Training Log Archive: abiperk

USARA nationals with Jim and Karyn. We raced as Rootstock-B, but decided that going forward we'll designate teams Rootstock-Black and Rootstock-Red.

Between Jim dealing with lyme for the last several months and me coming off a year away, we had no idea how this would go. When we saw the course, we were even less confident. Big and physical, with very little in the way of nav, strategy, route choice - a different philosophy of course design than I generally prefer or seek out.

The race began with a few hundred meter ascent up a ski mountain to our bikes, and then 6-7km of riding to Trout Lake and the prologue. There, teams received three CPs and were allowed to split up and retrieve them however they chose. We ended up pairing up with NYARA for a little bit of company. Jim and Bruce ran for C; Karyn and Rodney for B; and Amy and I for A. Just a series of out-and-backs on road/trail. T

The next leg was a big road ride out to the furthest part of the course, starting with a four-mile washboardy descent and then largely flat. It turned out that RD had marked each turn with a Race in Progress sign, so that it was virtually impossible to get yourself turned around. I wondered whether that might have been a requirement of the permit - still not sure on that. We got increasingly frustrated by the signs as the section wore on, but I'll admit that we also benefitted from the one at CP3. Somehow in our morning UTM plotting, I forgot to read Jim the coordinates for that one and so it wasn't marked on our map. But for the sign, we never would have seen it.

We made it to the paddle before noon, having ridden 70+km and trekked a few more in under 4 hours. The paddle was on what I assume was a dammed off river/reservoir and, as Jim described it, was shaped like a squished flux capacitor. Jim took the stern and Karyn sat in the middle, leaving me in front with a too-tight seat with straps that I couldn't adjust. The whole section was a series of out-and-backs, so we got a good sense of the teams around us and enjoyed saying hello to everyone, at least the first couple times. I felt okay for the first 2/3 but wilted a bit on the final stretch - mostly my hands were sore, but I was also just generally feeling low. To that point, we'd been holding steady with Rib, but they blazed by us in the final couple kilometers, as did Brenda Carlson's team (not sure of their name) with canoe paddles. Super impressive! I think we came off the water in 13th?

When we got back into TA, we discovered that both of Jim's tires were totally flat. He was riding tubeless, so our best guess is that the heat had unseated them. We had good luck with CO2 for the front, but the back valve just wouldn't hold air. After 20 minutes of trial-and-error, he finally put a tube in, and we hoped for the best. Luckily, it held for the rest of the race, but the debacle took the wind out of our sails a bit. We headed out for the start of Leg 3 - a 30-ish kilometer ride to the Wilson Creek Visitor Center. It was mostly roads again, with a brief out-and-back on single track for CP8. There, everyone had to paint a fingernail with purple polish to prove that the whole team visited the point.

Jim began to struggle soon after we left TA2 - a combo, I think, of the lyme symptoms themselves and the lack of training because of it. It was a good team effort to manage it, truly a Herculean performance from him to keep going, and it set the tone for the rest of the race: forget about placement, just get everyone across the finish line together. Once we were able to reorient with that goal in mind, we focused on having fun and keeping all of our spirits high.

When we hit the visitor center, we had our pick of two legs - an "orienteering" section and a bike-and-tie. We had no idea how long the trekking leg was but decided to start with that to take advantage of the daylight. It turned out to be quite a bit bigger than we anticipated. We elected to bushwhack from CP9-CP10, our only overland travel of the race, and enjoyed getting to know the two-person Adventure Girls during that stretch. Otherwise we were on trail the whole time. The out-and-back to CP11 gave us a sense of the teams around us - we saw Deviate, Main Nerve, GOALS, Rib, Odyssey, Wilding, basically the rest of the top-ten, save for Quest (who were already done the section) and Rootstock-A (who started on the bike-and-tie).

We came back into TA around midnight and set off on the bike-and-tie. We had been dreading this section, but it ended up being the most fun of the course (less because of the leg itself and more because of our team dynamic). We were told to take two bikes and three helmets, but beyond that we were left to our own devices. Our plan was for Karyn to take my bike and me and Jim to be on his for the flats and descents, and then for Karyn to be on foot for the rest. She is absurdly strong, especially on foot, and ended up running the ascents faster than we could collectively ride them. It definitely made the section easier to manage, having one person flying on foot. I took her helmet when she was on foot and the rest of the team's gear, and she and Jim traded off with a small pack of water so that no one got dehydrated. Karyn and I sang the entire section, and even got Jim to join in on occasion. The route took us on another squished flux capacitor, so we had more opportunities to cross paths with other teams. A few folks told me afterward that when we passed, they asked their teammates why they weren't singing into the night :)

We finished the leg in under 3.5 hours and were all buoyed by the team experience. From there, we had another road ride to the final TA with another short out-and-back along the way. We were still keeping pace with the handful of teams in front of us, but we weren't really jockeying for position with any of them.

The final trek was roughly five miles and had three CPs. The first we attacked - 19, I think? - was partially flagged. From there, more trail out-and-backs. I hear the waterfall was quite pretty during the day - perhaps the prettiest view on the course - but we got it around 5am so didn't see any of it. I hit my witching hour during this section and struggled quite a bit to stay awake. Finally, after sleep-walking through the first couple CPs, I relented and took more caffeine and began to recover on our return to the TA (which coincided with sun-up).

We took our time in transition to make sure that everyone was ready for the final push, and then set off down a steep, technical single track - but not before the TA volunteer made sure we knew exactly which trail to take. Apparently, a few teams had descended down the wrong one, and he wanted to ensure that everyone had the route square.

Having spent roughly 30min on single track in the last year, I wasn't particularly comfortable on the descent. Eventually, we hit gravel and retraced our route from the previous morning to the finish. This included the KOM, a four-mile, 2000-foot gravel climb up to the Trout Lake TA. I much prefer spinning in granny gear to hike-and-biking and was happy just to grind my way up. We paused every kilometer or so to regroup and made our way steadily up, crossing paths with Scrambled Legs, Adventure Enablers, and Fragile Flowers. We hit the CP and then flew down the final several kms, passing AE (who took a different route out of Trout Lake) and Scrambled Legs en route. The finish reminded me of ARWC 2017 in Wyoming as we wound our way through town. We crossed the line at 10:33am, good for 8th coed and 9th overall. Great to have the rest of the Rootstock crew plus S and my sister there to greet us.

None of us did a great job of taking care of ourselves after the race and paid for it at the banquet. Somehow, within the span of three minutes, Karyn almost passed out (a hypoglycemic episode), Jim got woozy, and I ended up puking in the bathroom. Thank goodness for all the nurses sitting around us :) A little bit of food helped quite a bit.

Despite not loving the course, we had a great team experience, and I was really happy with how I did, especially three months post-csection. I felt super strong on the bike and held my own on foot and was really happy to be able to help along the way. I was struck that I felt clumsy on my feet on more technical descents - not sure if it was lack of core strength or just out of practice. Hopefully a short-lived problem.

Looking forward to getting back into the swing of training and racing consistently, and can't wait for 2020 nationals in Wisconsin!

C • thanks for the story 16

10x30sec on/off

H-U-M-I-D

Visit to the chiro - focus on back/SI joint and L glute/upper hamstring.