Training Log Archive: syd

No Sleep 24 hr AR

Bike 4 (1/1 CP)

I had been dreading the bike out of the TA, but it wasn’t even that bad! We were able to ride up most of the trail and were back up at the road in no time. The rest of the bike was on nice roads with a couple fun downhills. Stopped to pick up on CP at an old shop.

Paddle 2 (5/7 CPs)

We transitioned near the start area and then had to trek over to the paddle put in. Got one CP on the way, and even got in a power line trek for W4J. Once we got to the road I was having a lot of trouble staying awake. But then we got to the boats and I perked up. We were able to get 3 CPs in this section, but were moving rather slowly. Decided to call it early so we would have time for the trek back and the final bike leg. Got one more CP along the return trek and scoped out where we needed to enter for the final bike.

Bike 5 (5/7 CPs)

The last bike was along a trail network near the start/finish. Made it to the first 2 CPs with no trouble since we had already checked out where we needed to enter the trails. And then on the way to the third point we got off down the wrong two-track. I realized we had gone the wrong way, so thought we could just backtrack to the last junction and take the other fork. But somehow we turned around and never ended up where we started?? So we somehow took the fork that I had intended to take originally, on accident, without ever seeing it on the way out?? I was super confused about where we were for a while, which was nerve wracking given we didn’t have that much time remaining. Finally was able to relocate and our location was confirmed when we ran into another team near a CP. We thought we had to do this section in order so dropped the 2 we had passed by, finished the loop and made it back to the finish! What a stressful way to end the race.

Overall, I was really happy with my navigation during this race. I felt like I successfully used what I had learned in past races to make good choices. That being said, there’s definitely still room for improvement. For night navigation I need to be better about communication, especially when we are in the circle. I tend to forget not everyone sees the map when my brain is foggy. I also still had a couple bike errors. They were minor though and I am getting more comfortable with tricky bike navigation. I was impressed with how good I felt throughout the race. I felt rough on the trek to the ropes and then got really tired on the trek to the paddle, but other than that I felt pretty good. The race organization was great and I enjoyed the course design. It was a good mix of technical biking/roads and straightforward/difficult navigation. Only complaint was the CP in the cliff that we never found, would have been nice to at least know what side of the stream it was on. I would definitely come back to this race again. We placed 4th OA and in our category and considering the other teams we were racing against I am super happy with that result!

Event: No Sleep 24hr AR (USARA)
 

No Sleep 24 hr AR

Raced as Topo the Mountain with KFish, W4J and Andy Brown. Pre-race meeting was Friday evening and we received blank maps with 46 CPs to plot. Andy and Barbara went to town plotting and once they finished we compared our points with WWS. The course was a big loop with biking sections to get between the paddles and treks. We planned out the bike legs and then decided to call it a night. Race start wasn’t until 9 am so we finished up planning the next morning.

Bike 1 (2/2 CPs)

Started in a group following a truck out of the campground loop, which negated the 30 min we had just spent debating what would be the fastest route to CP1…. Our goal was slow and steady in the heat, so we hung near the back. First CP was up a creek. And then the second was on a pond that wasn’t mapped. Stopped one pond too early with a few other teams, but found it without too much trouble. My pack felt so heavy for this ride, thankfully after a couple hours I no longer noticed the weight.

Trek 1 (4/4 CPs)

Dropped our bikes and headed out on foot for the next 4 CPs. Took a slight detour on our way to the second CP, but the rest went smoothly. We were moving well through here – kept up a fast walk. Got in a few stinging nettles, but not too bad and I was feeling decent considering the heat.

Bike 2 (3/3 CPs)

Back on our bikes for a few more CPs. The second looked like it may be along a trail based on the supplementary map that was provided, but it was rather ambiguous so we dropped our bikes by a road junction and trekked to the point. Found it no problem and on our way back out saw a few very confused looking teams riding around on the trail. Next point was a short out and back where we ended up dropping our bikes again. The trail turned into a muddy mess that we did not want to push our bikes through. And then smooth sailing to TA3. Last part was a technical decent on a rocky/muddy trail where we were passed by quite a few teams.

Paddle 1 (5/5 CPs)

At this point we could either trek to the ropes or do the paddle. Since everyone else had headed to the ropes, we decided to start with the paddle to avoid lines. Kevin and Andy chivalrously carried the two heavy canoes up and then down a big hill to get to the water. All the paddle points were quite a ways off the water, so we made our way down the reservoir stopping to trek up a hill or reentrant to get the points. Had to cross a few shallow areas for one CP, but overall it was a pretty nice paddle. It was hot in the sun, but again not as bad as I was expecting.

Trek 2/Ropes (5/5 CPs)

Got back to the TA and had to plot the 4 ropes CPs. The supplemental trail map came in handy for this section as the points were quite a ways out. I was starting to struggle a bit, so I had Kevin take over navigating through the trails. Hit the one CP on our way out and then on to the ropes. There were people climbing all over, it was pretty neat. Started off with a top-rope that only one team member had to complete. I scrambled up that, which was way more difficult than I expected without climbing shoes. Then the whole team did a rappel, ascent and a second rappel. No lines at any of the ropes, which was great. And then the long trek back to the TA where I started to perk up again.

Bike 3 (2/2 CPs)

This next bike leg started out with a trail ride. Got to go through a sweet tunnel underneath the railroad tracks. Navigated using a combination of the supplemental trail map and the full topo map. After some hesitation we found the first CP. I then led us down the wrong trail for a bit before realizing my mistake. Unfortunately it was a rather muddy trail so we had to push our bikes back up, but at least it wasn’t very far. Got back on the right track and then to the next CP, which was at a lookout tower. Kevin and I climbed to the top and had a pretty nice view with the sun starting to set. All that was left was a mega downhill ride into the next TA along a trail that turned out to be quite technical. We rode a lot of it down, but would have to come back out the same way later and I was already dreading it. Got into the TA just as it was getting dark.

Trek 3 (6/10 CPs)

Put on our headlamps and stocked up on water before heading out. This trek looked massive. Started off by overshooting the first CP, but I was able to correct without have to reattack. Next one went fine. The third CP we forayed up the wrong creek briefly before heading up the correct one. This felt like the general theme of the night trek. I was able to navigate to the feature, but we had to search for a while once we were there. It could have been more efficient - I definitely need to work on my communication at night. The next flag was on a cliff, but we had read the clue as a hill, so weren’t even looking for the right feature. We were in the right area, so once we figured out the correct clue we trekked along the cliff and somehow Kevin spotted the flag. I’m not sure how he saw it in all those bushes. At this point we decided to drop a CP that would’ve been a massive bushwhack and it turned out it was missing, so lucky we didn’t go for it. The next CP was at a waterfall. We again didn’t read the clue well and missed the important part that it was at the top of the waterfall. Found a big rock face, but no flag, so continued on for a bit before realizing what happened and turning around. And then a long, gradual decent back into the TA with one more CP on a saddle along the way. There were 2 more CPs we could grab that were near the TA, so we trekked out to the first one which was ‘behind a boulder in a crevice at the base of a cliff.’ The point was plotted in the stream and there were massive cliffs on both sides…. There were so many places that fit the clue. We searched for about half an hour before calling it quits and heading back to the TA, such a bummer. But it sounds like it was a challenge even for the lead teams.

Ran back into school to pick up my bike.

Evening ride with KFish, W4J and Richard. Ways to get faster at biking: Go chase Richard around. Wow is he fast!

5.10-
5.10
5.11
5.11 Only made it half way
5.10