Wednesday Aug 30 |
 | Map Run (course setting) 1:30:00 [2] *** | |
| shoes: Salomon XA Pro 3D (2006, black |
| Checking courses at William O'Brien. Bad news. Nearly the entire western half of the park is filled with thick nettles and raspberries (armpit high in some cases.) I have to throw out large parts of my advanced courses and use some of the more open areas. On the bright side, white and yellow aren't much affected. |
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| C • Aw, Come on 2 |
Saturday Aug 26 |
| Orienteering race (Adv race) 4:00:00 [3] *** 12.0 mi (20:00 / mi) | |
| spiked:8/9c shoes: Salomon XA Pro 3D (2006, black |
| Both of us managed to get back on track with CP 3-7 and were weaving back and forth. Typically we would get to the CP at the same time, then we would take off on different routes (we trotted on flats and downhills) and then WEDALI would pass us as we were approaching the next CP. So we had better routes but they had more speed - any surprise there?
We also had to cross the Kickapoo River a couple of times - it turned out to be waist deep at most, although there was a 2-3 mph current so we held hands across. Lots of nettles as well.
Unfortunately #8 was misplaced about 250 m SW of where it should have been, so we both wasted another 45 minutes thrashing through the nettles. We were about ready to give it up as well, except that Justin spotted it on top of a cliff (the point should have been at the river's edge.)
9-11 were easy, though with some brutal climbs up through Wildcat Mountain SP. We arrived at the canoe outfitter in Ontario for TA 1 around 4 AM, WEDALI was 15 minutes ahead. Brian had everything arranged and our boats ready, and we were on the water within 9 minutes. |
| Paddling (canoe) race (Adv race) 4:30:00 [3] * 20.0 mi (13:29 / mi) | |
| spiked:1/1c shoes: Salomon XA Pro 3D (2006, black |
| Beautiful paddle down the Kickapoo. Brian, Suzanne and Dave were in a 17' aluminum tub and I commandeered the stubby kayak, but our speeds turned out almost even. Since it was dark, I went ahead and scouted the turns and obstacles. There was a good current so we were moved pretty fast and had to stay vigilant, since the river was 20-30 feet wide, a couple inches to a couple feet down, and had lots of downed trees and submerged logs. A really fun paddle, we just counted the bridges until the takeout. Got out around 8:30 AM. |
| MTB (road) race (Adv race) 2:00:00 [4] ** 25.0 mi (4:48 / mi) | |
| spiked:3/3c |
| At takeout, we got new instructions. Mountain biking was canceled due to muddy trails, so we got on the road and rode over to the rappel site about 10 miles east of Hillsboro, picking up CPs 20-22 along the way. At the end, we had to follow a gravel road until it became doubletrack, then doubletrack became tall grass, then it crossed a large stream/small river, muddy and about 6 feet deep. Brian (the tallest team member) took the bikes across, just barely touching bottom, and Suzanne had to swim about 10 feet. But we got across to the next TA and picked up gear for the trek to the ropes section. |
| Hiking race (Adv race) 30:00 [2] 1.0 mi (30:00 / mi) | |
| spiked:2/2c |
| Trek to the river again, where we traversed to the other side, then climbed to the top of a 200' cliff. After the rappel, traverse back across and trek back to the TA. |
| Ropes race (Adv race) 1:00:00 [2] | |
| spiked:1/1c |
| River traverse using pulley, then a 180' rappel down a great sandstone cliff, then traverse back across the river. |
| MTB (road) race (Adv race) 2:00:00 [3] ** 27.0 mi (4:27 / mi) | |
| spiked:1/1c |
| Bike back to the finish line at Rockton, picking up another CP along the way. More road riding, but with a headwind this time. We took the access road east out of the TA to avoid a second river crossing. |
| Note | |
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| WEDALI finished in 14 hrs, we finished in 16 and change. Next team was 19 hrs. Lots of teams complained about CPs 2 and 8, and there was something weird about the whole deal. Joe described where he placed each one, and 8 was moved by the time the _first_ team (WEDALI) got there. 2 was misplaced anyway (mapped in the woods, actually placed in the open on an unmapped hilltop) but was reported in three different places by different teams, and in a fourth place when retrieved the following morning.
Of course, this made impossible for the apportioning of awards to satisfy everyone. Somehow we ended up with a medal, WEDALI didn't, and a team that took 20+ hours got 1st place. I didn't care really, the results speak for themselves. |
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| C • Congrats 4 |
Friday Aug 25 |
| Orienteering race (Adv race) 2:00:00 [3] *** 3.0 mi (39:59 / mi) | |
| spiked:1/2c shoes: Salomon XA Pro 3D (2006, black |
| Driftless Zone Adventure Race in SW Wisconsin. Raced as a 4P with Brian, Suzanne and Dave. Brian Winter was our support crew. Started the race at 10 PM in back of the Rockton Bar. We had to blindfold ourselves and follow support crew's verbal directions to three different volunteers, two had instruction sheets and one had the maps. Then we had to plot the checkpoints (quickly), Brian checked me and we were first out on the trekking/orienteering section - 11 points, 15 miles winding up to Ontario.
We nailed CP1 and climbed a steep hill to CP2 - but when we got to the top, no flag. We canvassed the area and found nothing, then WEDALI caught up with us and all eight of us did another sweep, with no luck. Justin and I consulted on the maps and we were in full agreement - something was fishy. We wanted to get going before the other teams caught up. Finally one did, and we moved over to check a different hilltop in case of misplacement (no luck there.) After almost an hour we decided to bag it and go on, and by then there were about 10 confused teams milling about on top of the hill. |
Thursday Aug 24 |
| Paddling (kayak) 5:30:00 [3] 22.5 mi (14:40 / mi) | |
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| Paddle down the Mississippi from Big Sandy Lake to Palisade. Very winding with a few oxbows. Upper part was state forest, saw lots of ducks, deer, and a few river otters. |
Wednesday Aug 23 |
| Paddling (kayak) 1:00:00 [2] 2.0 mi (29:59 / mi) | |
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| Paddled up the W Savanna River until it shallowed it. |
Tuesday Aug 22 |
| MTB (technical) 1:30:00 [3] 15.0 mi (6:00 / mi) | |
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| Biked around the Remote Lake area. The logged areas are starting to come back a bit. |
Monday Aug 21 |
| Note | |
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| Hiking and other miscellany at Savanna Portage. |
Sunday Aug 20 |
| Orienteering (Control retrieval) 1:30:00 [3] *** | |
| spiked:6/6c |
| Retrieved controls in the NE part of the rogaine map. |
Saturday Aug 19 |
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| Event: US Classic Champs
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| Note | |
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| MNOC Rogaine |
| Orienteering race (Rogaine) 5:54:00 [3] *** | |
| spiked:20/20c |
| Nice showing at the rogaine at Pillsbury SF. Excellent map by Owen, excellent course by Graham. Teamed up with Julia and nailed a bunch of the 4 point controls to end up with 57 points, second to Mo Biz Mo Love with 60. Having enough maps for each person was a nice touch. |
Thursday Aug 17 |
| Trail Run 1:00:00 [3] | |
| shoes: Salomon XA Pro 3D (2006, black |
| Early morning run at Hyland ski hill, with Brian. It was raining and muddy... mmm.... mud.
Hill work to get ready for the Driftless Zone race. |
Wednesday Aug 16 |
| MTB (road) 1:00:00 [3] 14.0 mi (4:17 / mi) | |
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| Ride from home to Battle Creek and back. |
| MTB (technical) 1:15:00 [4] | |
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| Hard ride on both single and double track with Brian, Mark, Suzanne, and Brian W |
Sunday Aug 13 |
| Note | |
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| Some hiking, a short trail run, not enough to log though. |
Saturday Aug 12 |
| MTB (technical) 2:20:00 [2] 15.4 mi (9:05 / mi) | |
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| We stuck around to see the start of the race (including a real "shotgun" start). Then started off behind the pack, up Yellow Jacket, did a loop of Goat Dance, and back to Levis Mound, then up Northface and down Cliffhanger. Goofed off a bit and took some pictures, so it was lower intensity. |
| Map Run 2:00:00 [2] 5.0 mi (24:00 / mi) | |
| shoes: Salomon XA Pro 3D (2006, black |
| Map run/hike at KVR. Also planned to terrain run at Wildcat Mountain, but time was getting short. Spent a lot of time taking pictures, so the actual run time was only an hour or so. |
Friday Aug 11 |
| MTB (technical) 1:20:00 [3] 10.9 mi (7:20 / mi) | |
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| Out to Levis-Trow with Chuck again. We got there Friday afternoon and met a bunch of the WORBA folks setting up for the 12 hour bike race on Saturday. They had the course tape up already, so we basically took one lap before it got dark: up Yellow Jacket, Buck Hill, Upper Hermosa, and around the south side of Levis Mound to Snodgrass. Afterwards, grill and beverages.
Also had a freak tent pole accident (no, really!) that required a trip to the urgent care clinic in Neillsville. My right little finger got the Frankenstein treatment, but we made it back to camp around 10:30.
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Thursday Aug 10 |
| MTB (technical) 1:11:00 [3] 10.9 mi (6:31 / mi) | |
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| 2 loops at Lebanon Hills with Brian, Suzanne and Dave. |
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| C • leb is a blast!...how do you l... 4 |
| Note | |
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| I'm not going to count the four games of bowling tonight as training, even at level 1 intensity. It's a matter of principle. |
Monday Aug 7 |
| MTB (road) 1:59:00 [4] 26.6 mi (4:28 / mi) +1000m 2:29 / km | |
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| Prescription 4 Pain with Brian, Mark, Dave and Rozzi. I hate 6:15 AM starts. |
Sunday Aug 6 |
| Hiking 1:00:00 [2] 4.0 mi (14:59 / mi) | |
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Saturday Aug 5 |
| Terrain Run (no map) 1:20:00 [2] 7.0 mi (11:25 / mi) | |
| shoes: Salomon XA Pro 3D (2006, black |
| Easy off trail run at Nerstrand. The north half was nice but the south half was filled with knee high nettles. |
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| C • Nettles ?? 6 |
Wednesday Aug 2 |
| MTB (road) 52:00 [4] 15.0 mi (3:27 / mi) | |
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| Bike to Wirth via Summit - RR - Greenway - LRT - Wirth Pkwy. |
| MTB (technical) 32:00 [3] 2.7 mi (11:51 / mi) | |
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| One loop at Wirth. Had to stop as it was getting dark. |
| MTB (road) 1:21:00 [3] 20.25 mi (3:59 / mi) | |
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| Back along the lakes, Minnehaha Pkwy, Ford bridge, Highland - Edgecumbe in full dark. |
| Note | |
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| Must be the dog days of summer. This is the first ride where I've been audibly sworn at more than once (by impatient drivers, of course.) |
Tuesday Aug 1 |
| Road Run 27:00 [3] 6 km (4:30 / km) | |
| shoes: Salomon XA Pro 3D (2006, black |
| Got home late so had to settle for a road run in the rain after dark. Legs were tight but the pace was respectable. |