Training Log Archive: lost jokes

6hr AR Bronckhorst.
Results (team Boslopend Wild)

Well, this was awesome. Geke and I teamed up, both doing our first AR. We were a bit nervous because we just didn't know what to expect and because we had no clue how to pace our race. We didn't have any expectations/pressure though, apart from enjoying ourselves.
It turned out just fine, we kept an even pace and personally I only started feeling very tired in the final 30min. Geke got some knee problems but pushed through, and with some adaptations and just being hardcore she also managed.
I did most of the navigation, but that all worked fine and we didn't have a single moment of irritation. Geke made sure I ate and drank enough, since I was sometimes too rushed to take time to fuel myself.
We got all the points in the end with 6'30" left, so we knew we'd done well. Still was a huge surprise to finish 2nd of 24 teams though! 1st place was 5'30" ahead, 3rd and 4rd just 1' behind us. If only we knew during the race...
Navigation was easy and we were sharp, so we won a lot of time with that. Made me wonder how we'd do if the navigation was (much) harder.
Congrats to the organisation, planning a course with more running than cycling and having four teams get all the CP's finishing all within 10min and just before the deadline. Takes some good course planning to achieve that.

We started at 9:30 with 7,5k run with 6 CP's. Everyone went out pretty fast, but the pace felt alright and we got to the swimming pool as 3rd or 4rd team. Inside there was a map of the pool with 3 CP's. A bit chaotic and stressful but we got all them quickly. Lost some time changing clothes and packing/unpacking though.

Off we went for 12,5km of cycling. After only 1hr of racing I got off the bike and my right calf cramped up. Got a little worried to have troubles that soon, though I think it was because of the sudden changes from running to swimming to cycling. We made one wrong route choice, valuing a route on paved roads but doing an extra 150m.

At the next point we got one kick bike for both of us. We noticed this was a pretty long stage (around 15,5km), so took it easy. First we tried exchanging the kick bike often, but then Geke's knee started hurting and I found it more pleasant anyway to just run for a longer period, so I ran and she kickbiked. Might not have been as fast as being really disciplined with exchanging the kickbike, but it was more fun this way staying together and chatting, so it worked for us. Also one navigational mistake here when I missed a turn inside a village, but it cost us only 1'. After this we were flawless with the navigation. My right calf starting getting tired at this point, but stretching while doing short bits on the kick bike helped.

At this point we were 2h50' in, and had about half the CP's. Exchanged for a short cycling stage (13,5km) back with only 3 CP's, so we knew the last stage had to have a lot of CP's and/or be really long. We exchanged bikes during the stage, because I accidentally took the bike with the smaller frame, and we thought the toe clips on Geke's bike weren't really helping her knee pain. One CP was missing, three teams were searching there when we arrived. Within 30sec Geke found the sawdust where the CP should've been, and without doubt we took off again. Good feeling to not waste as much time as the others there.

We came back and found out the last stage was a run (17km), with 18 CP's left. Surprise, surprise, both long and a lot of CP's! I was pretty worried for Geke's knee, but after plotting part of the CP's (most were pre-drawn) on the map we had 2h10' left and decided to take it easy and see how it goes. We walked a lot in the beginning and then slowly picked up the pace, running more and walking less. The first part was simple, and then we entered the forest :) It was much nicer than I expected, so we had lots of fun chatting away because the slow pace made the navigation easy.
With 1h07' left we hit the furthest CP, so theoretically we were safe. Going back along the remaining CP's would be more though, so we picked up the pace again and overtook a few teams slowly but surely. We decided in the last moment to also take the final two CP's and eventually made it to the finish 'easily'.
We both wondered afterwards what we could've done if Geke's knee didn't start hurting. Good recovery and more training will tell I guess! It was interesting to experience a different kind of 'pain', not from lactic acid but just plain tiredness of muscles.

Things that need some practice:
-plotting CP's based off coordinates; easy to do at home, hard to do while music is playing in the background, people are shouting and after racing for 3,5hrs.
-Estimating food and water. I carried a bit too much water, and way too much food.
-Changes from stage to stage. Now a bit chaotic, though not too slow. We could spend the same amount of time changing but relax body and mind a bit better.
-More endurance training, especially on the MTB. We were losing a bit of time on that compared to other teams.

Cloudy 14°C.

Very easy ride with Tim and Louis, catching up. Right hip a bit stiff today, but no problems for cycling. Last training before sunday!

Overcast 11℃.

Dusk run. Had drawn a small course through the city on a 1:50k map, but preferred the forest in the end. Really just enjoyed the simple movement of running. Right hip a bit annoying, maybe because of right groin which has been a bit stiff since monday. Other than that comfortable, light and easy.

Rain showers 10℃.

Waited a bit on purpose for the predicted storm to come out, but it never came. Disappointed. Still lovely autumn weather; dark, rainy and windy.

Cold still lingering on a bit, pace was good though and running felt easy. Intentionally didn't run for too long.