Superhero Adventure Race

I was a bit worried coming into this race. The week before I had bonked bad about an hour into an orienteering and was not sure how my body would hold up a week later going into a 6 hour adventure race. We knew we would have high temps - so that was one concern. I was pretty sure I was recovered enough to perform well, but you never know. Wanda, Jim, and I met up - I have some video that covers some of the different parts of this adventure race and some parts that are common to all adventure races in the video - I have annotated it, too.

The elite race started with a bike prolog that had 2 checkpoints. My strategy on these is simply to keep the navigation clean and position ourselves well going into the next leg (which would be the boats). Since I navigate I usually call out directions to the rest of the team as we ride so that if they are in front we don't get delayed or have to stop. Our plan was to go left inside the fenceline and hit CP2 first and then CP1. This turned out to be a good strategy as most teams headed to CP1 first - this left us pretty open riding on the trails. We made it back to the TA within a minute of the leaders as planned and made a really fast transition to boats (our entire transition is in the video). This is pretty typical of all our transitions - we like to move in and out of the TA as fast as possible.

Once in the water we had 3 CP's downstream in open water, 1 CP up a clogged narrow, channel, and 3 CP's that were in an open fast flowing channel. We headed upstream on the narrow channel first. We were pretty sure that we would be pushing the boats through this section and we knew that pushing them upstream or downstream would be pretty close in speed. Only a few teams chose this route so we had the river almost to ourselves. There is some fun footage of this section in the video. Once we hit the main channel again we had some tough upstream paddling, but after the most upstream CP it was high current paddling downstream. Since we were paddling fast I jumped out of the boat (literally) as we got to CP4 and my team leaned with me, swamping the boat. CP4 was in very shallow water so we dumped the boat and cruised downstream flying over shallow logs. Unfortunately CP3 was just behind a log across the river and while we ducked under it we totally missed the control and flew past it. We realized this when we got to the river split and the main channel - but I decided we would return for CP3 after got the downstream CP's. These were easy and when we got back it took us 7 minutes to get to CP3 and back, we also passed Florida Xtreme I just before CP3 so we knew we were about 2 minutes behind them. Of course had we not missed CP3 we would have been a few minutes in front of them.

After hitting the main TA we hopped on the bikes. We had trekking shoes on for the paddle and kept these on for the short bike to the bike drop. We would start the trek there. I had previously decided to do this counterclockwise (CP19 first) which turned out to be a good strategy. None of the CP's gave us any trouble until CP28. Because there were not many features and the 2 controls were only about 500-600 meters apart we took a direct bearing from CP27 to CP28. At the distance we did not see the control, so we bailed north to the trail and then west to the trail intersection. I got a little confused here and took us a bit too far, but realized my mistake. We attacked CP28 the second time from the trail intersection NW of the control - again we were not having much success and were joined by Nature Calls as we were searching. Their was a mapped depression North northeast of the CP and we were using that to keep us on the attack. I finally decided to simply follow the subtle ridgeline that was east of the mapped location. This worked and even though I was not positive I think the mapped location of the shallow depression was too far west, but I'll bring that up with the mappers. The extra time at the control was pretty much a moot point because we were about to have bigger problems.

Two controls back Jim had handed the passport to Wanda. He will sometimes take a little break from being the passport mule, but I noticed he was moving a bit slower and was hunched as we were moving. Shortly after CP28 he was totally hunched over and we were stopped. Most experienced elite AR teams have had plenty of experience with heat issues in summer races. Wanda and I had both slowed our team in many races due to heat related problems, but this was the first time Jim had been hurting. It soon became obvious he was really hurting, but after about 15 minutes of dry heaving and emptying the contents of his stomach - we were moving again. At this point sometimes there is partial recovery, sometimes full recovery, and sometimes no recovery. We were in partial recovery - Jim could move, but not fast and we were at the furthest point in the trek. I eventually put Jim on a tow - and I knew he was hurting as I was putting on a solid pull (which Jim would never let me do unless he was in bad shape). We made it to the bikes, and I wondered if we would be able to move faster on bikes (Jim is an extremely strong biker and the strongest on the team). He was having a hard time keeping even a mild pace and at this point I was really worried. Once we got back to the TA - which even for the short bike was pretty arduous (you do feel the pain of your team-mates when they hurt) Jim was pale and not sweating. This is really not a good sign.

We decided that we would check-in as finished at this point. That would at least give us an official finish, and then Wanda and I would head out and do the bike leg. I gave Jim some ice rags and Wanda, we got the bike passport - I threw on my faithful Cannondale bike shoes and we were off. I'm not sure if we caught up with them or vice versa - but at the first bike CP we were biking along with Nature Calls. Oddly - they chose entirely different routes to nearly every CP, but we usually arrived within minutes of each other at each CP. We did this leg counter clockwise too. I had chosen to bike second for 3 reasons (1) to avoid switching shoes twice, (2) avoid running when it got hotter, and (3) be able to see how ride-able the trails were while running to help optimze the bike route.  Wanda was awesome on the bike on this leg - I pushed the pace hard (looking to break 1 hour on this leg) and she never fell back. I was feeling pretty good, I've been trying to be better hydrated at the start and it seemed to be paying off (though I did have to pee twice on the course).

Nature Calls dropped back at CP16 (2 CP's to go) and Wanda and I finished at 2:24 (5 hrs 24 minutes). Nature Calls was very close behind us, I did not stay at the start after that - I headed to the water to cool off and wash off chiggers and ticks. Jim was feeling a lot better having cooled off too.

The race was great- I'll post the video as a link here once it gets done uploading. I am now using a GoPro HD t ofilm races. It is a great camera, but HD video takes a while to upload to Youtube (10 hours)


By request here are the maps from the race

Rock Springs Run Orienteering

Well - if there was question of whether I was recovered from Idaho, I answered that today. I met Johan Mukhalis to do the blue course orienteering at Rock Springs. I'm doing training runs at most orienteering events (except for State Championships) - and Johan came out to take me up on the offer. The plan is simple - I coach the other runners through the first parts of the course and then let them navigate the final controls.

It was actually pretty pleasant temperatures for the start of this course which was good - since we were in the open fields for the first few miles (which can be brutallly hot). Of course the fields were very overgrown - so the travel was pretty rough. Johan is a good runner and we kept a solid pace through controls 1-4, and then the truck hit me (as we headed for CP5). Ironically the only thing that did not hurt in my body were my legs. As we moved through the next few controls I let Johan do more of the navigation (which was a nice break as I was combating heat, nausea, and fatigue. We slowed a bit and I starting feeling batter. After we cleared the thick Palmetto bushes north of CP9 I let Johan navigate. He brought us nicely into CP10. I told him to try and rely on features and less on the compass (exact words - "Try not to use your compass" ) heading to CP11. This was key to the lesson as it is a demonstration of how much you can lose a bearing. Even though the control was north of our location we ended up heading for a pond that was south of us.

Here is where some of the most important techniques of adventure racing (and orienteering) come into play. When you are not in the correct location you need to figure it out quickly and correct. This is extremely important because even the best navigators are going to make mistakes.  So, after looking for the control for a few minutes I pointed out that there was a visible pond north of the pond we were searching. Johan took the clue and realized that there were no ponds on the map north of the correct pond and we ran to the next pond. Of course this still does not mean we were in the correct location (this was still the wrong pond). Hoever, from this pond you could see the bathrooms (and the finish) to the northeast of our location. Since CP11 was pretty much due west of the finish we knew we needed to head further north to yet another pond. From this point Johan read the features and brought us right into the control. This also provided me a little opportunity to rest a little bit (I was really hurting). From there we headed towards CP12 and the finish.

I am going to try and do training runs for any adventure racers that want to do this at the orienteering events - I'll post to Facebook on the Pangea site when I plan to do these runs. A lot of thanks to Johan - I really enjoyed the run and after heading home and getting a nice nap I feel much better. Now here's hoping I recover a bit more before next week and the Superhero Adventure Race.

Start - CP1 - Flag visible from start was not correct CP, used as an example of the more subtle points of reading the map and also using the bearing.
CP1 - CP2 - Easy road run, then moving to the mapped opening in the trees leading to CP2
CP2 - CP3 - Used the trail along the fenceline and then headed into the high grass. Bearing was easy to keep as the mounds south of the control were visible. Alternate route would have been to punch due east to trail and use trail to attack the control

CP3 - CP4 - This was a long slog through tall grass. We used the tip of the vegetation boundary to keep our bearing. Towards the end as we approached the CP - it was easier to go into the trees which were very open.
CP4-CP5 - Route choice was really to either take the sandy trail south or follow longer road route. I was interested in finding a shortcut through woods southwest, but never saw a good cut.

CP5 - CP6 - Trail run except for last 100 meters. We waled right past control in the stream bed even though location was obvious - turned around and there it was.
CP6- CP7 - Only trick here is making sure you don't overshoot the attack point off the trail - location was easy once you found the wetland near the trail.

CP7 - CP8 - We overshot the control as we were chatting. Johan asked me if we were close and I said we had passed it. We doubled back and found it quickly. I was skeptical about the placement on this one.
CP8 - CP9 - Trail run to attack point. Once we hit the pond going was easy, though the control was in a thicket between the 2 ponds. (GPS did not pick this up).
CP9 - CP10 - Even though backing out to trail would have been easier I led us through thick palmettos north to large wetland. This was partly to get Johan used to thick bushwacks - he did great (I suffered, but did not let on). After emerging into wetland I let Johan take over and he led us straight to the control.

CP10 - CP11 - This was a great example of how easy it is to get disoriented. This was all Johan navigating, after taking the bearing north, I told him no more compass and we quickly veered east and then south. When we came out on the large field to the east I took a look at my compass to see what we had done - without the compass the entrance into the big field to the east looked a lot like the one to the north. Knowing we were looking for a shallow pond - we headed straight for the first one we saw. Here is the technique that helped the most - relocating, Johan did great at it and we headed correctly for the correct control. (Warning - anyone who comes out on a training run with me, I am going to make sure we need to do a relocate for practice).

Final Notes from Idaho

Here are some final notes from Idaho (useful notes for racers);

1. Because you (supposedly) cannot ship Lithium Ion batteries by air I had the company I buy them from (http://www.cr123batteries.com/) ship directly to Idaho. Unfortunately the hotel misplaced them and did not find them until after the race. The other team-mates had no trouble shipping their batteries by air. I did buy batteries and an extra light at Walmart and mark had enough extra CR123 batteries that I was covered. ( http://www.cr123batteries.com/ )


2. On the shipping gear to Idaho I made the mistake of trying to fly my gear bin on Delta - was charged both oversize and overweight ($440!!). In the future I will ship in multiple suitcases ($25 first and $50 for second) and buy a bin on location (a lot cheaper - Mark did this). On the return I simply shipped UPS (which was also a hassle, but a lot less). Anyone who finds ways of decreasing shipping costs - let me know!

3. I had a flat tire on day 1 of the race. On the steep downhills I had my brakes clamped pretty hard - this caused the tire to rotate on the wheel frame and shear off the nipple of the tube (really!). I'm not sure how to prevent this, but I did see how it happened. Luckily it was no big deal to change tubes even though you would have thought the 15 minutes to change the tire was forever! (note: I was riding a 26" hard tail)

4. As mentioned in the blog I changed from solid foods to Perpetuum after the first day. This worked amazingly well, and I still ate solid foods in the transitions (about 24 hours between though). I filled a water bottle with dry Perpetuum powder and poured the entire bottle into my 100 oz bladder and filled the bladder with water. It turned out to be about the perfect strength. I used Strawberry-Vanilla flavor. ( http://www.hammernutrition.com/products/perpetuem.pp.html?utm_source=lgsiteads-perpstraw&utm_medium=ad&utm_campaign=lgsiteads-perpstraw  )

5. Sleep - I always get asked now much sleep. I ended getting a bit less than the rest of the team (hazard of being a navigator) but was very well rested the entire race. Night 1 - 0 hrs, Night 2 - 40 minutes (not quality near CP 16 on ground), Night 3 - 4 hours (decent sleep in truck at TA 1/2), Night 4 - 4 hours (decent sleep under stars at TA4), Night 5 - 3 hours (3 hours decent sleep at TA5, up early to prepare maps for next leg), Night 6 - (5 hours, first one up in camp morning of restart - great nights sleep under stars).

6. Injuries and Pain management - In day 1 I hurt my knee in an endo on the bike. It did not bother me much during race, but it is still hurting 3 weeks later (especially on stairs). Loss of toenail (both big toes) made for some real pain, but only trekking and only downhill. After I lost the toenail completely swimming during Survival Quest there was no more pain. I took a total of 4 Tylenol the entire race for pain management the entire race.

7. Cold - I don't get cold easily so am not one to ask about cold gear. I wore a tight base layer with a fleece on top when it was cold and was fine. I was only cold when not active, but was easily warmed. The other team members did suffer some from cold.

Feel free to ask me about any Gear. The best Gear was the Out There Pack I bought from Mike Kloser - it was awesome http://besthike.wordpress.com/2011/01/26/out-there-as-1-backpack/ 

Gear Junkies have some great gear recommendations at http://gearjunkie.com/gear-test-expedition-idaho - I know how AR folks LOVE GEAR, and they have some great gear recommendations.