Shoeless in Hartford
The kayak was to be the
first event for this year race in Hartford.
As we gathered near the starting line about ¼ mile or more from the
kayaks we were handed instructions for the first special test – “The rescue
carry”. In a mad dash to be the first
to reach the lake the two teammates had to carry the third. We struggled a little getting into the
kayaks and connecting the towline.
After the first lap around the lake we came upon the second special test
“Paddle Break”. Two of the teammates
had to swim to shore with their paddles, leave them there and swim back to the
third teammate waiting in the kayaks.
Then we had to circle the lake once more with only 1 paddle for all
three teammates. We elected to keep the
paddles together and had Dave do all the paddling. Many teams broke the paddle into two and used a canoe paddle
stroke. We recently practiced this type
of paddling on a recent camping trip where Dave paddled the sevylor kayaks 8
miles with my 10-year old daughter in front, and towing a second boat with my
15 year old nephew and my other 8-year old daughter. So we knew he could keep up a quick pace for a long period of
time.
Coming off the kayaks we
were given the next special test: find “SEX” in the woods (Otherwise called “Orienteering”). The letters we were told to find happened to
spell sex. After having near flawless
orienteering in Sacramento, we struggled with sex in Hartford. We saw team Red Bull and followed them for a
short time, but they didn’t want sex.
After a few minutes we started seeing many more teams entering the
woods, but none of them seemed to want sex either. We didn’t have our lights so we started getting worried that we
wouldn’t find sex before dark. Finally,
we found the first marker which helped us orient where we were. As a result we were able to quickly finish sex
once we got started, but this was by far the worst sex we ever got.
Off to the Balance Bar trail
run – part 1. We had some ground to
make up, so we set a fast pace. It was
still light out, but dark was fast approaching. About 1-mile into the run I sprained my ankle. I was in a lot of pain, but able to finish
the race. Tracey also had been fighting
some ankle problems, which flared up during the first run. Following the run was a special test called “Peg
leg ladders”. In this special test one
teammate was to remove on of their shoelaces and climb a 12-foot beam (being
held by the other two teammates) to reach a rope some 15-feet high to tie the
shoelace around. Luckily I always have
an extra pair of shoes in the transition area, but what about the teams who
didn’t. What did they do for the second
trail run?
Next was the mountain
bike-part 1 where we were able to make up some more ground and give our ankles
a chance to rest. The last section of
the mountain bike course took us through the mine area that was deep sand. Pushing our bikes through this sand really
made Tracey and my ankle scream with pain.
Instead of carrying the bike, I elected to push the bike and use it as a
crutch for my sore ankle. Next came the
trail run part two that was the same course as the first run. I transitioned quickly and started out ahead
of Dave and Tracey to try and get my ankle to loosen up. They ended up taking a wrong turn and
started following the bike course for about ½ mile. They caught back up to me half way through the run with some more
lost time.
Following the second run was a special test called “Knot”. I believe the concept of this test was to
tie a knot in a rope. Then while all
three team members held the rope (one on each end and one in the middle), the
knot had to pass from one end of the rope to the other. This was very confusing at the time but we
managed to complete the task by our fourth attempt. Not too bad.
Next was the second mountain
bike that ended up very crowded and bottlenecked. Thanks to all the teams who made every effort to make it easy to
pass. Especially at the back up when climbing
over the fence. It is very much
appreciated! Coming of the bike was the
last two special tests of the evening: “Evacuation and the Wall”. Evacuation had us go through the strings of
chaos, over a six-foot wall, and across a balance beam all while carrying one
of the teammates. If at any time that
person touched the ground the test would have to be restarted.
It turned out to be a long
night and our longest race of the year.
We managed to hold onto an 8th place finish despite our
mistakes and injuries. We look to
bounce back in Pittsburgh so look out.
Hope to see you there.