Training Log Archive: syd

Trek 2 (o-map)

We had the option to start with a foot section on an orienteering map or one on a USGS map. The o-map clearly had more points in a shorter distance, so we opted for that first. Kevin was feeling good and willing to navigate a few points while I ate. I was feeling sleepy so had some caffeine. It tasted awful, but I perked right up. I took back over the navigation and then made an error on CP4. There wasn't really any good attackpoint, so we cut in from the trail a little too late. It was so thick. We finally hit an area of rocky ground that I was able to use to relocate and after bashing through more bushes hit the CP. Whew. That gave us a healthy respect for the green on the map, so from then on my plan was to stick to white woods as much as possible. It started to get light around CP6 and the navigation went smoothly for the rest of the points.

Trek 3 (USGS)

Made it back to the TA with some time to spare, so we decided to head out for a few points on the USGS map. Hit CP30 and CP31, but were worried about leaving enough time for the bike to the finish so didn't end up getting CP32. We should've gone for it.

Bike 2

To the finish! These were some of the nicest trails of the whole race. Kevin was feeling great, so he towed me up the hills on the road. Grabbed the last few CPs and zoomed down the last hill to the finish line.


Our longest race to date! A challenging bike section, especially that bike whack, but overall I really enjoyed the whole race. And Kevin felt great the entire time, which was awesome!! I never felt bad, but there were a couple times where I didn't have a lot of energy. After eating I was able to recover. We weren't official finishers, but I was pretty happy with how we stacked up against the other teams.

Event: USARA Nationals
 

USARA Nationals - Topo the Mountain with Kevin and Andy Brown

Maps were handed out at 5 a.m. and we had a few hours to plot points and figure out a plan. I thought it would feel rushed, but we had plenty of time. We boarded the bus at 7:30 and once we arrived at the start we got our boat configuration figured out. They couldn't get the speaker working, so we sang the national anthem, which sounded pretty bad but was neat. And then we were off! We had a 100 m dash to our boat and then another 100 m with the boat to the water.

Paddle 1

There was one obvious CP to hit first and we headed that way with almost all of the other teams. It was neat being on the water with that many other boats. We are terrible at paddling and/or had a slow boat because we were at the back of the pack getting to the first CP. Oh well, some day we'll own a canoe and improve our paddling. We were next to a team for a bit that was lamenting their decision to try using a beach ball as the middle seat. I found that pretty comical. The navigation was pretty straightforward for this section and with the mass start we were basically following the line of boats to each CP.

Trek 1

About halfway through the paddle there was a foot section where each team received 2 maps and 2 passports and could split up to get the CPs. Cool idea. Andy and I took half the points and Kevin the other half. We zoomed through the course with no issues and got back to the canoe only a few minutes after Kevin. Good timing!

Paddle 2

Finished up with a few more paddle points and then a hike up to the TA.

Bike 1 (KOM)

Started off with a ride along the river over to a rail trail. We were zooming along the rail trail when Kevin announced he had a flat. Oh man. Couldn't find anything in the tire, so we replaced the tube...and that one also had a hole. Why does this always seem to happen? Second time was the charm and off we went. After CP10 there was a manned river crossing. With our bikes. Awesome! Whoever they used to measure 'chest height' was clearly taller than me. It was over my shoulders in the middle, but my bike floated so it was actually pretty easy to cross. After the crossing was the first big climb. It was all on paved/dirt roads so really wasn't bad. Pretty nice view from the top, it would be awesome in a couple weeks once the leaves start turning. After descending we decided to take the road over to the next mountain, instead of the trail, and just do the quick out and back for the CP. Dropped our bikes at the bottom and trekked up to the top for another nice view. Back to our bikes and then we then had to contour along the hill for quite a ways on a rocky trail. This was my least favorite part of the bike. We were on and off our bikes quite a bit. After hitting CP19 we stopped at a gas station with a bunch of other teams to refill on water. Andy said he wasn't feeling great, so we got him to eat a bit and hoped it would pass. We then had one last climb on the KOM section. Ended up dropping our bikes again and hiking up to CP20. In hindsight I think we should've taken our bikes up this one. Night fell as we were hiking back down and we then had a final big road climb up to CP29 to finish out the KOM section.

Bike 1 (con't)

Biked along the top of the gorge for a while. It was a nice break from climbing, but the rocky trails bounced me all over! We then descended back down to the rail trail for a short stretch. At CP23 we searched and searched for the flag. After investigating all the nearby ruins for at least 15 min we decided it was missing and just continued on. It wasn't missing.... it was tucked behind a ruin and we never saw it. Bummer. Pushed our bikes up the super steep hill to CP24. Andy found the flag without alerting the 3 other nearby teams and we started the bike whack. It was up a steep hill covered with loose boulders, which then turned into thick bushes. I felt bad for my bike. Can't say I enjoyed this, but I definitely felt adventurous! Once we finally got to the trail it was actually pretty nice to ride. I took us down the wrong two-track briefly on the way out. Stupid mistake, there were so many signs that it was the wrong way. Made it out to CP27 and only had a little ways to go on bike! Andy was feeling terrible by this point and said he was considering dropping. We got him to eat again and hoped that with the worst of the biking behind us he might start to recover. Biked along the rail trail picking up CP28 and CP29. At CP29 there was a second water crossing or the option to take a longer route around. Andy said he was done, so we continued along the rail trail to the road where Kevin called the RD for a pick-up. As we were waiting a second team showed up that said they were all dropping. Once Kevin and I confirmed that there was a ride coming and that we could leave Andy with the other team we headed out on our bikes for the short road ride up to the TA.

Quick spin to test out Kevin's bike.