the perfect race - almost

This was the best race ever. Chris and I really cranked it out and were the second team to cross the finish. The first team is an elite East Coast team that does Adventure Racing all the time.

Here is how the day went and there was only one slight problem at the end, that I am trying not to focus on....

Racing is a funny business. There is a lot of planning and thinking going into each race. Each race is filled with so many variables, some you can control, some you can't. Adventure racing is intentionally more unpredictable than road races.

Chris and I went into today's race pretty well prepared, and on our way to the race we reminded each other that we need to be careful not to get over confident because anything can happen.

The race started with the team captains of each team sprinting 200 meters to the lake, and another 25 meters 'into' the water to get our race 'passports' (Chris volunteered me for this task). The passport indicates the order in which you do the 4 legs of the race. There was a small boat that volunteers were throwing our Ziploc baggie encased passports into the water and you had to be pretty aggressive to get one. When I turned around with passport in hand, I had to fight my way past 100 other empty-handed racers to get to shore. I was one of the first racers to shore and Chris and I ran to our transition area while I peeled open the Ziploc bag. Our race order was: Canoe, Special Challenges, Mountain Bike, and Trail Running.

While we were not the first team to get our canoe into the water, we did manage to take the lead almost immediately and kept the lead throughout the leg. Early in the paddling leg, I would turn around and see about 20 boats following. After reaching the first 2 canoe checkpoints, we turned the canoe around and paddled through the other boats on our way to the 3rd checkpoint. At checkpoint 3, another team that decided to do the checkpoints in reverse order, out-sprinted us to the orienteering flag. On our way to check point 4, the wind really picked up and we made good time wave surfing. On the way back to the transition area, we paddled into the waves - great fun - waves splashing and getting a paddling rhythm with the waves and the water.

Coming out of the water I ask the volunteer if he will sign our passport. He tells us to bring the canoe up to the racks. After doing this I run back down to the volunteer and he says he doesn't need to sign the passport. I look around and don't see a tent or table to get the passport signed. I thought we needed to get it signed, but it doesn't look like there is a place to get it signed. I look for someone to help, but everyone looks busy. So we head back to our transition area and continue to scan for a place to get our passport signed on our way to the 'special challenges'.

Our first special challenge is to fill a PVC pipe with lake water until a ping-pong ball comes out of the top - the trick is that there are 2 holes near the bottom of the pipe and each team member has to take a turn filling water while the other plugs the holes with their hands. We knock this out pretty quickly, get our passport signed, and head to the rock wall climb. Chris climbs to the top very quickly and I get our passport signed and we head to the team-mate carry. I go first and carry Chris about 150 meters on my back, then we trade and Chris carries me. After getting our passport signed, I ask the race volunteer if we need to get anymore signatures to finish of this leg of the race. He shrugs and tells me just to go to the next leg.

We run back to transition, get on our mountain bikes and start the 3rd leg of the race. So far, no mistakes (or so we think). The lake was at a very high level and we run into several spots where we have to trudge through several feet of water with our mountain bikes. We arrive at bike CP 1 with little delay and then start the first of many climbs of the day. My legs are cramping due to the cold water, but after a while I warm up and due to Chris's awesome navigation we quickly race through the bike section with few delays. Lots of hills, rocks, mud, switchbacks - way fun.

We ride into the transition area, change our muddy wet shoes, and head out for the final 'running' leg. At this point, I have given up on finding the transition checkpoint - maybe I heard something wrong.

It takes a while to get the blood to the right muscles, but after a while we start picking up the running pace. After the first checkpoint on the run, we have to go through transition again. One of Chris' friends calls him from behind a table and asks if we've checked in yet. We try to quickly explain that we couldn't find the table and asked volunteers. She signs our Passport for the three legs we had already completed. Through the rest of the run, Chris' navigation is flawless and we crank through the run course with no wasted time - perfect and according to plan.

We cross the finish line in 3 hours and 14 minutes to find out there was another team 3 minutes in front of us. The other team is a very high caliber Adventure Racing team in the area and we feel really good about our result. We get congratulated by the race directors and first place team, grab a ginger ale - the perfect race.

When they post our result, we find out they charge us with a 30 minute penalty for not checking in between each leg. As a result, we don't even win our division.

Of course, it was my responsibility to manage the passport while Chris did the navigating, and I'm sure I could have been a bit more attentive at the pre-race meeting or insistent in between legs to ensure the passport was fully signed. One more big adventure racing lesson learned.

In any case, we had a great time and that IS what a race like this is all about.