oh yeah!
TREK 1, 1.2mi prologue run on marked trails, not the most interesting way to split things up but got it done. we did this in bike shoes.
BIKE 1A, CP1, 15?mi mtb on marked trails, really fun singletrack that Brown County State Park is known for. i am glad they structured the race this way, letting us enjoy riding w/o worrying about nav. we got a good spot, top 10ish, in the field and didn't experience any congestion. jeff's fork started losing pressure but he was able to lock it out and ride on. he also got stung by a tracker jacker.
BIKE 1B, CPs 2-6, we went 2-3-5-4-6. saw Tecnu and Dart already with a healthy lead. on the long leg to CP6 we were caught by SOG, Odyssey Masters, and CPT. rode in a pack for a bit but decided to let them go on ahead. into TA1 somewhere in/close to top 10??
PADDLE 1, CPs 7-11 in order. first 5k (CP7) or so was "adventure paddle" which we was so much fun. we were around the same teams as we biked with and we were all sharing techniques - tow straps on the boat handles, "zinging", jumping in and out. hot, and hard work but interesting and unique. then into the waters of Lake Lemon for 2 out-n-back runs (CP8 and 9). saw WEDALI, SOG, and Bushwhacker in the woods at CP9 and then found a present from a mystery team back in our boat...who could it be??? paddled over to CP10 to pick up a raft and noticed outbound teams only had 2 paddlers, what is this? at the CP, race staff greeted us w a surprise mini-trek. we could split it up so David trekked while Jeff and I paddled the canoe/raft to CP11 and then the raft back to 10. on that voyage we passed WEDALI and interrogated them about the present. they acted innocent. hmmmmm (wascally wedalians). back at the take-out, we had time to stock up on water before David returned reporting fairly EZ/clean nav.
TREK 2, CPs 12-16 in order. everyone still feeling good, did a fair bit of road/trail running to 12 and then 13-15. re-upped on water at a camp before 15. sun set somewhere on the way to 15. took the flagged trail re-route between 15 and 16, then dropped almost straight on top of 16, but it wasn't there. hm. searched the creekbed high and low, SOG and Odyssey Masters caught us, finally found the flag near our original entry point in a brushy side channel. a little nerve-wracking but we pressed onward. ran a lot of the road back. we were starting to get hot but looked forward to a cooling bike. saw Carrie in TA, she told us we were top 5 (Tecnu, Dart-nuun, Untamed 1, Untamed 2, ALPINE SHOP!!!) and that was hugely motivating. flew out of TA with high spirits.
BIKE 2, no CPs, road ride. we stopped again for water at a house and were treated to some fine Hoosier Hospitality. my stomach was a little iffy but the breeze helped.
TREK 3, O-map, choose 4 out of 7 pairs. we rolled into TA and what? SOG? Odyssey Masters? we never saw them on the bike but they had beaten us into TA. confused about their route choice but no time to waste. i put on my trekking pants and owwwwww. my legs were tore up and rashy. Jeff offered to switch pants and his were much more comfortable, and stylish. we went north first and got T, U, P, Q (but not sure about order). then on the way south the boys got hit with heat. i still felt fine so did some punching. we had to slow down on the last 2 southern CPs to regroup and cool off. came back into TA having lost time on our little chase pack but really looking forward to the bike.
BIKE 3, CPs 17-20. we started to feel better and made good time on this leg. caught Odyssey Masters at CP20.
TREK 4, 6 CPs. we started this in 7th overall. took a side trip to the cabin to put on dry shoes (Hokas!! for me) and get water. Odyssey Masters got on the road just in front of us. in the first mile or so we saw three headlamps headed back towards us, it was Tecnu for the win, excited to cheer those guys on! we went AA-DD-EE-CC-BB-FF. it started raining and then we had lots of trouble w DD, i think 45 minutes' worth? that threw our nav mojo off and we were never really confident after that. Bushwhacker passed us just before EE. i had some trouble w my feet, and went through some low energy times. chocolate espresso beans and team love pulled me through. headlamp ran out of juice just before dawn. but we just kept moving and finally finished!
very proud of our result...8th overall and 7th coed. definitely had some mistakes but did a lot of things right, too. this field was so stacked with talent that even small mistakes just will not do. very impressive performances all around and so good to see a lot of friends from far away places. hey, it was so much fun, let's do it again in a week!!
BOOM!
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