License to Suck

The Out of Steam Punks finally did their first Elite (6 hour) Pangea Adventure Race. And lived to tell the tale. I'm not going to lie, I only went along with this because Dave really wanted to...and as I've mentioned before, I've dragged him into enough stuff over the years, I owed him.

The day dawned bright and sunny. It rained off and on a lot of the day. But honestly, since it's still hot as balls in Florida, it was nice. We pulled Boat to start. I like the canoe well enough, I think it's actually my strongest of the three, but that doesn't mean I necessarily love it. But the water was beautiful, calm and the best part of moving up to Elite came into play: we got to use our kayak paddles! Yay! That made for a really pleasant paddle. We noticed that not only were we going faster with less effort, we were tracking much straighter as well.  It took us a few more minutes to find CP 13 than I would have liked,  (it was on an island, in from the shore line a bit) but not too bad. CP 14 was up a little creek and feeling pretty confident that we would NOT clear the course on our first Elite anyways, we let it go to save time to use elsewhere.

I'm sure there were lots of gators and turtles on the river here, but I didn't see a damn thing. I did startle a heron on the island near CP 13, so there's that.

Back to the Main TA and off on the Foot/Tube section. Tube? Whaaaaa? Yup, the race was held at Blue Springs State Park. So after grabbing a few CPs on foot, we had to grab a tube and find four CPs near the boil and along the spring run. As a result, I saw something I have never seen, nor likely will ever see again. Dave, who is usually the biggest weenie in the history of ever when it comes to getting in the cold, spring water, jumped right in! It was way refreshing and a great little addition to the race. Not that it was a relaxing float. Unless you have ever wandered too close to a gator, I doubt you realize how difficult it is too move swiftly on a tube. And I didn't even get to see the manatees the other teams reported were in the area. Dang.

A tragedy, really.

After that it was time for the Bike portion. Blue Springs has several miles of really nice, beginner friendly single-track. Earlier in the summer we went there with our son and we all really dug the trails. Of course, we could have done without all the "tiny spiders" back then. Every time we stopped for a quick break my son would say, "I've got these little spiders on me." I, not paying attention because I am a failure as a parent, would say "Oh, just brush them off." It wasn't till we stopped for a snack I looked down at my feet and the "little spiders" were ticks! Lots and lots of them. Needless to say I think we rode the last bit of the trail that day faster than I did on Saturday. Well, I know I did. The gearing on my bike was frozen and as a result when were weren't on the single track (pavement or hard dirt road) I couldn't ride anywhere near as fast I would have normally because I couldn't change gears most of the time.

I felt like reenacting the Bike Toss from the Boar AR.

Onward and upward, we got all the CPs and headed back. Seriously though you guys, those trail were really cool. Great for families and those wanting some single track but aren't ready for big obstacles and challenges, like yours truly.

After getting our final punch card we took off on the bike again. Not gonna lie, I wasn't tired really, or cramping up or anything. I was just over the bike. Between the gears not working properly and that dang tiny seat turning me into a...what's the female equivalent of a eunuch? And let's be honest, I hadn't even ridden my bike for the past couple months. No, I'm not kidding. And I only run two or three miles every week or two. But as you know if you are a regular reader of this blog, I Crossfit. So it was a bit of an experiment personally, to see just how far Crossfit alone would get me. 

I'm so sorry, guys. 

No, I'm not.

So we rode the couple of miles on a grassy/sandy road. Not my finest moment, but we got there. Dave and I switched bikes about a mile in, and oh sweet relief! Once we got to the Bike TA we got additional coordinates and took off into the swamp. Fine, only part of the trail was swampy, and the water was cool at least. So I had that going for me at least. Which is nice.

On the way to the swamp we did our good deed of the day for another team who may or may not have lost the slip of paper with the additional CP coordinates/clues on it. As if I can say no to cute Adventure Racers. 

No. No, I cannot.

The next bit Dave really dug. It was some real orienteering where you had to find one CP, and then take a new heading from that point to find another, and then another. I understand how he did it, but it was definitely one of those times when I felt like, "Yeah, if you didn't do this with me, I wouldn't find half these CPs." Which, I dunno, might not be totally true. I've been tempted to grab a girlfriend and try a Sport Race without Dave, and do the navigating. One of these days, maybe. It kinda bugs me that I don't really do anything besides try to keep up and be the rabbit. I do hold the punch card and read the clues, ya know the same job our son could do when he races with us. 

Anywhine, time started getting short, so we left two CPs out there and headed for home. It was on that two (?) miles back to the Bike TA that I would say the length of the race made itself known to us. Neither of us could maintain our Adventure Race Shuffle (easy jog we usually maintain for all of the Trek portion of Sport Races) due to our legs starting to cramp up/general muscle fatigue. But we still kept a move-on. I can do a pretty quick power walk, faster than Dave can keep up with. He would jog ahead and then walk, so we kept leap frogging each other until we hit the Bike TA. It wasn't pretty, but it worked.

I stole Dave's bike again on the way back. My legs were definitely getting fatigued by now, but my Crossfitter brain (I'm so, so sorry. No, I'm not.) kicked in, "15 more minutes, tops. You can do anything for 15 minutes." We nabbed CP 34 on the way back. Kinda proud of myself for figuring that one out myself, thank you very much. Then took off for home. It was (literally) all down hill from there.

We ended up in 16th. Out of 24 teams. Hence, the title to this post. Had we placed that low in a Sport Class Race, not gonna fib, we'd be pretty disappointed. But for our first Elite? We'll take it. Since it was our first go and we hadn't done any additional training, hell -we hadn't done any specific training, I figured we'd earned the license to suck. Next time, not so much. 

Will we do another Elite? I wouldn't rule it out by any means. But for now, the Sport Class is more fun and still provides me with a sense of accomplishment upon completion. The Elite's pain to fun/accomplishment scale tipped a wee bit far onto the pain side for my liking, without additional training anyways. So why not do a little more dedicated training? Because life. I really, really enjoy doing Crossfit. That really takes up all of my "fitness" time. And the thing is, regardless of the fact that I actually look forward to going every day, I really do think it gives me, personally, the most bang for my buck in relation to what it allows me to do vs time spent at the gym. Last year, when we started doing Crossfit, we quit regularly just going for runs and riding the bicycles, and that's (oddly) when we started seeing real improvements in our Sport Class finishes. But to place well at Elite? No, I don't think Crossfit alone is enough. A little more endurance work is called for, I think. More work I just don't have the time, nor frankly desire, to do.

All that said, the Super Hero was another wonderfully well organized race by the Pangea Team. Everyone is so super friendly and supportive, the staff and the fellow racers. A shout out to the Canyoneros  for their kind words of welcome to the Elite Class while we were on the Foot/Tube trail and congrats on your awesome finish! 

Also, a big way to go to You're Dead to Me on their great Sport Class finish. They are local friends of ours and we love having a beer with them post race. They rock...and kick my ass when I occasionally get down to Vero for one of the Adventure Training Classes they coach.

We are adorable. And sweaty. And sandy. A lovely combination. 

Till next time, stay dirty my friends. And remember this:

I'm ready to get dirty, how about you?

It's Fall! Ok, not really...but the oak trees outside my house seems to think so. Do you know the mother-loving oak trees in Florida will lose their leaves more than once a year? Can you believe that? Assholes.

I take that back. I'm sorry, big shady oak trees. You are beautiful and keep my house cool(ish) and protect my house from high winds and you let me hang swings for my son, and wind chimes and birdhouses from you. And you house the squirrels which are so entertaining to both me and Badger. But you also harbor those little murderous bastard raccoons, too.

Huh. You're complex allies indeed, Oak Trees.

Anyrambletoinatimateobjects, Dave and I sat down and (just about) figured out our fall race schedule so here goes...with bonus what-I-hope-to-accomplish for each:

September 28th -  Pangea Super Hero Adventure Race - 6 Hour Elite Class

Check it out here.

Honestly, I really have next to zero interest in doing a 6 hour race. We normally do the 3 hour races. But we won 50% off an Elite Class registration months ago, for coming in 3rd in a SC race. And Dave really wants to do it. (sigh) I've dragged him into enough crap over the years, so it's the least I can do. Ok, well clearly it's not the least I could do. But it won't kill me. Well, not likely anyways.

The cool part is it is at Blue Springs SP, which we visited early in the summer. The bike trails are actually really nice single track MTB trails, so I'm looking forward to hitting those again. Hopefully not literally, but probably. I always end falling at least once a race, somehow.

Goal = Same as our first Sport Class two years ago; don't die and try not to finish too pathetically far behind everyone else.

October 19th - So here's our conundrum, do we do the Savage Race in Tampa?

Info here.

or the Lighterknot Adventure Race in Bunnell?

Aaaaand here.

It sounds like the Savage Race, in regards to obstacles, is on par with the Tough Mudder. But it's only 5-6 miles. If we do the Lighterknot, we're just doing the three hour, because for some ungodly reason the Elite Class is 8 hours for this race.  

To which I say:

Savage Race = No pressure. Goal = to have fun.

Adventure race = Parts of every race make me question my sanity and choice in life partner, but we always have a huge sense of accomplishement when we are done regardless of how we finish on the leaderboard. Goal = to win.

Decisions, decisions. Dave says he prefers the Lighter Knot, but if some friends are going to do the Savage, he'll do that. So hit me up people.

November 2nd - Tough Mudder

Because why the hell not?

Seriously. It's only an hour away from us this time. For the record, I am NOT doing the electric obstacles this time. Screw that noise. But I'm down with the rest. The shorter Mud/Obstacle races don't usually compare to Adventure races in terms of "accomplishment" with the exception (to me) of the Tough Mudder. 

Goal= Jog a LOT more between obstacles (if conditions allow) and finish in under 4 hours. 

November 9th - Vero Beast

Local Crossfitters click this.

Hoooooly kettlebells boys and girls! The Riding Librarian is entered in her first Crossfit Competition! Because I still kind of suck, I'll be doing the Scaled Division, but whatevs. Incidentally, it is apparantly only open to members of the Ft Pierce, Vero and Sebastian boxes, but feel free to show up and cheer for me/carry me to the waaaaahmbulance aftewards. 

Goal = to win. Yeah. Really not likely to happen, but since I am competeing comfortably within my skill set, I am planning on really giving it my all. 

November 23rd - Dirty Girl Mud Run

Info here.

This is just a 5K, but I'm really looking forward to it. And yes, I know how freaking pretentious saying "just a 5K" sounds. But please give me this. I know there are lots of people who are currently training their butts off to get in shape just so they can particpate in this very run. And here I am seeing it as a no-biggee, zero pressure day out with some awesome girlfriends...not a care in the world whether or not I can complete it. But please forgive me and let the Patti of 3 years ago stand agape at the girl of today, and hate her just a little bit. In a good way. 

Goal = get dirty and have a lot of laughs with my Fluff Dog.

Aside from all the races/competitions over the next few months, I'm looking at a getaway to Key West for Fantasy Fest, a FL Chapter Women in the Wind Rally, a Concours Owner's Group Rally, my son's first concert (Maroon 5), and more mayhem to go unmentioned. Life is good.

Oh and did I tell you my neighbor is opening up a bar (tomorrow) within walking distance of my house? 

Yeah. This won't end well. 

Boar Adventure Race

* If you're looking for detail-oriented, fact-based, race reports that include pics of the maps and details about particular checkpoints (like their numbers and locations) you might want to check out the reports by  the Canyoneros or Dr. Eaglin. My reports are more in the touchy-feely, these are the-moments-I-wanted-to-kiss/choke/hug-or-murder-Dave-and/or-the-other-participants.

** All photo credits to my boyfriend Kevin Newell.

*** He's not really my boyfriend, but I made the mistake of telling Dave (and mentioning on this blog) that I think he is adorable and that is how we refer to him now.

Speaking of adorable...

The Boar took place on March 2nd at the beautiful Orlando Wetlands Park in Christmas, FL. It's a really gorgeous park, awesome for hiking or biking. For my motorcycle friends, ya know that one nice curve just past Ft Christmas Park? If you're anything like me you never noticed that there is a small side road on the right of that left hander because you're too busy trying to figure out how fast you can take it without killing yourself...or ya know just paying attention to the road. But as it turns out, that little side-road takes you back into a beautiful public recreation area. Who knew?

It was one of those Florida Winter days where when the wind laid down and the sun came out, it was warm  and lovely. But when the clouds went in front of the sun and the wind picked up, it was COLD! Being the idiot that I am I wasn't really dressed for it and was mise-ra-ble hanging out prior to the race. Yes, I am a precious, precious snowflake. Though not actually a snowflake, because a snowflake would like the cold. More like a precious, precious reptile. You see, reptiles thermoregulate, they aren't endothermic, so if it gets too cold they just start to shut down...like me. (and if you think I knew the difference between thermoregulation and endothermy before I started writing this you are very, very wrong)

Anyramble, we drew canoe first, which did not make either of us happy. But that's the way the multi-colored pebbles fall, so away we went. The Boar required taking the bikes to both the Canoe and Foot portions of the race. Off we went, and seeing how bad the wind was we made the executive decision to just go for a couple of the CPs on the water. Normally, we go for broke on the first leg at least, because (dur?!) if you don't, you've already given up on clearing the course. And that's always the primary goal. Sure it gets to a point where you have to cut your loses, but we hate to do that on the first leg. But the deck was stacked against us, and everyone else (we hoped.) The wind sucked and the weeds didn't help.

Not us, but other unfortunate souls.

Seriously the combo was so bad, that when we were returning from getting two of the CPs we got out and waded through the hip-deep water and weeds and dragged/pushed the canoe through this section. In the cold. You can't say we're not dedicated. You can say we are morons.

The bike portion, when the wind wasn't right at you, was fun. (so...not a lot of it was what a normal person would call fun) But there were so many pretty birds out there and lots of gators too. Two in particular were sunning themselves about 5 feet off the trail...which I did not notice till I was whizzing past them. The need for new underwear was a possibility. It took us a couple of extra minutes to find the Elite CP that Greg had included on this leg, but it wasn't too bad. Finding it involved triangulation or some sort of navigational sorcery of which I know nothing. In fact, Dave totally had us in the right spot for it, and it was right along the trail, but for some reason we blew right past it the first time. What I find intriguing is that judging by the FB pics several of the teams went to some little hill to do their triangulation, which we did not. Dave just used the map. Did we just get lucky? Or was that really not necessary? Weird.

And now you know why I don't race without Dave. #can'tnavigateforcrap

By the foot portion I was really over riding the bike on that road in and out of camp. But whatevs. Once we dumped the bikes we were on the Florida Trail, which I love. By this point the wet socks/shoes had my feet pretty numb and jogging on the single track through the forest is just so much more mentally pleasing to me, than when we are out in the open. That said, I  was definitely in Adventure Race Shuffle Mode. That's what we call the light jog we do on the foot portions when we are tired...which is pretty much whenever  we haven't drawn Foot first. But Mr. Fuchs on the other hand was still in runner mode. Geesh, dude starts getting stricter with his Paleo and doing his Crossfit regularly and suddenly I'm getting left in the dust! Which is fine really, I prefer to be the weak link. I'd rather get mad at myself for holding us back than him. Just works out better for everyone that way. 

We found the Elite CP on the foot portion, though it did make us a minute and a half over time. Bummer, but what are you going to do? With the time we had left when we started looking for it, we couldn't not go for it. Especially being that it was supposed to be a little more difficult to find. (Pride goeth before the fall, and whatnot)  Once it was all said and done, we had no idea how we had finished compared to everyone else, as per our usual. But it had been a pretty challenging and tiring race for us and we were really proud of our efforts. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'm really proud of how "in the moment" we both get during the races, willing to wade through the weeds or ford a canal instead of going a different, longer route around it. (Yeah, that happened on the Foot portion) I really dig that Dave assumes I'm along for the ride and I also dig being around so many other cool folks (Pangea AR and Crossfit peeps) who are the same way. 'Cause let's face it, we're not like the other Soccer Moms and Dads. 

Anybrag, we were crazy stoked to hear we came in 4th! The smug levels rose to even higher levels when we realized we finally beat "You're Dead to Me," our Adventure Racing besties. Beth and Brian are both super-awesome people, despite that fact that they always beat us. Partly due to said awesomeness, partly because Brian has more experience doing adventure races (he's done some 12 hour races up north, GAH!) AND they are also both professional trainers. So naturally, we don't feel really bad when they beat us, because, you know...awesomeness? On the other hand, to finally place just a smidgen above them on the Leader board was pretty cool. And something I'll hold onto as they proceed to kick our asses in all future races I'm sure. 

Afterwards, we took part in the post-race Weenie Bike tossing.

 This pic kinda reminds me of the old Calvin-getting-attacked-by-his-bike storyline from Calvin & Hobbes.

I feel like Dave has a very natural weenie-bike-tossing form. He's a man of many talents.

So that in a nutshell, was my impressions of the Boar. Another great race by the Pangea Family. Greg and his troops do such an amazing job putting on these events. I really love how organized and well-run they are, while still having such a friendly, no-worries vibe to them. Up next the Treasure Coast AR on March 23rd. Due to schedule conflicts, we probably won't be able to play with them again until Holden joins us for the SCAR on Father's Day.

Till then, stay dirty Adventure Racers!

Toot-toot!

That's me blowing my own horn, not farting. Ok, it might be me farting too. It's always a possibility with me. Folks at Crossfit probably think I'm trying to show off when I take off for the front on group runs. I'm not. I'm just trying to put some space between me and everyone else before my jet-pack starts engaging.

Yeah. You're happy you read that aren't you?

Aaaaaanyways, Thanksgiving morning I went alone (lazy family) to the local 5K Turkey Trot. I ended up meeting my buddy Dani there, which was nice. Then I didn't feel like such a lonely loser while we waited around for the start.

We're smiling because we're thinking of all the horrible eating we are going to do later, using the 5K as a rationalization for our horrible decisions.

For some reason I had a bug up my butt about wanting to finally make a sub-30 minute 5K. Which I know, to "real" runners (whatever the hell that means) is still really freakin' slow. But not to me. July 4th was the last one I'd done, in 32:something. Which I was ecstatic about. But I just knew I had it in me to get below 30 minutes. Why? I have no idea. Since we started regularly Crossfitting over a month ago I've only been going on true (2-6 mile) runs every other week really.

But off I went...and guess what? 28:43, Motherf*&%#$rs!!! That's what I'm talking about!

Oh, but wait! There's more! Saturday was Pangea's Turkey Burn Adventure Race.

In beautiful Hatbill Park outside of Mims, in the heart of OMFG-I-hear-banjos-paddle-faster Country

The Sport Class was a four hour race, instead of the usual three. Not quite as big of a field as some other races, but very few new teams. Just the competition alone had me thinking this was not going to be a race where we ended up real high on the leaderboard. And then we got to the race site, saw the maps and I said, "I really don't think we're clearing this one today."

Now I don't mean to sound defeatist, because despite all that I was still raring to go. I'm sure I've said it before, but I'll say it again, one of the most important benefits to me from Crossfit is instilling the philosophy of pushing yourself as hard as you can. Not to go faster, harder, longer than the others around you...but to go faster, harder, longer than you did the last time. So we did.

All while rocking my A-dorable Christmas socks.

Dave drew the marble this time and we ended up  Biking first. The bike was a really nice mix of grass and road. I will say that I think it was one of the most physically demanding trails we've done that wasn't sandy. That thick grass can be a bitch, too folks. But it had a nice interlude of hard packed dirt road which was nice. Dave was spot-on with his navigation. I was so proud, especially when I saw several other teams having a hard time with a couple of the CPs.

One of the most entertaining aspects of Adventure Racing to me, is the interaction mid-race with other teams. Everyone is super-friendly before and after. But during the race, the demeanors kind of vary by team. And mine? Mine totally depends on the vibe I get from the other team. Don't get me wrong I yell, "Good job!" You got it!" to everyone. But in those moments when you know where a CP is and the other teams doesn't? Than it's all about karma baby!

There was another couple who had been very smiley (yes, it is too a word) and pleasant-seeming as we crossed paths with them once or twice in the beginning of the race. When I was coming out of grabbing one of the more hidden CPs, I could tell they were having a bit of a hard time. So when she saw me, I confirmed that it was right back where I had come from.

On the other hand, twice we passed teams who had overshot CPs we had just found. But they barely looked up as we passed. Didn't smile, or say hi. Did I let them know where they were going wrong?

About halfway through the foot portion, we caught up with our AR friends Beth & Brian of Adventure Training of Vero.  Ever have those kind of friends that you only see in certain venues and absolutely love but never seem to get to hang out with outside of those certain venues? Yeah, that's Beth & Brian to us. They are da bomb. And awesome trainers too! Check them out if you are in Vero. But I digress.

All four of us got super frustrated trying to find one of the CPs and eventually gave up. Turns out it mayhavepossiblynotbeenmarkedquiteright on the map. But who are we to judge. Brian did end up spotting it a little further down the road and called it out to us as we gave up a few seconds after they did and were behind them. Had he not pointed it out, I do not know if we would have spotted it or not. Maybe, maybe not. But I said to Dave, "Meh, consider it our karmic gift for confirming that bike CP to the other couple."

The rest of the race was a hoot. An exhuasting hoot, but a hoot nonetheless. We kept chasing Beth & Brian and occasionally they chased us. It was the most good-natured, fun competition I've ever had. We all talked about it later and said how we all pushed ourselves harder because of it. Which is just awesome.

A little more about that instant karma; while on the canoe portion Beth and Brian got in front of us but somehow blew right past one of the CPs. I couldn't let them screw up such a great race this far in, so I yelled to them and pointed it out. (as well as to the Team chasing us, but it's all good) This made me feel a lot better about them pointing out the other CP to us. It's not that Dave and I are really such angels, but we really truly prize fairness in competition and would hate to ever feel like we had an unfair advantage. So the scale was balanced and my neurotic little brain was at peace.

Even with that little hiccup, the Wonder Twins STILL out-paddled our asses and got in a minute or two before us. When we checked in I thought we were in 4th place, which was amazing and also a small relief. It's been an on-going joke between Dave and I and some of the Pangea staff that as soon as we Top Three we'll try an Elite Race, but not before. In so far as, at one tanked race earlier in the year, I was (jokingly) accused of sandbagging.

So I was ecstatic with such a high placing but oddly relieved that we still hadn't top three'ed. And then during the awards they realized the team they thought had come in 3rd had not cleared the course. Then, as it appeared to us anyways, Greg realized we were third and announces that the prizes for the Top Three in the Sport Class will be discounts on a registration for an Elite. CRaaaaaaaaaaaP!

I say this in jest, of course. We couldn't be more excited or proud of ourselves that we finally cracked the top three. I know that we both often-times still feel a little "one of these things is not like the others" at the races. It's hard to shed the old body image. But we're getting better, and wins like this certainly help. It's hard to call yourself a fatty, or slow, or weak when we think about what we've been accomplishing lately. So at least we've got that going for us.

Not sure when exactly we're going to do the Elite. I told Beth and Brian that we need to do the same one, so we need to put schedules together. But it has to be one of the ones this winter, for sure. So stay tuned for our Elite premiere...hopefully we will survive it.

Oh and you didn't think we'd leave out this race's Team Photo did you?

You don't find it odd that I happened to already have coal at home, do you?

Lighterknot Adventure Race

The Lighterknot, held in Palm Coast October 20, 2012, marked a full year of our doing Pangea Adventure Races. Something about this place is lucky for us, I guess. I do credit the fact that despite the lowest of low expectations (for ourselves) we managed to clear the course last year. Which really inspired us to keep at it. Dave admits that he went into the first one just wanting to appease me. However when he realized how fun it was and that we actually had a shot at being competitive, oh and that the people are awesome, he was hooked. And by competitive I mean not coming in the bottom 1/3 ALL the time. Not, ya know, actually winning. The fact that ARs are as much about the brains as the brawn is what makes it so attractive to us. We're never gonna top ten at a 5K or triathlon or even the obstacle races. We're just not, nor I think ever going to be, that fit/fast. But Dave is better than your average schmo at navigation due to his aviation background, so with his skills and our ever increasing level of fitness, we can actually have finishes we can be proud of.

  I broke out the pre-adventure racing jeans for the Team Photo. Size 20 to size 10. Yeah-ya!

The Lighterknot was another well run event, as we've come to expect from the Pangea Crew. Greg and everyone else associated with their events just could not possibly be more encouraging, supportive and sweet. And did I mention I have a mega-crush on their photographer? He's totes adorbs (yes, I know how that sounds and I don't care) and it doesn't hurt that he still manages to take decent pics of me despite the fact that they are taken at the potentially most unflattering moments. 

Helmet hair, sweat, dirt, etc, this pic could still be SO much worse.

Dave and I take turns drawing the marble to see which discipline we start on. It was my turn this time and I drew the Trek marble.Happy dances ensued because we have found that we both really prefer to start on foot. It's definitely my strongest of the three disciplines and I'd rather start with what I am strongest with and make the most of the energy I have. So off we went. After the first checkpoint we went off trail to cut a corner hoping to get ahead of the team of 18 year olds. With their navigation skills (they had some) and their youth, we knew they'd be tough to beat. So a trail blazing we went. Dave did a great job cutting the corner and we emerged from the woods back on to the trail, at the same time we see the kids (Team Slack Pack. No, that's really their name. I'm not being catty) come around the bend. Oh well, if we hadn't taken the woods they'd be even further in front of us.

And so it went, we leap-frogged with them and a couple of other teams all day. We ran, ok jogged, the entire Trek portion for the second race in a row. That's a big deal to us. 

Still feels wrong that in the ARs and at Crossfit the running portions are my favorite parts. What happened to me?

No navigation issues at all. Maybe others found faster or more direct ways, but Dave led us to every one all day without a hiccup. Well, there was the one CP on the paddle for which  I disembarked pre-maturely. No, I didn't fall in. This time.. The clue was that it was "on a mound." So just as we are thinking we are getting close, there was a very obvious mound alongside the river. We stopped, I hopped out, but didn't see anything. So a couple of minutes were lost there, I suppose. Just as I was giving up and getting back into the boat another team came by and assumed it was the spot. I yelled, "No, no! Keep going! It's not here. It's too soon." At least one team member seriously questioned my honesty for a moment. 

I assured him that I was not lying and we had a very fun banter with them for the rest of the paddle. Which reminds me, listen up ladies! Another bonus to the ARs, besides ya know, inspiring and being great workouts, getting you outdoors and providing a sense of accomplishment, they often provide a fair amount of eye candy in the way of cute twenty/thirty-somethings. Just sayin'.

Anycuties, we felt hella strong on the paddle. All those push-ups and pull-ups at Crossfit are definitely paying off in my paddle strength. And it continues to amaze me how well Dave and I do paddling together. I guess after 18 years together you're either going to be really good or really bad at that kind of thing. Though I know the key to our success with the races (and again the measure of our success is very personal and does not necessarily have anything to do with how we appear on the leaderboard) is that we leave it all on the trail. Do we occasionally snip at each other? HELL. YEAH. But we let it go immedi-freaking-ly. And of course, we give each other as much positive encouragement as possible as well.

On  to the bike. The bike, like the last race, was the bike. I still don't feel like I am as strong on the bike as I could be. Now that the weather is getting more friendly I definitely need to make more time to ride off road and build up a little more endurance. I'm going faster and longer every race, no doubt....but I know I have it in me to do better. 

The end of the race was actually quite exciting. On our way in we knew we had cleared the course, but we had no idea where we were in the standings. Just as we reach the homestretch we saw a team of runners giving it all they had to get back. And then another team on bikes comes flying out onto the road from the trail that took you to the Boat TA. I gave it all I had but we couldn't catch the team on bikes, though we did catch the runners. (I'm not that slow) What fun! 

We ended up in 5th place. I'm not going to lie, we'd really like that Top Three someday, but we really couldn't be happier with the progress we have made this year. In January of 2011 as I was preparing for gallbladder surgery I set the goal of doing the Missing River Race. I was over 250 lbs and I knew it was time to make some changes. Dave and I had always watched things like the Amazing Race etc and thought "we could totally do that!" When I stumbled onto the Pangea events on-line, I thought that this could be just the thing to inspire us both to eat better and start getting in shape. I started working out some, but quite frankly had not hit bottom enough to make the changes needed to have some serious weight-loss. And then in May I found that rock-bottom. If you care, you can read about it here. But my point is, we are so happy with how far we have come...how the ARs (among other things) have resulted in a complete lifestyle change for our entire family this year. Have I mentioned Dave has lost at least 30 lbs this year and is working out regularly for the first time in all the time we've been together?

Yeah, the ARs have done that. They've inspired us to work harder, try harder, be better. It's prepared me mentally for the challenges of Crossfit which symbiotically, makes me better at Adventure Racing. Are we ready to move to the Elite class? Not quite yet. Call me Goldilocks, but for me, the 3 hour races (for now) are just right. Though I did just sign us up for next month's 4 hour Turkey Burn. Crap.

Till next time, stay dirty!

I am.....Bat Girl.

So Dave and I have a reputation amongst the folks who run the Pangea Adventure Races. As the fastest team? Uh, no. Most efficient? Not likely. Friendliest? I'd like to think so, but not what I'm getting at. We, as the Out of Steam Punks, are known as being the Team most likely to ham it up for the Team Photos. I have no idea why we would have that reputation.

So. yeah.

The Superhero AR was last weekend. All I can say is, thank goodness we have a nine year old son at home.

Ya know Bat Girl's alter ego is a Librarian, right? 

In my opinion, it was an extremely competitive, fast race. We ended up in 11th place out of 45 teams. Without a doubt it was our best race in terms of personal speed. We ran, ok...jogged, the entire Trek portion for the first time ever and were way stronger on the paddle than we ever have been before. I seriously credit that to the Crossfit-style workouts we've been doing all summer. The bike was the bike. I didn't feel slow, but I don't think I was any faster than I had been in the past. It just goes to prove how every race is different, from the challenges of the course itself, to the competition. Without a doubt had we performed at other races this year the way we did Saturday I know we would have top three-ed. (yes, that's a word) But that's what makes the ARs so fun, they are always different and it's not always the most fit or the smartest that win in the end. 

Which brings us to our latest conundrum. When we first started doing the ARs we felt so incredibly outclassed in terms of speed/fitness in relation to the other teams. Any success we had was met with elation and incredulousness. Now, well...we want to top three. And can actually see it happening if we keep working on our speed. We actually had a faster Trek (foot) time than any of the teams that beat us. But they all gained a few minutes on us during the canoe and bike. We lost some precious minutes during the canoe portion when another team crashed into us and made us tip over. Not really their fault, well kinda...but not really. It was an extremely narrow portion of the river and the current was strong..and well, rubbing is racing my friends. The dip was very refreshing, I can tell you that.

This would be pre-crash...in the area where I am pretty sure we heard banjo music playing.

 On the bike portion we did lose a few minutes to a couple of quickly caught navigational errors. That's not a dig on Dave. He's the bomb-diggety with the map and we wouldn't have 1/10 of the success we have had if he wasn't the one holding the map. 

But about that conundrum...when we first started we didn't care how we placed, it was all about just having fun. Which it still is, mostly. But it's also a little about trying to place as high as we can now, too. I guess what I am saying is that we care now. And sometimes it kinda sucks to care because then you actually have expectations. Which can result in disappointment when those expectations are not met. Which even though we haven't really admitted it to each other, I know we felt just a little disappointed with just finishing 11th on Saturday. 

That said, we are still crazy proud of each other and all of the physical gains (or losses as the case may be) we've made in the past year. And the slight disappointment or doubt wasn't anything a couple of beers couldn't chase away.

That's healthy, right?