Training Log Archive: kgeisen

Event: The Fig, Unbridled #3
 

Awesome race weather. Low-mid 50's all day. Overcast except for a few moments where the sun peeked through.

CPs could be punched in any order as long as by the mode specified, and legs could be run in any order. Also, you had to check in to all TAs (1/4, 2, 3) to be an official finisher. This provided enough structure to keep me happy. :)

Everyone started on bike. You could either go south first, where all of the bike CPs and 5 trekking CPs were available, or north, where the TAs, paddle, and 9 trekking points (including 2 bonus ones that were plotted on course) were. We opted for north, as did the bulk of the race.

Bike 1: ~ 7.4 miles to TA1

Mostly paved, including a pretty fun long switchbacky climb and then gravel to the TA. Made a quick bathroom stop at a rest area after a start line without bathrooms.

Trek 1 ~ 11 mi, CP 9-12 to TA2

Trek was all trails and road with plenty of elevation gain. CPs were off trail, so you still had to pay attn to where you were. Incredibly scenic area. High cliffs and arches. Took about a million pictures.

Paddle TA2-3, CP13, about 3 miles

The sign before the paddle made me laugh. Something about the Red River being part of the "National Wild and Scenic River System"...just like all of Gerry's paddles are on the "wild and scenic _______ River. Some portaging, Red River was pretty low. Lovely, short paddle, no issues.

Trek 2 ~ 8.3 miles CP A, B, 6

We plotted two bonus CPs (A/B) at TA3. Initially planned to skip them but we were "right there" and they sounded cool. As Chuck said, getting them wasn't the best RACE decision, but a good one from an adventure standpoint. Lots of climbing on the remnants of a steep, old paved road that basically went straight to the sky with a couple of switchbacks thrown in. Incredible views from the top. No nav issues, got 6 then decided getting on the bikes would be a better use of our time than going for 7/8. Time wise it may have been a toss-up, but my race satisfaction increased exponentially when I was able to get off my feet.

Bike 2 ~ 23 miles, CP 15, 16, 1

Retraced our initial bike route past the start/finish, found the gravel road for 1-5, and then did a quick 10 mile out and back to grab 15/16 figuring that would be more of a sure thing than off-trail nav in the growing dark. Rode up, punched 1, headed back to finish with 20ish min to spare.

Spot-on nav all day. We didn't make any mistakes, just need to be faster. I was really feeling the lack of time on my feet because my feet were getting pretty sore, and my lack of trail time was showing. We ran paved downhills but nothing else. That said, I did well with staying on top of nutrition and felt strong all day. Very happy with how I felt on the bike. Amazing what a difference fueling properly (or at least consistently) makes.

C • Great job, you two! Sounded... 3

Rest/travel day before the Fig tomorrow!

Planned to do an easy run (they're all easy in the dark because I'm scared of falling), but my left knee was twinge-y right away. Instead I mostly walked with 4 hill repeats (as much of a hill as we have in my neighborhood) thrown in.

First early morning trip to the gym that didn't involve having my water shut off and needing a shower. #winning

So dark. I need to either start using my headlamp or run after/before so many cars are out. You can see the sidewalk fine until you're blinded by lights.

Easy run. So dark out so early.

The Superfly felt much more trustworthy today, none of the weird sliding around in the rear.

Rode CW flats (River Scene?) over to Stinging Nettle. Slight miscommunication on which way we were going on Stinging Nettle separated us for a while, but I enjoyed the relaxed spin waiting for Mickey to realize he'd lost me and come track me down. Unfortunately he thought I'd fallen into the river or something and was looking in the wrong place. lol.

Very leafy on Cedar Bluff, which we rode clockwise (I hiked the rock garden sections. One of these days I'll try riding part of it, but it won't be on a day with wet rocks). My climbing wasn't anything to write home about but not a total disaster either.

Bluffview was fun, though I always forget the first mile. We'd planned to ride Zombie as well, but while I was still having fun I was ready to be off the bike and, with a 12 hour race on Saturday, decided that was OK. Rode back to Castlewood, brief race, which I lost of course.