104 farenheit is hot.... very hot... even for Arizona or friggin Texas where a village is missing an idiot.. anyhow, but in the northwest 104 farenheit is just pure torture. And then make someone run, bike, and swim (paddle, blaeh, more later) for 24h... a recipe for disaster, ....? I would say so!
The usual pre-race motel chaos.. how do you fit 4 people, 6 tubs, 4 bikes and a whole bunch of unnecessary items into a hotel room?
The usual pre-race motel chaos.. how do you fit 4 people, 6 tubs, 4 bikes and a whole bunch of unnecessary items into a hotel room?
Our course... yellow trek, blue swim/paddle, black bike...
Anyhow...it all started off so well. After training so much in the spring the races Jeff and I did were good, but I really wanted to race 4coed, and once we got Brook Nunn onboard we just needed a 4th, which we found in Dave Russell, an experienced racer and navigator. Once checked in, we found out that the water leg involved swimming, at least for 3 of the 4... one got to paddle the rubber ducky across the water with the packs. We shuffled, delibered, called around, and then found a way to get our hands on snorkeling gear, so we stuffed the fins deep into our packs to pull a sneaky on the other teams once we got there... but we first needed to get there and that was easier said than done.
The day started off early, as usual, 3.30 am up, 5 am bus, 6 am start. We had to first go across a big ridge and chose the shortest route across it, which was ok and 90% of the people did something similar, but hindsight being 20/20 there would have been a better way. We did not anticipate the bushwhack to be so darn gnarly but it was and took quite a toll already when three hours later we got to the water....
The day started off early, as usual, 3.30 am up, 5 am bus, 6 am start. We had to first go across a big ridge and chose the shortest route across it, which was ok and 90% of the people did something similar, but hindsight being 20/20 there would have been a better way. We did not anticipate the bushwhack to be so darn gnarly but it was and took quite a toll already when three hours later we got to the water....
Bushwhack this!
Almost vertical trek up to the ridge... not for the faint of heart...
View on top was worth it though!
I was supposed to be in the boat since Jeff, Brook and Dave were all good swimmers and I sucked..... as soon as we got into the water however Jeff already cramped up and that was not a good sign. So we switched out, me in the water, doing my dog-paddle holding onto the rope while Jeff Kayaked, and Brook and Dave just outright swam across... interestingly we did get 2nd fastest time on that leg.... probably much likely due to the fins... smarts are important in AR, always.
Stunning views!
Exhillarating downhills!
Icecold footbaths!
150 foot rappell...
Getting out of the freezing water we all felt pretty terrible, but warmed up pretty quickly and once the climb started realized that that warming up process would go on and on until it passed comfortable.... at 10 it was already 90F, at 12 probably around 100F. A poor route choice, lack of water, and insufficient teamwork made it all a bit worse and all of a sudden we were trying to hold on... such it goes in AR sometimes....
Feeling strong, towing Dave who had enough time apparently to take pictures!
We lost a few hours on the long bike leg due to our problems, but did not realize that Jeff was very dehydrated and needed rest and fluids... so I pressed hard to get the big trek started.. which was a mistake. About 2h into it, after a long beautiful rappell Jeff opted to quit the race, and I hiked out with him, while Brook and Dave continued unranked.
It opened my eyes, and showed me pretty clearly where I wanted to be heading. DART was one of only four teams that finished, and they were almost three hours ahead of 2nd place. I wanted to be there. I felt great throughout the race and could have pushed much harder, it was time to look for likeminded people to give DART good competition.... but for now it was many lessons learned, and a very good, very tough course DNFed... my first, probably not last, but hopefully one of very very few....
Found a checkpoint at night....
