where we have to piece together some sketchy map info with race instructions to “look for the Maverick’s gas station and turn right”. We tentatively ride through the town looking for the 1853 Historical Site. Just when we’re convinced we’re in the wrong spot, Andrei spots a faded sign and we ride into the CP.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">We are greeted by Zach from Rev3 who points us to a shady grove where the special challenge is set up. We’re met by a dude named “Numbers” dressed in what we assume to be historically accurate buckskin. He gives us a quick lesson on how to throw a tomahawk and says that we all have to stick a throw before we’re awarded the punch. And as a bonus, the CP staff have fun historical accessories for us to wear while throwing the ‘hawks. Let’s play dress-up!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5CcCBABWEcs/U-PWZh1xxNI/AAAAAAAANrA/qpmkRprLjmk/s1600/CT2_numbers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5CcCBABWEcs/U-PWZh1xxNI/AAAAAAAANrA/qpmkRprLjmk/s1600/CT2_numbers.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Numbers showing us how it's done. Photo by Chris Radcliffe.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mike cowboys up and sticks his throw on the FIRST TRY. There is a reason we call him “The Garrison”. Rachel and Emily are next after a few tosses, and Andrei gets his to stick as well. Sweet! The Rev3 staff also tell us that we’re in 4th overall so far behind Tecnu, Columbia, and YogaSlackers. Even sweeter! We hop back onto our bikes for more flat paved road riding.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">BIKE 2, CP28, 20mi</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CuknGrSlX0c/U-PUBEhNH5I/AAAAAAAANp8/DgJSV18leYg/s1600/2014-08-07+10.45.53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CuknGrSlX0c/U-PUBEhNH5I/AAAAAAAANp8/DgJSV18leYg/s1600/2014-08-07+10.45.53.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ride from Riverton to Boysen Reservoir SP.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second bike leg is very much like the first one - flat and paved! We feel that as Midwesterners we are especially well-trained to handle these conditions so push a little harder than “luxury racing” pace. Zach told us it was a 14mi ride, but our pre-race map analysis said 20mi, and when we reach the 14mi marker there is no lake in sight. But guess what...Emily’s crank is loose AGAIN! How did this happen? We stop precariously on the side of the highway to perform another too-small-and-soft plastic tire lever fix. Same as yesterday, it works, but only for a mile this time. The team decides to put Emily in the back of the paceline, and on tow, and just have her coast into TA. And, because of the favorable road conditions, she doesn’t hardly have to pedal to maintain 15+ mph. That’s what teamwork and drafting will do! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We finally spot the Boysen Reservoir and, on the eastern bank, the Rev3 Mobile TA. We cruise right up to it and start transitioning to paddle mode. Out of pure luck, JR the medic is working at this TA so Emily asks him to borrow his 10mm hex wrench again. This time, he says, “Just keep it!” which is infinitely helpful since we have a huge bike ride tomorrow. We all change out of our bike shorts and into bottoms more comfortable for paddling and trekking. Then Emily invokes the spirit of her <a href="http://www.alpineshop.com/">Alpine Shop</a> teammates Jeff and David as she picks out 2 canoes for the team with working seat backs and minimal bottom warping. Then we assemble paddles and put in!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">PADDLE 1, CP29, 6mi</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DtSD4OztCew/U-PUAI59HFI/AAAAAAAANpw/CLZfF0y8EwA/s1600/2014-08-07+10.46.23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DtSD4OztCew/U-PUAI59HFI/AAAAAAAANpw/CLZfF0y8EwA/s1600/2014-08-07+10.46.23.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paddle!</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Day 2’s course continues to be tailored to “Things That Midwestern Adventure Racers Are Good At” since we have a 6mi lake paddle in canoes. And it’s HOT. We set up with Emily and Mike in one boat, Andrei and Rachel in another, and Emily navving. We’ve been warned about strong afternoon winds but for now the air above Boysen SP Reservoir is hot and still. The first 6 miles are rather uneventful and soon enough we are nearing our take-out spot for a 3-point optional trek. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jCCoML044Ms/U-PXtVmvk0I/AAAAAAAANrM/Et792FZCn80/s1600/P1030547.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jCCoML044Ms/U-PXtVmvk0I/AAAAAAAANrM/Et792FZCn80/s1600/P1030547.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrei and Rachel's boat on the first paddle leg.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">TREK 2, CPs 30-33, 2mi</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3-point O'</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">We take out on a sandy beach with exactly zero shade options. We all make sure we’ve got enough water, even for this shorty trek, since the terrain doesn’t have any shade, either. As we jog off, we discover the ground to be unlike anything we’ve ever trekked on - dried sand with embedded round rocks, and the occasional cactus. It seems like we’re running across a lake bed with no water, except it’s not flat. All of the clues to these optional CPs are “high point” so we soon find ourselves trekking uphill on assorted game trails for each of our punches. Once we’ve got everything, we find a two-track to take us back to the boats. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FEEL THE HEAT!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6vmhJIMAnD8/U-PYnQopQvI/AAAAAAAANrc/xzPy8Y4eVfk/s1600/P1030553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6vmhJIMAnD8/U-PYnQopQvI/AAAAAAAANrc/xzPy8Y4eVfk/s1600/P1030553.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">so hot right now.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">We’re all roasting in the exposed heat so we take our sweet time getting back in the boats - Andrei breaks out his Magic Sack and everyone gets new water in their bladders, and we all go for a swim as well. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-svfKLaS46_s/U-PY6-ND5xI/AAAAAAAANrk/61rB-fYnNag/s1600/P1030549.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-svfKLaS46_s/U-PY6-ND5xI/AAAAAAAANrk/61rB-fYnNag/s1600/P1030549.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrei takes a swim.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">PADDLE 2, CPs 34-36, 9mi</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UoPQcCltXWo/U-PUGYf-JHI/AAAAAAAANqI/EF9dwhOeK-0/s1600/2014-08-07+10.47.28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UoPQcCltXWo/U-PUGYf-JHI/AAAAAAAANqI/EF9dwhOeK-0/s1600/2014-08-07+10.47.28.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More paddling! The map color mis-match was obvious and Rachel called it "the deep end"</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On one hand, we are thankful the winds have not picked up yet because it makes the paddling easy. But on the other hand, we are absolutely broiling in the still, hot air. We dodge tube-pulling-speedboats on the way to CP34 which is located very close to a popular beach/camping spot. Emily is tentative on the attack but as we get closer to the shore, Andrei and Rachel spot the flag and paddle in for the punch. The water levels are a few meters higher than shown on the map, which is a bit tricky, especially considering CP35 is hung on a very specific point of land amid several other points of land. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rnzlcR20afU/U-PZbkmIHuI/AAAAAAAANrs/DMQctuy-bmU/s1600/P1030548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rnzlcR20afU/U-PZbkmIHuI/AAAAAAAANrs/DMQctuy-bmU/s1600/P1030548.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike and Emily paddling.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">We paddle around CP34’s peninsula and past some real live bow-hunters on the way to CP35. As we paddle, multiple points of land emerge on our right side. Emily has a hard time matching them with the elevated water levels and we end up attacking CP35 too early. After a few minutes of paddling around looking for the flag, she cries uncle and flings the map back at Mike for him to make everything better. Mike takes a few glances at the map, a few looks at the terrain, and tells us to paddle out of the cove we’re in and continue on northward for a few more hundred meters before we get to CP35. Another 15-20 minutes lost, but at least it’s easily fixable and, since we’re paddling, </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px; white-space: pre-wrap;">doesn't</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> add a single meter of climb! </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QE6sPJnpmII/U-PZ34N01VI/AAAAAAAANr0/bN3SPC_beSI/s1600/GOPR2839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QE6sPJnpmII/U-PZ34N01VI/AAAAAAAANr0/bN3SPC_beSI/s1600/GOPR2839.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrei paddling.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emily takes the maps back after CP35, but all we have is a long, north-northwesterly paddle to the take-out/TA. The clear sighting conditions mean that features in the distance are highly visible, and for some reason that throws her off her nav game in a big way. Full and somewhat snarky disclosure here: </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Adventure races always rely heavily on map-and-compass navigation, but within that skillset there is a range of technical proficiency. Navigationally, the easiest stuff is just like following a road map, and the hardest stuff uses no roads or trails at all, just identifying (sometimes very subtle) terrain features and moving between them, aka orienteering. In the Midwest, our 24hr adventure races tend to use more orienteering than most expedition races, and as a result our navigators are very good. </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px; white-space: pre-wrap;">We've</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> had races where teams from outside the region compete and struggle with the orienteering, complaining that it’s “micro-nav”. We smile and say, “Aw, that’s cute!” and then run off to the next control. </span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, here, on the reservoir, the features are so big, so far away, and so visible, that it’s more like “macro-nav” and now we’re the team that’s struggling. Or rather, Emily just can’t pull her brain out of detail mode and into big-picture mode. After about five map checks in ten minutes, Mike asks for the map back and says “Just paddle already!”. Emily obliges, happy to have just enjoy the scenery instead of micro-anazylzing it. Without terrain to focus on, we turn our attention to the clock. </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px; white-space: pre-wrap;">We've</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> got about 6 miles left of this paddle, and then a 7ish mile trek, and then that’s it. Done for Day 2. The sun is still annoyingly high in the sky, and we think that if we hustle we might be able to finish the trek before it gets dark, and then have a TON of time off the clock to eat and sleep. That is a tantalizing carrot to chase so we paddle with renewed vigor.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">We pull into a beautiful sheltered cove for the take-out and haul our boats uphill with plenty of daylight left for the trek. Our transition is relaxed and includes a few moments of chat with Tecnu and Columbia (who are already finished for the day), sharing intel that the nav </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px; white-space: pre-wrap;">shouldn't</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> be too hard. Sweet! Let’s do this!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">TREK 3, CPs 1-10, 7mi</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mC-ghQhNhCk/U-PUJ3TlwdI/AAAAAAAANqU/jR-dFDkMzRc/s1600/2014-08-07+10.47.56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mC-ghQhNhCk/U-PUJ3TlwdI/AAAAAAAANqU/jR-dFDkMzRc/s1600/2014-08-07+10.47.56.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last trek of Day 2, CPs 1-10, all optional.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TDLTnMgqYQI/U-PbuPLyqKI/AAAAAAAANsA/lLA-wrT5VpA/s1600/GOPR2850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TDLTnMgqYQI/U-PbuPLyqKI/AAAAAAAANsA/lLA-wrT5VpA/s1600/GOPR2850.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rachel in one of the reentrants.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">We run out of TA having picked up a friend - a Rev3 staffer with a fancy camera. He takes a bunch of photos of us as we punch CP10, making us feel like VIPs. Then we’re on our own for the rest of the optional CPs. Again, the nav </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px; white-space: pre-wrap;">isn't</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> too challenging and we have a surprising amount of running on a major 2-lane highway, making travel very quick. We pick off a few CPs in roadside reentrants, then have to cross to its other side and figure out a way across the Big Horn River. We spotted a railroad trestle earlier and speculate that there must be a shortcut across it. It’s an adventure race, right? We run over to the bridge and sure enough, there are two 2x10s forming a walkway across the underside, with a single steel cable for a handhold. Totally doable….right?</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E8p_-ReHQhU/U-Pb83xFFHI/AAAAAAAANsI/H28mVs2JKBc/s1600/GOPR2851.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E8p_-ReHQhU/U-Pb83xFFHI/AAAAAAAANsI/H28mVs2JKBc/s1600/GOPR2851.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emily on her way across.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mike goes first and doesn’t even use the cable. Then Andrei goes, slightly more tentatively but moving well. Then Emily goes, trying not to use the cable but it sure comes in handy in a few spots. Then Rachel goes, clearly uncomfortable but focused on getting to the other side. When we’ve all made it, we hear a 4x4 roll up to us and see that it’s Mark the race director. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh no, did we just do something illegal?</span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> He sticks his head out and grins, “Quite the shortcut, eh?!” We laugh. Yes it is!!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TdaCDBcY_bY/U-Pb9rbvMuI/AAAAAAAANsQ/0TLFcPlrkeE/s1600/P1030557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TdaCDBcY_bY/U-Pb9rbvMuI/AAAAAAAANsQ/0TLFcPlrkeE/s1600/P1030557.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrei and Mike on the other side. Word is that Tecnu went across the TOP!</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have a couple CPs on the far side of the river, then cross back over using the dam and have to run right back past TA to collect the final two CPs. They use a lot of road running as well and Mike is clearly hurting so Rachel takes his pack. We all are hurting, to be honest, but it is the kind of hurt that </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px; white-space: pre-wrap;">doesn't</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> matter how fast you’re going, so we just keep jogging in order to be done more quickly. </span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-peLHSdzA-D4/U-Pc1wx3NLI/AAAAAAAANsg/ZQGRFOI1vFM/s1600/P1030561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-peLHSdzA-D4/U-Pc1wx3NLI/AAAAAAAANsg/ZQGRFOI1vFM/s1600/P1030561.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second to last CP on the day. High point, natch.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">EOD2 TA</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y2FNyVbVkyQ/U-PciV-tAEI/AAAAAAAANsY/8SNrITIUO1M/s1600/GOPR2859.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y2FNyVbVkyQ/U-PciV-tAEI/AAAAAAAANsY/8SNrITIUO1M/s1600/GOPR2859.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">TA does not suck.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">The sun is just starting to set as we reach the End of Day TA. We can’t really believe that we’re done so early! We unload our bins, chatting excitedly about everything we’re going to do at the most luxurious of all luxury racing TAs. First, we go swimming. Swimming! The lake is cool and so refreshing. Then we get to hang out and chat a bunch with other teams, including our </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/162254323809953/photos/a.687589551276425.1073741858.162254323809953/687592024609511/?type=3&theater" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">half-naked</a><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> friends on Team Tecnu. Then it’s time for actual sit-down dinner where Mike consumes about 4,000 calories and still feels hungry. Emily does some piddling with her bin, classic, and we all finally go to sleep around 10pm, under another beautiful night sky full of stars.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WANT MORE?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rev3 Day 2 photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.745197552187984.1073741864.148981488476263&type=3</span></div>
Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-89136108811471977602014-08-01T11:39:00.000-05:002014-08-03T18:05:14.808-05:00Race Report: 2014 Cowboy Tough 3.5day Adventure Race (Part 2)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #505050; line-height: 16.866666793823242px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>NOTE: </b>This is the second in a series of posts about Cowboy Tough multi-day adventure race. I (Emily) worked together with my teammate Mike to write most of the text, and then Mike added in his own comedic flair in <span style="color: red;">red italics</span>. Enjoy!</span></i><br />
<span style="color: #505050;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.866666793823242px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/07/race-report-2014-cowboy-tough-35day.html">Part 1</a></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>SOD1</b></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-b649d9a3-8e48-7fc6-e316-63ad37fedef5"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Cowboy Tough race morning starts like just about any other race morning: with an early wake-up call. Emily called first shower so she hits the hotel room’s bathroom and stays in there long enough for Andrei to wonder out loud if she is taking swimming lessons. Fortunately everyone else is sufficiently prepared to exit the hotel room with plenty of time for a cup of coffee before loading the pre-race coach bus at 0500. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mike’s initial plan to dump all of his stuff in his own car is scrapped due to having lost the car keys in the voluminous gear bomb the previous evening, so his stuff goes in Andrei’s car. It should be noted that the keys were IMMEDIATELY found right where they were supposed to be after the race.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're on a bus!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WABAR grabs seats in the middle of Bus 2 and we are soon joined by other teams including Tecnu and Columbia. The bus ride starts out chipper as we put final touches on our gear prep: custom-inked race jerseys are made, breakfasts are consumed, and sunscreen is applied. After that, we just close our eyes and put our feet up as the Wyoming countryside rolls by. </span><span style="color: red; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After every single race this year being wet in some way or another (usually torrential rains) it was exciting to watch the sun rise in a bright blue sky over the sage. Then I started to worry about the sun rising over my head, and the troubling probability of dehydration and cramping... Someone (maybe me) asks “Do you know what I’m going to miss this race?”, I quickly and emphatically say “shade”.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mFtbnDgrTz8/U9q6qlOD-rI/AAAAAAAANkI/aRdEIsWuAxc/s1600/GOPR2811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mFtbnDgrTz8/U9q6qlOD-rI/AAAAAAAANkI/aRdEIsWuAxc/s1600/GOPR2811.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">tap tap, this thing on?</td></tr>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After about a 3hr ride, the roads fade from pavement to gravel, and we know we’re getting close. Sure enough, we edge over the next hill and are greeted by the huge Rev3 semi-truck and a glittering field of bikes, smack in the middle of South Pass City. Despite the word “City” in its name, I’m not sure that there are any actual residents. But there is a working bathroom which becomes the most popular attraction once we debark, despite the frequent visits of racers (Tecnu, we’re looking at you) to the bus bathrooms en route. We find our WABAR bikes, all laid out close together, and make final preparations for the race start. Then Mark, Cowboy Tough Race Director, gathers all teams in the “center” of “town” for some final words and the starting blast from an air horn.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">PROLOGUE/TREK 1, CPs 1-5, 4mi??</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sN4PUDVXOM0/U9q7c6UGAMI/AAAAAAAANkQ/nMAUjo9-CX4/s1600/2014-07-30+15.40.47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sN4PUDVXOM0/U9q7c6UGAMI/AAAAAAAANkQ/nMAUjo9-CX4/s1600/2014-07-30+15.40.47.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maps for the prologue/trek.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/101317050">Cowboy Tough Start</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/legendaryrandy">Randy Ericksen</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Teams immediately scatter in all directions. We can obtain 3 of the 5 CPs in any order so we take off west towards CP5 at the JJ Marin Stamp Mill. We are running loosely with YogaSlackers (4p coed) and Silent Chasers (2p male) and our three teams scatter apart even further when the trail disintegrates uphill. Mike keeps us heading straight west and eventually the Yogis catch back up and lead us into the control with the ‘Chasers not far behind. Turns out our route was slightly inefficient but only on the order of 10m extra climb...and who’s counting? </span><span style="color: red; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Me, I’m counting. Both because I don’t want ANY extra climb, and because I know I’ll catch hell from teammates that figure out I cost them extra climb and distance.)</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7YidPPCKPf8/U9u1frDIm5I/AAAAAAAANkw/BAHg4qfSnv0/s1600/CT1_mill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7YidPPCKPf8/U9u1frDIm5I/AAAAAAAANkw/BAHg4qfSnv0/s1600/CT1_mill.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rachel entering the mill. Photo by Chris Radcliffe.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Back into “town”, we run/speed hike uphill to CP1 at the Carissa Mine Mill, then southeast to CP3 on the Volksmarch Trail. Once we’ve visited these two locations and collected a core sample and “gold” nugget from them, we’re free to head back into town to exchange these items for “race supplies”. Turns out that back in South Pass City, a rock core sample buys each team member a piece of salt water taffy at the General Store, and a “gold” nugget buys each team member a shot of </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; text-decoration: line-through; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iced tea</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="http://www.wyomingwhiskey.com/" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wyoming WHISKEY</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. We each down our shots and use the taffy as a chaser while running to our bikes, the prologue now complete. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rachel SO wanted to not do a shot here. She has highly communicative body language and facial expressions. But, when Emily “cowgirled up” and grabbed her shot, she knew she had not choice but to follow suit. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Atta girl, Rach!</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">BIKE 1, CP6, 10mi</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OYFngp6489w/U9u1x4dI0qI/AAAAAAAANk4/0OnoznjsRRs/s1600/P1030516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OYFngp6489w/U9u1x4dI0qI/AAAAAAAANk4/0OnoznjsRRs/s1600/P1030516.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riding with Journey Racing and Silent Chasers on the way to CP6.</td></tr>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once we’ve got our trekking shoes safely stowed in our packs, we ride out of South Pass City and onto a <a href="http://vimeo.com/101317052">10-mile gravel road biking leg</a>. <a href="http://www.myjourneyracing.com/">Journey Racing</a> (4p coed) and Silent Chasers are right around us too so the 10 of us ride in a loose pack to CP6. Break out the perma-grins, we’re racing in WYOMING!!! </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">In addition to the stunning views, we are reminded that this is in fact Wyoming and Wyoming is in fact NOT flat when the road turns up IMMEDIATELY. Ouch.</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">TREK 2, CPs 7-10, 6mi (optional)</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FYPIyjHRu_k/U9u2QGkFprI/AAAAAAAANlA/bMddbGmwSIY/s1600/2014-07-30+15.41.57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FYPIyjHRu_k/U9u2QGkFprI/AAAAAAAANlA/bMddbGmwSIY/s1600/2014-07-30+15.41.57.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1:24k map for the second trek, we went clockwise.</td></tr>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mike navs us straight into CP6 which is a bike drop and a short, optional trekking loop. Since our goal is to clear all mandatory and optional CPs, we transition quickly and get out onto the trek shortly after Journey. We know the Journey athletes are all Colorado natives (and, thus, better acclimatized to the altitude) so we’re content to let them race ahead as we take a more conservative jogging pace. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gc-7IE9_AFw/U9u2seMo68I/AAAAAAAANlM/sJ7rnqEsKO4/s1600/GOPR2815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gc-7IE9_AFw/U9u2seMo68I/AAAAAAAANlM/sJ7rnqEsKO4/s1600/GOPR2815.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'd say that's pretty open land.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The trek is mostly on mapped double-track and Mike starts his theme of spotting CP flags from 1km away. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(The sight lines for this race were crazy good. I’m pretty sure we spotted a CP on day 3 wll over 1km away…)</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> We even get to run through some delightfully shady aspen groves on the way to CP10. Once we’ve got all 4 CPs punched, it’s just a straight shot back to the bikes and we use the time to take some photos. In our normal 24hr races, none of us would hardly ever consider slowing for photo breaks, but since we’re “luxury racing” this week, we get to snap away. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">BIKE 2, CPs 11-13, 25mi</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_JYJXedlN4c/U9u3IRPMR8I/AAAAAAAANlY/38rQtOU48lA/s1600/2014-07-30+15.42.34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_JYJXedlN4c/U9u3IRPMR8I/AAAAAAAANlY/38rQtOU48lA/s1600/2014-07-30+15.42.34.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map for CP11 to CP12, we were riding northwestish.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Back on the bikes, we roll out in the company of Journey and Silent Chasers. There are some gravel miles to start, but they eventually transition into pavement as we continue to hold our smart-n-steady pace. Emily’s legs seem to be on board but her bike is not - her shifting has been rattling around since the start and she’s messing with the barrel adjusters, trying to find a happy medium cable tension. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Andrei on the other hand quickly learns how much attachment force is required for gear on his bike as his light/batteries seem to explode on a speedy (and really bumpy) downhill. Luckily no permanent damage is done to rider or gear. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finally a balance is struck and we get on the ride. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x3HjJbH8BJ4/U9u3vUUBPYI/AAAAAAAANlk/LQiSzK3tbzs/s1600/P1030520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x3HjJbH8BJ4/U9u3vUUBPYI/AAAAAAAANlk/LQiSzK3tbzs/s1600/P1030520.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hangin with Journey, Todd the flagman, and some road cyclist.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">A few miles later, our route takes us through a flagged construction zone where we have to stop for several minutes to wait for oncoming traffic to clear through the single drive lane. In a “normal” 24hr race, this would absolutely drive us CRAZY, but in our “luxury racing” mode, we just take the time to have a snack, take some photos, and chat with Todd the flagman. We also learn that one of the previous teams was not very nice to Todd so we try to make up for that by offering to share race snacks - he declines. Once we’re released from the construction zone, we fly downhill and then back up into the first big climb of the day.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kdn-ssn9BdM/U9u4Dae60II/AAAAAAAANls/AjAk5-qm7tI/s1600/P1030521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kdn-ssn9BdM/U9u4Dae60II/AAAAAAAANls/AjAk5-qm7tI/s1600/P1030521.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hi mama cow! Hi baby cow!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The climb is HOT and deceptively gradual. Rachel, on her new carbon Air9, absolutely flies uphill with Andrei close behind. Emily and Mike take a </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; text-decoration: line-through; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">slower </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">steadier approach. They also use the very friendly Cow #315 as an excuse to stop for a breather and capitalize on a photo op.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XjlqlB9op2E/U9u4X_rluRI/AAAAAAAANl0/vGKmAVQKc10/s1600/P1030523.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XjlqlB9op2E/U9u4X_rluRI/AAAAAAAANl0/vGKmAVQKc10/s1600/P1030523.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo was supposed to show the vast valley below us. I clearly need to work on my group selfie skillz.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eventually all make it up the first climb/hill/mountain/pass (we’re from the Midwest, they’re all the same to us) and fly down the backside. This is pure biking bliss! We coast into CP12, punch, and are happily on our way again. That’s when things get tough.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hcK6cjvd68U/U9u3Iet7tSI/AAAAAAAANlU/hJW9O4ag0To/s1600/2014-07-30+15.43.12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hcK6cjvd68U/U9u3Iet7tSI/AAAAAAAANlU/hJW9O4ag0To/s1600/2014-07-30+15.43.12.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map for CP12 to CP13, aka the deth march.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our troubles begin with what seems to be continued issues with Emily’s cable tension. The adjustment she made earlier is not holding, causing major annoyance and missed shifts. We cross a few <a href="http://vimeo.com/101317054">hike-a-creeks</a>, and she decides to use the break from riding to conduct a thorough investigation. The results? Oh, nothing major, just HER DRIVE-SIDE CRANK IS FALLING OFF. This is total bad news bears for Day 1 of a multi-day race. Further, the crank requires a 10mm hex wrench to fix, and the biggest we’re carrying is an 8mm. Mild panic ensues. We ask a few other teams in the immediate vicinity of the creek crossing for help, they all kindly check their multi-tools, but no one has the correct wrench. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HMkl4BL2XDk/U9u4tJgBO3I/AAAAAAAANl8/nz8fu7A8aE8/s1600/GOPR2824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HMkl4BL2XDk/U9u4tJgBO3I/AAAAAAAANl8/nz8fu7A8aE8/s1600/GOPR2824.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Right about where our troubles started.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finally Mike puts his enginerding degree to use </span><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(thank you 6 years at Rose Hulman)</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and figures out how to use Emily’s tire lever as makeshift 10mm, but the soft plastic can only put so much tension on the crank bolt. Each fix lasts a half-mile at best, and we have 12 more miles to go before TA/CP13. This could be a long day, but at least we have plenty of material for “that’s what she said” jokes about the too-soft tire lever that doesn't fit into the hole.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OkFtoKPLrnQ/U9ufa1dcyGI/AAAAAAAANkg/xztbR7UQAx4/s1600/GOPR2822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OkFtoKPLrnQ/U9ufa1dcyGI/AAAAAAAANkg/xztbR7UQAx4/s1600/GOPR2822.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hike that bike!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fortunately/unfortunately, the next 12 miles have some steep climbs that are more efficiently travelled as hike-a-bikes, an activity that requires ZERO use of the crank! Huzzah! Except it’s still really hard work to push our bikes, especially if your bike weighs as much as Mike’s does. His legs are the first to let us know with a full-on lockdown CRAMP. </span><span style="color: red; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>(Yes, I am now in the same athletic category as LeBron, (ha). Reduced to athletic ineptitude by cramps. As in, “ooh, check out all those muscle fibers” cramps. Worse than </i></span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>I've</i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i> had in a LONG time.)</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Things are not looking good for WABAR. We adjust for this by slowing the pace, having Mike and Rachel switch bikes for pushing (the carbon Air9 is so much lighter than the Moots YBB Rohloff), or just having Rachel take both bikes. She is a machine! We also take some rest breaks wherever we can find a patch of shade, (which </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px; white-space: pre-wrap;">isn't</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> all that often) or a cool creek crossing (equally infrequent but SOOO much more effective for getting that body temp down!).</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9fMpWZjdCz0/U9u_9KF4JEI/AAAAAAAANng/m64hfYWJf1U/s1600/GOPR2825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9fMpWZjdCz0/U9u_9KF4JEI/AAAAAAAANng/m64hfYWJf1U/s1600/GOPR2825.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Push it! Push it real good!</td></tr>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our progress is painfully (in more ways than one) slow along the Indian Trail fire road/doubletrack. We get a few glimpses of hope with some killer downhills, but they do very little to help overall team speed. We are just in trudge mode, simple as that. </span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fortunately, 12 miles of trudge mode eventually come to an end with the sight of a beautiful Rev3 pop-up tent. We’ve made it to TA/CP13!!! Never have we felt more relieved to get off our bikes and onto the race’s biggest trekking leg. We take a luxury racing transition - new foot lube for everyone, new socks and shorts for those who remembered to bring them, garbage emptied from random pack pockets, new layers of sunscreen, all done in the shade of a pit toilet at 8500’. Adventure racing at its finest! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">TREK 3, CPs 14-21, 14mi</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HFarpUU_65w/U9u7FBRzm6I/AAAAAAAANmI/NuafWdoh3Us/s1600/2014-07-30+15.50.29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HFarpUU_65w/U9u7FBRzm6I/AAAAAAAANmI/NuafWdoh3Us/s1600/2014-07-30+15.50.29.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final trek for Day 1. travelling roughly clockwise.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The trek starts out with 4 optional CPs (14-17) which take us around a few lakes and ponds. We pass several teams at CP14 as they are restocking on water, and all of us still have plenty (which was actually a mistake, we carried WAY too much water on our backs during the bike ride). </span><span style="color: red; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I respectfully and unequivocally disagree in every way imaginable on this point. I in fact brought barely enough but drank WAY TOO LITTLE on the way up. But that’s just me. I don’t have the near dromedary-like hydration efficiency that the ladies seemed to.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sJgdUDzu4Q0/U9u8FqfQ52I/AAAAAAAANmg/nsWytK65tM0/s1600/GOPR2826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sJgdUDzu4Q0/U9u8FqfQ52I/AAAAAAAANmg/nsWytK65tM0/s1600/GOPR2826.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrei and Mike starting "the big trek".</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6ge5QmuToBc/U9u8FZaFTzI/AAAAAAAANmc/Rv8RBreHHf8/s1600/GOPR2827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6ge5QmuToBc/U9u8FZaFTzI/AAAAAAAANmc/Rv8RBreHHf8/s1600/GOPR2827.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rachel starting "the big trek"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r_L7xZqxkyQ/U9u8FYG86vI/AAAAAAAANmY/I6iNYsrkPHU/s1600/GOPR2828.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r_L7xZqxkyQ/U9u8FYG86vI/AAAAAAAANmY/I6iNYsrkPHU/s1600/GOPR2828.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emily starting "the big trek"</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once we’re well past CP14, the non-dromedary boys realize that actually they DO need to re-stock on water, so we are on the lookout for a source. We find the 4p male team GUTS taking a break near a clear running stream so we decide to join them and refill. Andrei has brought along a GearJunkie test item, the </span><a href="http://gearjunkie.com/katadyn-gravity-water-filter" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Katadyn Gravity Filter</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which we have affectionately named “Andrei’s Magic Sack”. The filter really is magic, it purifies about 1L of water per minute WITHOUT any waiting time like tablets have. Before the race, Emily was skeptical about the extra weight, but after seeing the sack in action, she’s sold. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tS76XbgFJ2E/U9u8ev173DI/AAAAAAAANmw/C1DJuEmbNiM/s1600/P1030528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tS76XbgFJ2E/U9u8ev173DI/AAAAAAAANmw/C1DJuEmbNiM/s1600/P1030528.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrei and his magic sack.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">The navigation gets a little challenging for CPs 15 and 16, which is great for us because MAPS MAPS MAPS MAPS. We attack what we believe to be the highest CP on course, CP17 around 9100’. As we’re making our way uphill, we hear branches snapping behind us and it’s Journey Racing! No way! We’re totally stoked to be hanging with the ColoRADians on the higher elevation stuff, where us poor flatlanders should be puking and crying. We hold a slim lead on the descent from 17 which involves a really awesome hop through a boulder field, and then Journey moves ahead on the ensuing road run and punches CP18 first. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A_vS54loqMM/U9u84aySVgI/AAAAAAAANm4/BsNw6O6zbyE/s1600/GOPR2834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A_vS54loqMM/U9u84aySVgI/AAAAAAAANm4/BsNw6O6zbyE/s1600/GOPR2834.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not only does Rachel punch faster than the speed of light, she takes awesome CP selfies!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">CP18 is a manned CP, and as we punch we chat with the Rev3 staff briefly. Eric sends us off with a “hope to see you again soon!” which we think is cute and keep running in the same direction as Journey. We run through the campground looking for a trailhead, and Emily takes the time to say hi to a couple horses that are hanging out there. Mike is looking frustratedly at the map, and soon after we see Journey disappear into the woods, he exclaims “That SONOFAB!TCH!”, turns completely around, and starts running “EZ pace” back to CP18. Turns out the trailhead we needed was directly behind the Rev3 staff, and we </span></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">didn't</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> even see it. We exchange a sarcastic “thanks” with Eric as we see them again (which is returned with some light-hearted laughter and “good jobs”), and vow to not get distracted by other teams again. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F2zfK5sTFl4/U9u9L-KgBVI/AAAAAAAANnA/bN-4pvclW6w/s1600/P1030537.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F2zfK5sTFl4/U9u9L-KgBVI/AAAAAAAANnA/bN-4pvclW6w/s1600/P1030537.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adventure racing does not suck.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R-WSaezTKmo/U9u9Lt7mjDI/AAAAAAAANnE/fIiREDCVWJc/s1600/P1030538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R-WSaezTKmo/U9u9Lt7mjDI/AAAAAAAANnE/fIiREDCVWJc/s1600/P1030538.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What's up Journey Racing!?!?!!!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">After a short time, Journey recovers from their identical mistake at CP18 and catches back up to us again on the trail. We all hike together for a while on the uphill, but once the trail turns downhill, the Journey-ers are GONE. No worries for WABAR, we’re committed to our pace and just focused on staying steady. We take a short break at CP19 (Sheep Bridge) to re-lube feet and get our lights sorted in the increasing dusk. The sun sets on our way to CP20 (falls overlook), but Mike keeps the trail navigation dialed and thanks to a map consult with Andrei, we pick the correct access route for the CP and are greeted by Legendary Randy and Awesome Chris. We </span></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">didn't</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> expect to see them so there </span></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">isn't</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> much good </span></span><a href="http://vimeo.com/101317056" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">video interaction</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Sorry! </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0--aDN94UxM/U9u-qBDLNsI/AAAAAAAANnU/p79UIsKTjEw/s1600/CT1_waterfall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0--aDN94UxM/U9u-qBDLNsI/AAAAAAAANnU/p79UIsKTjEw/s1600/CT1_waterfall.JPG" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Screenshot from Legendary Randy's vid.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we’re leaving CP20, we see the lights of another team coming toward us and it turns out to be Journey again! It’s fun to keep flip-flopping with them as we make our way through the course in the dark. From the falls, we just have a few more kms of downhill trail running until the next TA.</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">TREK 4, CPs 1-10, 6mi</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yTXzYOzrYAo/U9u7bDD4vHI/AAAAAAAANmQ/FrfxRlVVdso/s1600/2014-07-30+15.52.12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yTXzYOzrYAo/U9u7bDD4vHI/AAAAAAAANmQ/FrfxRlVVdso/s1600/2014-07-30+15.52.12.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trail map for the last 10 CPs. These were also plotted on our USGS.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rev3 has designed the course so that each day ends with 10 optional trekking CPs, on a rogaine-style course of about 10km. We run into the start of this optional section with lots of time to get all of the CPs, which is our goal. The medics give us a quick check (“Everyone feeling good?” “Yes!” “Okay see ya later!”) and we’re off on the final leg of Day 1, with Silent Chasers shortly ahead and Journey Racing nipping at our heels.</span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This leg is entirely within <a href="http://sinkscanyonstatepark.org/">Sinks Canyon State Park</a> at around 6500’. Most of the CPs are on or close-to trails, making the navigation not terribly difficult, but everything’s always a little harder in the dark. Once we find the correct trail to start on, we ping through the CPs at a steady pace. We catch up with our friends the Silent Chasers and work together for a few CPs, then we’re on our own for the two most physical CPs, 5 and 4. Rachel absolutely destroys the climbs on a mission to punch speedily as the rest of us struggle to keep up. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8XWWdeVVUQY/U9vAKGMAGAI/AAAAAAAANno/5nWCtJVvxpE/s1600/P1030532.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8XWWdeVVUQY/U9vAKGMAGAI/AAAAAAAANno/5nWCtJVvxpE/s1600/P1030532.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obviously from earlier in the day, but always fun to post pics of your teammates trekking in their underwear.</td></tr>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Somewhere along the way Mike realizes that our route choice, although not horrible, was not the most efficient one possible. Although it did allow us some social time with the Silent Chaser boys, it unfortunately cost us a few minutes. </span></span><span style="line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Towards the end, Emily’s knees start hurting a lot so she digs out her trekking poles for joint preservation, and shares one with Mike, who is starting to feel some hot spots. Being Day 1, it’s always best to be over-conservative on things like this rather than “tough it out”. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">We clear all 10 CPs and then enjoy a nice gradual downhill road run into the End of Day 1 TA. </span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">EOD1 TA</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the easy run into TA, we talk through exactly what we’re going to do to maximize our sleeping time. We arrive around 2:15am, and commit to waking up by 5:15am to be ready for the 6:00am start of Day 2. We all work together to unload our bins from the Mobile TA and find a comfortable place to sleep on some playground mulch. Emily runs around to every awake person asking for a 10mm hex wrench, and eventually finds one from JR the medic. Salvation! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We all snuggle into our sleep systems </span><span style="color: red; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Which for me unfortunately consists of a down jacket and a space blanket with my bare feet exposed to the air (that part was on purpose). Better than nothing I suppose.)</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and try to catch a few hours’ rest under the beautiful night sky. Day 1, CLEARED!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>I don’t have much multi-day race experience AT ALL. This was my second one. But, I have to say it was WAY easier to sleep “off the clock” knowing we </i></span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>couldn't</i></span><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> start racing for a few more hours. I </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px; white-space: pre-wrap;">didn't</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> sleep great, but at this point any little bit of rest helps.</span></span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rev3 album from Day 1: </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.744762595564813.1073741863.148981488476263&type=3">https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.744762595564813.1073741863.148981488476263&type=3</a></span></span></div>
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Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-60705407278749119032014-07-28T23:38:00.001-05:002014-07-28T23:38:42.034-05:00Race Report: 2014 Cowboy Tough 3.5day Adventure Race (Part 1)<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>NOTE: </b>This is the first in a series of posts about Cowboy Tough multi-day adventure race. I (Emily) worked together with my teammate Mike to write most of the text, and then Mike added in his own comedic flair in <span style="color: red;">red italics</span>. Enjoy!</span></i></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tKmbq1tx2WI/U9cj7TUA2NI/AAAAAAAANfk/E0Jy14qXWs8/s1600/CT_intro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tKmbq1tx2WI/U9cj7TUA2NI/AAAAAAAANfk/E0Jy14qXWs8/s1600/CT_intro.jpg" height="200" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Expedition racing: what we think we do.<br />http://explorecompetelive.com/ar-world-rankings-revised/</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the Midwest, adventure racing thrives on 8- to 24-hour events. We are lucky to have a number of excellent race directors and a community of teams ranging from highly competitive to highly recreational, and we all coexist happily in our weekend adventures. But for some athletes, the allure of a multi-day race is strong and for that we dream of one of the handful of expedition-style adventure races in North America:</span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.untamedne.com/" style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Untamed New England</a><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 4-day </span><a href="http://www.arworldseries.com/" style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">ARWS</a><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> race in Maine, June 17-22rd </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.rev3adventure.com/race/rev3cowboytough/" style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cowboy Tough</a><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 3.5-day race in Wyoming, July 17-20th </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://expeditionidahoadventurerace.com/" style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Expedition Idaho</a><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 7-day race in Idaho, August 8-16th </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.raidinternationalgaspesie.com/index.php/en/concepten" style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Raid International Gaspésie</a><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 3.5-day race in Quebec, September 10-14th </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.goldrushar.com/events/mother-lode-4-day-expedition-race.html" style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gold Rush Mother Lode</a><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 4-day </span><a href="http://www.arworldseries.com/" style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">ARWS</a><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> race in California (scheduled for September 10-14th, but was recently cancelled for 2014)</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These multi-day, or “expedition” races come along with a whole new set of rules. Generally, when things go wrong in a 24hr race, teams can suck it up and still get themselves to the finish line. Maybe they have more blisters than normal, maybe they are thirstier than normal, but...IN GENERAL...they survive with some bonus suffering. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Anyone that knows me well, knows that I excel in the bonus suffering, and for me it’s usually avoidable and unnecessary…)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RbVGW-jgDG0/U9ccgk_zBWI/AAAAAAAANec/fC4Ib9w8Y9Y/s1600/iansfeet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RbVGW-jgDG0/U9ccgk_zBWI/AAAAAAAANec/fC4Ib9w8Y9Y/s1600/iansfeet.jpg" height="268" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Expedition racing: what we really do.<br />http://gearjunkie.com/foot-care-for-the-ultra-crowd</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In expedition racing, a seemingly small mistake on Day 1 has thousands of minutes to compound itself and significantly slow teams down over the course of the entire race. It may even cause them to drop out. It’s an entirely new ball game!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Race Decision</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s not entirely clear who was the first person to bring up the possibility of doing an expedition race in 2014. Regardless, someone did, and by late fall of 2013, we had four people interested in taking the plunge. Mike Garrison (<a href="http://www.untamedne.com/Media/2012Results.pdf">2012 UNE</a>) and Rachel Furman (<a href="http://www.raidthenorth.com/RTNx/2011/race.php">2011 RTNX</a> and <a href="http://www.untamedne.com/Media/2012Results.pdf">2012 UNE</a>) from <a href="http://www.bushwhacker.com/">Bushwhacker</a>, Emily Korsch from <a href="http://www.alpineshop.com/">Alpine Shop</a> and Andrei Karpoff from <a href="http://gearjunkie.com/team">GearJunkie/WEDALI</a> (both expedition rookies) committed to the challenge. If you are a regular on the Midwestern adventure racing scene, you’ll recognize these team names as fierce rivals. But believe it or not, the individual team members actually get along really well when not trying to rip each others’ legs off. For our as-of-yet unconfirmed expedition race, we would be suffering WITH each other instead of forcing suffering ON each other. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2nBH6oIojOE/U9cdzyb-YmI/AAAAAAAANew/h0QMfqJJC-A/s1600/Cowboy+Tough+Start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2nBH6oIojOE/U9cdzyb-YmI/AAAAAAAANew/h0QMfqJJC-A/s1600/Cowboy+Tough+Start.jpg" height="233" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Start line of Cowboy Tough 2013.<br />http://governor.wy.gov/media/pressReleases/Pages/CowboyTough2014.aspx</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mike was initially was highly motivated to return to Untamed New England (UNE) in 2014 based on the great experience a couple of years ago, however scheduling for that race was not agreeable for everyone. We looked at the other 4 races available, and Cowboy Tough (CT) became the obvious choice. The race format presented itself as more of a 3.5 day “stage” race instead of 3.5 days straight of racing. This race design was more appealing for the expedition rookies (Andrei and Emily). Plus, none of us had adventure raced in Wyoming before, although Andrei had done several orienteering events in and around Laramie. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Once the decision was made I was actually really happy with it. I’m not sure how many more of these long races I’ll be doing so it was exciting to know that I’d be racing somewhere new. In addition to that this one was almost in my parents’ home in Jackson.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The team finally got registered (THAT was a hefty check to write!) at the end of March and was ready to go. </span><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Almost. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FwNXRg02PzM/U9cdNDThuYI/AAAAAAAANek/sBhHXXZa-ug/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-07-28+at+11.03.37+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FwNXRg02PzM/U9cdNDThuYI/AAAAAAAANek/sBhHXXZa-ug/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-07-28+at+11.03.37+PM.png" height="395" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://instagram.com/p/puO_SLK7Ql/?modal=true</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With a few days to go we realized that we didn’t have a team name (details, details). A flurry of emails and attempts at clever creativity (<a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/01/race-report-2014-pocar.html">Al’s Bush Shop for Whackers, Part Deux, anyone?</a>) brought us to WABAR. (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">W</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">EDALI </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">lpine Shop </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ushwhacker </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">dventure </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">R</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">acing). Although not exactly creative OR clever, it was a straightforward representation of this conglomeration of teams that have spent years beating each other up. Unfortunately, WABAR would also create far more pronunciation issues than could have possibly been foreseen. (WAY-bar? wah-BAR? wubber? heron?) </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That last one is a joke so far inside that there are probably all of 4 people in the world that will get it. And two of them are writing this report...</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, with that decision made, Team WABAR (officially pronounced WAH-bar, thanks for asking) began preparing for the 2014 Cowboy Tough Expedition Adventure Race.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Race Lead Up</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E6oWT9JpDCc/U5tJYIfrLdI/AAAAAAAANRA/edynfWemWzY/s1600/2014-05-25+03.07.23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E6oWT9JpDCc/U5tJYIfrLdI/AAAAAAAANRA/edynfWemWzY/s1600/2014-05-25+03.07.23.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Training weekend in STL. Middle of the night, somewhere in Mark Twain National Forest.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With the team coming from all corners of the globe (er...Midwest) it was going to be bit of a trick doing a ton of group training. <a href="http://www.ar.attackpoint.org/">Attackpoint</a> was a handy motivator through competitive training psychology, aka training guilt. In addition to this, the team managed <a href="http://www.ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_9015/period-7/enddate-2014-05-25">one long weekend group training session</a> in St. Louis, and one 30 hour race in Northern Wisconsin, the Stubborn Mule.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e8DmLcvlxKk/U8RllIFlA1I/AAAAAAAANaM/BLzNWxapYFE/s1600/SM_teamfinish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e8DmLcvlxKk/U8RllIFlA1I/AAAAAAAANaM/BLzNWxapYFE/s1600/SM_teamfinish.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finish line of Stubborn Mule 30hr AR!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The training weekend was a blast and gave the team confidence that yes, they would in fact be able to get along for 5-6 days together. Stubborn Mule <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/07/race-report-2014-stubborn-mule-30hr.html">went really well</a>, with the team not only working out the kinks, but notching a first place finish. </span><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">All in all, not a bad prep for CT.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Tuesday, Pre-Race</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For three of us, arrival in Casper on Tuesday was uneventful. For Rachel not so much. Her flight got cancelled because of a huge thunderstorm, which Emily, Mike and Andrei witnessed while eating delicious food at the Western Grill (multi-course dinners for CHEAP!!, highly recommended, multiple gravy options, lots of trains). </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You don't want to fly a plane through that?</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So Rachel wouldn’t get in until Wednesday morning, but it was no big deal since we still had plenty of time to piddle*. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Wednesday, Pre-Race</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gsZ_DmNMlag/U9cfkxJcOdI/AAAAAAAANe8/c5h1Fvz6xHI/s1600/CT_gearbomb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gsZ_DmNMlag/U9cfkxJcOdI/AAAAAAAANe8/c5h1Fvz6xHI/s1600/CT_gearbomb.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our hotel room, even before Rachel got there.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U9fXFLG7F00/U9cgDZY_3ZI/AAAAAAAANfE/CRbpAawgtZ8/s1600/CT_sammies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U9fXFLG7F00/U9cgDZY_3ZI/AAAAAAAANfE/CRbpAawgtZ8/s1600/CT_sammies.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrei. Is. MasterChef!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We got a full night’s sleep on Tuesday, then woke up Wednesday with a laundry list of pre-race chores: pick up Rachel and her gear from airport, sort food, pack bins, organize team gear, run through mandatory gear and skills checks with Rev3, make a last-minute Wal-Mart run, gear bomb every single square inch of our hotel room </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">including </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the balcony, etc etc etc. The first thing with any actual importance we did was officially register for the race at 11:00am and pick up our race maps, all twenty pounds of them. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ChrNi0H83Vg/U9ciLGKuggI/AAAAAAAANfQ/SfXunLQiT2o/s1600/CT_maps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ChrNi0H83Vg/U9ciLGKuggI/AAAAAAAANfQ/SfXunLQiT2o/s1600/CT_maps.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">https://www.facebook.com/Rev3Adventure/photos/pb.148981488476263.-2207520000.1406607830./737464349627971/?type=3&theater</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rev3 provided 11 huge maps, along with 5 supplemental maps, PLUS a guide book for South Pass City, PLUS a clue sheet and rules of travel. The map bundle was impressive, and since race rules allowed outside maps, we added some additional maps from the Wyoming <a href="http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=10096">Gazetteer</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that would cut down on bike map flippage by 87%. We just used the word “map” four times in one sentence. Can you guess what we think the most important part of adventure racing is? </span><span style="color: red; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">*Despite a ridiculously large scale (I alternated between referring to it as 1:500k an 1:”earth”) this map was quite a convenience for overall course planning and the longer bike sections where we would cross just over three 1:24k maps. Diagonally. Yeah. Thanks KP, I owe you one. Although you might have to slow down a bit if you ever want me to deliver on that.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="IMG_2196.JPG" height="271px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/fCnmHBFlHGO2cZYX5KBpuwNILSh-yUI9rnmgnZhmeZwE20_8VqX2oD5272SNllRjFTJg1BLtSyzgG69vQCGRAu_8dZr3AQZMhf0DHaNXt_r_8ZhFP_YLBkVfrgStldcW4Q" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0rad); border: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="362px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike and Andrei plotting our course on one of the eleven table-sized maps.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Race prep stuff can be pretty boring to both write and read so we’ll just gloss over it a bit. Emily and Rachel built bikes while Andrei and Mike plotted all of the optional CPs. Then we all went to the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.744251902282549.1073741862.148981488476263&type=3">pre-race meeting</a>. Then we finalized our gear bins and loaded them onto the Rev3 Mobile TA along with our bikes. Then we ordered pizza and worked on our maps some more </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(and more and more. I kind of underestimated the amount of time it would take to plan the course, estimate distance and fold 11 huge ass pieces of weatherproof paper)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Finally we got to sleep with our alarms set for EARLY!! The stage was set for 2014 Cowboy Tough!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W7nwVxPPuN4/U9cijfQWClI/AAAAAAAANfY/9hPl7uIcnt8/s1600/CT_team.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W7nwVxPPuN4/U9cijfQWClI/AAAAAAAANfY/9hPl7uIcnt8/s1600/CT_team.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrei, Rachel, Emily, Mike. Photo by either Awesome Chris Radcliffe or Legendary Randy Erickson.<br />https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.744250968949309.1073741861.148981488476263&type=3</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*For the record, in the context of WABAR to “piddle” means to fuss with gear, not to take a leak. Emily is an expert piddler, a skill she learned from her Alpine Shop teammates. </span><span style="color: red; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Seriously, she is really really good at this. I swear at one point I watched her move specific pieces of gear around on the hotel room table kind of like a street peddler with that cup and ball games. “Now you see the CO2 cartridge, now you don’t!”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: red; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-87817470738551606342014-07-14T22:04:00.000-05:002014-07-14T22:04:16.870-05:00Race Report: 2014 Stubborn Mule 30hr Adventure Race<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VZqvHlAV4jQ/U8SWwroaqAI/AAAAAAAANbQ/TaLbNeLBkc4/s1600/flyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VZqvHlAV4jQ/U8SWwroaqAI/AAAAAAAANbQ/TaLbNeLBkc4/s1600/flyer.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hi, horse.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">I haven't really shared that much about my life prior to adventure racing. Sure, there's a brief bio on the obligatory "<a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html">About Me</a>" page, but nothing really that in depth. Well one thing you should know about me is I grew up riding horses. From about 4th or 5th grade until senior year of high school, I was a full-on horse addict (and honestly, still am). I worked at a horse barn in exchange for riding lessons, and after a few years of that my parents bought me my very own horse. Her name was (is!) Flyer and she was (is!) one of the biggest influences on my life growing up. I have TONS of Flyer stories since I spent about every waking, non-school, and non-soccer minute at the barn, but the main thing that's relevant here is she was (is!) opinionated. <i>Stubborn</i>, you might say. And her ears, while certainly within a normal horsey size range, were (are!) a bit large. So on her bad days, of which there were plenty, she got called a <i>mule</i> quite a bit. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ncGX5OtCClk/U8SRFDuIj-I/AAAAAAAANbA/In7kP0tyJl0/s1600/SM_logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ncGX5OtCClk/U8SRFDuIj-I/AAAAAAAANbA/In7kP0tyJl0/s1600/SM_logo.jpg" height="290" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">When I found out there was an adventure race called Stubborn Mule, I HAD to do it. Had. To.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">It took me a couple years to get the right combination of teammates and vacation time (the race is in northern Wisconsin, a big drive from STL) sorted, but when WABAR came together, we decided we needed a prep race before Cowboy Tough. A 30hr? 2 weeks out from the big dance? Perfect. Stubborn Mule, here we come!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XcN6yIoN16w/U8SX0p0fzWI/AAAAAAAANbY/5Vshm-ItcI4/s1600/SM_startselfie2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XcN6yIoN16w/U8SX0p0fzWI/AAAAAAAANbY/5Vshm-ItcI4/s1600/SM_startselfie2.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, Rachel, Mike, Andrei before the race.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Rachel drove up to STL on Friday and we carpooled north though Illinois and Wisconsin, stopping only for gas and pizza. Andrei met us in Tomahawk, a town close to the Race HQ, and shortly afterwards Mike rolled in from Indy. 180 Adventure, led by Race Director Paula, doesn't have ANY pre-race activities on Friday night so we just spent time catching up and getting our gear ready. Race morning was EARLY, somewhere in the 0300s, because we had to leave the hotel by about 4am to make it to Race HQ by 0430 for map distribution. Once we got to Lake Nokomis City Hall, it was all-hands-on-deck to get the maps plotted and prepped. Rachel called the first batch of UTMs for Mike to plot while Andrei and I got bikes ready. Then I sat in for Rachel as she went to the pre-race meeting. We barely had everything plotted, much less routes planned, when race staff came through calling everyone to the start at 0600. Ah! We were all feeling frantic, rushed, and with NO IDEA what our next 30 hours looked like, but that's just the name of the game adventure racing. We did our best to remember what had and hadn't been accomplished with our bikes, and prepared for an opening trek.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>TREK 1, Lake Nokomis, CPs 1-6, 5.5mi</b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V8DCjTgbie8/U8J9cNKJerI/AAAAAAAANW8/8tgXGB-eoo4/s1600/SM_start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V8DCjTgbie8/U8J9cNKJerI/AAAAAAAANW8/8tgXGB-eoo4/s1600/SM_start.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just before the race started at Lake Nokomis City Hall. Garrison and I still frantically reviewing the map.<br />
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152530266074609&set=t.787950306&type=1&theater</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Paula gathers everyone for a group photo and then starts the race. Even once she says "GO!", Mike and Andrei take a couple extra seconds to double check our route before running down the road. The majority of the field is ahead of us, but we know that keeping our heads on straight is worth the extra time at the beginning of a 30hr race. With our route decided, we check off the road run and then dive into the Wisconsin woods for the first CP. After the nasty woods of Plot, Pedal, Paddle last weekend, this vegetation is positively divine. Relatively open, no briars, and the pine branches feel like puppy kisses! We all exclaim in delight at their friendliness. We attack the first two CPs with a crowd of teams, and it takes a bit for Mike to get fully into the map, but once we are rolling then the middle two CPs come easily. The final two CPs are on the Hiawatha Trail, a converted rail bed (i.e. rails-to-trails, i.e. flat and open), so we ramp up the pace and immediately start sweating buckets - it's humid up here!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WG9Td7zCLfE/U8KF3mzC5SI/AAAAAAAANXM/pj5cuuFY3lY/s1600/SM_trek1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WG9Td7zCLfE/U8KF3mzC5SI/AAAAAAAANXM/pj5cuuFY3lY/s1600/SM_trek1.JPG" height="243" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrei, me, Mike, Rachel running on the Hiawatha Trail.<br />
Photo by Polly LaMontagne.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">We run back into Race HQ/Start Line/Finish Line/TA1 and turn in our completed map. Turns out we are in 2nd place in the 30hr race, about 10 minutes behind ENDRacing/Yogaslackers. Despite being behind, we have several things to accomplish in TA that didn't get done before the race started - tows attached to bikes, extra air in tires, maps properly folded, etc. It takes us another 10 minutes to get out of there, but again it's time well spent to set us up for a productive race.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE 1, to <a href="http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/treehaven/Documents/Brochures/Treehaven%20Brochure%202014.pdf">Treehaven</a>, CPs 7-9, 15mi</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NiOX3GypuNs/U8KcTTrAYYI/AAAAAAAANX0/B8YC1ff4QDs/s1600/SM_map_bike1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NiOX3GypuNs/U8KcTTrAYYI/AAAAAAAANX0/B8YC1ff4QDs/s1600/SM_map_bike1.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Biking from Race HQ to TA2.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Once we've finally got out bikes sorted, we pedal out of </span><span style="background-color: white;">Race HQ/Start Line/Finish Line/TA1 and onto the backroads of northern Wisconsin. There are a couple CPs on the way, and one short stint on a sandy ATV trail, but the rest is smooth and fast pavement riding. We keep the pace uptempo to try and close the gap to ENDRacing/Yogaslackers. There are a few other 12hr teams in front of us as well, some that we pass, and some that we don't. Mike keeps the nav super clean and pretty soon we're rolling into TA2 at <a href="http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/treehaven/Pages/default.aspx">Treehaven</a>, a forest preserve operated by UWSP. ENDRacing/Yogaslackers are just leaving TA, and we are happy that their gap hasn't grown!</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">TREK 2, Treehaven, CPs 10-21, 6.5mi</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5x9ZewJZVGQ/U8KYam_Sj_I/AAAAAAAANXc/OGJqKnHXXAI/s1600/2014-07-13+08.32.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5x9ZewJZVGQ/U8KYam_Sj_I/AAAAAAAANXc/OGJqKnHXXAI/s1600/2014-07-13+08.32.22.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Map for Trek 2.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">This trek has 12 CPs we can get in any order, along with a few prominent chunks of Private Property to avoid. Andrei and Mike settle on a route (roughly clockwise) and we run off down a wide multi-use trail. There is an entire network of trails throughout this area, most of which are NOT on our USGS map. But, there are wayfinding signs at almost every junction so we use a few of those to double-check our location. The terrain here is fairly subtle and Mike is doing a killer job with the nav. We are hitting pretty much everything straight on, communicating well on the all-punches, and running the grassy trails when we can. Things get a little interesting after CP17, where we have to run down to the road to avoid PP on the way to CP11. The ground turns to marsh and then there's a stream, which Mike discovers is wadable even after you slide down its muddy bank! We all keep our packs dry as we wade belly-deep across the chilly stream, emerging refreshed and even more stoked on Wisconsin terrain. On the road run we see our friend Phil (aka Silent Chaser, racing solo) tackling the loop in the opposite direction and share intel that the stream is crossable. Then it's back into the woods for CPs 11, 10, and 12 and the remaining jog to TA. We're all feeling really great about our trek and turns out we are the first team back to TA!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9eItCnVxKiM/U8KnVeWW0GI/AAAAAAAANZY/zSszvJJCKOg/s1600/SM_teamTA3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9eItCnVxKiM/U8KnVeWW0GI/AAAAAAAANZY/zSszvJJCKOg/s1600/SM_teamTA3.png" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WABAR leaving TA3.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE 2, thru Rhinelander, CPs 22-25, 27mi</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aD0uyNJ3_ME/U8KcN5EdqgI/AAAAAAAANXo/_0Flyqecrds/s1600/SM_map_bike2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aD0uyNJ3_ME/U8KcN5EdqgI/AAAAAAAANXo/_0Flyqecrds/s1600/SM_map_bike2.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From TA3 (lower left corner) up thru Rhinelander (upper right corner) and then back down to TA4 (middle of map).</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Now we've got a large-ish bike leg that will take us north, through the town of Rhinelander, and then back south to the paddle put-in. The nav is straight-forward, the roads are paved, and the headwind is manageable by working together in a paceline. There are a few "question" CPs which are not orienteering flags and punches, but questions that we must answer to prove that we visited each location. Race Directors do this sort of stuff when CPs are in public areas to prevent flag theft. The questions are all obvious and we have no trouble answering them. Once we get to Rhinelander, the nav becomes confusing for a minute since there is a major bridge not shown (probably built after the map was made) but we know our general direction to find a statue of Rhinelander's mascot, the <a href="http://monsterbrains.blogspot.com/2008/07/legend-of-hodag-this-photograph-became.html">mythical Hodag</a>, and count its teeth for CP24. From there we ride along the western bank of the Wisconsin River, all the way to Hat Dam.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">SPECIAL CHALLENGE</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JYjpmhEsqTg/U8KrwH2tKaI/AAAAAAAANZk/MZr8kZWfr-s/s1600/SM_bikepolo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JYjpmhEsqTg/U8KrwH2tKaI/AAAAAAAANZk/MZr8kZWfr-s/s1600/SM_bikepolo.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Bike polo/croquet!</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">We roll into the TA to find it hopping with 12hr teams, but we are the first 30hr team to arriv! Hoo-ray! The race staff give us a map for some additional CPs at the northern end of the paddle, PLUS a special challenge...BIKE POLO! Or rather, bike croquet. When races are going well, as this one is, I LOVE special challenges and immediately volunteer. We have to guide a ball through a croquet course without "<a href="http://world.std.com/~Jimf/biking/slang.html#D">dabbing</a>" or knocking the wickets over, and are given a 10min time limit. I knock the ball around for my required 10min, making it through 6 out of the 10 wickets, and without dabbing once! In the meantime, Andrei, Rachel, and Mike have been prepping maps and canoes, so once I'm done I help portage everything up the dam to the river for put-in.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">PADDLE 1, WI River, CPs 26-29, 5.5mi</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WUKqqSGmTwE/U8Kdm3eFwHI/AAAAAAAANYY/xErYhrwwCYk/s1600/SM_map_paddle1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WUKqqSGmTwE/U8Kdm3eFwHI/AAAAAAAANYY/xErYhrwwCYk/s1600/SM_map_paddle1.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paddle upstream from TA4 to CP30</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">We discover a brisk tailwind at our backs for the upstream paddle to Rhinelander. It's a bit of a conundrum - paddling upstream usually means sticking close to shore to avoid the current, but to take advantage of the tailwind we want to be in the main channel. We decide to stay in the middle of the river since it's pretty easy going there. I'm in the front of Mike's boat, and Andrei is in the front of Rachel's. She is still getting used to steering with a double-blade paddle, but after a few kilometers they get the hang of it and we all cruise upriver. I'm doing the nav and we arrive at the inlet for CP26 earlier than I thought as it seems like the tailwind is helping us a lot. We answer the question for CP26 and then continue to nab 27-29 cleanly. Then we have a decision to make - where to take-out for the mini-trek? I decide to take us all the way to CP30, which is the obvious take-out spot, but in hindsight not really the most efficient. We beach the canoes in a small clearing and take several extra minutes in transition. I declare that we're "luxury racing" since we spend time putting bug spray on, hiding bottles of Coke in the river to chill for our return, and generally faffing about before setting off into the woods.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">TREK 3, CPs 30-33, 1.2k</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RBbFxHFuXko/U8KetnHKjMI/AAAAAAAANY4/Fv3B5sNdmM4/s1600/SM_map_trek3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RBbFxHFuXko/U8KetnHKjMI/AAAAAAAANY4/Fv3B5sNdmM4/s1600/SM_map_trek3.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No pants required!</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The next 4 CPs are a short-n-sweet trek which we attack clockwise. The terrain here is immensely interesting and intricate, way more than the USGS contours show, and we all speculate out loud it would be a </span>terrific<span style="font-family: inherit;"> place for an orienteering sprint. In all of our dilly-dallying at the take-out, we decided against wearing pants and it's the best feeling ever, getting to run through the open woods without fear of getting slashed to death by briars! We return to our boats in high spirits, greeting by cold-ish Cokes from the river and Gatorades from our paddle bag. I love adventure racing!</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">PADDLE 2A, WI River, no CPs, 5.5mi</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WUKqqSGmTwE/U8Kdm3eFwHI/AAAAAAAANYY/xErYhrwwCYk/s1600/SM_map_paddle1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WUKqqSGmTwE/U8Kdm3eFwHI/AAAAAAAANYY/xErYhrwwCYk/s1600/SM_map_paddle1.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paddle downstream from CP30 to TA4, then portage over dam.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Refreshed and rejuvenated, we get back in the boats for the return trip down the Wisconsin River. Not long after we start paddling again, we see three people running silently on the shoreline - it's Rib Mountain Racing, still trekking but likely not all that far behind us. Luxury racing goes out the window as we focus on paddling strong! The wind is gusting in our faces, but we still opt for the main channel to try and wring any advantage that we can out of the downstream current. We also see ENDRacing/Yogaslackers paddling upstream so we know that we've got to keep the pressure on if we want to maintain our lead. Rachel and Andrei are working really well together and our boats are about equal speed, which will be fantastic for Cowboy Tough. Pretty soon, the Hat Dam appears in front of us and we portage everything up and over the spillway, put back in below the dam, and continue paddling.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">PADDLE 2B, WI River, CPs 34-35, 7mi</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s7F3Hkhty-4/U8Kd-J6DsOI/AAAAAAAANYg/4JBOcWhufwA/s1600/SM_map_paddle2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s7F3Hkhty-4/U8Kd-J6DsOI/AAAAAAAANYg/4JBOcWhufwA/s1600/SM_map_paddle2.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paddling downstream from WP1 to CP35</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We put in somewhere around 5pm, and the remaining paddle is one of the most enjoyable I have ever experienced, hands down. The downstream current sweeps us along gently, the sun is just easing into </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_hour_(photography)" style="font-family: inherit;">the golden hour</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, and the river is absolutely beautiful with alternating trees and marshy reeds lining the banks. There are enough rocks and riffles to keep the paddling interesting, and we just generally enjoy ourselves on the way to CP34. Shortly after 34, there is a section of </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItZ5TL9qJ28" style="font-family: inherit;">Class II/III rapids</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> that we've been warned about and are grateful to hit in the daylight. The direct route is Class III and the around-route is Class II, and we all agree that the around-route, aka "the easy route", is the way to go. Both boats make it through just fine and we continue on the </span>unbelievably<span style="font-family: inherit;"> scenic Wisconsin River to CP35. I can't emphasize how much I enjoyed this section of the race - it was definitely my favorite!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j-s9NLCzI-4/U8RotKTB_MI/AAAAAAAANac/s0s-J5q1wbA/s1600/SM_CP35.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j-s9NLCzI-4/U8RotKTB_MI/AAAAAAAANac/s0s-J5q1wbA/s1600/SM_CP35.JPG" height="326" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another teams' boats and gear at CP35.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">TREK 4, CPs 36-43, 4.5mi</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XChjCD53rsI/U8LCYlxFrJI/AAAAAAAANZ4/Eo7P2Gk8YB0/s1600/photo+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XChjCD53rsI/U8LCYlxFrJI/AAAAAAAANZ4/Eo7P2Gk8YB0/s1600/photo+(3).JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We beached the canoes at CP35 and ran CCW.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">We hit the unmanned take-out with a decent amount of daylight and are excited to knock out some CPs without headlamps. We hustle through transition, not knowing if Rib Mountain or ENDRacing/Yogaslackers have made up any time on us. We go roughly counter-clockwise on this loop, dealing with trails that magically appear and disappear through the thicker (but still largely briar-free!!) woods. CPs 37, 38, and 39 go well enough, but on the way to CP43 we are confronted with a huge clear-cut area with discarded logs everywhere. It's open but really difficult travel (very easy to slip down through the logs and wrench a knee). We make our way carefully through the clear-cut and see our friend Phil again at CP43. It appears he beached early to pick up these two northern CPs and then will continue paddling. Smart! We have to cross more clear-cut on the way to CP41, 42 goes well, and then we have a bugger of a time with CP36. There are trails and actual roads winding through this area, but they aren't mapped so we decide to attack off the contour features instead, bypassing a very obvious trail from the gasline maintenance building. It's just barely light enough to see without headlamps as we bash southward in the bottom of the shallow reentrant. We're scared of overshooting the flag in the thick undergrowth so the going is very slow. We have a couple false alarms where the terrain seems to match exactly as it should with no flag, so we continue making our way slowly down the reentrant. And then we re-encounter the gasline maintenance building trail, and the CP36 hung neatly on the side of it. Blast! We just lost a bunch of time bushwhacking when a trail run would have taken 5 minutes. But it's our last CP of this leg so we can regroup as we run back to the canoes. On the way we spot Rib Mountain Racing, as well as a solo racer wearing a full mosquito suit so he looks like a <a href="https://www.movieposter.com/poster/MPW-43699/Hotel_New_Hampshire.html">bear</a>. Back at the canoes, we're not sure if Rib Mountain went clockwise or counterclockwise, so they could be right behind us! We throw everything in the boats, attach our glowsticks, and get moving.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">PADDLE 3, WI River, no CPs, 5mi</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9EmZvZlZobI/U8KeONyTDHI/AAAAAAAANYo/5idUUja9rwU/s1600/SM_map_paddle3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9EmZvZlZobI/U8KeONyTDHI/AAAAAAAANYo/5idUUja9rwU/s1600/SM_map_paddle3.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paddling from CP35 to TA7/take-out.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">There aren't any CPs on this paddle and only one potential tricky nav junction, so we turn our lights off and paddle mostly in the dark, just listening for any rapids. On a few occasions we mis-judge the riverbanks and run into reed beds, but they're easy enough to correct. The wind is still gusting around and we feel it especially on the final few kilometers into TA7. But by then we're almost done and it's easy to stay motivated when we see the volunteers' glowsticks at the final take-out. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8ITOEX-tAK0/U8Rp-Qgj5NI/AAAAAAAANaw/HmHbOVNrHYw/s1600/SM_WIRiver.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8ITOEX-tAK0/U8Rp-Qgj5NI/AAAAAAAANaw/HmHbOVNrHYw/s1600/SM_WIRiver.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is this not a beautiful river?!?! Granted, at this point in the race it was dark, but just loooooook!</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /><b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE 3A, to Washburn, CP44, 20mi</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EkwAV3Oomqc/U8KcTW_1vfI/AAAAAAAANXw/2wKya3-JwmU/s1600/SM_map_bike3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EkwAV3Oomqc/U8KcTW_1vfI/AAAAAAAANXw/2wKya3-JwmU/s1600/SM_map_bike3.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bike from the take-out to Washburn</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Our bikes have been transported here by race staff so we get set to go. It seems to take us FOREVER to pack up up our paddle bag, get everyone's lights sorted, extra food either consumed or thrown out, maps marked up and properly folded, etc. But we finally roll out without a Rib Mountain sighting so we are feeling okay about our lead. The ride to TA8 is straightforward and mostly northbound, meaning we have a generous tailwind to push us along. The ride absolutely flies by and before I know it we're pulling into Perch Lake (I thought the signs said Peach Lake for the longest time) to get ready for the next two legs.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE 3B, Washburn/Perch Lake singletrack, 3 CPs, 6mi</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E2T50DJ95vo/U8Kcw60hlKI/AAAAAAAANYA/Hjq_WhGoh7U/s1600/SM_map_bike4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E2T50DJ95vo/U8Kcw60hlKI/AAAAAAAANYA/Hjq_WhGoh7U/s1600/SM_map_bike4.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The singletrack loop at Washburn</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">TA 8/9 is a beautiful park structure with an indoor space and attached pavilion. Just as we go inside, we hear a rushing of wind and a crashing of rain. Downpour! We are happy to be momentarily indoors, but that comfort will be short-lived as the race staff gives us a <a href="http://wisconsintrailguide.com/nordic-skiing/pdf/map-washburn-lake.pdf">park trail map</a> with instructions to ride the dedicated bike singletrack in a loop until we find 3 CP flags. This kind of riding is nerve-wracking because we are always scared we'll miss the flag in a flukey sort of way, so we hope everything as obvious as it seems. We head out into the dark rainstorm with our bikes, ready to tackle the challenge. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">And it's a big challenge - this trail would probably be better served by full-suspension bikes with 5 inches of travel! There are rock gardens everywhere, and with the rain making everything slick, we opt to hike-a-bike quite a bit. It's supremely slow-going, and we creep our way around the rain-soaked singletrack loop. The first CP comes easily enough, and then it's quite a bit of time before we find the second and third. But we finish up on an easier part of the loop and return back to TA 8/9 with our bikes and bodies intact.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">TREK 5, Washburn, CPs 45-70, 8mi</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r8M5KZ6GvnQ/U8KfEi-UVvI/AAAAAAAANZI/Q2glackYeYI/s1600/SM_map_trek5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r8M5KZ6GvnQ/U8KfEi-UVvI/AAAAAAAANZI/Q2glackYeYI/s1600/SM_map_trek5.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what 25 CPs looks like.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Back to the TA still well before daylight, we receive the map for "the big trek". Not exactly long at 8 miles, but with 25 CPs!! Plus, this leg is rogaine-style so we can pick our route, but also have to keep track and make sure that we don't skip any of the closely-packed controls. We decide to head southwest first, trying to take advantage of some of the trails shown on the map. The first two CPs go well enough with Mike leading us redline through the soaking wet woods straight to the flags. The rest of the southern controls are a fight. The subtle, thick terrain combined with the flakey trails and pre-dawn darkness combine to slow our pace considerably. We are able to sweep the south section just as dawn is breaking, but it took us at least an hour longer than planned and, if the rest of the controls go this way, we will have a hard time sweeping the entire course. It seems unthinkable, but we do some math and give ourselves time cut-offs to get back to TA 8/9. We are slightly discouraged starting northern section, but the first several CPs come quickly and we get back in a rhythm. Sweep route is back on the table. Woohoo! </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But that doesn't mean we're done. There's still plenty of tricky terrain to cover. It seems that no climbs are over 200 feet, but everything is so subtle and there are depressions everywhere. Just go zoom in on that map! It's crazy! And combine that with an entire network of unmapped ski trails! Just after daybreak, we are jogging on one of the trails as it bends sharply left. Mike's in the lead, makes the turn, and then comes sprinting back at us hissing "THERE'S A BEAR!!". We all retreat a few meters and discuss what to do. We know running away isn't good, plus we have to go forward to the next control, so we all flap our arms around and start yelling at the bear. As we turn left, there's some rustling in the woods, but the bear decides to stay put, and we continue on our way, yelling and flapping for a solid 10 minutes afterwards.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As we work our way through the trek, we pull together as a team really well. Whenever Mike has issues, he works with Andrei to sort out an attack plan, I keep track of clues, and Rachel keeps us speedy on the punches. We keep ticking off CPs roughly counter-clockwise in the northern section until we're on the last one. Of course it's a bugger and gives us trouble, but we eventually sort it out. No one's exactly comfortable at this point, we've all got issues; I'm dealing with chafing that I don't normally experience, but then again I haven't raced over 24hrs, mostly soaking wet, in a while. But we hold things together and jog back to TA8/9 excited to bike to the finish. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z5vgR5yx3EQ/U8Ro6q6CVuI/AAAAAAAANak/uzNYrrSUwMU/s1600/SM_EmilyMike_TA9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z5vgR5yx3EQ/U8Ro6q6CVuI/AAAAAAAANak/uzNYrrSUwMU/s1600/SM_EmilyMike_TA9.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Somewhere on the trek, Mike got a black eye. I did not punch him. <br />
And yes we are both stuffing our faces with food.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE 4, to Lake Nokomis, CPs 71-72, 15mi</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IX89pFz12ug/U8KdTLTD6SI/AAAAAAAANYQ/gmAhUKZ4b54/s1600/SM_map_bike5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IX89pFz12ug/U8KdTLTD6SI/AAAAAAAANYQ/gmAhUKZ4b54/s1600/SM_map_bike5.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bike from TA9 (upper right corner) to Finish Line/Race HQ (middle left).</td></tr>
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In the last TA, we are back to "luxury racing" mode. There is leftover food from the 12hr race so we make ourselves chicken sandwiches and chow down. I use a REAL bathroom, with TP even! We take time thanking the volunteers, who have been informed and extremely encouraging all day. Since all of the previous biking has been on pavement, we're looking forward to an easy 15 mile cruise back to the finish line. Once we get out of TA, we have a nav error but Andrei picks it up and gets us back on the right road. We have some pavement but soon we turn onto a wet and sandy gravel road. The going is slow as we grind our way through the loose surface. Of COURSE Paula would save the hardest biking for last! We go back-and-forth with a solo male racer for both CP71 and CP72 and no one wants to ask him if he's got all the checkpoints. With our soggy final trek, it's entirely possible that someone could have scooted in front of us. In the end, Mike hatches a plan to sprint to the finish, so when he picks his spot, I jump on tow and we all boogie past the solo racer. Our gap holds to the finish line at Lake Nokomis City Hall and we are done!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e8DmLcvlxKk/U8RllIFlA1I/AAAAAAAANaI/DN7BqfzDcak/s1600/SM_teamfinish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e8DmLcvlxKk/U8RllIFlA1I/AAAAAAAANaI/DN7BqfzDcak/s1600/SM_teamfinish.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">me, Andrei, Rachel, Mike at the finish line!</td></tr>
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Stubborn Mule race staff check our passport and wristbands and tell us we're the only team to clear the course so far. Sweet! We do a first round of gear sorting before driving to the off-site showers. There is a short line so we actually miss the awards ceremony back at City Hall, but when we get back, Paula makes sure that we are awarded some super awesome schwag - shirts from <a href="http://www.northamericanar.com/">NAARS</a>, jackets from <a href="http://www.usara.com/">USARA</a>, plus things from the prize table and some discount cards. Amazing!! We spend the rest of the afternoon eating, quizzing Phil (Silent Chaser) about Cowboy Tough, and napping in the lawn of City Hall. Eventually we have to pack up our cars and make a very loooooong drive back to our respective states.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ueWSg3LmXxg/U8Rl5-lYSFI/AAAAAAAANaQ/rVaeslFVLDM/s1600/SM_teamfinishshirts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ueWSg3LmXxg/U8Rl5-lYSFI/AAAAAAAANaQ/rVaeslFVLDM/s1600/SM_teamfinishshirts.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We are WABAR!</td></tr>
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I can't say enough how much I enjoyed 180 Adventure's Stubborn Mule 30hr. This race got EVERYTHING right. Beautiful course design, flawless logistics, terrific volunteers, and best of all...ALL CPs IN THE RIGHT SPOT, all 72 of them!! And did I mention that the boats we got to use were the nicest I have ever seen in an adventure race? They were awesome! I had a blast racing with my WABAR teammates as we ironed out the last kinks before <a href="http://www.rev3adventure.com/race/rev3cowboytough/">Cowboy Tough</a> in a few short weeks. Look for us there!<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>WANT MORE?</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Race report from ENDRacing/Yogaslackers: </span><a href="http://www.breathemag.ca/race-reports/adventure-racing/stubborn-mule-30-hour-tomahawk-wi">http://www.breathemag.ca/race-reports/adventure-racing/stubborn-mule-30-hour-tomahawk-wi</a><br />
awesome photos from 180 Adventure's facebook page: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/180Adventure">https://www.facebook.com/180Adventure</a><br />
Results and split times: <a href="http://www.180adventure.com/2014-30-hr-smar-results/">http://www.180adventure.com/2014-30-hr-smar-results/</a><br />
Race Report from SuperKate: <a href="http://kate-my-mind.blogspot.com/2014/07/stubborn-mule-30-hr-ar.html">http://kate-my-mind.blogspot.com/2014/07/stubborn-mule-30-hr-ar.html</a><br />
Photos from Polly LaMontagne: <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/108239720344118533314/albums/6034631786739861713/6034632094534376498?authkey=CIya0-vo1ZvNygE&pid=6034632094534376498&oid=108239720344118533314">https://plus.google.com/photos/108239720344118533314/albums/6034631786739861713/6034632094534376498?authkey=CIya0-vo1ZvNygE&pid=6034632094534376498&oid=108239720344118533314</a>Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-69867912583721234792014-07-02T19:29:00.001-05:002014-07-02T21:04:32.244-05:00Race Report: 2014 Plot Pedal Paddle 18hr AR<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2013/06/race-report-plot-pedal-paddle-12hr.html">Last year</a>, team Alpine Shop discovered a hidden gem of Midwestern adventure racing: the <a href="http://teamdragonaz.wix.com/plot-pedal-paddle">Plot Pedal Paddle Night Race</a> in northern Illinois. Our friends/rivals from Bushwhacker tipped us off about this fun event, and we were joined by our other friends/rivals GearJunkie/WEDALI for a good ol-fashioned adventure racing throw down. David and I led for much of the race, but Justin, Andrei, and Amy of GearJunkie/WEDALI emerged victorious, claiming the victory with a late-race charge. So this year, David and I were excited to bring Jeff along to compete in the extended version of PPP - an 18hr race starting at 6pm Saturday. It's a unique feeling to wake up in your own bed Saturday morning, first thinking "I get to adventure race today!" and then realizing "I'm not going to sleep again til Sunday night". I packed up my stuff, drove over to Jeff's to meet David and load the Sona-van, and then the three of us headed north to Dixon.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/t31.0-8/10372945_720877241311827_7136392867453395519_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The start! Where's Alpine Shop? Still packing...</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">We left with plenty of time to get to Camp Reynoldswood before the pre-race meeting at 4pm, but somehow time got away from us during a leisurely lunch stop and multiple pee breaks. Suddenly it was 3pm and we were still on Interstate 39! We drove as fast as possible on the county roads and pulled into Race HQ a few minutes after the 4pm meeting start. Suboptimal! We slid into the meeting and Dawn from Team Dragon AZ helped us fill out paperwork as Matt led the meeting. We frantically signed our lives away while also jotting down random notes about the course. Maps were handed out shortly after, 4 sheets of 11x17 paper plus a passport and clue sheet. The three of us took stock of everything we had to do before the start in 90 minutes. Plot maps, route plan, waterproof maps, drop paddle gear off, prep bikes, fill bottles, drive bikes to bike drop, change clothes, prep feet, plan food, prep packs with mandatory gear and food...oh my. First things first, we ordered ourselves a pizza to make sure we started out with full bellies. Then we plotted CPs on the map which was rather frustrating because there were several typos in the course booklet which had to be corrected verbally. This was a problem last year too! Once we got all the CPs plotted, I got my bike ready (lights, bottles, food) while Jeff and David planned our route, then they drove all 3 bikes to the bike drop while I laminated maps and got my pack ready. It was chaos, but also reinforced the team trust we've developed; as much as we like to do pre-race prep together, it was okay to break it all up because we know each other's preferences by now. I really had no idea what the course was so I just threw a bunch of food in my pack and hoped it would be enough. I finished getting myself ready at about 5:59pm, grabbed the second-to-last slice of pizza and shoved it in my mouth as I was running down to the start line. Jeff and David were running there, too. We met up and about a minute later, Matt and Dawn shouted "GO!".<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">TREK 1, CPs 1-10, 3.5k redline</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BGqBM5mYXik/U6sIZ2BCafI/AAAAAAAANUg/-uJMjj1qsQQ/s1600/trek1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BGqBM5mYXik/U6sIZ2BCafI/AAAAAAAANUg/-uJMjj1qsQQ/s1600/trek1.jpg" height="320" width="244" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trek 1: CPs 1-10 in order.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">We take off on the opening trek and my mind is still spinning with pre-race details. Less than 500m in, I realize I don't have a headlamp with me. David says he's got an extra one in his pack and that we should be looping back through HQ before sunset so I can grab it out of my bin then. Relief! We punch CP1 and CP2 with a slew of teams, and then by CP3 is just ourselves with Toporadicals (2-boy team from St. Louis, aka T-rad) and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michigan-Racing-Addicts/351212174990845">Michigan Racing Addicts</a> (3-person coed, aka MRA). MRA seems to overshoot the sneakily-hung flag, and we are able to get a short lead along with T-rad. We race together with the boys from St. Louis through CP6, get a small gap on them at CP7, and then pull away at CP9. We run into CP10 in first place, which is also the bike drop. I'm thrilled to see the <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2013/01/meet-segslayer.html">SegSlayer</a> waiting patiently for me as we swap shoes in a hurry and fly out of there without seeing another team. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE 1, no CPs, 2k back to HQ</span></b><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's a super-short ride back to HQ. Jeff remembered to top off David's and my tires before the race, but not his own, so his handling is a little </span>squirrely<span style="font-family: inherit;"> on the pavement, but he adjusts well.
</span><br /><br /><b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">ROPES, CP11</span></b> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We get back to Race HQ and drop our bikes. Still in bike shoes, we run the few hundred meters over to CP11 where Team Dragon AZ has set up a rope across a steep ravine. It's part-traverse, part-zipline and Jeff goes first with no issues, except the punch is on the other side and the passport is still in his pack. David is already set up on the rope so I grab the passport for my turn, which is what I'm holding in my mouth in the video. For us, the ropes were a little pointless since once we're done, we run back to HQ using a bridge to cross the same ravine. But I know for some people ropes are an adventure race highlight, and we didn't have to wait in line, so we're all good. Once I'm done, I join Jeff and David at our bikes where we all take care of things we forgot to do before the start - Jeff puts air in his tires, David puts in his contacts, and I dig my headlamp out of my bin. Okay. Now. Let's race!</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE 2, CPs 12-18, 22mi</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rToQA6lKSUA/U7R635VJhgI/AAAAAAAANVE/L_zghiYHzeQ/s1600/map1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rToQA6lKSUA/U7R635VJhgI/AAAAAAAANVE/L_zghiYHzeQ/s1600/map1.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First part of bike leg - start at Race HQ (bottom middle of map) and ride NW, then straight N to CP12, then continue N.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">We zoom out of Race HQ, through the town of Dixon, and onto some quiet country roads. Immediately we organize into a towing paceline with Jeff at the front. It feels good to finally be racing instead of fretting over pre-race details! The sun is starting to set and the Illinois countryside is just beautiful. We roll north to the town of Woosung, where we had a CP last year, the one hung on the gorilla. This year, we pass by the same gorilla and instead have a CP at the entrance to a rails-to-trails trail.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-krSGhwwF2HQ/U7R74Vd8jhI/AAAAAAAANVQ/AJajOjyu1Mo/s1600/map2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-krSGhwwF2HQ/U7R74Vd8jhI/AAAAAAAANVQ/AJajOjyu1Mo/s1600/map2.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We are biked north, then east.</td></tr>
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We punch CP13 at the entrance to the Joe Stengel Trail and are greeted by a luscious, green-grass-carpeted, deciduous-tree-shaded, gently-graded, wide trail. These are the reasons we love adventure racing - we get to discover cool little gems of outdoor living hidden in the most unlikely of places. I seriously feel like I'm riding through a scene in Alice in Wonderland. Everything is so green, and the setting sun highlights flecks of gold on the trees and grass. And best of all, there are no teams within sight! We motor on down the trail, grabbing CPs 14 and 15 along the way, and then turn east for CPs 16 and 17.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L22KzGZxe6w/U7SBGvGTHDI/AAAAAAAANVg/YtjffhaS3R0/s1600/map3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L22KzGZxe6w/U7SBGvGTHDI/AAAAAAAANVg/YtjffhaS3R0/s1600/map3.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last part of the bike - riding to "Picknick Shelter O". David's spelling :)</td></tr>
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The wind is strangely blowing out of the east so Jeff and David have extra work to do in front of our paceline. They crush it as usual and pretty soon we are rolling into a Baptist Camp for a 5-point trekking leg.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">TREK 2, CPs 19-24, 2.5k redline</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-by3o3fqKGVg/U7SCt-sTUSI/AAAAAAAANVs/0FbIxVQn96g/s1600/baptist+camp.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-by3o3fqKGVg/U7SCt-sTUSI/AAAAAAAANVs/0FbIxVQn96g/s1600/baptist+camp.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">map for Trek 2 - 5 CPs in order, then return to 18/24. Map stolen from Toporadicals.<br />
<a href="http://brianrodenbeck.blogspot.com/2014/06/plot-pedal-paddle-adventure-race-6212014.html">http://brianrodenbeck.blogspot.com/2014/06/plot-pedal-paddle-adventure-race-6212014.html</a></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">As we ride up to the picknick (sic) shelter, Dawn from Team Dragon AZ is there to greet us. She heaps praise on our race so far, saying that we're way ahead of schedule and the other teams. This is really nice to hear, but we've been racing long enough to know that there are a million ways to lose a race, and much fewer ways to win one. So we take the encouragement with trepidation as we get our lights and map ready to go for Trek 2. We run out of TA without another team sighting so we feel good about our lead. It turns out there is an entire network of mowed trails on the Baptist Camp property that are not on our map, and they are very tempting to take because the woods are thick with briars and thorns. We attack CP19 gingerly, getting stabbed and scratched with every step, and also thinking "it's probably hung on a trail somewhere that we don't even know about" but without the trails on our map, we have to be direct. David doesn't like the subtle contours so we bounce back out to the trail, run around to the top of the reentrant, and attack back into the undergrowth. It's extremely slow going, and we are soon greeted by voices and 5 other headlamps - Toporadicals and MRA have caught us! Turns out T-rad has already found CP19 so they tell us to keep going south as they hack their way out of the mess. Jeff eventually locates the control with MRA right on our heels, so together we fight our way out of the nasty woods. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">Now I have to mention something about racing against MRA. Alpine Shop is extremely blessed to have David as our navigator - he can make sense of a map better than most adventure racers in the country. And since there is no explicit rule against following other teams, we sometimes find ourselves having picked up a tail or two during races - teams that can keep up with us physically and just follow David's lead instead of doing their own navigation. NOT SO with MRA. They made their own attack on CP20, striking off into the woods a bit earlier than us, and choosing their own route. Turns out, we overshot the control downhill, and ended up reuniting with MRA at the flag, but approaching from different directions. I was extremely impressed that they stuck to their own game plan, and it was a great route choice too! Good on you MRA!</span><br />
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Our two teams emerge out of the woods together and we pass MRA on the road run to CP21. This clue is "naked tree" and it brings back horrible memories of the "change in forest maturity" clue from MISSION. What the heck does a naked tree look like? No leaves? No bark? Growing next to a stripper pole? Honestly, in the dark, all of the trees look the same and we are not excited about this attack. The woods are only slightly less thick than before so again it's slow going as we thrash around. MRA is with us too, but they are sticking to their own nav which I continue to be impressed by. After a while of flailing, MRA disappears, which can only mean one thing - they've found CP21 and we haven't. Not good. David does his best to relocate on the map, but it takes a while due to the subtle features and thick vegetation. We do our fair bit of wandering. Finally, FINALLY, David pings the CP with his headlamp and we breathe a sigh of relief. CP22 turns out to be relatively close by, and on the way to CP23, T-rad catches up to us after their own struggles at CP20. These woods are eating everyone alive! Back at the TA, Dawn tells us that MRA has about a 30-minute lead on us and T-rad. That is scary and we focus on transitioning swiftly onto our bikes.<br />
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<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE 3, CPs 25-27, 8.5mi</span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">It's a short road ride to the paddle put-in, but we are determined to make up time. I am feeling super motivated so I pull at dirt-crit-effort for as much as I can. Jeff takes over for me about half-way through and we cruise into the paddle put-in having made up 10 minutes on MRA, and T-rad nowhere in sight. This is hugely motivating to us since it was a short bike! We rush through transition, getting our glowsticks and PFDs sorted and pushing off into the Rock River amidst a flurry of bugs.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">PADDLE 1, CPs 28-32, 9mi</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-63aMNhnQ7f8/U7SMCj7lzBI/AAAAAAAANV8/gan0ksoJ1Z8/s1600/map4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-63aMNhnQ7f8/U7SMCj7lzBI/AAAAAAAANV8/gan0ksoJ1Z8/s1600/map4.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We put in on the right side of the map (CP27), paddled upstream to CP28, then downstream the rest of the way. Sorry the map is marked weird, there were typos in the race booklet so we had to re-plot 2 points.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Jeff guides us upstream on a flooded Rock River, and we hit CP28 cleanly before turning downstream. CP29 is on a tributary creek but based on the verbal hints given to us a the pre-race meeting, it's easy to find. Then we paddle on to another tributary creek for CP30, with the clue "fallen tree over creek". </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s3hOscOFcyg/U7SOAfMyxfI/AAAAAAAANWI/VPyvYB7tp5g/s1600/cp30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s3hOscOFcyg/U7SOAfMyxfI/AAAAAAAANWI/VPyvYB7tp5g/s1600/cp30.jpg" height="400" width="381" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The main river is just south of the map cut-off. </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">As we're approaching the tributary creek, we see the glowsticks of MRA emerge from it and continue downstream. Great! We're within striking distance! Jeff takes a split and we turn right to paddle up to the flag, expecting it to be obviously hung like the clue says, in a tree over the creek. The creek makes several shallow bends, and there are some trees fallen over it, but we're not seeing any flags. Oh well, keep paddling! After several minutes of this, we start to get a bad feeling. We should have seen the flag already. I examine the map and note a distinct bridge that would serve as a major catching feature, about 700m north of the CP. Thirty seconds later, we come around a bend and see said bridge. Oh nooooooooo. We just wasted a BUNCH of hard-earned time. We spin the boat around, paddling downstream and this time counting creek bends much more carefully. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Sure enough, we find the control hidden in a tree overhanging the creek, just not completely across the creek like we were expecting. Shame on us for not paying closer attention to the map! We punch and get back to business trying to make up time on MRA after our 1.5k mistake. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">The rest of the paddle is fairly fast. The current is ripping along, and we're working hard to make up time. CP31 is a little sketchy, it's hung slightly on shore but David's eagle eyes spot the flag after a few minutes of searching. We have about 3km left to the finish, and I have to mention it's 3km that I will remember for a long time. Having made two fairly large mistakes (for an 18hr race), we are not feeling very keen on our chances of winning. MRA is a good team and they've proven that they can handle the difficult nav and unfriendly forests that seem to be the hallmark of the course so far. So we decide to take every CP as it comes, focusing on our own race and our own best effort. There is a fair bit of pep talking done by all of us, and by the time we reach the take out we are ready to throw down.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">PORTAGE, CP33</span></b><br />Once we take out, we have about a 900m road portage to the next TA. After our river pep talk, we are ready to totally crush this. Jeff and David flip the boat onto their shoulders, I grab everyone's packs and paddles, and we RUN everything down the road. It is not comfortable, nor easy, but it is our best effort. By the time we reach the TA, the volunteer tells us we're in 2nd place by about 12 minutes. TWELVE MINUTES!!! We are elated to hear the time gap is that small, and hustle through TA and onto the next trek.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">TREK 3A, CPs 34-43, 4k redline</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9GlDTN7i4bg/U7ST5QBqYkI/AAAAAAAANWY/018D4Qq7TB4/s1600/meadow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9GlDTN7i4bg/U7ST5QBqYkI/AAAAAAAANWY/018D4Qq7TB4/s1600/meadow.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meadow Trek. Take out at CP32, portage to CP33, then trek CP35-42 in order.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">The volunteer also gives us a map with 9 CPs (CP34 was not printed so all teams skipped) and instructions to complete the trek in order before returning to TA. We've adjusted our strategy based on the first Baptist Camp trek - now we expect every CP to be a hassle and are ready for it. Ironically, CP35 is a pretty easy road/trail run, but after that it gets hard. Really hard, especially at night and with clues like "thicket" and "cluster of trees". CP36 has us in a grove of thickets, and we check what seems to be ten of them before finding the correct one. CP37 is where we meet up with MRA, again still executing their own game plan. It takes us A LOT of time to find the flag. We attack at least 4 times, finding CP38 in the process but not being able to punch it just yet. It's very tense out there - we see MRA's lights flashing around as we continue to attack CP37 from different locations, without much success. David finally finds the flag after much gnashing of teeth, we punch, hustle back to CP38 for the punch, and then on through the rest of the course.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">CP39 is actually my favorite since it's "in a marshy area" and the frogs' voices serenade us as we wade through the knee-deep swamp. It kind of reminds me of Star Wars, #nerdalert, except I'm hoping we avoid any leeches. CPs 40 and 41 go easily enough, except only about half of the roads shown on the map exist in real life, but David battles through and we punch both with relatively little issue. Then we carefully attack CP41 with the clue "in a well", trekking back and forth on a big, unmapped east-west gravel road, before spotting a slight opening in the vegetation that might have once been access to a house, or, perhaps, a well? We follow the overgrown path bang onto the control. Then it's a short, infinitely relieved jog back to the TA for the last trek. We haven't seen anyone in the woods since CP37, and with the difficulty of the navigation, we're guessing that we've gained the lead.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">TREK 3B, CPs 44-46, 4mi</span></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rToQA6lKSUA/U7R635VJhgI/AAAAAAAANVI/tXUoA58iqes/s1600/map1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rToQA6lKSUA/U7R635VJhgI/AAAAAAAANVI/tXUoA58iqes/s1600/map1.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final trek from CP33/43, back through town to the Race HQ.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">The volunteer confirms that we're in front and, what's more, NO OTHER TEAMS have come in from the paddle. What happened to T-rad? Something weird must be going on. But we have no idea how close MRA might be to us, so we excitedly run off towards the finish line, 4 miles of mostly road running through Dixon and into Camp Reynoldswood. It's easy terrain, for sure, but the boys push the pace and my hammies start to tighten up. Not comfortable, but nothing that will stop until the finish line, so I grit my teeth and keep up as best as I can. The navigation is easy and Jeff keeps us entertained by stopping and standing in a "No Stopping Or Standing" Zone, and having a chat with some ducks as we wade through another creek. As the sun is starting to light up the morning sky, we run into Camp Reynoldswood and across the finish line in first place!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/t1.0-9/10371355_719952348070983_5200438414638349012_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finish photo!<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/TeamDragonAZ/photos/a.676121162454102.1073741828.154289294637294/719952348070983/?type=1&theater">https://www.facebook.com/TeamDragonAZ/photos/a.676121162454102.1073741828.154289294637294/719952348070983/?type=1&theater</a></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>POST RACE</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">I am really, really proud of our effort at Plot Pedal Paddle 18hr. We won, and that's cool because we qualified for <a href="http://www.usaranationals.com/">USARA Nationals</a>, but what's more important was our mental game. We clawed our way back from two rather egregious mistakes, kept believing in the team, and didn't give up. That is one of the most important things in adventure racing - so many things can go wrong to your team and others, you just can't give up on a race because your behind by a few minutes or even a few hours. You never know what's happening to teams around you so you just focus on executing your own best race. Simple. Do your best. And that's what we did!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">I also want to mention one more thing about Toporadicals. They had a major nav error on the paddle, missing CP31 and 32, which resulted in more than 10km of upstream paddling in a flood stage river, a very difficult task. It would have been so easy for them to say "let's just skip those two" and continue on with their race. But no, they decided that they still had enough time to clear the course, so they paddled ALL THE WAY BACK to CP31, then back downstream to CP32, then continued on, clearing the rest of the course. I can't say enough how impressed we were when we saw them at the finish line and heard their story. That is also another great thing about adventure racing, you get to meet incredible determined and tough individuals. Good job, T-rad!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>WANT MORE?</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Brian from Toporadicals: </span><a href="http://brianrodenbeck.blogspot.com/2014/06/plot-pedal-paddle-adventure-race-6212014.html">http://brianrodenbeck.blogspot.com/2014/06/plot-pedal-paddle-adventure-race-6212014.html</a><br />
Results and split times: <a href="http://teamdragonaz.wix.com/plot-pedal-paddle#!2014-race-results/c9h7">http://teamdragonaz.wix.com/plot-pedal-paddle#!2014-race-results/c9h7</a><br />
<br />Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-77297268249625236332014-06-24T08:31:00.000-05:002014-06-24T13:19:25.088-05:00Race Report: 2014 Goomna 6hr Urban Adventure Race<a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2013/06/race-report-goomna-8hr-ar.html">Last year</a>, I raced <a href="http://www.ci.highland.il.us/Public_Documents/HighlandIL_ParkRec/KRC/Goomna">Goomna 6hr Urban Adventure Race</a> with <a href="http://www.alpineshop.com/">Alpine Shop</a> and we won. So I was more than happy to make a return trip back to Highland, IL for another go at this fun race. Mark from the Highland Parks & Rec department is the race director, and he does a great job at creating a unique race out of local terrain. The race is meant to be beginner-friendly and is famous for its special challenges - last year we had to do a bunch of CrossFit-type stuff (pull-ups, tire flips, etc) along with swimming and "slacklining" - so we were excited to hear what Mark had thought up this year. Well, Jeff and David were excited. These short races make me nervous because they HURT. And I would much rather go through all-day type hurt than sprinting-type hurt. If that makes sense. At all. I'm weird.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Camera%20Uploads/2014-06-14%2008.58.18.jpg?_subject_uid=19279067&w=AABBJASIojrXhrp8bLv2iwYASWgILO7sKHmAx_oe6u4ROA" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before the pain. David, Jeff, me. Photo by Carrie Sona.</td></tr>
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Anyway, drove over the Highland, IL on Saturday morning, piddled around like the piddling champions we are, and then got ready for the start at 0900. We had one 1:24k USGS map, and Mark had a master map showing 4 CPs which we copied onto our map. Our instructions were to bike to the (non-numbered) CPs in any order, and at each one we would get additional instructions/challenges. We had some speedy competition, too: <a href="http://karenholtmann.blogspot.com/">Off the Front</a> (2nd place <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2013/06/race-report-goomna-8hr-ar.html">last year</a>), Team MTZ, and Michelob Ultra. Our strategy was to watch Team MTZ at the start, and then go the opposite direction as them. We line up, see Melisa, Todd, and Zdenek's bikes pointed east, so we point ours west and when Mark shouts "GO", we zoom off to our first CP.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t1.0-9/10389651_795893950431342_762355083825246770_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RD Mark with a pre-race selfie!</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE TO SPINDLER PARK - 2 miles</span></b><br />
I'm on the back of the Jeff and David train and almost immediately I'm hurting, in the redlining sort of way. Today is going to hurt for sure! We ride the paved roads into the town of Highland, cross the train tracks luckily without delay, and then go to where we think the CP is. It's marked close to a gymnastics gym where we had a CP last year, so we ride there, expecting a similar challenge. As we pull up to the gym building, we see Team MTZ approaching from the opposite direction. What?? This was not our plan! No time to contemplate, when we don't see any race staff I jump off my bike and try the gym door. Locked. What? We must be in the wrong place. David checks the map again and decides to backtrack a little west. We follow him and are soon seeing the neon green shirts of race staff in a city park. And there are a bunch of teams already there. Crap! We check in and get instructions to "run to Weinheimer Center". Um, where's that? Since we aren't local, the race volunteer hands us a map, we change shoes, and take off.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">RUN TO WEINHEIMER, SPECIAL CHALLENGE, RUN BACK - 1.2 miles</span></b><br />
It's about a 1k run to Weinheimer Center and we hustle. Like almost sprinting. I see a team up ahead and so I watch their route, comparing it to what David is telling me, and we make great time despite running through an actual carnival! When we get to Weinheimer Center, it's pure chaos.<br />
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<tr><td><img height="266" src="https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t1.0-9/10364002_10152072188875951_6321303844976790141_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Weinheimer chaos! Photo by Lucy Wellen.</td></tr>
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There are teams and basketballs everywhere. We check in with race staff and they try to explain the challenge over the noise - each team member must make 3 free-throws. For each miss, you have to do 5 sit-ups and 5 push-ups on the stage. It's all pretty much on the honor system because there are way more teams than volunteers. We get to work shooting baskets. Jeff makes his three almost immediately. I have a couple misses but get mine to drop as well. When I'm done, David still has to make one more, but Jeff coaches him and together we get out of there, but it seems like we are still behind a fair number of teams, including MTZ. We sprint back through the carnival and back to our bikes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="266" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/t1.0-9/10390361_10152072188295951_8085268631068590694_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David dribbling, Jeff coaching, Greg from Off The Front doing penalty push-ups. Photo by Lucy Wellen.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE TO MERWIN PARK - 4 miles</span></b></div>
<div>
It's back on the pain train for the sprint to our next CP in Merwin Park. We are able to pass Off the Front on the town roads, and exchange cheers. We roar into Merwin Park and check in with the race staff - this time we are instructed to run to a nearby playground. Again, we have no idea where this is, but the race staff gives us a map and we take off.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">RUN TO PLAYGROUND, SPECIAL CHALLENGE, RUN BACK - 2.6 miles</span></b></div>
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The map is sort of hard to read since the ink is really light-colored. There seems to be a shorter route to the special challenge, but we can't tell for sure, so we take a slightly longer route. Once we get to where the challenge is marked, we can't see anything so we run around for a while looking for race staff. Off The Front catches us and turns out we totally blew past the playground we needed a couple hundred meters back. Whoops! We turn around, run back, and are instructed to do 45 pull-ups on the playground bars. My worst nightmare, I'm horrible at pull-ups! But thankfully Jeff and David are better so we each do as many as possible, I think I got 4 total with rest breaks in between. Once those are done, we run back to our bikes and get a split on MTZ - 9 minutes down! Yikes!</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE TO HIGHLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL - 2.7 miles</span></b></div>
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We do our best to cut into MTZ's lead on the bike north. Sprint!!!!!! The next checkpoint is at Highland Middle School where we drop our bikes and get instructions to run to the brand-new hospital across the street for further instructions.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">RUN TO ST. JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL, SPECIAL CHALLENGE, RUN BACK - 0.6 miles</span></b><br />
Once we get to the hospital, we get instructions on a multi-part relay that we have to do. For the first leg, Jeff wheelchairs across the parking lot while I do burpees and David holds a plank.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="266" src="https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t1.0-9/10390125_10152072190485951_4182284814674016625_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hospital Relay Leg 1, 1 teammate wheelchaired, 1 teammate burpeed, 1 teammate planked.</td></tr>
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For the second leg, David and I sprint down to Jeff, I get on a stretcher, and the boys carry me further down the parking lot.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="266" src="https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t1.0-9/10445554_10152072190270951_5380209492267062954_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hospital Relay Leg 2, carry 1 teammate on a stretcher</td></tr>
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Then we carry <a href="http://www.girlwalksintoabarbell.com/2012/01/09/diy-slosh-pipe/">slosh pipes</a> across a balance beam, and are presented with a word puzzle. We have seven cans, each with a letter on them, and we have to spell a word out of them and stack vertically. We all look at the letters, and after a few seconds I blurt out "RESERVE" and we stack it up. But the race staff says "Nope, that's not the word!". Ah! Panic! More looking at the letters, and, aha! We stack them again to spell "REVERSE" and the race staff finally approves. Then we are instructed to <i>reverse</i> the relay legs and do everything again. Cool! We race back through the challenges and then run back to our bikes.<br />
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<tr><td><img height="266" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/t31.0-8/10317743_797021896985214_7849960939700561875_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Hospital Relay Leg 3, slosh pipe on balance beam</td></tr>
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<tr><td><img height="266" src="https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/10383825_797022013651869_6474057651942160704_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Hospital Relay Leg 4, word scramble. then we did reverse, doing legs 3-2-1 again.</td></tr>
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<div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE TO SILVER LAKE PARK - 2 miles</span></b><br />
We are still behind Team MTZ, and there might not be much race left! We sprint, again, the short distance to Silver Lake Park for our fourth CP. As we're riding in, we see MTZ running so we think the gap is somewhere around 5 minutes. Close! We arrive at the CP and race staff gives us instructions - run 0.4 miles on a 260-degree bearing for the special challenge. David takes an extra second to mark up our map, so we can take roads instead of staring at the compass for 0.4 miles. We take off in pursuit of MTZ.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">RUN, SPECIAL CHALLENGE #1, RUN, BIKE, SPECIAL CHALLENGE #2, SPECIAL CHALLENGE #3</span></b></div>
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The 0.4-ish miles passes quickly, and without seeing MTZ, but when we arrive at the challenge the race staff tells us we're in first. What? Where did MTZ go? No time to contemplate that, because we have to complete 60 box jumps as a team on abandoned concrete blocks. We rip through them without MTZ arriving and then take off back to our bikes. When we get there, the race staff confirms we're first back, and gives us directions to the second special challenge in Silver Lake Park. We sprint, ecstatic to be in the lead but knowing that MTZ is super strong so we can't waste any time.<br />
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We spot race staff for the second special challenge and hurriedly drop out bikes. They tell us that we have to catch a fish in order to get credit for this. What? A FISH?!?! I moan out loud that this could take ages! But there are two kids helping out at the CP and their enthusiasm cheers me up. They show us the fishing poles already with worms on them, so we all grab one and cast into the lake. Not 5 seconds later, David shouts "I've got one!" and sure enough, pulls a squirming bluegill out of the lake. Awesome! Any doubts I had about adventure angling are erased as we run back to our bikes for the next set of instructions.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Camera%20Uploads/2014-06-14%2010.38.28.jpg?_subject_uid=19279067&w=AABH3YEE3b329n9foEBwg98NccTaEPt-OqP8j3_E3A8RTg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David caught a fish! Photo by Carrie Sona.</td></tr>
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<div>
Race staff tells us our next task is to run 0.6mi on a 0.5-degree bearing, punch our passport, and run back. Again, David takes an extra second to mark up our map and we take off. Carrie is on her bike so she follows us with cheering and encouragement. We run north and find a trail in the direction we want to go, sweet! We just run the trail until David tells Jeff "the CP should be just around this bend", which it is, so he punches our passport and then we run the same route back. On the way back, we see MTZ running out so we know for sure that we're in first, but not by much. Exciting!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="400" src="https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Camera%20Uploads/2014-06-14%2010.52.24.jpg?_subject_uid=19279067&w=AAC3CHah3Mp2R4PwNH4i-9NwfwTq8qfcbQaPJDOpl_Oiew" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David leading the charge! Photo by Carrie Sona.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Camera%20Uploads/2014-06-14%2010.52.30.jpg?_subject_uid=19279067&w=AAB2ZlUdu3e3lx1o_iMpBrKtmlZT6jWlvqRNZJjJHceq-Q" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Running! Photo by Carrie Sona</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE TO RACE HQ - 2.2 miles</span></b><br />
Having completed special challenges at all four CPs, we jump back on our bikes for the return trip to Race HQ at Korte Rec Center. Once we get there, Mark has another map showing 3 more CPs. David and I mark up our map for the final bike leg while Jeff gets everyone cold sodas out of the cooler. Yum! There are a couple off-limits roads to avoid, so we quickly plan a route and then hustle without seeing MTZ come in. Sweet!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="400" src="https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t1.0-9/10384815_795931597094244_2226239873674061583_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plotting the last 3 biking CPs</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">FINAL BIKE - 20 miles</span></b><br />
From here, it's basically a long road ride on flat Illinois country roads, some gravel but mostly paved. We execute this in classic Alpine Shop style - lots of towing, lots of chatting, lots of working hard. David keeps the nav clean, Jeff punches with panache, and I keep looking over my shoulder for MTZ. We all keep fueling and hydrating too, just in case things come down to a last-minute sprint, or there are more instructions when we get back to Race HQ. But we are able to keep our lead, and roll into the finish line after 3 hours and 20-some minutes of racing as Goomna 2014 winners!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="400" src="https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Camera%20Uploads/2014-06-14%2012.21.20-2.jpg?_subject_uid=19279067&w=AABZq8OAaiS-KXnYTUiX5DPjWkJ78DoB0z2VEFQvbzkvrg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Insta-winners!<br />
http://instagram.com/p/pPDSsjK7UJ/</td></tr>
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We only wait a few minutes for MTZ to roll in. They ran a great race and really pushed the pace. Kudos! Turns out they had trouble with the 260-degree bearing in Silver Lake Park, which was where we passed them. We all chat about the day as other teams roll in. As usual, the post-race food is amazing, and it's also super nice to have showers on site.<br />
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As we were loading the cars up to return to St. Louis, another competitor asked us about other adventure races in the area. Awesome! It's also a dangerous question because Jeff, David, and I love to talk adventure racing and will yammer on for hours if you let us. So, Goomna competitors, feel free to check out my <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/p/schedule-results.html">Schedule</a> page for a list of races I've done. There are a bunch within driving distance, and many of the longer (i.e. 24-hour) races have a shorter (i.e. 12-hour) companion race running simultaneously that you can try out. Also let me know if anyone has any questions about getting into adventure racing, I'd love to answer them! Just leave a comment below.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">WANT MORE?</span></b><br />
my Strava: <a href="http://www.strava.com/activities/153638149">http://www.strava.com/activities/153638149</a><br />
Race photos by Lucy Wellen <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lucy.wellen/media_set?set=a.10152072186660951.1073742010.719750950&type=1">https://www.facebook.com/lucy.wellen/media_set?set=a.10152072186660951.1073742010.719750950&type=1</a><br />
Race photos <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.797019773652093.1073741830.511145188906221&type=1">https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.797019773652093.1073741830.511145188906221&type=1</a><br />
SuperKate <a href="http://kate-my-mind.blogspot.com/2014/06/goomna-guest-race-report.html">http://kate-my-mind.blogspot.com/2014/06/goomna-guest-race-report.html</a><br />
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Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-64808600374169422162014-06-07T09:14:00.001-05:002014-06-07T09:19:56.639-05:00Race Report: 2014 Mohican 100The choice to race the <a href="http://ombc.net/mtb-100/mohican-100-mountain-bike-race">Mohican 100 mile mountain bike race</a> was an not easy one. It fell on the same weekend as <a href="http://www.dirtykanza200.com/">Dirty Kanza</a>, a geographically much closer event promising similar self-destruction. But seeing as I'd already <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2013/06/race-report-2013-dirty-kanza-200.html">gawked once</a> at the beauty of the Flint Hills, and had never raced my bike in Ohio, I chose to make the trip out to Loudonville with Dwayne, Peat, and <a href="http://adamclarkeadventure.blogspot.com/">Adam</a> of <a href="http://teamnoahfoundation.com/">Team Noah Foundation</a>. We loaded up the new-to-me Subaru with 4 bikes (thanks to Strove Frodeman for last-minute borrowing of roof trays) and the rest of our gear and hit the road very early on Friday morning. The trip east was pretty relaxed, we knew we were good on time so made some longer stops at lunchtime looking for a mom-and-pop sandwich shop (no dice, we had to go to Panera) and a few extra pee breaks. We finally rolled into <a href="http://www.mohicanadventures.com/">Mohican Adventures</a> campground (Race HQ and Finish Line) and learned that our camping spots were PREEEM-OHHH. I mean, less than 100 meters away from check-in, the bathrooms, the showers, the finish line, the food tent, and most importantly, the beer truck. We were in the heart of it all!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="400" src="https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Camera%20Uploads/2014-05-30%2014.19.59-2.jpg?_subject_uid=19279067&w=AAAsjoLiEJzVZoaaBZiAjN5aVvvLeH-CLhh-ReLSNIWMHw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4 bikes, 3 dudes, 1 Subaru, and me.<br />
http://instagram.com/p/ooYB0Nq7R6/</td></tr>
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After checking in, the first priority was a pre-ride. I was super excited since due to travel logistics I've never been able to pre-ride an NUE course. The four of us kitted up and just as we were about to hit the trails, we were bombarded by friends: Tom from <a href="http://dirtwire.tv/">dirtwire.tv</a> and Dan and Ryan from <a href="http://toastedheadracing.wordpress.com/">Toasted Head Racing</a>. Team Noah is known for riding fast, but for also talking a lot so we had to catch up with them a little bit before hitting the super-sweet trails. Once we were on the singletrack, I was so glad to get a pre-ride in. Conditions were great and the trails had lots of roots that I needed to remind myself to be aggressive going over them. Dwayne tried to get us lost but we eventually figured it out, meanwhile we played The Repeater and No-Hands games, did some fake openers (fopeners?) in the parking lot, then spun over to Loudonville to check out the start line and opening hill. We rode right past a big party at race sponsor <a href="http://www.kimsbikes.net/">Kim's Bikes</a>, and had to stop to eat free pasta and beer (and for Peat to show off his impressive shotgunning skillz). Then we rode back to Mohican Adventures and met up with <a href="http://ridinglifeschallenges.blogspot.com/">Trevor</a> and Rafal who had arrived from Iowa and Nebraska (respectively, but in the same car), and had dinner with Toasted Head at <a href="http://www.trailsendpizza.com/">Trail's End</a>. It was dark when we got back to camp but I took some time getting my drop bags sorted before heading to bed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Camera%20Uploads/2014-05-30%2019.38.56.jpg?_subject_uid=19279067&w=AAB2eJKCsMnp-8ylWslCWCtFblEGNoVgfU3zWMWnOZuDoQ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peat, Dwayne, me on the pre-ride. </td></tr>
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Race morning starts with early bird Trevor's alarm going off and the rest of the crew gradually getting up-and-at-'em. Everyone pretty much has their own routine and Adam and I ride over to the start line in downtown Loudonville together. I find a spot about mid-pack, and say hi to Simona, my friend rom <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/05/race-report-2014-cohutta-100.html">Cohutta 100</a>. I scan the crowd as race director Ryan makes final announcements, and am surprised to see a <a href="http://www.momentumcycles.com/">Momentum</a> kit - turns out another St. Louis rider has made the trip to Ohio, it's Roggo! He is a super strong racer and will probably surprise a lot of folks out there today. Ryan counts us down and then it's time to race!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">START to AS#1 to AS#2 </span></b><br />
<b>(5mi road opener, 27mi Mohican singletrack and horse trails, 3mi gravel)</b><br />
We're off! My main goal for the road opener/separator is to just stay out of trouble. Last year there was a big crash and I don't want any part of that. So I just pedal by way past Kim's Bikes, up the stair-steppy hill, onto some rolling country roads, and then into the doubletrack that will connect us with the Mohican singletrack. There are people all around me, but everyone's behaving themselves, even at the parts where the doubletrack is crazy muddy and we have to run around it. There is really no drama here, and that's just the way I like to start out my hundos.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo _DSC1529.jpg" src="http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p541/Photoglyphix/2014%20Mohican%20100%20MTN%20Bike%20Race/_DSC1529.jpg" height="400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="264" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rafal, sounds like waffle, riding some roots.<br />
http://s1155.photobucket.com/user/Photoglyphix/media/2014%20Mohican%20100%20MTN%20Bike%20Race/_DSC1529.jpg.html?sort=2&o=152</td></tr>
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And then we're into the singletrack! It's just really, really fun. There are people everywhere, but for the most part everyone's keeping their egos in check and when they make a mistake, they get out of the way. I make my own share of mistakes too, and just try not to screw anyone else up with re-mounting. There are a couple of bottlenecks too, but again, just gotta go with the flow on these things, we're all in for a long day and might as well use the (short) waiting time to get an extra sip of water or extra snack. There are volunteers at every road crossing, stopping traffic for us which is super awesome. I don't need anything at Aid Station #1 (Mohican MTB Trailhead) but I stop anyway to check my rear tire - it's been feeling phantomly squishy on a few of the rocks. I stop/unclip and 2 seconds later a volunteer is there asking if I need a mechanic. What service! I give my rear tire a couple squeezes, reassuring myself that it's fine, say thanks but no thanks to the volunteer, and boogie on out of there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo _DSC2024.jpg" src="http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p541/Photoglyphix/2014%20Mohican%20100%20MTN%20Bike%20Race/_DSC2024.jpg" height="399" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peat, shredding the horse trails.<br />
http://s1155.photobucket.com/user/Photoglyphix/media/2014%20Mohican%20100%20MTN%20Bike%20Race/_DSC2024.jpg.html?sort=2&o=254</td></tr>
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After zipping through Aid Station #1, there is even more Mohican singletrack to be shredded! There are a couple of rather gnarly spots where knowing the line would have really helped me, and I'm off my bike as a gap forms to the group in front. There's one rider ahead, so I catch up to him, he introduces himself as Glen, he's local, and he tells me there's a huge hike-a-bike coming up in less than 1 mile so there is no reason to burn extra matches now. I am very grateful for his advice and just follow his lines. Pretty soon, sure enough, there is a sharp left hand turn straight up a gasline hike-a-bike. It's packed with racers so I just take my spot in line and push. With my adventure racing background, I really don't mind hike-a-bikes at all, so pretty soon I'm at the top and following Glen again. We are on a horse trail now that's sloppy muddy and Glen tells me about the water bars coming up - they are the real deal and we need to be careful. Also good to know! Thanks, Glen! The water bars are definitely difficult to begin with, and especially now that they've acquired a thin coating of slimey mud from the front of the field. I ride some, I walk some, but I make it to the bottom of the hill in one piece and then it's onto the gravel. Almost immediately, I spot a very familiar-looking pink kit in front of me. Could it be Simona, my friend from <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/05/race-report-2014-cohutta-100.html">Cohutta</a>? I know she is a great technical rider and I would be thrilled if I'm this close to her after Mohican singletrack. I pedal faster. It IS Simona! I catch her wheel in the final meters before Aid Station #2 (Buckhaven). We say hi and both execute a pretty fast pit stop. I make a snap decision to keep my CamelBak on, add 2 <a href="http://www.carborocket.com/#!online-store/c6bq/!/~/product/category=0&id=32260183">CR</a> bottles to the SegSlayer, some more food to my bento, and I'm off!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">AS#2 to AS#3</span> </b><br />
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<b>(15mi gravel, 4mi Tree Frog singletrack)</b><br />
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<tr><td><img alt=" photo _DSC1036.jpg" src="http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p541/Photoglyphix/2014%20Mohican%20100%20MTN%20Bike%20Race/_DSC1036.jpg" height="400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="264" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Simona aka pink Hammer girl!</td></tr>
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I'm just slightly behind Simona as we roll out of Aid Station #2 (Buckhaven). From here, we have a longish section of gravel roads which, based on my experience at <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/05/race-report-2014-cohutta-100.html">Cohutta</a>, I know I can ride well. I've almost caught back up when we hang left onto Giffen Road, and the gravel points sharply upward. I stand and, oh no! I feel the beginning tingles of leg cramps. This is abnormal for me, usually I'm a cramp-free rider, but evidently I've got issues today. To me, cramps require on a "pay a penny now to save a dollar later" approach, so I stop, drink a huge gulp of water, and dig out 3 e-caps from my bento. Then I get back on the SegSlayer and focus on spinning easily for the next mile or so. My legs seem much happier and that means I am too.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jE86B9pYN4g/U5DNyxcYxTI/AAAAAAAANO4/kRW0QdBgM3Q/s1600/as.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jE86B9pYN4g/U5DNyxcYxTI/AAAAAAAANO4/kRW0QdBgM3Q/s1600/as.jpg" height="60" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elevation profile of the course with Aid Stations shown.</td></tr>
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So I start reeling Simona back in. I am by myself, dealing with the surprisingly swirly winds in the Mohican valleys, and trying not to get too angry about not having drafting buddies. On the longer straight-aways I catch glimpses of what I believe to be Simona's pink kit, and I am riding really hard to catch up. Around mile 45 we enter some freshie-fresh singletrack in the Tree Frog Zipline Park. This stuff is way slower than the Mohican singletrack and it's hard to stay motivated, except I catch Simona on a short hike-a-bike and do my best to stay in front. We roll that way into Aid Station #3 (Mohican Cabins), and with her only seconds behind me, I rush through the aid and hurry back out onto the course.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">AS#3 to AS#4 </span></b></div>
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<b>(1mi gravel, 1mi Tree Frog singletrack, 5mi gravel, 3mi Mohaven trail, 4mi gravel, 11mi rails-to-trails)</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo _DSC1584.jpg" src="http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p541/Photoglyphix/2014%20Mohican%20100%20MTN%20Bike%20Race/_DSC1584.jpg" height="400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="264" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"green girl"<br />
http://s1155.photobucket.com/user/Photoglyphix/media/2014%20Mohican%20100%20MTN%20Bike%20Race/_DSC1584.jpg.html?sort=2&o=167</td></tr>
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Also right in front of me is someone I've started to call "green girl". She's riding in, duh, a green kit with her man-friend. Unfortunately, they are stopped on the side of the road, dealing with what looks like a flat tire. Bummer! I ride past, through a field and into some more slow Tree Frog singletrack. My legs are threatening to cramp AGAIN so I repeat my routine - stop, water, e-caps, spin to bring them back to life. While I'm spinning easy, green girl and guy pass me again. Bummer! But at least they got the mechanical sorted. We finally make it through the surprisingly challenging Tree Frog singletrack and I'm once again by myself on gravel. I reach into my bento and...oh no. Only one bar left, 235 calories of <a href="https://amritahealthfoods.com/shop/bars/">Amrita</a> goodness. I check my bottles - one is filled with water, the other with about 100 calories of <a href="http://www.carborocket.com/#!online-store/c6bq/!/~/product/category=0&id=32260183">CarboRocket</a>. Do the math yourself - this means I've got about 300 calories to fuel me the remaining 20 miles to Aid Station #4 (Glenmont). For me, this amount of calories for this particular portion of the race teeters on the border of "just barely-maybe-probably-not enough" and "woefully inadequate". I'm in disbelief. I put a huge emphasis on planning my nutrition and I've obviously made a big mistake, either not putting enough food in my drop bag at AS#2 (Buckhaven) or not picking up enough race food at AS#3 (Mohican Cabins). I don't have many fears when it comes to big endurance races, but running out of food and subsequently bonking is a big one. So I ratchet my pace back and start mentally preparing myself to suffer for the next few hours. I keep telling myself that everything's going to be fine, that I'm well-fueled up to this point, that there's probably not that much singletrack left, that I have plenty of water instead, basically any reason I can think of to quell my fears. And then the course turns right up a gradual doubletrack climb and I just about lose it. 20 miles of roads I could squeak out in less than 2 hours, but throw some trail in there? Uh oh. I've got an express ticket to:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M7h2plRXrrk/U5MLmCppVaI/AAAAAAAANPs/a58KeJrHcvc/s1600/bonkville.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M7h2plRXrrk/U5MLmCppVaI/AAAAAAAANPs/a58KeJrHcvc/s1600/bonkville.jpeg" height="100" width="400" /></a></div>
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But there's nothing left to do but pedal, so I slowly make my way uphill. There isn't even any other rider around me that I could maybe bum a bar off of. I'm actively looking for discarded gels/bottles/anything as the trail continues to climb. I'm also thinking that Simona is going to catch me any second! And then, at the top of the hill, I hear voices. There are people up here! And...they are standing behind a table. WITH FOOD ON IT. Is this a mirage? No, it's a secret aid station that I didn't know about! I literally freak out with happiness, pull the SegSlayer right up to the table, and start dumping little cups of Peanut M&Ms and pretzels straight into my bento while simultaneously stuffing my face with PB&J sandwiches. It's not a pretty sight, but I am just so happy. I thank the volunteers profusely, stuff a few extra PB&Js in my bento, and get out of there in a superior state of mind.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hLycODwp_9A/U5MLXJNf_AI/AAAAAAAANPk/A7PTuQuFMHM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-06-07+at+7.53.03+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hLycODwp_9A/U5MLXJNf_AI/AAAAAAAANPk/A7PTuQuFMHM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-06-07+at+7.53.03+AM.png" height="306" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://www.strava.com/segments/7376988</td></tr>
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There is a little bit more trail to shred, then some gravel, then the course brings us to the infamous <a href="http://www.strava.com/segments/7376988">rails-to-trails section</a> - about 10 miles of wide, pea-graveled, false-flat trail. Most mountain bikers, especially my singlespeedy teammates, dread these miles. But today I am really thankful for them - the false-flat terrain helps me refocus and restart my motor. Mohican country is famous for its Amish population and I pass a man driving a horse-drawn cart. We exchange smiles and I say hi to his horse, which helps me "<a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/05/race-report-2014-cohutta-100.html">conjure up a sense of gratitude</a>" for this perfect day, my awesome bike, and the ability to ride it 100 miles for <a href="http://teamnoahfoundation.com/">Team Noah Foundation</a>. I roll into Aid Station #4 (Glenmont) with my motivation on the upswing. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">AS#4 to AS#5 to FINISH </span></b></div>
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<b>(8mi gravel, 1mi trail, 4mi gravel, 1mi trail, 2mi gravel, 4mi Mohican singletrack)</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OgIcYVrTC7Y/U5MStzdfkVI/AAAAAAAANP8/KxrVV5lhqPs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-06-07+at+8.24.49+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OgIcYVrTC7Y/U5MStzdfkVI/AAAAAAAANP8/KxrVV5lhqPs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-06-07+at+8.24.49+AM.png" height="202" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final 25 miles of Mohican 100 course.</td></tr>
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A volunteer brings me my drop bag and it's FULL of delicious things - CR333, a turkey sandwich, a Clif bar, and some gels. REJOICE! I reload my bottles and bento and notice that green girl and guy are just leaving. Wow, they're closer than I thought! And just as <i>I'm</i> about to leave, Simona rolls in! We congratulate each other on a good ride so far <i>"You're killing it!" "No, <u>you're</u> killing it!"</i> and then roll out together to tackle the final 25 miles. At first we just chat and reveal that we both had goals to finish under 10 hours, and agree that it's probably not going to happen today. We keep chatting until the first of several sawtooth climbs, where Simona just rides away from me and I don't have the motivation to respond. I don't know why, but I just can't convince my legs to work harder. This bums me out and I pedal solo in full-blown pity party mode.<br />
<br />
A few miles later, I unintentionally swerve across the doubletrack and hear a rider exclaim in surprise. I hurriedly apologize for taking their line, and in response I hear <i>"Are you Emily?"</i>. I say yes, and turns out the rider is <a href="http://tecnuadventureracing.com/?portfolio=mindy-fernando">Mindy</a>! She's a triathlete/adventure racer from <a href="http://tecnuadventureracing.com/">Team Tecnu</a> whom I've competed against only a handful of times, but enough to know that she is seriously fast. I've spent the whole race convinced she was way ahead of me, so I'm surprised to see her now. But turns out she's recovering from some hard training the weekend previous, and a hard crash in the first 10 miles today. Ouch! We chat a little bit about the race so far, and then Mindy rides away. That makes TWO girls making me <a href="http://wedali.com/">eat their dust</a> in the past 5 miles. Something snaps in my mind. I can't take it. Full-on racer mode comes roaring back, I add a couple gears, and chase.<br />
<br />
I am able to pass Mindy on some slippery slimey doubletrack that's peppered with short hike-a-bikes. Not too much farther the trail opens up into gravel and I pass Simona. Then just a few minutes later I pass green girl and guy at the top of a grunty hill. I don't have hardly any gap though so it's pedal-to-the-metal all the way home. I pass some 100k riders, some other 100 mile riders, and one guy jumps on my wheel just as we're approaching Highway 3. I explain the situation (<i>"there's three women back there and I've got to gooooooo!"</i>) and he takes the time to talk me through the remaining course, including the cloverleaf turn under Hwy 3, the ride through Aid Station #5, and then into the singletrack. This is the second time that a local has helped me out - thank you!! There is no way I can afford a stop at AS#5, but I don't need anything anyway, so I whoop it up for the Kim's Bikes volunteers and cruise into the remaining miles of Mohican singletrack, certain that Mindy, Simona, and green girl are just seconds behind me.<br />
<br />
There's a rider on my wheel as I enter the singletrack, but I'm relieved to hear the voice is distinctly male as I ask if they want to pass. They do not, so I continue riding until I glance back on a hairpin turn and see that the rider is my teammate <a href="http://teamnoahfoundation.com/mountain-bike-team.html">Adam</a>! I had no idea! But no time for chit-chat when I'm trying to redline the rest of the course. There are plenty of little tech sections left and I do my best to ride when I can and run when I can't. There are riders to pass too but everyone's super courteous. I can see, through, that Simona is inching closer to me in the singletrack. I feverishly ramp up my pace, doing my best to keep riding smoothly. My legs respond, and my mind is thrilled to see a "2 Miles To Go" sign. I think I can hold her off! Then there is a tandem mountain bike up ahead and I can only laugh. I'm barely leading a group of 4 women, less than 2 miles to go, and I have to pass a <i>tandem</i> in the singletrack? Good one, Noah. But we find a spot that works for all of us and I motor on by. I've picked up another single speeder (in a Toasted Head kit!!) and he squeaks by the tandem, too, and starts cheering me on. Awesome! The two of us bomb down a hill into the campground. We've GOT to be close now. Except there are cars driving in the campground so I move to the right to let them by. In the process, I lose sight of the course markings, and all of a sudden find myself in no-man's land - an unmarked intersection. What? Where do I turn? Panic! I sit up, glance around, and hear a race spectator yelling at me: <i>"You missed the turn! It's back there! Turn around and go right!"</i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gqILIOWZcZY/U5DUkLbJ14I/AAAAAAAANPE/Riv7fX5ySCY/s1600/f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gqILIOWZcZY/U5DUkLbJ14I/AAAAAAAANPE/Riv7fX5ySCY/s1600/f.jpg" height="227" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well that's unfortunate.</td></tr>
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F!!!! I turn around and see Simona making the correct turn just a few hundred meters behind me. Me and the Toasted Head rider are super bummed, but he yells "Let's go get her!" so we take off in pursuit, making the correct turn and re-joining the course. There can't be much left before the finish line so I chase HARD after Simona. I have to pass the tandem AGAIN but the graciously let me by. There's a downhill, the metal bridge crossing, then a hard right onto the finishing road. I can see Simona just a few seconds ahead, and Toasted Head guy yells at me "You can do it!" I sprint. I tell myself I'm closing the gap. But, it's too much. Simona makes the final right turn 3 seconds ahead of me and we both ride under the finish line, done for the day.<br />
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<tr><td><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KOD2AMLTzmM/U41VLSRM2bI/AAAAAAAABIo/jBGqA7K3-Cc/s400/IMG_1449.JPG" height="266" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Dead to the world. Photo by Trevor Rockwell. Ha ha.</td></tr>
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I can't believe it. I'm really, really angry at the situation so I immediately ride to our campsite and collapse, ignoring everyone around me so I don't say or do something embarrassing. I just need to cool off a bit before good sportsmanship can re-emerge. So I lay there and moan while teammates take pictures. Ha! One of the race volunteers has followed me from the finish line and sets the Mohican Finisher's Growler down next to me, along with a cup of ice water. She definitely didn't have to do that, and her kind gesture clicks me back into non-angry mode. I stand up and go find Simona to congratulate her on an excellent finish. It really was excellent - it wasn't her fault that the course markings were obscured by traffic, and I would have done the same thing if I had been in her shoes. AND it turns out we BOTH made it in under 10 hours. VICTORY!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">POST-RACE</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M62B6a6Yigk/U5DDY_g5dQI/AAAAAAAANOc/H-6AzQm860o/s1600/6th.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M62B6a6Yigk/U5DDY_g5dQI/AAAAAAAANOc/H-6AzQm860o/s1600/6th.jpg" height="296" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mohican 100-mile women's podium.</td></tr>
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The rest of the evening is superb. Mohican knows how to treat its racers right: the showers are hot, the food is plentiful, and so is the beer! I catch up with the rest of my teammates (Trevor, 3rd place singlespeed! Dwayne, 7th place singlespeed! Peat and Adam, sub-10 hours!) and meet some more friends as we wait for the podium presentations. Turns out my battle with Simona, Mindy, and green girl was for 6th place, and Simona gets to represent on the podium! Whoop! Congrats to Brenda on a fantastic win and the rest of the women's podium for crushing it! Let's be honest, Mohican 100 is a pretty awesome way to spend the day. I will definitely be back next year!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="400" src="https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Camera%20Uploads/2014-05-31%2020.10.09.jpg?_subject_uid=19279067&w=AAD4yL--AMTrnfBLnqZ6HYLdFN54isGDOzPa9rzl4IEaiA" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The SegSlayer, post-race.<br />
http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2013/01/meet-segslayer.html</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">WANT MORE?</span></b><br />
my Strava: <a href="http://www.strava.com/activities/148147890">http://www.strava.com/activities/148147890</a><br />
Results: <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11WpesUkj0jBGUbE8wbpBc8nsLNRRHior4a1u-XK7sjA/pubhtml">https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11WpesUkj0jBGUbE8wbpBc8nsLNRRHior4a1u-XK7sjA/pubhtml</a><br />
Dirtwire.tv interviews and highlights reel: <a href="http://dirtwire.tv/events/mohican-100/">http://dirtwire.tv/events/mohican-100/</a><br />
Trevor Rockwell: <a href="http://ridinglifeschallenges.blogspot.com/2014/06/nue-3-mohican-100-redemption-race.html">http://ridinglifeschallenges.blogspot.com/2014/06/nue-3-mohican-100-redemption-race.html</a><br />
Randy Shoogs Larrison: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/randy-shoogs-larrison/mohican-100-2014-nue-2/10152170580822106">https://www.facebook.com/notes/randy-shoogs-larrison/mohican-100-2014-nue-2/10152170580822106</a><br />
Quickdirt 100k: <a href="http://quickdirt.com/2014/06/03/mohican-mtb-100-2014-race-report-graphs-photos/">http://quickdirt.com/2014/06/03/mohican-mtb-100-2014-race-report-graphs-photos/</a><br />
Gerry Pflug: <a href="http://pfunwithpflug.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-mohican-100-2014.html">http://pfunwithpflug.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-mohican-100-2014.html</a><br />
Tom Roepke video: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly62eizDIPE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly62eizDIPE</a><br />
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Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-48133258268610298872014-05-30T01:03:00.000-05:002014-05-30T01:03:04.976-05:00Race Report: 2014 Odyssey Wild Wonderful 24hr ARTuesday, 12:38pm. I get a bookface notification on my phone. New message. From <a href="http://www.navigationtips.com/about.php">Mark Lattanzi</a>?!?!?! Of course I open it right away:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.940000534057617px; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Emily, Team Odyssey might need a 4th for Wild and Wonderful this weekend. Interested? We should know today if Jen can't make it. Race fee is all paid so you just have to get to New River Gorge..."</span></blockquote>
The "Wild and Wonderful" he's referring to is a 24 hour adventure race in the New River Gorge area of West Virginia. It's directed by Ronny Angell of <a href="http://www.oarevents.com/">Odyssey Adventure Racing</a>, and staged out of <a href="http://www.aceraft.com/">ACE Adventure Resort</a>. It's a race I've been wanting to do ever since visiting this area in 2012 for <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2012/10/race-report-checkpoint-tracker-national.html">Checkpoint Tracker National Championships</a>, a course designed by Mark and directed by Ronny. This part of West Virginia has very challenging terrain, and Odyssey puts on very high quality events. Mark and his teammates are very experienced, fast, and friendly racers. Did I mention the race starts with 2 hours of Class III-V whitewater rafting on the New River? The only bugger was travel - it's an easy but long 8hr drive from St. Louis to Oak Hill, and I'd need to move some work commitments around. So the next 24 hours were filled with emails and phone calls and we eventually figured out that I was able to race! So exciting!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="400" src="https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Camera%20Uploads/2014-05-16%2015.51.51.jpg?_subject_uid=19279067&w=AAAyv5PdUJZVHAMqM6GL60BuTkxHDbxzbR8Aq-LeBwqiQg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost there! Ready for some Wild and Wonderful adventure racing!</td></tr>
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So I loaded up my iPod with listening material and made the drive over to Oak Hill on Friday. I actually listened to the <a href="http://adventureraceworld.podomatic.com/">TA1 podcast</a> that <a href="http://adventureraceworld.podomatic.com/entry/2014-04-12T22_00_00-07_00">Mark did</a> with <a href="http://www.legendaryrandyericksenfilms.com/">Legendary Randy Ericksen</a> and called it "team research". There are also tons of country music stations all throughout Kentucky and, judge me if you will, I love country music. So I was a pretty happy girl until Frankfort, KY, where I'd planned to stop and ride some singletrack...I mean "off-track bicycle trail"... at <a href="http://www.frankfortparksandrec.com/Parks/Capitol_View/capitol_view.html">Capitol View Park</a>, but it was raining, so I just kept on driving. I rolled into Oak Hill pretty much on time, and met Mark in his Sprinter van for some pizza, tea, and chat before Andy and Shane arrived.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/2014-05-17WildWonderful/P1060300.JPG?_subject_uid=19279067&w=AAD1BpA04pGW5kp8lhWEuJVMA4ftDMdEi-u9PbIhmp59yQ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy declares victory over DC traffic. Shane agrees.</td></tr>
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Eventually the boys made it to ACE (also with Kristen from TeamSOG, I mean <a href="https://www.facebook.com/toyotagbg">TOG</a>. Side note: this is what adventure racing is all about - carpooling with your toughest competitors!) and we proceeded to piddle around with bikes before the race meeting. Since I don't make it out to the East Cost area very much, I don't know hardly any of the racers here, but it's really cool to see the adventure racing community alive and well. Sure, there are a few faces I recognize from <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2013/10/race-report-2013-usara-nationals-30hr-ar.html">one of the</a> <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2013/10/race-report-2013-checkpoint-tracker.html">Nationalses</a> last year, but for the most part I feel anonymous which is awesome. What is not awesome, though, is the Oak Hill weather - cold and drizzly. The forecast is not predicting much improvement for race day, which will make staying warm overnight a challenge. We also learn that recent rains have put the New River above flood stage, making it unsafe for commercial paddling. We're not sure what <a href="http://www.oarevents.com/staff.shtml">Ronny</a> plans to do about the start of the race now, but we do know that with the rafting being cancelled, we'll be on our feet and bikes a whole lot tomorrow.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/2014-05-17WildWonderful/P1060303.JPG?_subject_uid=19279067&w=AABkeWwjgZu8LRcnTd2QSHikjM2mmitctqiSvBOkhwCXuA" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're clearly up to no good. Mark, me, Andy, Shane.</td></tr>
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We attend the pre-race meeting and it's nothing unexpected. Ronny announces that we will be given maps in the morning, and be bussed to the start. There is a vague course overview but really, we just need to show up with all of our gear/water/food for the next 24hrs. So with that, we check into our hotel/motel and mess around with gear until it's time for bed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="266" src="https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t1.0-9/10292463_10152212432709748_1321391596380408522_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What, you don't see the girls bathroom sign?</td></tr>
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When we arrive back at ACE in the morning, we learn that Ronny has decided to bus us to the original paddle take-out, and start the race from there with a short LeMans run to CP1 and then a quick TA onto bikes. So we plot maps, waterproof them, load busses, and strategize on the ride down to the New River bank, which requires the bus to make a few three-point turns to negotiate the switchbacks. Love it! Once we unload, me and a few other girls declare a random pick-up truck as the girls' bathroom and all pee. Bonding! We also get a good look at the New River and....dang. It would have been very scary and probably very fun to raft that. But it's also nice to be alive. So Ronny counts us down and it's time to race!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="266" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t1.0-9/10172733_10152212433364748_5616916094807320135_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uh, yeah. Lotta water.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">TREK 1 (CP 1, 0.3mi)</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5Yq-i7F4YiQ/U3vQ1QcZ0eI/AAAAAAAANK4/qmII_K3V4SI/s1600/trek1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5Yq-i7F4YiQ/U3vQ1QcZ0eI/AAAAAAAANK4/qmII_K3V4SI/s1600/trek1.JPG" height="400" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first tiny trek.</td></tr>
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There isn't much to this first leg. We run uphill a ways, get the punch, and the run downhill a few hundred meters and transition onto our bikes.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE 1 (CP 2, 4k)</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hG-YtcGEWd0/U30Eq77zqNI/AAAAAAAANL4/5_5SDxmBU7Q/s1600/bike1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hG-YtcGEWd0/U30Eq77zqNI/AAAAAAAANL4/5_5SDxmBU7Q/s1600/bike1.jpg" height="400" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Biking from CP1 to CP2.</td></tr>
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We get everyone into their bike shoes, under their helmets, and onto their bikes and pedal our way out of the New River Gorge. I think TOG (3-person coed) is already in front, and <a href="http://www.goalsara.org/">GOALS</a> (2-person male) is right ahead of us and we can see them as we ride the singletrack up the western side of the gorge. Mark knows these trails really well and is surprised when GOALS takes the same (unmapped) shortcut he was planning. So we all ride into CP2 together, and see TOG just leaving the area on foot. We quickly transition, and I take Mark's mandatory gear so we only have three packs between us. Fun!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">TREK 2 (CPs 3-5, 7k)</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5dXTvtAOtQI/U30FzltRrNI/AAAAAAAANMA/IniJoR50Mzo/s1600/trek2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5dXTvtAOtQI/U30FzltRrNI/AAAAAAAANMA/IniJoR50Mzo/s1600/trek2.JPG" height="297" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The second trek. 2-4-5 and then return to 2.</td></tr>
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Before the race started, Ronny threw out CP3, so we only had to go to CPs 4 and 5 before returning back to our bikes. We run through the town of Fayetteville with TOG and GOALS leading the charge. I'm feeling just about as good as can be expected for a slow starter like me, and the boys all seem happy with the pace.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/2014-05-17WildWonderful/P1060311.JPG?_subject_uid=19279067&w=AADsGAV6gBaqRjlxB_aNk05_OCNg1r1sqsEeHgZabEIr_Q" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes. I navved the whole thing. NOT!</td></tr>
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Since the urban-style nav is pretty easy, we goof around a little bit to pass the time between CPs on the outbound leg. On the way back, we get to cheer for a lot of other teams, and then Mark takes my pack for the last 1k. What a difference it makes! I feel amazing now! To me, that really highlights two things: a) the large effect that 10 extra pounds has on my pace, and b) I need to log more training hours with a pack. Noted. We run back into TA just on the heels of GOALS, excited to continue putting Mark's trail knowledge to use for the next leg.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE 2 (CPs 6-13, 12ish mi)</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7Xutj7SFfz4/U30UivlxMbI/AAAAAAAANMQ/_NwgaAnYIG8/s1600/bike2a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7Xutj7SFfz4/U30UivlxMbI/AAAAAAAANMQ/_NwgaAnYIG8/s1600/bike2a.jpg" height="376" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first part of the bike - left CP2/TA and rode to the Arrowhead trail system.</td></tr>
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Our next route is to punch 6-7-8 in order, and then we can get 9-13 any way we chooise (aka rogaine style). So we use some singletrack connectors to get into the Arrowhead trail system which is pretty great. We think we've made up some time on TOG as we punch CP6, and then even more time on the attack to CP7. Our plan is to bikewhack across a switchback (see map) and then land directly at 7 for the punch. Mark leads us into the really open woods (almost ridable, they were so open) and I'm last of the bunch. About a hundred meters into the woods, I see something that is really, really not good - Mark on the ground, grabbing his leg, with Andy and Shane standing by him looking concerned. Something is definitely up, and in my mind I rule out cramps because it's early in the race and Mark is pretty experienced with managing nutrition/hydration/effort, so I figure it's a snakebite. This all happens in the few seconds it takes me to catch up with the boys. Once I get there, Shane says, "Get out your phone and call 911." This is bad!! As I'm digging my phone out (yes, the SAME ONE I was grateful to be carrying at the <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2014/03/non-race-report-2014-baar-brawl-24hr.html">BRAWL</a>), I take in the situation. Mark has a stick in his leg. As in he is impaled on a stick. As in he walked into a stick and it skewered his calf. As in he is a human shish-ka-bob. And it does not look comfortable.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="400" src="https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/2014-05-17WildWonderful/10406813_10152495612967216_6007605444862019309_n.jpg?_subject_uid=19279067&w=AACZI-q2plhWPXSDehvVu1-Hjzl2p4LEidjcISs60qK5mg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In one side, almost out the other.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I get ahold of 911 and hand the phone to Shane, who is a former paramedic, to talk medical to EMS while Andy and I try to comfort Mark. There is very little blood, which is surprising to me, but evidently the stick's wedged in there pretty good. Mark even threatens to pull it out and continue racing, but Shane pulls rank and denies that request. We strategize how to get Mark out to the trailhead parking lot where the ambulance is going to meet us, and it turns out that he wants to use his bike as a crutch to hop back through the woods to the trail we attacked from. But before we leave, Mark is sure to tell Andy to "go get CP7 while we're this close anyway". So Andy goes and punches CP7 as the rest of us bikewhack back through the woods. Surprisingly, or perhaps not surprisingly to those people who know Mark, he's <i>really</i> fast at this. Faster than I am with no sticks in either of my legs. Amazing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7bFpdCdqdC8/U4fDqetVk9I/AAAAAAAANOI/DDdQ-Wrx75A/s1600/P1060319+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7bFpdCdqdC8/U4fDqetVk9I/AAAAAAAANOI/DDdQ-Wrx75A/s1600/P1060319+(1).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apologies on the orientation of this photograph. Blogger dislike.</td></tr>
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We make it back to the gravel doubletrack, and my phone rings again. It's EMS. "Is this the guy who was biking and got a stick in his leg?" Yes, yes it is. They are asking for more specific directions to the trailhead that I cannot give them. So, logically, I hand the phone to the actual guy with the stick in his leg, and Mark responds beautifully, chatting with the EMS folks and giving them perfect directions. A horrible situation, for sure, but definitely one of my favorite race moments this year! Andy bikes ahead to fetch the ambulance, and pretty soon it's trundling down the gravel with the Park Ranger right behind. We load Mark up, making sure he's got his pack with calories and water, none of the mandatory team gear, and at the last minute I grab his race camera so we can document the rest of our day. It wasn't much of a discussion that the 3 of us would continue. Mark even cheers us on to go after TOG and GOALS. We wish him the best medical care possible, and then re-mount our bikes for the remaining CPs.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tIo_MRHktvg/U30VT-U9vpI/AAAAAAAANMY/H98h7V8K6EM/s1600/bike2b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tIo_MRHktvg/U30VT-U9vpI/AAAAAAAANMY/H98h7V8K6EM/s1600/bike2b.jpg" height="376" width="400" /></a></div>
Given our current location, we have to ride right past CP10 on our way to get CP8, which is a slight bummer but race rules are race rules. Andy's taken over the maps which isn't that far-fetched because I'm told he does a lot of co-navigation with Mark anyway, and I completely trust his leadership. I have a hard time getting back into race mode, and am not especially speedy on the singletrack. It's hard to endure such emotional swings like that. Teammates are teammates, regardless of how long we've known each other, and it's difficult to see one of us injured. We work our way through the remainder of the singletrack (8-10-9-12-13) and by the time we get to TA/CP13, we're back on a roll. Sure, we've lost a bunch of time and positions, but a lot can happen in 24 hours and we aim to make the most of our Wild Wonderful race!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">TREK 3A (CPs 14-15-18-16-17-19)</span></b><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eXZwU6Sc2DE/U359ch5pZVI/AAAAAAAANMw/o1wTfzThlSM/s1600/trek3a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eXZwU6Sc2DE/U359ch5pZVI/AAAAAAAANMw/o1wTfzThlSM/s1600/trek3a.jpg" height="346" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
It's fun in TA because the boys are plotting (something I normally do for Alpine Shop) so I get to do the "other" TA tasks, like switching everyone's shoes, packing up bikes, getting food out, etc. I notice one of my hair ties has gone missing but a race volunteer gives me hers - it's the little things that mean the most! Thank you! The bikes get loaded up for transport back to Race HQ and we are staring at a looooooooong trekking leg. Honestly, I couldn't be happier because I have been lacking in time-on-feet-with-pack recently so this will help my trekking toughness a lot. Ronny is not making it easy on us, either, it takes three pairs of eyes on the map to determine the "best" route. We settle on 14-15-18-16-17-19 and run out of TA.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/2014-05-17WildWonderful/P1060324.JPG?_subject_uid=19279067&w=AAA14VRX0YaYY1jx8P2oKCoXbjFp7fjz0UIPlW5jUzNWgA" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here beginnith mid-race selfies! Mark's got an old-school camera WITHOUT a rear-facing lens so this shows some real skill on my part.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We are in the mix with the <a href="http://teamhalfwaythere.com/">Halfway There/Spokes, Etc</a>, but they find a better way through the rhodo to CP15 and we are by ourselves again. Then we have some trouble with CP18, located in a shallow reentrant that we attacked too late. While we're relocating, we run into Rafael, aka Lone Wolf, who's racing solo male. Andy and Rafael work together to find our subtle reentrant and boom, there's the flag! Awesome! The four of us end up staying together for 16 and 17 too, and we both use the road route to CP19, since we are all running a bit low on water and are hoping to find a house with a hose. It's always exciting meeting non-adventure racers during a race, since we usually look all crazy (in spandex and very dirty) and unexpected. But, almost unfailingly, people are so kind. This time it's no different - we find a man with a hose and a beautiful, fierce Rottweiler. The four of us all fill up, say thank you, and hit the road running. After we hit CP19, it's down to the red trail (I don't know the name but it contours quite nicely along the New River Gorge) for some more easy trail running. Everyone's feeling pretty good at this point, and we're able to keep a great pace all the way to CP20.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8h4jyzicCOI/U36BDFoMwKI/AAAAAAAANNA/PQj6lDj-PqY/s1600/trek3b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8h4jyzicCOI/U36BDFoMwKI/AAAAAAAANNA/PQj6lDj-PqY/s1600/trek3b.jpg" height="400" width="287" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Add caption</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I think CP20 is the one where we had to climb a cliff to check a code stamped on a utility pole. By this time we'd caught another team in front of us (<a href="http://www.racedayrush.com/train/index.php">Race Day Rush</a>, but we just called them "The Canadians"...because that's where they're from, eh?) so now we've got a 3-team convergence on the pole. Of course it's the girls who are sent scrambling up the loose cliff, and after we write the code down (after some confusion), the Canadians continue up the power cut while we (Odyssey) and Rafael (Lone Wolf) continue to CP21. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/2014-05-17WildWonderful/P1060340.JPG?_subject_uid=19279067&w=AABUF6b02k9L1Ba9VqIkBlHig_7-xvLKCKRMncTtnc4HVw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We love adventure racing! So does Rafael, he's in the background.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/2014-05-17WildWonderful/P1060343.JPG?_subject_uid=19279067&w=AAAWDC1fmUqXv543Jw8ZEkj6Uy3vqK_G1XpSmtHHHk_A9A" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One picture, three teams: The Canadians, Rafael, Odyssey.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">TREK 3B (CPs 20-21-23-24-22-26-25-27-31-29-30-HQ)</span></b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NnzvihihIbc/U36CObo9NdI/AAAAAAAANNI/MBlfvtykYBY/s1600/trek3c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NnzvihihIbc/U36CObo9NdI/AAAAAAAANNI/MBlfvtykYBY/s1600/trek3c.jpg" height="267" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1:24k USGS map. Our route from CP20 to HQ.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ygchcwEDFeQ/U36Ec9Rll_I/AAAAAAAANNc/qFm5mQJEYeQ/s1600/trek3c+ace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ygchcwEDFeQ/U36Ec9Rll_I/AAAAAAAANNc/qFm5mQJEYeQ/s1600/trek3c+ace.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ACE Trail map.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Now that we've hit CP20, it's time for the real strategy to begin. We can collect the remaining 16 points in any order, either on foot or on bike. Our bikes are located at Race HQ/CP35 and are available to us at any time, but we also have to finish with them. Ronny's done a devlish job placing CPs - there is no obvious/best route back and we study the map for several minutes, determining which combinations are optimal. In addition to the USGS map, we have an ACE trail map which has a TON of trails marked on it. We decide to trek indirectly back to Race HQ and then pick up our bikes for the last few points. This means A LOT of time on foot, but like I said earlier, I'm thrilled about the chance to bash through the woods with my pack.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><img height="300" src="https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/2014-05-17WildWonderful/P1060336.JPG?_subject_uid=19279067&w=AABvYBScKpbdQxQEcD1GHRf8F2FXSgFttTO8fXoFDWYI_w" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Shane and Andy cruising.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We work hard to collect as many CPs in the daylight as we can. ACE property is a confusing place. There are trails everywhere, and while most of them are marked, some of them have developed around-routes to avoid huge mud holes, and some are so overgrown they're hardly visible. To top things off, there are some parts of ACE property that have been strip mined, forming vertical earthen "cliffs" that can be impossible to down/up climb. Of course those areas are best shown on the USGS map and not the ACE trail map. It takes a masterful navigator to assimilate all of this information run cleanly through this area, and Andy's doing a great job. We're being super careful with our route choices, and it seems to help quite a bit that Rafael is keeping our same pace, giving all of us the confidence of staying found.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/2014-05-17WildWonderful/P1060350.JPG?_subject_uid=19279067&w=AABUOnC5QJPVA7OggzRxk_AUaR1vg9wwTaHd_aP6996e2w" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">32? or 23? #racebrain</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Night falls just before CP25, and we take a short break to put on lights and for Shane to change socks. Andy nails CP25 easily and then we make our way through the spiderweb of trails to CP27. We have a fairly obvious trail bend as an attack point, and we stride off into the briars confident that we're heading up the correct reentrant. Except, we can't find the punch. There are loads of other lights thrashing around the area, and it's so hard to tell if anyone else has found it. We have to relocate multiple times, first using the road to the NE and then the powerline to the S to re-attack. But then, success! There is nothing more satisfying than pinging a control flag after it's given you trouble. The next few controls are along the same powerline, so we trek along the powercut and cross our fingers it doesn't get too briar-y. I happen to be holding the USGS map at this point (Andy has been switching between them all night, and whoever's closer between me and Shane holds the other one) and have the itch to pull out my compass and help with the nav a little bit. Sure, these are about the easiest controls on the whole map because they have a HUGE handrail, but it's still fun to play navigator.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/2014-05-17WildWonderful/P1060364.JPG?_subject_uid=19279067&w=AAAdDHcceePekYMKjrDrWK0pD_MEmQdWSkksQIhDncud4g" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Realities of overnight racing - not really seeing your teammates for 8-12 hours.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Andy resumes navigational duties for CP30 and then back to HQ. Rafael is still with us and it's pretty awesome to see him doing so well. His navigation is solid! On the way back to HQ, we start seeing other teams and get word that TOG is finished. FINISHED! I'm not going to lie, it feels somewhat depressing to still have a TA plus 4 controls left at this point. We were hoping to be neck-and-neck with them for as long as possible, and now the gap is clearly going to be larger than we'd hoped. But the only way for us to enjoy a finish line is to keep trekking! So we do! We don't have too far to go until we're back at Race HQ. TOG is there, huddled by the fire, and we have a quick congratulatory chat with them as we transition onto our bikes for the last 4 points.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">BIKE 3 (CPs 33-34-28-32-F)</span></b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iDkpqaEidPk/U36C7Bf5_SI/AAAAAAAANNQ/gnIhKPH_c9s/s1600/bike3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iDkpqaEidPk/U36C7Bf5_SI/AAAAAAAANNQ/gnIhKPH_c9s/s1600/bike3.jpg" height="267" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">USGS map of our final biking section.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-djZ8EHWP0As/U36E5kfKUlI/AAAAAAAANNk/eOQoAspo5rM/s1600/bike3+ace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-djZ8EHWP0As/U36E5kfKUlI/AAAAAAAANNk/eOQoAspo5rM/s1600/bike3+ace.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ACE map of the same thing.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We bike out to CP33, punch that really easily, and then trek down to CP34 in our bike shoes. It requires a little creative footwork, but we make it and then climb back up to our bikes. We overshoot the attackpoint to CP28 just a bit, but Andy adjusts and uses a trail junction instead for another successful spike. Now we just have 1 more control left! And it's a toughie. We get to our hilltop easily enough (basically...go UP), but then have a really difficult time descending the spur to the correct trail. There seem to be a couple phantom trails in the area and none of us are processing that information very well right now. But we doggedly keep at it, and pretty soon Shane shouts that he's got the punch and we just have to ride home! On roads! Mostly downhill!<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">POST-RACE (21:20 total time, 4th overall but unranked)</span></b><br />
We finish about 5am which is awesome. The sky is just starting the lighten up, and we've made it through the coldest part of the night without getting chilled. We have plenty of time to chat with Ronny and shower before breakfast is served at 7am. As we're walking to our cars, the door to the Sprinter van slides open and out pops Mark! He reports that he had surgery to remove the stick and is now on pain meds and antibiotics. The doctors wanted to keep him for a second overnight, but he somehow negotiated his early release and is eager to hear race stories. Of course we share them with him, and with the rest of the Wild Wonderful racers. It's a great finish line atmosphere, and especially because of the delicious pancake-and-eggs breakfast! Yum!<br />
<br />
Overall, I was SO GLAD I made the trip out to West Virginia to race with Odyssey. I have to admit I'm proud that I can add in a 24hr race with only a few days' notice and not freak out. My body and my mind are familiar with the challenges that overnight adventure racing brings, and every race is another chance to work on getting stronger. The Odyssey boys, Andy, Shane, and Mark, were excellent teammates and I really enjoyed tromping around the woods with them, all sticks aside! These three are also racing <a href="http://www.untamedne.com/">Untamed New England</a> with Jen in June so you can be sure I'll be cheering them on!<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">WANT MORE?</span></b><br />
Team Commie Bar: <a href="http://teamcommiebar.blogspot.com/2014/05/team-commie-bar-at-odyssey-wild.html">http://teamcommiebar.blogspot.com/2014/05/team-commie-bar-at-odyssey-wild.html</a><br />
Photos from ACE: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152212430814748.1073741918.6328979747&type=1">https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152212430814748.1073741918.6328979747&type=1</a><br />
Team TOG: <a href="http://teamtoyotagbg.blogspot.com/2014/05/odyssey-wild-wonderful-race-report-2014.html">http://teamtoyotagbg.blogspot.com/2014/05/odyssey-wild-wonderful-race-report-2014.html</a><br />
Results: <a href="http://www.oarevents.com/events/2014/documents/ResultsforWebWWAR14.pdf">http://www.oarevents.com/events/2014/documents/ResultsforWebWWAR14.pdf</a>Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174881854267990227.post-68612105661005725712014-05-19T23:09:00.001-05:002014-05-28T16:40:42.382-05:00Race Report: 2014 Mission 18hr AR<span style="background-color: white;">The <a href="http://www.dinoseries.com/mission-18-hour-race/">MISSION 18hr adventure race</a> in Versailles, IN was hotly contested this year, with the lead bouncing around between several teams throughout the day. I could share with you the race from Alpine Shop's perspective, but if you're a regular reader, you've seen <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2013/05/race-report-2013-mission-18hr-ar.html">plenty of that</a>. I wanted to do something a little different for this race report. Turns out, members from the top 3 coed teams each wrote a quick race summary on <a href="http://ar.attackpoint.org/">AttackPoint</a>, an online training log used by adventure athletes and orienteers across the world (and you can use it too, it's free!). I asked <a href="http://www.ar.attackpoint.org/log.jsp/user_11638">Hilary</a> from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michigan-Racing-Addicts/351212174990845">Michigan Racing Addicts</a> and <a href="http://www.ar.attackpoint.org/log.jsp/user_14043">Rachel</a> from <a href="http://www.bushwhacker.com/">Bushwhacker</a> if I could combine their race comments with <a href="http://www.ar.attackpoint.org/log.jsp/user_9015">mine</a>, and give you a birds-eye view of the race as it developed over 18 hours. They agreed! So here it is! I've made a few edits for clarity and brevity, but kept true to their narrative as best I could. Also, sorry I don't have photos of the main USGS map we used, it's buried in David's van and we all know it could take months to extract it. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">MISSION follows the beat of its own slightly deranged drummer, and by that I mean there are always one or two "twists" that can be different from a traditional adventure race. First, the race almost always starts with a crazy prologue challenge. Second, the race consists of multiple loops that keeps teams returning to Race HQ/TA. Instructions for each loop are not revealed until the team has completed the previous loops, so the race is constantly evolving and requiring teams to adapt to new challenges. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/t1.0-9/10340148_475725889228013_8664472587024092789_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the Race HQ area at Versailles State Park.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>PRE-RACE</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">RACHEL: Friday night was rather enjoyable as we didn't have to do any race planning or
plotting. So the evening was filled with gear prep and jokes of the gutter nature.
Mike and I both forgot to bring our sleeping bags and made do with sheets from
my car that had bike grease on them and whatever extra clothes we had for
pillows. Thankfully it wasn't too hot or too cold, but I still didn't sleep all
that well.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">HILARY: We
got pretty much NO info Friday night - not even what clothes to show up in.
I guess we got a little extra sleep without having to plot and plan our routes,
though I would have liked a general overview. We showed up in trekking
stuff assuming some sort of foot prologue. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16.866666793823242px;">EMILY: Alpine Shop rolled into Versailles ("ver-SALES") State Park right as dinner was about to start, and quickly met up with our friends from Bushwhacker, Silent Chasers, Michigan Racing Addicts, All-Terrain Females, and a bunch of other teams. We scarfed down a delicious lasagna dinner while listening to the Pre-Race Meeting, and then piddled with our gear until well after dark. Rachel had kindly reserved spots for us in their cabin, but when David and I went to go to sleep, everyone had already turned the lights out! What, like we have a race the next day or something? We tried to be as quiet as possible getting to sleep </span><span style="line-height: 16.866666793823242px;">(or did we...), but I'm not sure anyone slept the best. I didn't find out about Rachel and Mike's sleeping bag situation until the next morning, and I'm sorry I didn't offer them any extra covers!</span></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">PROLOGUE</span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">EMILY: Race HQ was located at the top of a hill/spur (about 880'), and at 0550, Brian revealed the prologue challenge: there were 10 CPs hung at 800' elevation, and we had to find 7 of them within 60 minutes to be given the maps and coordinates for the first loop. We were not given a map for the prologue - it was a true Easter Egg Hunt! At 0600, we made the choice to run down the northwest side of the hill/spur, given that it was the steepest hillside and we figured we had the best chance of spotting the first CP, which we could then use to gauge the rest of them. This strategy worked great initially as we found the first flag almost immediately. We debated going right (clockwise) or left (counterclockwise) from that CP, and guessed left. From there, we struggled to find the remaining flags and at the end of the 60-minute time limit, we only had 6. We knew Bushwhacker and MRA were ahead of us, as well as several other teams. We were frustrated with losing time on a chance decision, as we knew that every minute counts against teams of this quality. But, the only thing we could do was keep racing hard!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">RACHEL: </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">We were a little unsure of
how to approach this at first, but Mike was wearing his altimeter watch, so
once we found one we used that to track along the same elevation. The first
area we went had some thick undergrowth and we only found 2 after 20 minutes,
so we were concerned this wouldn't pan out for us. Then we found 2 more and
headed to the north side of the hill the HQ was on. There we found 3 CP's in
quick succession and were suddenly running back to HQ already! We were the
first team to find 7, in 45 minutes. Teams were already lining up to get the
instructions for the next segment once the hour mark hit - strategy to just
save their legs since there was no penalty for not getting 7. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="background-color: white;">HILARY: </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">We took off on one direction... and were
the only team to go that way. That doesn't bother us, though. We found one, and
then continued on that contour and eventually found all 7. We got our 7th, and
got back to the race start 10 minutes before the hour cutoff when they would
mass distribute UTMs to those who didn't get them. Only 2 or 3 teams found 7 to
get any advantage, so it didn't really have the intended effect of spreading
teams out. Not a fan of this even though we got lucky and got the slight
advantage.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>BIKE 1 (CPs 1-8)</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">RACHEL: </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">The
first real section of the race was singletrack and road biking. We hit the
singletrack first and Mike did a great job of navving us through the many
trails in Versailles State Park, and picking select spots for some bike-whacking. We saw Michigan Racing
Addicts a lot here, ahead of us after one of their own bike whacks, but we beat
them to the first road point after we were done with the singletrack. We tried
to push the pace on the road, taking advantage of our teammate Greg's super
bike strength. Rode into HQ and transitioned to a paddle/trek. I think MRA came
in not too long after us. Saw Alpine Shop biking in as we ran down the hill
from HQ to the paddle put in, so we knew they weren't far behind.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">HILARY: </span><span style="line-height: 16.866666793823242px;">We quickly plotted and took off on the bike leg. THIS was a fun leg. It started with bike orienteering on the local single track trails, which were very nice. We did some creative route choice and managed to take the lead for maybe 20 minutes. Then, Bushwhacker made a better route choice and passed us back. Darn. We did a little road riding with CPs off the road for short runs into the woods. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">EMILY: We plotted the first 8 CPs and took off on our bikes. David was a little nervous with the trail mapping and on our attack to our first CP, we took a jeep road instead of the singletrack we wanted. We took a few minutes to figure that out, then bikewhacked up a short steep spur onto the singletrack and proceeded to hit the rest of the points cleanly. The trails contoured and switchbacked a lot, giving several opportunities for creative bikewhacking, and we took advantage of that where we could. There were several teams bouncing around us as well, but we were able to get some separation once we popped out onto the gravel and hit the two road points. On our return to Race HQ, we saw Bushwhacker running with their paddle gear and estimated their lead at about 10-15 minutes. MRA was plotting when we arrived in TA but left before us.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>PADDLE 1A (CPs 9-13)</b></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yI26XKG0Syo/U3rT5qUjizI/AAAAAAAANKY/gN51ZtMeYuk/s1600/10268573_476025732531362_3969837476954915501_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yI26XKG0Syo/U3rT5qUjizI/AAAAAAAANKY/gN51ZtMeYuk/s1600/10268573_476025732531362_3969837476954915501_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">18hr teams starting the paddle in the banana boats!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">RACHEL: </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">The
paddle gave us some strategy options - we were able to split up for the
CPs which were located on the north part of the lake. Everything had to be punched on the same passport so this really just
meant we could drop one person to trek to the points while the others paddled
to a better location to pick them back up. We chose to get the only CP on the
east side of the creek together on our way up to the northern-most point, drop
Mike off to get the 3 CP's on the west side, then paddle back south and meet
him back across from the put-in. I flubbed where to get out for the first CP
and cost us a few minutes there. After we dropped Mike off and turned back
downstream, we saw Hilary from MRA paddling alone upstream, quickly followed by Alpine Shop all together still, meaning they had the same strategy as us. Sure enough,
after Greg and I made it to the southern meeting point, we saw Emily and Jeff pull up
not too far away. Then it was a waiting game...will we see Mike or David
first?? Otherwise Greg and I lounged and relaxed. Well, we did get water
out of the boat and tie a daisy chain (part of our required climbing gear) to
the front handle to help with the boat dragging Mike knew we would be doing
soon due to a previous race experience in the area. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">We finally heard someone crashing down through the woods, thankfully it
was Mike! He threw himself into the boat and we were off, lead intact for the
time being. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">EMILY: </span><span style="background-color: white;">We made it to the put-in in about 5th or 6th place overall, and immediately paddled northward to CP12. Since we could split up, we let David get CP12 on his own while Jeff and I waited in the boat. We ran into the all-boy team Youth For Christ here and chatted with them as David and their navigator worked together to punch. Jeff said something like "We're just waiting for our boy to get back" which the YFC people interpreted as Jeff and I were David's parents, racing as a family team. Ha! (It's funny because Jeff and David are closer to </span><i>my</i><span style="background-color: white;"> parents' ages than my own.) </span><span style="background-color: white;">We laughed about that for the rest of the race. David returned from CP12 and on our way up to the northernmost paddle point, we passed Hilary who was paddling MRA's boat by herself as Phil and Mike attacked the trekking. We also saw Bushwhacker paddling the opposite direction, having already dropped off their Mike. So we knew we were 3rd but anything could happen on the mini-trek. Jeff and I dropped David off again for CPs 10-13 and paddled south to pick him up, where we waited with Bushwhacker for a weirdly relaxing but also tense several minutes. Finally Mike emerged from the woods, and they took off! David came through about 10 minutes later, having made up some time which we were thrilled about. We portaged over the spillway/dam into Laughery Creek with MRA hot on our stern. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">HILARY: </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">We
got back and, as expected, we were paddling next but with a twist - we were allowed
to split up on the first 4 points. We decided to drop Phil and Mike off on the
south end so they could work together to get the points that were up on the
ridge. I paddled the canoe solo north to what I figured was about to CP10. I
had a little hand-drawn map with the river bends. It was an oddly leisurely
paddle for the middle of the race. I got there, ate, drank, took a bathroom
break, and maybe 5-10 minutes later, the guys showed up. Cool. We paddled back
down, at a much faster pace, stopped for CP12 and somehow didn't notice the big
wide path to it, probably losing more than 5 minutes looking for the reentrant
in the thorny mess of roses. As we paddled up past where the guys had gotten
out, we saw Alpine Shop pushing out to continue the paddle a hundred yards in
front of us. Dropped to 3rd, but in sight of 2nd. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 16.866666793823242px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">PADDLE 1B (CPs 14-15)</b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 16.866666793823242px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">RACHEL: </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">We
had to portage over the dam, then were paddling in a small, at times very
shallow, creek. Lots of boat dragging and teeth gnashing. Then we got hit by a
pretty severe thunderstorm - super heavy rain and some scarily close lightning.
Quite a treat! Thankfully the storm passed without issue, but we were still
paddling...and still paddling more after that. I didn't keep track of how long
the paddle was but it was a serious section of paddling for an 18 hour race.
Might have been quicker if we could have actually paddled the whole time, but
who wants to do that when you can jump out and run with your boat instead?
(sarcasm..) </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">We started to see a yellow boat in the distance behind us, and our assumption
that Alpine Shop would catch us on this section was coming true. They have some serious
river reading skills and seem to be more efficient at the whole
in-and-out-and-in of the boat thing. Finally we saw the bridge that signaled
the takeout, and Alpine Shop pulled up right after us. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">EMILY: </span><span style="background-color: white;">Laughery Creek was a slog...think <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com/2013/10/race-report-2013-usara-nationals-30hr-ar.html">USARA Nationals</a> "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIueoa6SnKM">adventure paddle</a>" except longer and with less portaging and more pushing. Jeff and David were in and out of the boat hundreds of times. I was in the middle and only got out on the worst ones - it turned out to be more efficient to have just the boys hopping in and out, but of course this made me feel lazy. We hit CP14 with MRA right behind us, but after we started "paddling" again we were able to gain time on them. In the middle of this section we got rained on quite hard. but we kept working the creek and towards the end we caught up with Bushwhacker. I am proud of my teammates all the time, but after this paddle I was especially proud of them - they worked really hard on a difficult section, and we made up a good chunk of time on Bushwhacker.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">HILARY:</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> We saw this river before the race and talked about how we REALLY hoped we wouldn't be hauling canoes down this
super low river. Oh, we were... for 4 hours. We did get out once to get CP14 up a hill. Oh, and we got out probably a hundred times due to being stuck on
rocks. Well, Mike got out a hundred times. Phil and I got out fewer times than
that, but too many times by probably a factor of ten. This would have been a
fine paddle with 6" more water in the river. This was one instance where
whitewater was neither exciting nor scary. Just a sign of annoyance to come.
About halfway down, the thunderstorm started. If it was hard to see hidden
rocks before, it was pretty much impossible in the rain. It felt like forever,
but it was probably only 15-20 minutes. Eventually it cleared up. We tried to
tell ourselves that this would help with the water level, but I think it was
wishful thinking. Not a fun section.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>TREK 1A (CPs 19-23)</b></span></span><br />
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<tr><td><img height="300" src="https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/10369130_477318102402125_5134096902751196454_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Rachel returning back to Race HQ.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">RACHEL: </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Unfortunately
our map was too wet to plot the next section, but we could see we had a
significant road run to start with, so we just decided to take off and air out the
map for a mile or two and try again. After a while we saw a dumpster that
looked like a great table for plotting, and gave it shot. While we were
finishing up the plotting and route planning, Alpine Shop came into view, running up the
road at a pretty good clip. We finished plotting right as they passed, so we ran and
chatted with them for a bit. They had picked up a stray dog as a fourth
teammate who looked quite content to run alongside, and he stayed with them as
we eased back and they pulled ahead. The first CP on the section (CP22) was in the
woods and we both used an obvious road intersection to dive in. We got to CP22 pretty much together, and then we decided to book straight north through the
woods instead of heading back out to the road. Alpine Shop took a different route, to
our relief as we didn't want to be navving next to them for the whole trek.
When we hit the next road, we had a couple of route options to the next CP (CP21). We
decided to run the road east then north until we hit a trailhead that would
take us to a distinct trail bend that we could use to hit CP21. The CP was in
the middle of a very flat section and had no distinct feature (and the clue was
"change in forest maturity" - what??), so we wanted to be careful. Alpine Shop chose a different route, taking the west trail instead of the east one that we
used. The trail map we were given didn't match reality exactly, but the
distinct trail bend we were looking for was at least there, along with a nice
old horse trail that led us directly to the control. We then tried to take
another trail but ended up back in the woods when that didn't match up with
where we wanted it to go. We thought we saw Alpine Shop running close by and assumed
they were now ahead of us. We hit the next two CP's without issue and then
headed into town for the rappel. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--JURIQA5s3Q/U3p56xJsiQI/AAAAAAAANJ0/jgqVlp-F838/s1600/3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--JURIQA5s3Q/U3p56xJsiQI/AAAAAAAANJ0/jgqVlp-F838/s1600/3.JPG" height="400" width="328" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Coordinates and supplemental trail map. We plotted all of these on our USGS map as well.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">EMILY: After seeing Bushwhacker leave TA in a hurry, we turned our attention to our sopping wet map. MISSION is one of the only races I've seen to have "extra socks" on the mandatory gear list, and normally we would never consider carrying them for an 18hr race. But here, they turned out to be actually useful as we </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">used David's extra socks to dry off our map and get the CPs plotted. Then we got going on a longish road run after seeing MRA take-out just as we were leaving. Close race! After a few kilometers we saw Bushwhacker relatively stationary on the roadside and were surprised to have caught them - turns out they were plotting. We had some friendly banter with them, and introduced our newest teammate - a collar-less black lab that was happily running beside us. We kept thinking it would turn around but it hadn't yet. We pulled just barely ahead of Bushwhacker on the road, but ended up all attacking CP22 together after Mike executed a freaky-fast bushwhack. We took different exit routes from CP22 which I know we preferred and I think Bushwhacker did too. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">CP21 had a sketchy clue "change in forest maturity" and a sketchy location - hung in a nearly featureless (i.e. flat/no contour lines) location on the USGS map. The supplemental trail map showed a large bend in the trail so we took a super-conservative route to the second western trailhead, then onto the "X" trail looking for the bend. Very little about the western portion of the trail matched the supplemental map and David was going crazy trying to assimilate both maps. We also couldn't picture what a "change in forest maturity" would look like. We ended up attacking off of the property corner boundary but no luck. We canvassed the area, no luck. I tried to ask the black lab for help but he just wagged his tail. We finally popped out onto the eastern portion of the trail and were going to relocate from one of the eastern juctions. But before we got there, we noticed an obvious bend with an unmapped, overground connector trail branching off of it. We took it on a whim and found CP21. We were happy to have got the CP but frustrated at how much time we lost! Time to GET OUT of those woods!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">With the dog still with us, we ran north to CPs 20 and 19. We tried to shoo it away before Hwy 50, but it crossed with us and was almost hit twice. I screamed. The dog made it to the other side alive, and we caught up with MRA at CP20. We each took different routes to the waterfall at CP19 but they were about equal after we both had trouble finding the physical punch, hung several meters above and to the side of the waterfall itself. We knew the next CPs were in town so yelled at the dog and tried hitting it with a stick. It wasn't fun but finally stopped following us. We ran as much as we could on paved Hwy 50 climb into Versailles.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">HILARY: </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">We
finally got out of the water a bit before 4:00pm. Alpine Shop was in TA finishing
plotting the next section - a foot trek back to Race HQ. With our
soaking wet map, the plotting was challenging - even with a sharpie. We got our
points and started moving, but we were tired and stiff, so not as much running
as we would normally do. We weren't feeling a lot of hope for catching the two
speedy teams in front of us. We picked up the few points that brought us up to
the North, including a "vegetation boundary" that wasn't (CP21), a weird
building foundation on a hill, and a waterfall. At the foundation CP, we were
surprised to run into Alpine Shop, who had picked up a buddy along the way - a
friendly black lab, who befriended us as well. As we all headed out toward
Versailles they yelled at the dog to make it
run away, effectively pawning him off on us. We tried doing this as well, but eventually,
the dog joined back up with us. Highway 50 was "legal but discouraged" by the race director, but it was
the shortest way into town so we took it anyway. Unfortunately, this dog kept finding us
and then randomly running out on the highway. Cars were giving us evil looks like
we were the worst people ever running down the road with our backpacks and
unleashed dog. I was mouthing "not ours" at them. I doubt that
helped.</span></span><br />
<b style="background-color: white; font-size: x-large;"><br /></b>
<b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;">TREK 1B (CPs 16-18)</span></b><br />
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<tr><td><img src="http://www.dinoseries.com/storage/DSC_0426.JPG?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1390515149273" height="267" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The water tower!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">RACHEL: </span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">I am not exactly a heights person, so climbing straight up a water tower on a rung ladder 120 feet, then rappelling back down didn't look like a ton of fun to me. Somehow I made it through getting up there without freaking out (using a song to keep my rhythm of climbing and mind off the height helped!), but once ready for the rappel, it took an extra 5 minutes for me to figure out exactly how to get over the railing. If I were taller it would be no problem, but it was awkward for me. I closed my eyes for most of the way down too!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">On our way out from the tower we saw Alpine Shop running towards us, to our surprise. David said something about CP21 (the forest maturity one), and we realized they had had trouble and we now had a good 20 minutes on them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Somewhere on that trek section we all ran out of food, too. I had packed all of my food for the whole race, but knew I was short and was planning to bum off Mike and Greg towards the end of the race. However, when we transitioned to the paddle, we didn't restock their food as much as we needed to, so neither of them had more than just a few hours of food with them. I shared mine and ran out myself as well, so we were all in a definite hole calorie-wise by this time. We somehow managed to run the rest of the trek through town and back up to the HQ (okay we walked the last hill...more like plodded). I think Mike's comment was that he felt "hollow," so we knew we needed to eat, quickly!</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">EMILY: Finally dog-free, </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">w</span>e ran straight into town and got a split on Bushwhacker as they were leaving the rappel - I think we were about 20-30 minutes down at that point. We got to the water tower, climbed up the 120' ladder, and rappelled off. I went first and took my time getting over the railing, then everything else was fine. Except, the dog was at the bottom!! It had followed MRA instead, and I felt really bad that they had to deal with that not-smart animal on the busy road. Once the boys were done with the rappel, we got the other CP in town, and the covered bridge CP18 on the way back to Race HQ. The dog was still with us entering the park. Once back at HQ, we learned that Bushwhacker had left about 5 minutes ago but we still needed to plot the next section. </span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">HILARY: We made it to the water tower for the rappel with the dog still alive. We had to climb up the ladder to the rail on the water tower and then rappel down. The safety on the climb was a prussic, but I would have much preferred an ascender. I would have felt safer and it would have been easier than manually pulling this prussic up the rope. The climb was the hardest part. The rappel was a rappel. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">After picking up 2 points on the way back to the TA, we moved on to the bike section, which they said wasn't the last leg.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 16.866666793823242px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>BIKE 2A (CP 26)</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">RACHEL: </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Once
back at Race HQ we gorged ourselves. I even ate some protein frog gel thing Mike had
that was absolutely disgusting. We had a big biking section ahead of us, and
knew there were even more CP's once we got done with that. This transition took
a little longer because of that, but it was much needed. Finally we were on our
bikes and ready to hit it.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">
<br />
We could do the bike loop clockwise or counterclockwise, and Mike chose
clockwise, which worked out really well. The first CP (CP26) actually had an extra
challenge at it - we had to paddle a raft across the river and get the punch on a
hilltop. The hill was insult to injury for us since we were still waiting for
our food to hit our legs, but we made it back across and were happy to do that
in the daylight instead of later at night. As soon as we got back to our bikes,
Alpine Shop rolled in, looking strong. So we knew they chose the same route, and had
made up some time on us to boot.</span><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">EMILY: We plotted and zoomed out after Bushwhacker. The bike section was a big road loop that we chose to go clockwise on. It should be noted that Jeff decided to put on dry socks and his "good" mountain bike shoes for this. At the first CP, we saw Bushwhacker and initially </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">were surprised to have made up that much time. But it turns out CP26 was a surprise paddle event and they were just leaving. We took an inflatable raft and toy paddles down to the lake, hiked it across a mud flat and then paddled to the opposite shore, hiked up a pretty steep hill for the punch, then paddled and mud-slogged back. Jeff's shoes were not dry after this fun little event and we were sure to remind him of that for the rest of the bike. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">HILARY:</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> We took off on what looked to be a clean
road ride so everyone put on dry stuff except me (I hadn't brought it). Our
first planned point changed things. When we arrived, they told us we had to
paddle a raft with mini paddles across the lake and get the point up on the
hill. I hate surprises and "special challenges" like this. The water
was too shallow, so we were mid-calf in muck. It was really just a gratuitous
out and back in the mud to get us dirtier. Annoying and time wasting.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">BIKE 2B (CPs 24-31)</b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 16.866666793823242px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">RACHEL: </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">After
CP26 it was just digging deep to keep a fast pace on the bike. Greg and I took
turns pulling while Mike waited for his calories to kick in. Mike's
calories kicked in right about the time Greg started to really feel the fact
that his rear brake had been rubbing the whole time, probably taking an extra
10% effort level out of him. We made it through a couple of out and backs
without seeing Alpine Shop, so we were holding on to hope that we could see it through.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">EMILY: </span>Once back on our bikes, we chased HARD. Jeff and David alternated the biggest pulls and I put in a couple shorties. We kept hoping to see Bushwhacker's blinkie lights appear ahead of us and it just didn't happen. Even after the sun went down, we all still felt good and I was starting to lose hope that we would catch them. The nav was simple enough on roads, and all of the drivers we encountered were very polite. On the last out-n-back, we finally saw Bushwhacker's lights, cheered for them, and guessed that they had about a 10 minute lead still. We knew the race would come down to the final trek so we rode back into Race HQ pumped up.<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">HILARY: </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">We
got back on the bikes and hammered as much as we could. At least I felt like we
were pushing the pace. About a third of the way through, my rear derailleur
started acting up when I was in middle ring, so I was only able to use my big
and small rings. I eventually settled on using mostly big and standing on the
hills. Cross-chaining! At CP28, we had to make a choice - go down and get CP30 to
try to clear the course or skip it and be sure to get back before the cut off.
I was thinking we would probably make it, but the guys thought definitely not,
so we skipped it. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>TREK 2 (CPs 32-35)</b></span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pOoUHgg95QM/U3qKvqYX2_I/AAAAAAAANKE/5HRg0OTNeU0/s1600/5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pOoUHgg95QM/U3qKvqYX2_I/AAAAAAAANKE/5HRg0OTNeU0/s1600/5.JPG" height="355" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Supplemental map for final trek.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">RACHEL: </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Once
we made it back to the Race HQ, we quickly plotted the last trek. We were down to a
little more than an hour of racing before the cut-off, so we knew immediately
we weren't going to clear the course. Mike made the decision to just go for the
two closest and easiest points, and maybe a third if there was time when we got
the second. We ran down to the first one, another mile or two of road running
since we hadn't had enough earlier. On our way back up we saw Alpine Shop running down
to it as well, and estimated that we still had about 10 minutes on them. The
clock was ticking, and at this point we knew it was impossible for us to get
the third. We were just going to get the second one and then wait and see if Alpine Shop was moving quickly enough to get the third CP themselves. We soldiered through
the last two climbs, up to the CP and then up to Race HQ, finishing with 34/36 CP's
in 17 hours and 37 minutes. After a mere 11 minutes, Alpine Shop finished, having only
punched the same two CP's we got. The third place team was our friends Silent
Chasers, who managed to finish the full bike loop with less than one minute to
go to the cutoff!! </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">EMILY: We got back to Race HQ with about 55min remaining and 4 points left. Bushwhacker was gone but we TAd quickly and got out as well. We thought we had time for 2, mayyyybe 3, of the remaining CPs. We saw Bushwhacker on our first out-n-back for closest CP so we knew they had same route choice. As we were running to our second CP, we had a big strategy conversation and decided that we would not have enough time for a third, so our only chance for the win was to hope that Bushwhacker got greedy with 3 CPs/overtime. We ran back to Race HQ and saw Bushwhacker waiting for us at the finish line, having made the smart choice of getting only 2 CPs and therefore the win!</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">HILARY: </span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">We arrived at the finish missing 1 CP at 11:22pm. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">We
still had almost 40 minutes , but DINO said we had to get 2 CPs to make continuing on the final trekking loop worth it
and it didn't look doable in the time we had, so we called it a day.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>POST-RACE</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">RACHEL: </span>The race was tough in the regard that there was a lot of
road running, which seems to be common for DINO races, and the paddle was
probably one of my more memorable ones as well. I actually felt pretty good the
whole race, though, so that was nice. Exciting and close race, awesome job to Alpine Shop, Silent Chasers, and
Michigan Racing Addicts for pushing hard and getting it done!</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">EMILY: Obviously we were bummed about the prologue and CP21 but what can you do. Bushwhacker ran a great race and I was stoked to see my 2 Cowboy Tough teammates crush it. As always, it was really fun to hear everyone's race stories as we all hung out eating meatball sandwiches and SALAD!!! </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">HILARY: </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">A 2
Male team, Silent Chasers, came in 10 seconds before the cut off with all the
bike points, and edged us out for 3rd overall. We ended up with 3rd in the
3-coed, though. Overall, it was a solid race and we were happy with how we did.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 16.866666793823242px;"><b>WANT MORE?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 16.866666793823242px;">Final results: <a href="http://www.dinoseries.com/storage/results/2014/mission/MissionResults2014.html">http://www.dinoseries.com/storage/results/2014/mission/MissionResults2014.html</a></span><br />
Adventure Capitalists/BDAR: <a href="http://heathersyapcrap.blogspot.com/2014/05/2014-mission-18-hour-adventure-race.html">http://heathersyapcrap.blogspot.com/2014/05/2014-mission-18-hour-adventure-race.html</a></div>
Emily Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05779257432662159712noreply@blogger.com6