Training Log Archive: StijnIn the 7 days ending May 18, 2016:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| « | » |
| » now | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||
| Th | Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | |||||||
Wednesday May 18, 2016 #
1 AM
Adventure Racing race (EA - Transition 8) 48:00 [0]
Again, too much faff getting warm by the fire and managing our heavy loads including PFDs, helmets and climbing gear for the next leg.
Adventure Racing race (EA - Leg 11 Hike (Part 1)) 3:50:00 [3] 2.7 km (0.7 kph) +250m
shoes: Asics Gel Fuji Sensor 3
We set off from the broken bridge, working with Sugar Monsters to try and figure out the tricky nav to the first checkpoint. Plett Adventure Racing was being rather annoying at this point, claiming they knew the route but making life very awkward for the teams wanting to follow them. So we left them to it and tackled it with Sugar Monsters. This was pretty much the worst section of the race but also a highlight for me in how we worked together, motivated each other and got through it in the end. Quite a defining moment in the race. We spent an hour or so looking for a fence line and a track marked on a map, but it was quite clear that there was nothing to be found in this dense bush. A bit of back-and-forth with some of the team wanting to sleep until dawn but the rest of us eventually convincing everybody that we had to get to the top of the hill before any sleep or our race was at risk. Plan B was following a tiger line through the bush straight up the hill - great team work here with each of us taking a turn at the front to plough on upwards. We eventually topped out at about 5am along with a few other teams popping out from their own forged trails. After getting the CP we left Sugar Monsters to it and found a nice spot in the pine needles for 90min of sleep until dawn.
5 AM
Adventure Racing race (EA - Sleep) 1:56:00 [0]
Probably only got about 30mins sleep as we seem to have picked a spot in the middle of a mosquito colony.
Day 4 GPS track: http://www.movescount.com/moves/move106459261
Day 4 GPS track: http://www.movescount.com/moves/move106459261
7 AM
Adventure Racing race (EA - Leg 11 Hike & Canyon) 6:36:00 [3] 17.2 km (2.6 kph) +800m
shoes: Asics Gel Fuji Sensor 3
Started hiking at close to first light and found Sugar Monsters waking from their nap just 50m down the road. Spent pretty much the rest of our race with them. To get to the canyon we had a long walk along forestry roads and the main focus was whether we still had enough time to do the entire canyon and make it back to T9 before the 6am short course cut-off the next morning. Other teams like Wizards of Oz and A2A were also moving with us on this leg. We faffed a bit just before the canyon and were hence 4th in the queue, which was quite significant later. The top section of the canyon was spectacular and would have been fun too had it not been for the extreme cold. Kev only had a shorty wetsuit so it was far worse for him. He had picked up some bad tendonitis and hence we were moving very slowly through the canyon, taking 2.5h for the top 1.5km. We climbed out to the Via Feratta and joined what turned out to be a 2h queue for the guided Via Feratta and abseil section.
2 PM
Adventure Racing race (EA - Via Feratta Queue) 1:50:00 [0]
4 PM
Adventure Racing race (EA - The end) 1:30:00 [3] 3.6 km (2.4 kph)
shoes: Asics Gel Fuji Sensor 3
I was very concerned about our pace and hence how we would deal with the cold for the lower section of the canyon, which by all accounts was at least another 6-8 hours long, especially with darkness approaching. So I suggested to Kev that we skip the lower section of the canyon for safety's sake and complete the rest of the full course with just one missing CP. This would also make it more likely that we would make the short course cut-off the next morning. Kev was happy with that idea and we started walking around the canyon, stopping for some pies in the Kurland township. On this walk it became obvious that Kev was barely able to walk anymore, moving at <2km/h on good gravel roads. So we called it quits at that point and headed back to the canyon for a lift back to T9. In hindsight, I could probably have done more and tried to tow and/or carry more weight. Along with a constant stream of painkillers, this may have worked to keep up a reasonable pace, but we'll never know I guess.
Either way, I'm very happy with how we raced for the 300km that we did cover. Kev was a great team mate and it was a brilliant route. Also great to share sections of the course with some of the other teams along the way. Sugar Monsters went on to be the last team completing the full course, so had things gone a little differently, it may have been possible for us too.
Various short course options were given to us once we got back to T9, but these have always seemed a contrived way to cross the finish line for me (especially since we had already taken a vehicle lift). There weren't any legs left that seemed like they would be highlights and well worth doing, so we just enjoyed the rest of the week as supporters and tourists :)
As always, we'll be back!
Either way, I'm very happy with how we raced for the 300km that we did cover. Kev was a great team mate and it was a brilliant route. Also great to share sections of the course with some of the other teams along the way. Sugar Monsters went on to be the last team completing the full course, so had things gone a little differently, it may have been possible for us too.
Various short course options were given to us once we got back to T9, but these have always seemed a contrived way to cross the finish line for me (especially since we had already taken a vehicle lift). There weren't any legs left that seemed like they would be highlights and well worth doing, so we just enjoyed the rest of the week as supporters and tourists :)
As always, we'll be back!
Tuesday May 17, 2016 #
2 AM
Adventure Racing race (EA - Transition 6 & Sleep) 5:03:00 [0]
Day 3 GPS track: http://www.movescount.com/moves/move106459286
7 AM
Adventure Racing race (EA - Leg 9 Hike) 11:17:00 [3] 35.8 km (3.2 kph) +1000m
shoes: Asics Gel Fuji Sensor 3
Left T6 in 31st. This leg was timed perfectly for us from sunrise to sunset, the weather was great and it's one of the highlights of the race for me. We coasteered a bit, followed cliff-top paths, went through an impressive cave, spent some time on the Robberg Peninsula and finished off with a long beach hike at sunset. We were in about 25th or so during this leg and there was a dense concentration of about 15 teams within a few km of each other. So there was plenty of mingling with other teams and a great vibe along the way. We moved up a few places with a nice consistent pace and few nav issues, swimming across the Keurbooms lagoon into transition at 6pm. Sugar Monsters had about a 90min lead on us at Robberg but we passed them having a very jealousy-inducing beach restaurant dinner just before the end of the leg. Finished this leg in 27th place.
6 PM
Adventure Racing race (EA - Transition 7) 2:13:00 [0]
Faffed for far too long in this transition, but still managed to leave it 2 places higher, in 25th place.
8 PM
Adventure Racing race (EA - Leg 10 Paddle) 4:34:00 [3] 17.0 km (3.7 kph) +20m
I was dreading this upstream paddling leg as the route book made mention of many portages over rapids. I couldn't have been more wrong though as this was the best leg of the race for me. Paddling up the Keurbooms River under a full moon with steep indigenous forest and cliffs on the river banks. Just beautiful. The portages weren't that bad either, despite going on for quite a while, and the effort kept us nice and warm. There was quite a bunch of teams moving up the river with us, including Sugar Monsters, Rustproof & A2A.
Monday May 16, 2016 #
1 AM
Adventure Racing race (EA - Sleep) 3:44:00 [0]
Day 2 GPS track: http://www.movescount.com/moves/move106459308
5 AM
Adventure Racing race (EA - Leg 7 Hike (Part 2)) 7:52:00 [3] 29.1 km (3.7 kph) +1350m
shoes: Asics Gel Fuji Sensor 3
Started hiking again just after 5am and caught back up to Rustproof (who had slept an hour less than us at Platbos) after a few hours, just before Millwood Hut. Passed a few snoring teams there as well, but slowed significantly on the last few climbs up to transition, which we reached at 1pm in 29th position.
1 PM
Adventure Racing race (EA - Transition 5) 1:09:00 [0]
Left T5 in 27th place.
2 PM
Adventure Racing race (EA - Leg 8 MTB) 11:23:00 [3] 84.0 km (7.4 kph) +1790m
shoes: Merida Big Nine TFS 500
The ride where the hills just didn't end! Kev found a sneaky shortcut to the Rondebossie Hut via a bit of hike-a-bike - would love to know how much time it saved over the longer road route around. I had an episode of sleep monsters in the late afternoon, but managed to get rid of it using long multiplication sums (#nerdalert). Kev was sukkeling a bit on the hills and we had a fair amount of faff along this ride sorting out broken lights, nav hesitations, etc. Things improved once we got back up to the Prince Alfred Pass after CP17 and we rode the singletrack sections towards Harkerville well. Once we clipped CP20 on the singletrack, Kev realised he had lost the last map with CP22 & T6 on it. So we put our heads down and sprinted after Antimatter who were a short way up the road. After agreeing to tag along with them for the rest of the leg, the nav got very confusing. We had lost map contact in chasing them down and they weren't too sure what was happening either. This cost us a very frustrating 2h of riding around in circles before finally hitting the main drag to the Kranshoek viewpoint and relocating there. We rolled into transition at 1:30am (now 28th) and decided to have a good 4h sleep.
Sunday May 15, 2016 #
Event: Expedition Africa - Knysna
8 AM
Adventure Racing race (EA - Leg 1/2/3 Paddle) 1:33:00 [3] 9.6 km (6.2 kph) +20m
Raced Expedition Africa with Kev as Team Charnas. The plan was to aim for a full course finish and keep things comfortable with 3-4 hours sleep a night. 53 teams racing so a huge field which I was looking forward to.
Day 1 GPS track: http://www.movescount.com/moves/move106459342
The start was in the Knysna Lagoon, with an initial "sprint" to a pier followed by paddle rogaine in the Thesen Island canals and then out to the Heads, around a yacht (CP1) and back to the Featherbed Reserve boat ramp. Awesome vibe at the start - they were clearly putting on a great show for us and the spectators. Finished this leg in 21st place.
Day 1 GPS track: http://www.movescount.com/moves/move106459342
The start was in the Knysna Lagoon, with an initial "sprint" to a pier followed by paddle rogaine in the Thesen Island canals and then out to the Heads, around a yacht (CP1) and back to the Featherbed Reserve boat ramp. Awesome vibe at the start - they were clearly putting on a great show for us and the spectators. Finished this leg in 21st place.
10 AM
Adventure Racing race (EA Transition 1) 4:00 [0]
Adventure Racing race (EA - Leg 4 Hike/Run) 1:56:00 [3] 13.0 km (6.7 kph) +350m
shoes: Asics Gel Fuji Sensor 3
Collected a few CPs via the Featherbed trail network, then down to the beach for a bit of coasteering before taking the high line via the road as the tide was up. Last section was a shuffle along the beach to Buffelsbaai. Passed a few teams on this leg to arrive at transition in 15th place.
12 PM
Adventure Racing race (EA - Transition 2) 5:00 [0]
Adventure Racing race (EA - Leg 5 Paddle) 2:31:00 [3] 15.0 km (6.0 kph)
Sea paddle around Buffels point - the surf entrance was easy enough but we got smashed on the surf exit at Goukamma. First wave that hit us on the back line separated us from our boat, leaving us with a long wild swim to shore - our boat beat us to the beach by a long way. Seems like very few teams paddled all the way in. Then a paddle up the Goukamma river to Blackwaters River Lodge. We were feeling the paddling distance by the end of this leg and were passed by a few of the stronger paddling teams. Finished this leg back in 21st place.
2 PM
Adventure Racing race (EA - Transition 3) 37:00 [0]
3 PM
Adventure Racing race (EA - Leg 6 MTB) 2:24:00 [2] 32.0 km (13.3 kph) +500m
shoes: Merida Big Nine TFS 500
Sandy forest road, tar and district gravel road ride to the start of the Outeniqua Trail at Beervlei Hut. Made a short nav error at the first CP, costing us about 3km and 20 min of out-and-back. Kev was powering on the flats but struggling a bit on the hills so we had an easy ride into transition, passed by a few more teams, finishing this leg in 22nd.
5 PM
Adventure Racing race (EA - Transition 4) 44:00 [0]
6 PM
Adventure Racing race (EA - Leg 7 Hike (Part 1)) 7:31:00 [3] 28.9 km (3.8 kph) +1100m
shoes: Asics Gel Fuji Sensor 3
Started the long 58km hike along the Outeniqua Trail as it got dark, hiking well with Merrell Mentored and Wizards of Oz. Merrell Mentored set off at a jog after a few km but we decided to stick to a more conservative hiking pace. The section up to Windmeulnek Hut was very fast (5km/h) but then things got slower with the muddy contour track around to Platbos Hut. Missed a trick here by not taking the more direct forest roads. Still, we passed a few teams here (Rustproof, A2A, Antimatter, 24h Meals Adventure) and had a good jog down the road to the Platbos Hut, which we reached at 1:30am, deciding to stop for 3.5h sleep.
Saturday May 14, 2016 #
11 AM
Cycling 16:38 [1] 4.8 km (17.3 kph) +27m
shoes: Merida Big Nine TFS 500
Group ride with all the EA teams to the Sedgefield market.
1 PM
Cycling 13:32 [2] 4.6 km (20.4 kph) +28m
shoes: Merida Big Nine TFS 500
Ride back to Pine Lake Marina with Jabberwock.