see previous thread for race particulars..........
friday night found me tweeking the bikes and gathering gear. i was anxious about the forcast on saturday morning. it was calling for a low of 32 with a high of 50 and winds out of the north at 20-30. the race starts in canoes at 7:00am and i was worried about getting wet in those conditions. we get to bed at 11:00 and surprisingly both of us nodded off in no time.
we get up early and i take a very hot shower to loosen up muscles. we load our gear and head to the check in. wife is nervous but willing. she was happy about me buying a gel seat for her bike. after checking in we set up our transition area and get in the van to go to the canoe drop in up river. there are 33 teams total. classes are mens, women, co-ed, adult-youth, and 6 man. we are to start in 2:00 incriments on a "dead paddle" start ;) 5 at a time. we are in the fourth group so we get to watch the groups ahead start. some run down the embankment with the canoe, hit the water and do the "roll". i looked at maggie and said we dont want to do that. she agreed :confused: . our start went and we slid the canoe into the water. she did a great job getting to the front and getting settled. i slid in while pushing off and we were off.
in the canoe portion our strategy was easy does it. it is very hard to make up significant time without burning lots of energy. we put in behind a dam and the waterflow was at minimum which suited me fine. it was basically dead water paddle conditions. we found our stroke and passed a few. there were several gravel bars that required me getting out and dragging her and the canoe over. thank god for neoprene bootys. a friend of ours who started in the group behind caught us. she is very good in the techincal sections. we would lose time in getting around snags and such. we decided to follow them and use their "lines". an hour later and after 4 miles of paddling we see the take out. we get to the take out and are faced with 20 steps straight up to where we get to our first check at the top. these steps were a note of concern by the organizers as some teams have had problems in the past. i guess it was adrenaline, we flew up the steps and made the check. on to the transition zone.
maggie runs to the potty while i do my best to find something to dry my feet before getting into running shoes. i notice that a few of the mens and 6man teams are already finishing the 2.5 mile run. we pull off some clothes and head off to the run course. its warmer now (40) and we start off at our steady pace (aka the COMPLETE pace). we pass a few teams. since we run on a path that goes up 1.75 and back, we see the teams ahead of us. the first coed team we come across looks like they are 20min ahead of us. they look like they are in their early twentys and are working hard. to my surprise, we dont see any other co ed team until we round the back side of the run and come across them on our way back. maggie gets winded once or twice on the way back and we walk a bit. i told her in the beginnig that we were going to go her pace and i was going to follow her and not question the pace. with the "pace" in her control she felt pressure. we make it back to the transition zone and pick up the bikes.
im feeling great but i know that the bike is going end up being hell for her. 12 miles to go. we go thru the first bike check and i am thankful for the 20 mile tailwind but i know that coming back is going to be hell. the bike course is a large cinder trail that meanders along the river. it too is an out and back route. out 6miles and back 6miles to the finish. the ground is thankfully hard and fast. 70% of it is in the trees. maggie is going at good clip (12mph) for her. her usual is 8mph. i tell her to slow down a bit. she says she feels good and i let her lead on. early on we come across teams on their way back and fixing to finish. maggie insists we are second in class. i say ok but dont believe it. things are going smooth and then it happens............ppppppppsssssssssssssssttttttt. ahhhh! her bike lets out this sound that i really didnt want to hear. as we are pulling over i realize that her rear doesnt have a quick release. i panic because i dont have a wrench. i do have a multitool and pray that i can get the nut off. in the end it isnt pretty but i pull a nascar pitstop and we are back on the bikes in 6-7min. in hindsight, i should of pulled the pump off my bike and let her go ahead on my bike. i could of caught her on her bike after the repair. rules say you must go through checks together. we make the 6mile turn around and head back into the wind. its slower going and we start to see other teams that are behind us. we had already seen the young couple miles ago and figured they were indeed the first place team. we see another coed team and i figure they are 2 miles behind us. now im thinking we are in third and the in the final trophy spot. the team behind us was hauling and i knew we were going to get slower. about 4 miles from the finish maggie quits talking to me. im riding behind her and can tell she is really trying but is on the edge of bonking. the final straw was asking her to gear down and if it felt better. i got a big fat NO :eek:. i said OK and that was it. it was hard to ride behind her because i could see what she was going through. i kept hearing her sniffle and was hoping she wasnt crying. i rode in front of her a bit to try and block some wind but it didnt help. i settled in behind and peddaled. we were getting passed pretty often. mostly female teams and even a few mens teams. i kept looking over my shoulder and at mile 11 they caught us. the coed team behind us. maggie knew it and i could see the dissappointment in her. i told her just finish baby. that last mile was against the wind and our 12mph fell to 5mph. we crossed the finish together amongst the cheers of the crowd and competitors who had already finished. our time was 3:14:12 for 19 miles coverd. i thought not too bad for rookies. as we were loading up, one of the parks and rec people told us not to leave. she brought a photographer and two 3rd place plaques. whooo yhooo we made the podium!!!!
post race analysis revealed that if we hadnt flatted and/or i sent her on, we would of gotten second. there were at least four coed teams. ill get a final event results in the mail in a few weeks that breaks it down by team and checktimes. im a geek for that kind of stuff. the event was very doable and i had a great time. maggie was releived that we placed for my benefit. she was a great partner and yes i do owe her a full body massage. today is the day after and im a little stiff but nothing like after an mx event. the event was run very professionally and the competitors were very friendly and encouraging(just like bikers) :) as a matter of fact, i wasnt the only one wearing a fox moto jersey. thanks for all of YOUR intrest in my event. peace/out
friday night found me tweeking the bikes and gathering gear. i was anxious about the forcast on saturday morning. it was calling for a low of 32 with a high of 50 and winds out of the north at 20-30. the race starts in canoes at 7:00am and i was worried about getting wet in those conditions. we get to bed at 11:00 and surprisingly both of us nodded off in no time.
we get up early and i take a very hot shower to loosen up muscles. we load our gear and head to the check in. wife is nervous but willing. she was happy about me buying a gel seat for her bike. after checking in we set up our transition area and get in the van to go to the canoe drop in up river. there are 33 teams total. classes are mens, women, co-ed, adult-youth, and 6 man. we are to start in 2:00 incriments on a "dead paddle" start ;) 5 at a time. we are in the fourth group so we get to watch the groups ahead start. some run down the embankment with the canoe, hit the water and do the "roll". i looked at maggie and said we dont want to do that. she agreed :confused: . our start went and we slid the canoe into the water. she did a great job getting to the front and getting settled. i slid in while pushing off and we were off.
in the canoe portion our strategy was easy does it. it is very hard to make up significant time without burning lots of energy. we put in behind a dam and the waterflow was at minimum which suited me fine. it was basically dead water paddle conditions. we found our stroke and passed a few. there were several gravel bars that required me getting out and dragging her and the canoe over. thank god for neoprene bootys. a friend of ours who started in the group behind caught us. she is very good in the techincal sections. we would lose time in getting around snags and such. we decided to follow them and use their "lines". an hour later and after 4 miles of paddling we see the take out. we get to the take out and are faced with 20 steps straight up to where we get to our first check at the top. these steps were a note of concern by the organizers as some teams have had problems in the past. i guess it was adrenaline, we flew up the steps and made the check. on to the transition zone.
maggie runs to the potty while i do my best to find something to dry my feet before getting into running shoes. i notice that a few of the mens and 6man teams are already finishing the 2.5 mile run. we pull off some clothes and head off to the run course. its warmer now (40) and we start off at our steady pace (aka the COMPLETE pace). we pass a few teams. since we run on a path that goes up 1.75 and back, we see the teams ahead of us. the first coed team we come across looks like they are 20min ahead of us. they look like they are in their early twentys and are working hard. to my surprise, we dont see any other co ed team until we round the back side of the run and come across them on our way back. maggie gets winded once or twice on the way back and we walk a bit. i told her in the beginnig that we were going to go her pace and i was going to follow her and not question the pace. with the "pace" in her control she felt pressure. we make it back to the transition zone and pick up the bikes.
im feeling great but i know that the bike is going end up being hell for her. 12 miles to go. we go thru the first bike check and i am thankful for the 20 mile tailwind but i know that coming back is going to be hell. the bike course is a large cinder trail that meanders along the river. it too is an out and back route. out 6miles and back 6miles to the finish. the ground is thankfully hard and fast. 70% of it is in the trees. maggie is going at good clip (12mph) for her. her usual is 8mph. i tell her to slow down a bit. she says she feels good and i let her lead on. early on we come across teams on their way back and fixing to finish. maggie insists we are second in class. i say ok but dont believe it. things are going smooth and then it happens............ppppppppsssssssssssssssttttttt. ahhhh! her bike lets out this sound that i really didnt want to hear. as we are pulling over i realize that her rear doesnt have a quick release. i panic because i dont have a wrench. i do have a multitool and pray that i can get the nut off. in the end it isnt pretty but i pull a nascar pitstop and we are back on the bikes in 6-7min. in hindsight, i should of pulled the pump off my bike and let her go ahead on my bike. i could of caught her on her bike after the repair. rules say you must go through checks together. we make the 6mile turn around and head back into the wind. its slower going and we start to see other teams that are behind us. we had already seen the young couple miles ago and figured they were indeed the first place team. we see another coed team and i figure they are 2 miles behind us. now im thinking we are in third and the in the final trophy spot. the team behind us was hauling and i knew we were going to get slower. about 4 miles from the finish maggie quits talking to me. im riding behind her and can tell she is really trying but is on the edge of bonking. the final straw was asking her to gear down and if it felt better. i got a big fat NO :eek:. i said OK and that was it. it was hard to ride behind her because i could see what she was going through. i kept hearing her sniffle and was hoping she wasnt crying. i rode in front of her a bit to try and block some wind but it didnt help. i settled in behind and peddaled. we were getting passed pretty often. mostly female teams and even a few mens teams. i kept looking over my shoulder and at mile 11 they caught us. the coed team behind us. maggie knew it and i could see the dissappointment in her. i told her just finish baby. that last mile was against the wind and our 12mph fell to 5mph. we crossed the finish together amongst the cheers of the crowd and competitors who had already finished. our time was 3:14:12 for 19 miles coverd. i thought not too bad for rookies. as we were loading up, one of the parks and rec people told us not to leave. she brought a photographer and two 3rd place plaques. whooo yhooo we made the podium!!!!
post race analysis revealed that if we hadnt flatted and/or i sent her on, we would of gotten second. there were at least four coed teams. ill get a final event results in the mail in a few weeks that breaks it down by team and checktimes. im a geek for that kind of stuff. the event was very doable and i had a great time. maggie was releived that we placed for my benefit. she was a great partner and yes i do owe her a full body massage. today is the day after and im a little stiff but nothing like after an mx event. the event was run very professionally and the competitors were very friendly and encouraging(just like bikers) :) as a matter of fact, i wasnt the only one wearing a fox moto jersey. thanks for all of YOUR intrest in my event. peace/out
