Training Log Archive: Saz

So we won the DAR mixed category and outright which was pretty cool.
Thanks to our awesome support crew Dad, Danger, Jen and Jen's parents,
also thanks to Fletch, Tooms and tRicky for being a great team to race with and to 2 Dots, Dolf and Danger for lending us their boats we couldn't have done it without them.

Lastly the Paddy Pallin gear was great to race in and Shotz gels/bars and electrolyte were easy and tasted reasonable too for race food.

Orienteer/Run leg around Denmark town and suburbs with tricky and fletch.
It was a little chilly to start with and my calves were quite tired from yesterday.

Luckily as we went along I warmed up which was good. tricky was naving and very strong. Most of the controls were fairly obvious to find which was good. We skipped the swim across the river for a long run around instead. Through a few farmers paddocks and across a lot of fences, fletch was feeling ok and had the next leg of so started to tow me up the hills.

We had a little trouble with the ex-tree stump now a clearing CP but otherwise were pretty clean. After a bit over halfway I jumped on the tow rope to save my legs.

Back into TA for a mt bike with tooms and tricky, tooms naving this time.

After tricky was ready we set off on a single track/ walking path for the first two close controls. Got a little lost on the way to the next CP as the map didn't match the paths.

Long ride along the railway trail, hanging onto trickys pack one lucky control where we jumped off the bikes and headed into the bush and the control was right nearby. Rode through a couple of paddocks which meant quite a few fence crossings. Back out onto a trail, my bike chain sounded like it was going to snap at some point and my brakes didn't sound much better.

Out onto the bitumen for a quick zip down to the next CP which we hit perfectly (!!!) then a quick ride into TA at Greens pool.

Coasteering leg with tooms and fletch - my third leg leg in a row so wasa bit buggered to start with but luckily tooms did a quick snorkel leg in Greens Pool before the start which gave me a bit more time to shovel food in.

Lots of big slippery bare rocks to scramble for the first few km before it slowly turned to beach interspersed with rock. The Salomons were crap on the slippery rocks. A couple of swims early on where it was easier to get around the rocks at the bottom rather than go over them. Missed a control even after another team pointed it out to us.

A few long sections of beach which I was double towed over, lots of the other teams were very jealous of the tow rope ;) Then it turned into really sharp spikey rocks and it started to rain a bit. An awful section where I got spiked by sword grass and my hand wouldn't stop bleeding then a few sections where you had to time the run between waves and we were at the last CP.

From here it was a slog up a sandy hill track to the main track before a jog back to TA. My heels were rubbing and killing me but I got there. (Lesson learnt - wear longer socks)

The next leg was a very long paddle which luckily I had off, so after helping to get the guys ready at the beach I slowly dragged myself back to warm clothes and hot food.

Final leg was a mt bike with tricky and tooms who subbed in for fletch. I had eated lots in my leg off and drunk coffee and lots of coke so was full of energy for the first half of the leg and led out through the mud and rain.

The first two controls were pretty easy then the headwind picked up a bit and I sat in behind the others, while tricky towed tooms. We initially missed the track to the last control but tooms was onto it and we turned round and tricky and I rode up the hill which was quite steep. Tooms had some excuse about his gears not changing and this being his 4th leg in a row. We looked for the control a bit early but then found it and got ahead f the other team looking for it who had been ahead of us.

A quick ride to the finish and it was over!!

We got line honours which was pretty cool.

Event: Denmark Adventure Race
 

First leg of the Adventure Race!! with tooms and tricky

The ocean/bay was nice and calm so I wasn't worried about not being able to get off the beach. Dolfs PRS (Thanks Dolf!) was a bit tippy but after the first km or so I got used to it.

Felt reasonable paddling and only had 1 fall in / remount / fall in on the other side / remount out in the ocean. The wind was a Norwester so a head/cross wind which made it a little tricky.

I caught a smallish wave partway into the beach and then fell off, just got back on before falling in as a wave hit me side on. This necessitated a swim to shore where tooms and tricky got my boat.

Next up was a boat drag before heading across the inlet to a CP and then up the s-bend river to transition, my arms were pretty tired but luckily I had the next leg off.

Third leg of the race, second leg for me with tooms and fletch.

Paddle down the ?? river, the first half of the 9km paddle involved dragging the boats (Thanks Dolf!) over, under and around various fallen logs. Pretty good fun but hard work trying to get the boat over the logs.

Once we got past the other teams we were able to speed up a bit and pull away from the other teams which made it a bit smoother. The river deepened and opened up after the CP at the jetty.

The last half of the paddle was flat water and tough. My arms were buggered from the earlier paddle, there was a wind and the other teams caught back up to us at the end.

Orienteer/Run leg with fletch and tricky.

On the tow rope right from the beginning. We planned to get a few bonus time controls depending on the amount of time we had spare, ensuring that we would get in to the Tree Top Walk before the 5pm cut off.

Got pretty cut up on a bush bash leg up a creek and then missed that control when the track to it didn't exist. Got most of the rest pretty well, the map was pretty dodgy but fletch did a good job with the nav.

Had problems with our second last CP with less than 20 mins to get to the TTW. It was hidden in a ditch at the side of the road which was a bit frustrating especially as we ran right past it then wasted 10 mins checking we were in the right place.

Two big hills from the last CP to the TTW were tough but we got there just. Got the 3 CP's the TTW swung a lot when we walked along it, then through to the Ancient Walk and back to transition.

Last leg of the day for me yay! but also the third in a row. Mt bike with tooms and tricky.

Tooms was naving and after the 300m or so out to the road he was confused already, not good. We watched the goats, the madmen and woop woop turn right and ride down the hill on the bitumen. A little later we turned left and road up the hill. tricky then spotted a track to the right and we headed up that.

Apparently the map was making sense, then we saw a tree at a junction and not long after the CP :). There was a long gravel downhill to the road and then another downhill on the road which was good fun except for the midgies. Another CP on the railway track junction then along the railway track for a while. Some bits were pretty boggy but it was flat which was good.

I felt pretty good, there was a hill and then the last CP before one more hill then onto the bitumen and barreling along to the TA.

woohoo Day 1 was over (for me at least!)
The guys headed out onto the run and I went home for a hot shower, dinner and yummy stickydate pudding

Paddle at East Perth with Tooms and Jen.
Easterly was quite strong in the car park but not too bad out on the river. Nice once it warmed up a bit.
Not sure about the time.

Ride into work the long way.
Chased a roadie train along the freeway and then turned into the awful easterly to South Perth.

Eventually a slowish roadie came past and I tucked in behind him for the last bit.

Ride home from work, got swooped by a bird which kept crashing into my helmet.

Paddled along the wall at Matilda Bay, quite a bit of wind chop and bounce back coming off the wall. After 1.5km I decided to paddle out into the southwest wind/waves so I could turn around and paddle back with it.

Paddled out quite slowly into the wind and chop then turned around and paddled quite hard to try and get a bit of extra push from the little runners.

Managed to just get under 8mins/km average so was quite pleased with that for the plastic fantastic

4 terrain loop medium 2mins break hard 3 minutes break medium 2 minutes break hard

Left the GPS charging at mum and dads and forgot my watch at work last week so I didn't get the times.

Considering I ran the last two more conservatorally for the weekend I figure its ok.