Training Log Archive: shotgunmcos

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The last road trek to the Cottage
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At the Cottage, we were told that there were Canadian Canoes waiting for us. I asked why us? It was non ranked teams had to wait for ranked teams to pass. We were still ranked?! Sweet. We got our safety breifing amidst a cloud of biting midgies and got the canoes on the water. Jim had told us that there were about 15 teams through with 2 more to come so we were already doing far better than our expecations. Just a paddle to go...
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I loved the first half of this. A glass like lake under the sun, enveloped by a the surrounding mountains. The canoes just gliding silently along. It was a magic moment, knowing we were going to finish after all we had been through, not just in the race, but this year as a team.

We entered the river and Kate and Peter took another swim through the rapids beneath the bridges. It took a while and a kind bystander on the bank to right them again while we were all eaten alive by midgies. We initially took a wrong turn right on Muckross lake thinking we were on the main lake and it cost us 20 minutes to correctly find the meeting of the waters. A simple sleepy mistake. The last hour and a half was more chop and more wind but we eventually hit the shore. I had so nearly dropped off to sleep bobbing about in the waves. My mum greeted us with hugs and the most amazing jam filled doughnuts.
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We gobbled them up and ran (hobbled in pain) up the last km to the finish line. It was emotional and it was great.

Just finishing would have been our best case scenario. To finish as a ranked team 4th on the Short Course or 13th overall in our first ARWS race went way beyond that.
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It was almost a fun TA. I wrote the blog necking yet another FGS chocolate shake while the team got things done, including packing the bikes into boxes. Abi and her Team Rootstock arrived in shortly after us and looked wasted, but still on the full course. I got chatting with Mark and Brent and despite their appearance, were ready to rock on to the big trek.

From the leader board we were still ranked, although in 16th overall or so. If we could just bag the last 2 mandatory controls up on top of the Magillicuddy Reeks we would finish and have every chance of finishing ranked. When I saw my feet though I was a bit concerned. I tended to them and we all got moving again. It was about 7am and we had the bones of 24 hours to make it to Lord Brandons Cottage. Loads of time, or so we thought! We didn't slack off to a stroll though and trekked at a strong pace over the Kerry way. It was a long way to the Reeks and we had to stop for Kate to bandage my toes but it was a very enjoyable section of trail. Quite enchanting actually.

After 7 hours or so we began our ascent of Caher, the third highest mountain in Ireland. It was a bit of work to reach the last part of the ridge and then the cloudy summit. The top of the Reeks were hidden in a fog. As we carefully threaded our way across the col between Caher and Carrauntoohill, Ireland's highest peak we just prayed for the cross to appear from the fog. Eventually it did and we dibbed CP 23. Just one more to go.

2 and a half hours and 5 peaks later we had traversed the Ridge line to Cnoc na Pesita and CP 24. Job done. Now just to get off the mountain, how hard can that be?!

I took the right line off CP 24 initially but went too far. We found a cliff and had to back track. It was near 8pm and getting dark. The wind was ferocious and the fog so thick you could lose sight of a teamie 15m ahead or behind. Sean was having a bad time with Vertigo, Kate was shuffling downhill on her backside, my head torch was gone and Peter was running ahead disappearing into the fog scouting. It was a very scary situation. Cliff after cliff. Zero visibility. Cold. I got the team focused on dropping elevation to the lake. Once we got to it the fog would not be as dense. It was painfully slow but we dropped to the lake at last, mainly with Kate leading Peter and Sean clinging to me. I breathed a small sigh of relief but we were not there yet. We had to follow the river and descend more.

This was my main mistake. We should have rounded the lake on the right and kept the river on our left. We would have descended then to the gate that lead off the mountain. Instead we followed the edge of the lake to the left and the river then to our right. We dropped height and were very cold and hungry. It became clear that with another intersecting river we would have to cross at some stage. It was so dark and all we could hear was the powerful rushing of the river to our right. It was too dangerous to cross and as I thought of another longer route around we voted to get into the bothy and sleep until dawn. At least we would have sight of what we had to do.

We awoke every hour or so in the bothy like 4 angry teenagers to rearrange ourselves and shout at whoever was letting the cold in! I'd swear a sheep was trying to join us at one stage according to Kate. 6 hours later after tangling ourselves up in a wet bothy that slid down the mountain as we slept, Kate spotted the gate with an ITERA arrow not 400m from us! We quickly changed some clothes, crossed the river and followed the arrows 2km down to Lord Brandons Cottage and the end of the stage.
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The Aliwee Caves
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Pitching the Tents for some more shut eye
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At last the long bike stage!

The rain of course continued as we threaded our way up a stiff climb to the Aliwee Caves. I didn't bother with running shoes to again lighten the load. I was popping ibuprofen and paracetamol over 8 hours but it was only managing the pain. The marshal was strict about no cleats in the caves so I removed my cleats. Brian Keogh popped up again ever helpful and secured some shoes for Sean so he didn't have to do the same.

The caves were cool. Tight squeeze spaces, drops, climbs, water up to your knees etc.. We bagged CP 6 & 7 and got to cycle our bikes back out of the caves. Very cool. My shoulder was really sore after it though.

As we were leaving "That Team" Fujin Raijin arrived to be the last team to do the caves. The marshal had to go in with them as their English was all but absent in their state of sleep monsters. Like the Japanese spirit I know though they still mustered smiles

As the weather was minging and we had made the last 2 cut offs we opted to pitch the tents and sleep a couple of hours. It wasn't comfy, another rocky thorny field but we slept anyway.

The first few hours at dawn was off road over the Black Head loop. We made one nav error that added a few kms but no biggie. I was very surprised at the performance of the conti speed king tyres on the wet and loose stuff. The bike was set up for predominantly road but it gave me no trouble off road. Before long we caught sight of the sea and had descended gleefully onto the coast road.

Approaching Doolin it was about 10am and I knew just the place for breakfast. McGans! Parked the bikes much to the amusements of the tourists and sat down for the FULL IRISH (sausages, pudding, bacon, beans, tomato etc..), extra toast and extra tea :-) We were already happy to be on our bikes but boy did this lift the spirits! With full bellies we climb climb and climbed some more up towards the Cliffs of Moher :-)

The Cliffs themselves are one of the main Irish tourist attractions but we were lucky enough for the clouds to part and sunshine to greet us on the cliff trail to CP8 and later CP9 at Hags Head. It was simply spectacular. What a location for a CP!!

The rest of the next few hours was making our way down the coast through several towns to Killimer and the Ferry across to Tarbert. We passed Fujin Raijin again on the way, They must not have slept and I couldn't fathom how they were still upright! We were moving pretty well on the bike knowing we were still a ranked team and likely top 15-20 with so many teams missing cut offs.

We were a bit beat by the time we got to Killimer (another course change as the race originally had another Ferry crossing planned) but we were there with plenty of time for the 5pm crossing. Enough time to get a hot chocolate and some fruit cake from the shop. We had pushed the bike for a few hours to limit the amount of time we would have to nav off road in the dark with sleepy heads.

From Tarbert Kate was full of beans and lead for the next 30km pulling the boys along with her. She just gets stronger as the race gets longer. It allowed my nav brain to switch off for a while and "just pedal". We were working well as a team and minimising stops. As dusk fell upon us we passed the pier for coasteering. We know it was finished and had been told we didn't need to dib it en route. 10km later down the road we had pulled into a grassy knoll to get 15 minutes kip when Jim (a chief race support) pulled up in his van to rouse us with another route change, on the fly! He handed us a new map and basically told us to redirect to Glenbeigh via the Conor Pass! That was some 40km away!

Meanwhile Jim had to get back to Tarbert to rescue Fujin Raijin who had gone awol!

My headlamp had become a casualty of the race so I handed nav duties over to Sean as night fell at the next town where we stopped for a feed of chips and pizza :-) Sean navved flawlessly around the shore of Dingle bay, through some housing estates and to the base of the Conor Pass. As usual since the switch off of the nav brain, I went into auto pilot. I totally forgot about my shoulder at one point trying to lift my bike over a gate, only to drop it on my face.

By the time we reached the climb I had also fallen of my bike onto my right shoulder thankfully and was all but asleep cycling. The team opted to pitch up in a field again and get 2 hours shut eye. It did the world of good and we were blessed with a moonlight sky to light up the long climb ahead. It took some 90 minutes to climb and 20 to descend. We kept a tight box formation controlling the speed on the descent and it was magic! Once we hit the main road we were tired but in such good spirits that we bombed into Glenbeigh to finish an epic bike stage. It was the best and most organised TA of the race yet. The volunteers had laid everything out, put the kettle on and the lads even grabbed showers.
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Once we left the Island and pointed the boats SE we were instantly met with a headwind and unrelenting 2-4ft chop. It was a slog pure and simple. It took us a good 3 hours to paddle the next 5-6km. If we stopped we were blown backwards. It was practically a treadmill. We caught up to another full course team and pulled into the bank on the south shore of the mid Corrib. We talked portage scenarios. They wanted to call Ivan to check if they would be DSQ etc.

We opted as 2 teams to just get on with it. Several more hours of exhausting effort later, after traversing rock fields in the water, we approached a quay. It was approx. 15km from the end of the Corrib Lough and start of the Corrib river. We thought there were 2 marshals on the quay but it was just 2 AR supporters. When I say "just", the disappointment that this was not an end to the paddle was met with hot sugary tea and figrolls from their van. Those 2 supporters were legends!

The other full course team, who we had passed earlier, rocked up and were so not impressed that it was not a marshal telling them to get out, that they paddled off into the headwind again in anger - no biscuits! We were all wet, cold and tired at this stage. Particularly since Kate and Peter, after battling waves and wind for hours, toppled in to water in the calm shelter of the quay. Again we tossed about portage options and after paddling around the quay to see the other team getting nowhere, it was a no brainer. My shoulder was in agony and I really needed to just stop paddling for a while.
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We had a couple of options to put back in the water. After 3km we came across farmland and it was not possible. It would have taken hours to beat through bush to re-launch anyway. Back to tarmac trekking, pulling the boats on the trolley. We thought about launching from a narrow bridge down a narrow river but it was too steep and an accident waiting to happen.

About 5km up the road we pulled into a traditional old Irish shop where you can get bread, milk, sweets, coal, briquettes etc. Sean and Kate headed in in search of coffee, Peter and I sat in a coal shed. We were both feeling it and had since heard the Galway Bay paddle was cancelled. We thought it was going to be a 20km run on tarmac to Kinvara and that was going to be a game ender for us. My shoulder was in bits and my feet were not good. It was at least another 5km to re-launch into the wind and then a 20km tarmac walk on top of that! I called a come to Jesus team meeting.

We were not having fun, it was a slog and the feet problems were looking like a DNF. I was not in a good way. I felt as though I was costing the team too much. I knew that if this portage option didn't work and we had to back track for a longer paddle into the, that plus the trek was going to goose me. We agreed as a team that our aim was to finish as a team, no matter what shape that was in. If we had to take a taxi in Glaway to avoid the trek and become unranked then so be it. Kate and Sean then gave us the news that they had made a friend in the shop keeper, he was going to ring ahead to his neighbor to let us use her land to re launch. A biblical shower fell from the sky and bounced off the ground in right in front of us. We were sheltered inches from it, in the shed and already feeling the weight of pressure lift.
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When the abrupt shower ended we carried on up the road, through a small woods and true to his word at the shop 2 hours later, a gate was left open beside a picture perfect house. It lead to a grassy lane and a sweet little jetty, just perfect to launch the boats again. We were about 5km from the end of the Lough and in a bay. We had 2km lovely calm paddling before heading out into the open lake again and taking another 90 minutes of slog to find the reed jungle leading to the river mouth. A nice fisherman had emerged from the reeds recommending we use the "old river". It took a bit of finding on the map but we were ever so glad to be done with the lake. We had been on it for the bones of 20 hours, Island stop included and it had taken it out of us.

We had 2 more hours paddling down the river corrib to another makeshift TA meeting the same full course team from the Quay en route. They had taken the new river route and looked shattered. It hadn't rained in a couple of hours but as we approached the eventual end of the paddle, the heavens opened in dramatic form to wholly drench us. It was a fitting end to a big stage, that was not yet done. We were still 20km+ from Kinvara!
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Once we dropped the boats (carrying up another steep ramp) we found our bike boxes. Peter had no spare clothes and was in bad shape. Thankfully we would be cycling back to Kinvara so would warm up but it was a positively shivering cold TA. One of the marshals actually found layers for Peter, hot tea for the team and Brian Keogh from Team Moxie basically put the bikes together. They were marvellous. We were now in Galway and Sean’s hometown so first order of business, posh chips on Shop Street.

It was about 9pm on a Friday evening on the busiest street in Galway city. I hadn't been on my bike in over a month since my accident and my heart was in my mouth following Sean's helmet through the thronged street to the Chippie. The chips were hot and delicious though. Sean knew the route back to Kinvara and I had cycled it in a race only 2 months before so we made hay and dropped the other team tailing us.

The TA at Kinvara was manic. We had 40 minutes to get out before a cut off of 11pm. We met Fujin Raijin who seemed to be ghosts of themselves. There was lots of other teams on the way out. We learned a few things
1. The Aliwee Caves section was still on if we could get there by 2am
2. We had to get bloods done for a research project
3. There were changes to 7 of the maps for the Stage 4 bike!

Kate was a superstar and got straight to the logistics of meals and foot care etc. We all got bloods done and I found out I was already very dehydrated. A result of not carrying 3L of fluid in my bag to save the shoulder. We got our stuff sorted and got briefed on the many route changes to the maps. We exited TA at about 10:58pm about as close to the cut off as you can get.

Fujin Raijin bundled out onto the street to complete their TA!
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We had all really been looking forward to this trek but with a pile of wet trekking already in the legs, the feet were not too happy to begin with. I made an immediate nav boo boo missing a turn but caught it about 300m later. Only a few minutes, but a few more minutes on tarmac. Next we dived down a lane and wondered around for a bit before realising we were again in the wrong spot. Just another few minutes. We finally found our mountain, the first of the Northern Pins and could see in a reasonably clear night the lights of other teams crossing the ridge. It was just impressive how far ahead the lead teams were!

Once we found the right line we climbed steadily but the clear sky quickly filled with cloud again. By the time we hit the top it was enveloped by a fog. I reckon we spent about an hour searching around for the CP with Peter and Kate growing tired. I think it was a case of Sean and I both searching but neither really stopping to think and lead from the map. We had all but given up and headed for the descent when I linked a crag face to the map and realised we had been in the wrong spot. I suddenly knew exactly where I was on the map and took a bearing. We followed it and a few minutes later bagged CP1. At least it was not a futile effort!

The bottom of the decent was tricky through think dense woods. You had a pick a spot to drop but we just rocked up the trail to a farmers lane and hopped the fence. We were surprised to meet a couple of guys form Team ARSE and learned of our friend Sinead’s fall from a rock. She was banged up but ok. Stage 1 seemed to have caused havoc with both teams and the. RD's plans. We had planned to skip over to the Maamturks for CP4 & 5 the Turks were scrapped altogether. Instead it was a long trek over the Western Way. Team Godzone skipped passed with Nick Gracie looking fresh but the rest of his team hanging. We also passed "that team" Fujin Raijin. I had greeted them in Nihongo back at registration so they positively beamed at us every time we met, which was often. They were light on their feet and running.

We had our usual scenario of Kate wanting to run and the 3 boys dragging their feet behind her. A few km from TA Kate and I had a rather large bust up and she stormed ahead with the 3 boys loping after here in step!

The TA at Maam was where we first got some warm meals on board, in silence though as Kate was still cooling off!. We saw the leader board too and I had to write the team blog. It seemed like most of the race was already out on Lough Corrib and we were one of the last few teams to straggle into TA. It was about 5pm and although we could use as much daylight as possible for the Nav tricky Corrib paddle, we needed sleep. Que a couple of hours in the tent. I don't think Kate slept and she instead did what she always does, gets sh!t sorted and get the lads moving again :-)
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We portaged about 500m down the road, packed up the trolley and launched. A French Team launched ahead of us and quickly got away.

After the first paddle this was to be another monster. 55km down the length of the Corrib with its hundreds of little islands, at night! Then a short portage on Galway docks before a 20km sea paddle to Kinvara across Galway Bay. That was all then.

We were fast learning that at this level of Adventure Racing, Expedition is the operative word! Everything was just, well, longer and harder that you imagined.

The paddle started relatively calm as light faded. A we entered the North West of the lough in opened out and the real Nav began. I managed to keep us on the map and gave the bearings to Sean behind me. He steered perfectly and the guys kept tight behind us. We caught and passed the French team again and were making good progress. We had lots of paddling miles done in training and had faith in our fitness. About 3 hours in the wind started to kick up a small chop, not too much just enough to up the ante. We could get complete calm shelter behind an Island to grab a quick bite or a 5 minute shut eye.
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By 1am and 5hrs in the wind had kicked up ferociously and any little visibility we had of the headland vanished. The effort became a slog and the wind and rain kicked up in the squall made it very tough to see anything. We were paddling into a direct headwind and a storm was on us. We made the call to beach at one of the Islands for a sleep until dawn. The "Islands" are not the sandy images you see on postcards but rather hostile, thorny bush. We pulled the boats onto rocks and hoped they would still be there in a few hours, picked our way through the thick briars and huddled together under a space blanket. My shoulder got very stiff and I spent about 2 hours shaking uncontrollably. Peter was frozen. It was more a makeshift storm shelter than a sleep! A one point I managed to fall out of our huddle and ended up on my back like an upturned beetle.

As dawn started to break the rain seemed to stop and the wind seemed to die down. We opted to stop shivering and get moving
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Longer than expected due to the Gardaí (Police) having to re route. Steady pace for a trot around Westport about 30m behind the Bobkittens throughout :-)
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We were about mid pack in TA changing into wetsuits etc. The first 2 hours of paddling were calm and my ribs gave a sharp grinding reminder every so often to keep the stroke steady.

Then it all changed to headwind, tide and 6-8ft swells. Some crews bailed, others portaged, a few missed the emergency 2 pull out cut off. It was carnage. In a way kind of fun too. My ribs and shoulder were in ribbons but it hurt so much it just kind of went numb. Toughest conditions I have ever paddled in. Perfect storm stuff with crews vanishing in front of us only to appear again climbing another swell.

Getting around the head, beyond the rocks and lining up for a pier in the gnarly breaking sea was scary. We were frozen and changed in some makeshift coal shed. No crews actually made it down the west coast paddling because the chief marshal pulled it. Couldn't have crews paddling in the dark in those conditions.
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Ivan Park met us and sent us off down the coast on a 15km (15 miles more like it) trek across long beaches, fast flowing rivers, rocky banks and soft grass. It was actually very enjoyable. We caught a few teams here and shot the breeze with Basecamp AR for most of it. I had a TV camera shoved in my face after one team arm linking river crossing and I think I sang "down in fraggle rock" for some reason!

Alas the dusk sea looked beautiful and benign from our trekking vantage point!
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The makeshift TA was chaos. It was a hive of activity. Not only had we caught some teams on the coastal trek but here were another bunch of them giving out, looking for stuff, generally not behaving like teams. We got on with it, pieced together the story from the ever so patient marshals (we would see the same faces again and again over the race, bloody superstars they are)

Basically grab your kayak again and shove it down a km of a moving sandy channel. We and a Dutch team attempted to hop in over and over only to get stuck, give up the ghost and launch at the beach. It was pitch black and the breakers were roaring. Peter and Kate took a dip and went AWOL for a minute. There were no crews on the water in front of us so I took a bearing and pointed towards Killary Harbour. Peter and Kate dropped in behind Sean and I for a silent cool paddle around fish farms and to the quay. It was just a short paddle but I really enjoyed it.
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We hauled the kayaks up a steep ramp, or rather Kate and the boys did. My shoulder was in a jock and I was exempt mainly from any lifting. I can't describe how much I appreciate my teams efforts to manage the risk of having me on board. At least I was reasonably useful with a map, doing the team blogs and calling decisions etc..

The last part of what had turned from a long paddle into an epic first stage, was a 7km trek along the old Famine Road. It was wet and rocky and change levels constantly. Our shoes were soaked and filled with sand. We only came across one other team on this section, the Dutch team from the sandy banks.

It TA we thought we would have our team bag. Mistake. We had our foot care and butt care boxes in it. So, we made do with the powder and wipes we had. Feet were already not good. Blisters after stage 1. The bobkittens were getting kitted up for a trek next to us, all business! We learned that at least 5 teams had already missed a cut off and were non-competitive and we were barely 13 hours into a 5 day race!
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Event: ITERA Ireland (ARWS)