It's Time!!!!

Slacking a little on my last work day before heading up to Huntsville tomorrow.  I have spent the last week or so tapering my training (which has made me feel extremely lazy!) and getting all my gear ready and packed up.  

It's amazing how much gear you need for a short race!  I used to be a bit of a gear head so it is nice to start collecting some new and improved toys.  I probably have way too much, but better to have a little extra than forget something....which I am sure I will do anyways!

I will be heading out mid-morning on Friday, making a quick stop at the new Running Free store in Milton and then heading up north.  I have to pick up my Kayak about 30km past Deerhurst, then back to check in and get settled.  

I am planning on setting up my kayak and getting some "training" in after I get my room.  I am supposed to be overlooking the water so I hope it is a quick trek from my patio to the water.  Time permitting I will also try to scout around the area and checking out my map.  The race will start and finish at Deerhurst Resort so knowing the immediate area could save a few minutes in crunch time.  

The weather in Huntsville is looking promising.  High of 12 with 0% p.o.p.  I kinda hoped for cold miserable rain, but no such luck.  Yes, it is strange to hope for bad weather, but it helps weed out those not used to brutal conditions, and benefits those who thrive in them.  Being wet and uncomfortable for 5-8hrs would be easy compared to some of the race conditions I have seen it the past....Let's try this one on for size...Raid the North Extreme Yukon Territory - after 220km or paddling and 55hours of trekking (with absolutely no trails) try 160km on the bikes with some sections like this!  A lot of teams were actually carrying their bikes at the end because they were too covered in clay/mud to ride.

We haven't received another course update yet, but one should be on its way today.  I will post any news once it shows up in my my mailbox.  Other than that we are good to go!  I will try to get one more pre-race post once I get registered.  Wish me luck!  

Training Update

The site I use to log all my training has a few neat reporting features.  Here is a brief summary of what I have logged since Feb 1, 2009 when I decided I should give racing another kick in the can.  These aren’t staggering numbers by any stretch, but it is nice to get a view of the time, effort and Kms covered during training. 

            

              Running             260 Km                 25 Hrs   

              Cycling              520 Km                 24 Hrs

              Spinning                                       16 Hrs   

              Misc*                                           20 Hrs

              Total                   780 Km                   85 Hrs

*Weights, gym cardio, core, stretching etc..

Over this period I have lost approx 10-15lbs and am actually not that far off race weight from 6 years ago.  I think when the summer gets into full swing I will be right there again, if not very very close.    

In full taper mode now, very mellow weekend of "training".  Short ride and run to keep the legs moving.  I will get one more ride of about 20km in and a short run before I call it quits on Wednesday.  Thrusday will be my day off then heading to Huntsville early Friday.  Trying to get back in 3 months in the spring/winter was definitely a challenge....time to see how I did!  

Race Logistics

Less than two weeks to go before it is officially race time!  I feel I am almost ready, but you always feel you could have used another month of base training before any race (especially in the spring).  However, I am getting pretty anxious to get a race under my belt. 

 

Things are looking good, there are over 50 teams of 3 and solos, signed up for the race (check them out here).  The race organizer is hoping to hit 70 for the race on Saturday and up to 90 for the high school race the next day (I will be sticking around to help out with that so I can get some rest...or drink beers with old friends Saturday night before driving home).  Right now I guess there are only 5 solo competitors signed up, but I am hoping for a few more.    

 

I will be heading up Friday early in the day to pick up my boat and get settled.  I’ll probably take a quick ride/drive around the area as well to get my bearings.  Start and finish will be at the resort so knowing the immediate area will help. 

 

Registration takes place Friday evening and early Saturday morning with the maps being distributed at 7am on Saturday.  This will give us some time to look things over before the 8:30 race briefing and the race will get underway at 10am.  So we will have an hour after the briefing to pack up the gear and make any final route changes if required. 

 

The Race Course – First Update

Funny enough there was an episode of Mantracker on last week that was set right in the Huntsville area.  One of the crew on the show and a past teammate also helps set the race courses for FAST so that was kind of interesting to see...but I doubt it gave up any secrets! 

 

It looks like there will be an advanced course option that will likely include more navigation and bushwhacking....so that will be good.  The short course will be in the 30km range with the advanced being over 50km.  Unless something goes drastically wrong with my race I will be opting for the advanced course. 

 

Bike – Lots of dirt roads, ATV trails and mud!  Being early in the year it should be pretty messy on the trails!  Hopefully we can ride most of it....but I think lots of hike a bike could help me more than it would hurt. 

 

Trekking- This section is said to have some trails as well as some off-trail sections.  IThe short course could have as little as 5-8km...hoping for 5-10 more, mostly bush for the advanced. 

 

Paddling – Lots of lakes and waterways up that way.  Could be lake and or river paddling.....thinking lake though.  I checked with a local paddling company and last year’s ice-out was April 27^th....so let’s hope isn’t any later this year! 

More info is available in the competitor newsletter.  

I think they will be sending out one more course update before the race so I will post it when it arrives.  

The Gear

As I prep for my first race I am trying to gather all the gear required.  With just over 2 weeks to go I think I have put together just about everything I need. 

  

 

Shoes

I will have two pair on the go depending on what the given leg of the race calls for. 

La Sportiva Wildcats                          Salomon XT Wings

Packs

I have two Salomon Packvests that I will alternate between depending on the given leg of the race or the gear requirements.

15+L Packvest – this is an older pack I managed to keep around, just had the zipper repaired so it’s good to go. 

10+3L Packvest – this is new and hot of the press.  Lower volume, no bottle holding capabilities, but is very light and should handle all the gear I need for most of the race. 

Kayak

I don’t really want to get started on this one!  After trying to rent one locally I discovered they a) will not rent kayaks before May long weekend and b) won’t rent to people that are going to use them in a race.   I don’t get it since all those boats will end up being rented to drunks that can’t paddle for the long weekend but it’s too much trouble to rent on to someone who actually knows what they are doing.....  Arggg

I did manage to track down a boat outside of Hunstville from Algonquin Outfitters.  I am pretty sure I will be renting the Dagger Specter 15.5.  It’s not the best boat, but it will have to do this time around.  I don’t see the paddling being significant, so it shouldn’t cost me too much time.  

 

Bike

Waiting for the new chain stays and related parts so the crack can be repaired.  Shock and fork also need some service before it is really ready to go.  I am still riding it, but on roads and trying to keep and impact to the frame minimal.  It is holding up so far, and if it doesn’t it’s not going to be pretty.  Tires are switched over to some new semi-slicks that should handle and roads equally well.  I can’t wait to get it all fixed up and give it a true test drive on some of the local trails. 

 

Food/Drink

After testing a few things out during training I will be going with mostly Hammer Nutrition products (Heed, Perpetuem, Hammer Gel) as well as some Nuun Kona Cola (soooo tasty!) and some Clif Shot Bloks (Margarita flavour with added salt). 

If you are looking for some good advice on training and race nutrition check out following paper from Hammer Nutrition.  

The Answer...

Coincidence?  I found this article a day after my most recent post.  

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/why-we-compete

The link that brought me there was focused on Part 1: Curisoty, and taylored to endurance athletes while the rest of the feature is geared towards competing in general.  Most may be applicable to my post save Part 2: Money, unless we consider spending what we don't have! 

Why?

The question I used to get asked most (from non-adventure racers) was “Why do you do that?” This was typically followed by “You guys are crazy!”  If I had a dime for every time I heard those comments I may have actually made some money racing (but I doubt it).  I’m not actually sure if I have ever answered that question, and I don’t know I can to this day. 

First of all I would have to say that I think every adventure racer or endurance athlete is probably a bit crazy, has a screw loose or a slight chemical imbalance....hey, no one’s perfect!  Sorry to those of you who I have offended and think it is completely normal to train 10-20 hours a week no matter what the weather, race for 2-10 days with little to no sleep and punish our bodies in a regular basis for little or no reward.  Maybe I can consider myself a little less crazy now that I will only be racing for 8-12 hours...but the jury is still out on that one. 

I started to think about this blog entry following an hour massage to try to deal with some issues I have been having with my legs/calves since I have started to run more.  First things first, it is usually hard to find a good RMT that will actually apply the kind of pressure (and pain) you need to work these things out.  Luckily my chiropractor passed a message along to the therapist in his office and told her to literally “beat the crap out of me”.  Despite almost wanting to puke a few times because it hurt so bad I managed to hold off from asking her to stop.  I have too much pride to say it hurts too much and I asked for it, so I figure I should try to deal with it like a man (hopefully she didn’t notice the winching and groans as she beat on my knots 1 by 1).  Funny that I actually pay for that!  The good thing is that it seems to have worked and I am feeling a little better these days while running.

So I thought about it.....why am I doing this again?  It would be easy to quit call it a day and resume a “normal” life, but of course I won’t, not yet.  The real question is can anyone one of use really answer why we do this?  I mean yes it’s a rewarding feeling once you reach the finish line, and yes you get to push your limits and get to see everyone’s true colours in the face of adversity.  These are all the typical answers you get, and while they are all have some validity, they don’t really explain the ultimate answer to why we choose this lifestyle.  If anyone has any insight into this please feel free to comment.   

While I managed to have a very successful career in my first stint of adventure racing I am not sure I would have kept at it as long if I were not as successful.  Winning always seems to make things seem logical and more enjoyable.  On the flip side of things, kudos to the teams I used to see show up to every race, and not finish.  I think that takes a lot more guts to do on a regular basis and I am not sure I could do that....and with that being said we will see how my second coming turns out.  Maybe I will last a few races, place terribly and bail.....or maybe I will fall right back into a groove and feel back at home in the sport.

Right now, I have no idea what to expect or how the summer will turn out, but by the look of the countdown I will find out soon enough!