Training Log Archive: Wildsky

easy spin class/recovery

easy swim to stretch things out. warm up and then kick drills and deep water running

USARA Nationals

Let me first say that it had rained 5-8 inches the day before that race so the course had to be drastically modified. However, it was hands down the worst course that I have ever done. In addition, while we made our share of mistakes, having manditory rules/routes that change during the course without letting all the teams know is BS especially for a national championship.

As for the location, the paddling was great. The riding was 70 miles of pavement and 30 miles of mud and all of it was out and back with little to no nav. How can this be for a national championship? The treking had one nice O course loop but all else was little stop your biking for a 3-5 k bike shoe run through a swamp and that is not what I consider the heart of AR.

give me the mtns any time. Give me a nice running section, give me a course where there is a balance between all skills and not just mud riding, flat fixing, and pacelining. techincal running and riding, hard but fair nav where were weren't swamp O

At least we beat Verve

The winners were X EMS. They had a great race and did well and deserve the win. When we were moving we were fast. We just kept making stupid mistakes that ultimately we couldn't recover from. Frankly my nav sucked during this race and with the quality of the competition, you can't win with bad nav.

It is easy for me to whine because we lost but I have to give them credit as they had flats and problems as well but got er done in the end.

C • Roads 3

alright, I am lumping all the balance of mtn biking together. there was so much ride a bit, run a bit, etc that it was a joke but here is the description.

left the TA on a 5 mile mud trail. It was up to our hubs in places, deep puddles and just mud. there was then a road that we rode part of but the rules of travel stated that south of a specific road we could not use any pavement so we were back on the mud slog. Unfortuntely, the RD didn't intend for us to be excluded from this road but he only told the teams ahead of us who asked. So we slogged it out while the lead teams took the pavement. Along the way we realized that I didn't bring the second map. We had copied some CPs onto supplimental maps but we were missing four critical CPs - Game over. Just as we realixed it, another team happened along and said we could hang with them for the four critical cps.

When we got to the next manned cp we found that we were now 50 minute behind - another nail. we road down this long flat boring dirt road were we would stopp occassionally to hike through a bog in our bike shoes to collect cp's. We were slow with our host team and blew a control badly. When we got to the end of the road, the race just had us turn around and go back the same road. On the way down, an armadillo charged RVG's bike. I just saw the thing run off but didn't see it charge.

rode back up the mud slog where the lead team took the road to another pond O course before taking the same 5 mile mud trail back to the finish.

C • Mud 2

C • Looks like I missed a good one... 1

stupid 3 control loop before the finish. first control was on an earthen dam. Unfortunately the dam was 3 feet under water. As we got to the control RVG found a snake in the water. i told him to throw a stick at it am move on. completely blew the next control as we spent 1-2 hour tromping around the mud and water up to our waist. When I saw a snake in the water next to me on the way, RVG reminded me to just through a stick at it. I chose to go the other way

final control was in a draw that because of the rain was now a lake which made it hard to find/

Event: US Individual Champs 2009
 

opening of the race. massive hwy shoulder ride suck fest. got out first in the lead. flatted in 20 minutes. now in the back of the pack. team time trialed back up to the lead paleton(RVG is an animal). 5 miles to go tried for a break away on 2 successive hills. the hills weren't big enough and we only dropped two on the 5 or so teams so we dialed back and cruised in. one mile from the finish flatted again. Back in the middle of the pack. took the time to fix the flat, tape the rip, and load up some wrappers in the tire. Crusied into the paddle TA about 10-15 minutes behind the lead.

got into the groove. motored catching teams and dropping them. We were closing on the leaders. I was really trying to focus on a strong catch and power pushing ALOT of water and calling an intimidating cadence. Unfortunately i didn't pay too close attention to the map. As we blew by the cove where CP5 was located, I just told the team that the other teams were in the wrong cove.

When we reach the bridge it was clear that I F-ed up. Some quick thinking and we identified a portage route that saved the day.

ended up finishing the paddle 10-15 minutes behind the leaders

Canoe portage
running down and back the hwy in bike shoes/shorts with a kayak on our heads. Lots of cars honking and according to Mari, strange looks,.

mud fest. trail sucked it was just mud. riding from paddle out to short trek

first real treking look. our introduction to texes bog/slog/overflowing reserviour/flatland/stickerpriker orienteering. started well. blew a control in the phantom gravel quarie. Mari lost her contact major 4 inch pokers. It was amazing the somebody didn't get seriously injured. not much fun

rode the same mud trail right back then got on the road for a few miles. not much challenge.

another short o course on a 1 kilometer square farm. It had topography so it was a good short course. blew one point but nailed all the others.

ride back to start/TA on the same hwy we rode out on. Now it is really getting boaring. Left 10 minutes behind the leaders. I took some good long pulls and felt good. We had to stop for a out and back hike to a cp along the way. After the cp hike, RVG's tire was loosigna ir again to we pumpmped it up, stopped a secong time to pump again, stopped to wait for a train and then finally had to stopped a final time to change both Mari's and RVG's tires one mile from the TA.

another texas bog slog to a cp in a flooded field. passed the leaders on the out and back and established that we were 19 minutes behind. good nav here as we spiked the control

Event: USARA Nationals
 

sat in on a spin class. Easy peasey keeping the legs loose. nothing left to do and nothing to be gained. Just biding time

C • texas... 1

I've been going to bed at 9pm for the past two weeks and sleeping until 7-8AM trying to shake the cold I had. Today I woke up at 5 ready to go and feeling great. maybe it is finally behind me. Just hoping I don't get my next kids cold/fever.

Easy run around the block in the dark fog. nice and halloween like. great tunes

easy swim 500 free, 500kick, 500 free with deep water running at the end