So my brother-in-law, Alex, sent out a shotgun invitation to compete in an adventure race May 22. "Wow," I thought, "I'm in!"
I had always wanted to compete in an adventure race, having watched Mark Burnett's epic Eco-Challenges 10 years ago. But then we started a family and ran a farm, and those thoughts drifted from my List of Things To Do.
When we sold the farm and built a house near the Lake of Two Mountains, it became clear that my long-standing dream of owning a sea kayak could become reality, and in August of 2009, it did. I already had a good mountain bike, having attempted racing in 1998.
Alex and I had lunch to discuss the race, and he decided that he wouldn't be able to pursue it. But my wife said "Do it solo!".
That was all I needed, so March 10 I began training. I had been trying to Cross Country ski, but our winter had been poor. Bikram Yoga was about the only regular exercise I had been doing. But Bikram Yoga develops a supple body and a tough mind. I knew that if I could make it through 90 minutes and 26 poses at 111 degrees Fahrenheit, I could accomplish anything!
So I signed up and started jogging. As it happened, the snow melted early, so I was able to start paddling early too. In addition to road rides to season my legs, I managed to do some punishing mountain bike days, with lots of hills, to remind me how much suffering can go along with a 35km trail ride!
The race I prepared for was to be 35kms mountain biking, 7kms orienteering, and 8kms paddling. I knew I'd be okay for the biking and the paddling, but I hadn't a clue about orienteering. Fortunately, the race director pointed me to an Adventure Racing Seminar held in Ottawa by some top level Canadian athletes, who were regulars on the podium.
Of course, there was some gear that needed to be upgraded or purchased, like a compass, a new hydration pack, a bike board (a little table for your maps that clamps to your handlebars) and orienteering pants (crucial when bushwhacking!).
With this base of training, I approached the race. My kids stayed with various grandparents for two nights, and my wife came with me.
The race staff were super friendly at the check-in, and I even got a cool "technical t-shirt" that I ended up wearing for the entire race!
One of the aspects of Adventure Racing is the planning and details, I think you have to love that, or not even try...there are two transitions in this race, so I had to pack two bags. One with all my gear and water and food for trekking, and one for paddling, including replacement water and food. I had chosen to go liquid the whole way, using Hammer Nutrition products for endurance racing. This ended up working pretty well, because I was too nervous to eat Saturday morning anyway, and if I eat before exertion, even several hours, I'll have the desire to hurl about twenty minutes after I begin!
The packing details were a blast, I had gear strewn all over the driveway the Friday before we left. Bit by bit, the gear was placed in either my backpack, a transition bag, or a plastic bin in the car (backup stuff).
So race morning, we all met at 8:30am while race director Thierry walked us through the various checkpoints and answered questions. This race had pre-marked checkpoints on the maps, a feature that isn't always included at races. The downside is that the maps are photocopies, and finer contour lines are very hard to see.
It is at this point that my planning failed. I should have had my reading glasses and a flashlight. The light in the meeting room was poor, and I couldn't see the fine details on the map that well, so I decided that my trekking planning would happen at that first trekking Transition.
After a few more kisses goodbye, I hopped on my bike and rode off to the start line. There were a few racers that I chatted with that had hosted the seminar in Ottawa. It was fun and kind of relaxing to chat with them in the start pack. I wasn't nervous,
because I was prepared, fit, rested, and ready to go.
The start was the usual thing, the best racers go crazy, and the rest of us just pedal. Thierry had warned us that the first hill was not rideable...he was right. We were all pushing or carrying our bikes for the first 15 minutes. Which was fine, it separated the pack nicely.
When I got to the top of the hill, a bunch of racers had taken a wrong turn (check your maps, guys!) and were bombing back on the trail heading the right way. That was fun for me, because I realized that anything can happen in a long race, and that steady was the right pace to go! But accurate is possibly even more important!
Once we hit the ATV trails, the pedalling got better. I walked a few hills, but mostly I was able to keep my butt low and my heels down, and I stayed on the bike, even on the sandier hills. The downhills were great, my Dual Suspension Specialized X-Country may have been ten years old, but it still knew what to do! I started hitting checkpoints, and that was very satisfying. My combination of water/sports drink and Perpetuem (Hammer Nutrition powder) was keeping me going, as I had planned/predicted.
Racing solo is cool because you can only have your own problems. I kept passing teams who were strong riders, but were flatting/bonking/having a bad day. So while one team member was strong the other was weak. I guess that is a dynamic of Adventure Racing that I have yet to learn about, but I was happy to run this first race on my own.
I ran out of my two litres of water after about 25 kms, but the last 10kms melted away, and I found myself pedaling hard up to Transition 1, where I drank greedily and changed for the trek. My wife was there, pointing things out to me, I was actually a bit spacey!
At that point there were 5 of us solo racers at the Transition together! Wow, my 35kms went well, about three hours. So off I went on my trek, confident that I would find the next checkpoint by a lake. As I tramped up a hill, I heard two women following me.
I followed my compass, and despite the many ups and downs of the topography held my course. The women and I eventually started to chat, after all, the time was passing...an hour.........finally we came upon a lake.
After twenty minutes of searching for a checkpoint we realized there were no islands in the lake, and the map clearly defined an island.
So we set a course to the proper lake which we attained in another 30 minutes or so. Wow, big time loss. All the while I'm thinking that my paddle will take at least 1 hour 20 minutes, and feeling pretty bad...after all if I'm not back at the beach by 4:30 I won't finish! And then there was the leg cramps. Several times my thighs or hamstrings contracted suddenly, usually when climbing or descending....gosh, what pain and distraction! Fortunately I applied some great stretches and they went away every time.
My feet were packed nicely into Gore-Tex Salomon shoes that were bomb-proof on this section. I had lubed my toes with Bag Balm and never felt discomfort despite wading through lakes, stomping through bogs and jumping through muddy ditches. That was great to know that my feet were well protected!
While we were finding our way back we came upon a bear skull....cool! One of the girls pulled its tooth out for a souvenir for her kids....how about that?
Well, we finally attained the second checkpoint by another lake, and made our way down to the beach. As I came off the ATV trail a race official checked my number and said "Your wife is worried about you,"! That put an extra spring in my step, I can't be worrying my crew worrying about me!
Once down by the water, I was informed that I would only have to paddle to CPA-1, not CP-7 and 8, thus abridging my race, but at least letting me finish with some pride!
The kayaking was easy, as my shoulders were still fresh, and my anger at having gotten so lost powered me to the checkpoint and back rather quickly. From there it was a 1.2km jog to the finish line, 7 hours, 57 minutes! I moved for that long???? Wow.
At first I just wanted to leave, but my crew hadn't eaten all day, and the dinner was paid for. So while I showered (only cold water left, grrr) she got her dinner. I had mellowed, so I got my dinner too, and we sat with a few other people who made us laugh. That fixes a lot!
It seems that there were quite a few more people who were even lost than me and my friends, although all were found. The experienced racers I spoke to agreed that the orienteering was quite tough this time around. There were bogs, tight brush and lots of weird hills that I couldn't see on the map.
So when we pulled out of the parking for the 2 1/2 hour drive home I decided that I would indeed race again, and next time I would get it right-ER!! I'm hooked!
So thank you to Alex for the suggestion. Thank you to my amazing wife for her support while I trained and prepared, and especially the weekend of the race. Thank you to my wonderful daughters who encouraged and cheered me on. Thank you to my in-laws for their support and babysitting, and thank you to my friends and co-workers for their support and interest!
