Adventure Racing

Yesterday, was brutal. I did the Adventure Race, and didn’t have to do it solo, since one of my co-workers had to look after her child. She’s 5 foot 1, perhaps less – and she loaned me her Cannondale mountain bike. I thought it fit, but I was surely wrong. My God was I ever frustrated and in so much pain in my life. They took the canoeing/kayaking out of the race because of the weather, and they didnt want the same thing to happen as last yeaar (people tipping)! So they lengthened the race from 15km bike, to 20km. The run was now a 10k. But they split it up with a run, bike, run and bike. The first run, was straight up a ski slope, I’m not kidding. It was tough. Apparently I’m not a good runner as I thought I was – haha. I was gasping for air at the end of it. Then we hit the technical mountain biking trails. My team mate is an experienced mountain biker, who wouldn’t stick with me throughout the bike part. You’re supposed to stick within 50ft of one another, but I guess I was too slow. The bike I was on, had me hunched over & I kept hitting the pedals off the tree roots. I fell off the bike twice, going down a crazy steep hill, and I nearly slammed my face into one thick tree. I was breathing like someone from a horror movie, I can’t even reenact it, it was horrific! I never thought it would end, I wasn’t in pain, but I was just worn out so much, because of the small bike I suppose. I couldn’t even go up the smallest hills. I was just way too giant for that thing.

There was this team of 4, doing a different Adventure Race than I was, more orienteering type stuff – one of the guys was there for his stag party. It was bitter cold outside, and they had him dressed up as wonder woman as he entered the race, but during transitions they kept switching his outfit, he was Ceaser for the second bout, and then he was a french maid with a thong on. It was super funny to watch. Each leg of the race, he had to carry a back pack full of bricks, and ankle weights. They did the Adventure Race for his stag party, because apparently he “always” wins.

So, I brought that up, because it obviously looked like i was having a hard time on the technical trails, and I was walking my bike up this ginormous steep hill, breathing absolutely terribly & the guys from the stag party, told the guy to carry my bike up the mountain for me. (hehe!) The other guys offered me water. I literally couldn’t catch my breath enough to speak so all I did was shake my head and wave my hand to say no thanks. They offered me something to eat, I shook my head, then they offered chocolate… I tried to laugh, but it came out like, I don’t know what. A hurl? Like i was going to puke? They told me to get on the guy’s back and he’d piggy back me up the hill! I didn’t do that however. All this time, my team mate was kilometers ahead of me. They guys asking me if I was doing the race solo, and if I wasn’t “Where the HELL is your team mate!” :( I don’t know.

So. The technical, horrible, brutal part of the trail was 16km, and we were DONE. I couldn’t walk straight, I needed to fill up my nalgene. I drank some of my water, and literally dropped my nalgene on the ground I was that weak. I promised myself I’d NEVER do anything like this again. Now, time for the second trail run – great. So my team mate stuck with me and we walked the effing trail, because I could not even walk briskly. When we were walking down the hill, my legs stumbled, and shake and I would almost fall. Well, we got through it alright, and I finally caught my breath, and devoured three of my frozen (that’s how cold it was outside) granola bars on the way. Tiiiiime for the last leg of the race. Lord heavens, would this damn race ever end for me? No. No it wouldn’t. The people who had to sign out papers at every check point gave us two options. Go on another 45 minute mountain bike ride back into those wretched woods, or bike on the pavement back home. I chose the latter, for us. That damn bike couldn’t peddle fast enough for my liking, I was flying through, trying to get back as fast as I could. The hills were literally, up down, up down, up down. So through the down hills I was probably going way over the traffics speed limit and tryin to get up the hill without peddling too much.

When we got back, and crossed the finish line, I couldn’t even speak. It was soo messed up. I ate some free hamburgers, cookies, and some sports drink. We went inside the ski resort chalet and sat down, where I looked over to my right and saw that people were getting their sore muscles massaged – for free! I hopped out of my chair without finishing my hamburger and got a between my shoulder blade massage. The dude told me that I had thick “scar tissue” like under my ribs. It was painful getting the knots out, but I feel a lot better – especially today. During the massage, they were doing the awards ceremony. Calling the first place solo racers, co-ed racers, and female racers. My team mate and I got called up to recieve the second place female team award! However, it was taken from us quickly, when two other women did the last, longer leg of the team and won first place. So, we got bumped down to third – in either case, we got a friggen sweet prize: A Merrell Force Hydro Camelback! One of my 5 co-workers who did it with me, got FIRST place in the Women’s solo division, and received $150 pair of Merrell Overdrive trail runners! Woooo hoooo. They took a ton of photos of us during each leg of the race, so once those pictures are on the website, I will link them!

Last night I called my mom, told her how the race was, ate a bit of supper, hopped in the bath for a good while to soak my hamstrings, and headed straight to bed at 8:00 :) I’d definitely do it all over again. Even though I thought I was going through hell – it was worth it.

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