Author: Sloan

A Ranting Race Report [and some fun alliteration]

/ Sloan / 2 Comments

All times and dialogue are an approximation. This is neither fact nor fiction, just my memory of the first 24 hour 100 mile race I competed in on July 23 in New Castle, VA.

 

 3:45am:

I don’t think I fell asleep.

My ass is on the ground in the hammock the I attempted slumber in.

It’s still dark.

Racers mill around. Check lights on their bikes. Eat bananas. Gu. Honey waffles. 5 hour energy. Caffeinated water.

I want coffee.

I have no coffee.

 

4:28am:

Why the hell did I sign up for this?

 

4:30am:

Gun shot, 103 racers on mountain bikes tumble after each other in the dark. I’m keeping an eye on my race partner, Mike, and we too are off. Ready to climb the mountain.

 

6:57am:

We crest what we think is the top of the mountain. Take photos. Smile.

I don’t even remember 3:30 this morning. I actually feel good!

 

7:22am:

It wasn’t the top. We’re climbing again.

Mike, where the hell is CP [check point] 1?

 

7:30am:

Found it.

CP 1. Fuck yes! Only 19 more to go!

 

11:42am:

Off the bikes.

Thank god.

 

1:03pm:

Mother fucking fucking bees fuck fuck fuck. This is the only time I’m crying today Mike. Fucking bees mother fuck fuck.

Bee attack while bush wacking through the woods.

 

2:38pm:

Walking. On a road. In the middle of fucking nowhere. 103 degrees.

Is it bad I haven’t peed all day? I think I’ve drank 8 gallons of water and haven’t peed once. I must be dehydrated. I think I’m drunk. I…I …

 

3:45pm:

A nice lady give us water. And Diet Coke.

I could marry you right now.

Mike beats me to the proposal.

 

4:32pm:

We miss the paddle portion due to a huge storm and are bussed to the next CP.

I’m pissed.

 

5:00pm

Opting out of optional check point seems like the logical answer.

Let’s go.

Holy fuck that bike seat does not feel good. Hoooooo man.

Note to self: if I do this again BODY GLIDE.

Note taken.

 

5:01-10:40pm

Sunset happens. I don’t really remember this section to be honest. My mind probably blocked it out on purpose.  We rest. Mike and our new friends lay down, I stand.

I don’t want lactic acid to pool in my legs. You guys will regret lying for so long.

They do. Back on the bikes. More hills. More elevation gained and lost.

I’m not even tired any more. My ass just hurts. I’m sick of Sport Beans. Clif Bars. Beef jerky. Honey stuff. I want a burger. No, pizza. Ice cream, yes, ice cream. And pretzels.

 

10:53pm:

It feels like we’re in a green house. The temperature and humidity are in the 90s and it’s hard to breath.

I just want to sleep. No. I just want to not be walking on the fucking road anymore.

 

11:56pm:

We lost our new friends.

I’m over it. They’ll find their way.

 

12:21am:

Holy shit Mike, we’re done.

We’d been racing for what feels like years. Ronny, the race director welcomes us, shakes my hands, I think I’m high.

Holy shit. I just did this. I need a shower. I still haven’t peed.

 

1:00am

I sleep I my car.

 

6:22am

Real food.

Hell yes. I’m doing another. I know what not to do now.

 

Next post: the OTHER 100 miles, 24-hour race I competed in. Yes. I did it again. And it was glorious.

Adventurer in Training

/ Sloan / Leave a comment

This past weekend I was surrounded by amazing athletes. I was able to volunteer for the Equinox Trek in Ohiopyle, PA… (I’m a little obsessed with this town, I love it, everyone should love it.) The race was a 48 hour adventure race where teams of 4, 3, 2 or solo adventurers are set out into the wild to hike, bike, navigate and paddle for anywhere between 160-200 miles.

Volunteering consisted of a lot of sitting around, hanging out until 3 in the morning for racers to come in to different checkpoints, chillin’ in my hammock, taking pictures…etc. Not only were the racers amazing people, the volunteers and race producers where amazing too! Many having raced themselves, others medical rescuers there to help and provide medical attention, these races are a huge deal to put on and it takes a lot of help to have a successful one.

Wait, this race sounds a lot like a race I got myself signed up for… NEXT WEEKEND! I was given the opportunity to do an Adventure Race with a friend of mine, it’s a bit shorter than The Equinox Trek, 75-100 miles in just 24 hours. So my weekend was not only to volunteer but I took the opportunity to pick the brains of the racers and other volunteers to help me prepare for this race. I also was able to get back on the mountain bike, get myself supremely lost (I will NOT be navigating this coming weekend) and enjoy the class 3 rapids The Lower Yough has to offer—all while sleeping in my car and enjoying the Falls Pub each night!

Overall, I’ve decided that I want to become one of those bad ass racers. These people are average men and women that do extraordinary things on the weekends. After asking many racers (both at the race and through email, I have met a few in the past and have kept in touch) the biggest piece of advice they gave me was COMMUNICATION.

 

I will obviously report back on my race next week—but I wanted to venture out and ask for YOUR advice. Anyone out there done some long race (adventure or not) and want to give me some tips?

 

Don’t Flip

/ Sloan / Leave a comment

I love discovering new things, (duh, who doesn’t!?) But this past week I was able to rediscover a new part of a great State Park here in Maryland, Patapsco State Parkis way bigger than I realized. Last summer and fall I had only been trail running and hiking in one section of it, this week I went across the river and found myself wandering in a completely different section of the park.

Deer

Not only did I discover a new part of the park, but I discovered it two ways and had a completely different experience each time. If you’ve read this blog in the past you have by now realized that I have zero sense of direction, which I’m okay with for the most part, I just have to remind myself of that from time to time and make sure I have the time to be lost.

 

My first venture at the new Patapsco entrance was a hike. As I was hiking all I could think about was how great this area would be for trail running, (I’m again not running due to my stressed out sacrum) then the further I hiked my mind continued to wander from running, to nature to:  what am I doing with my life? To what am I doing tomorrow? To holy shit these squirrels are NOT afraid to get close to me!

Hiking alone brings forth a lot of thoughts and feelings, I’m unable to let go and just be in the woods. My mind races and I get really distracted by the thought bubbles floating above my head. So distracted in fact that this particular hike I totally forgot what color I was supposed to be following (Blue? Orange? Green? oh man, I’m lost!) My brain shifted to a bit of panic mode of not knowing where I was, knowing that I should leave the park by a certain time and the fact that my water bottle was running low, I had no food and the mercury had already climbed to 98 before I got on the trail.

 

Then reality came back and I realized that I really didn’t HAVE to be anywhere, so I tired enjoying being lost. I wandered, (not all those who wander are lost.) I eventually found my way to the road and walked the two miles back to my car on the safety of no chance of getting more lost along the river and out of the woods. Over all it was a great hike, I didn’t solve any of my life’s problems but I did have a great afternoon wandering and discovering myself.

 

Yesterday I was able to enjoy the same park a different way. In preparation for an adventure race I’m doing in 9 days (The crazy race I got myself signed up for) I’m trying my legs at mountain biking—if you remember, I went once when I was out in Oregon visiting my brother, so this time I went out at it alone and for a few more miles. The trails at Patapsco are narrower than in OR, the hills were shorter and steeper, the roots seemed more daunting and the potential of me flipping over my handlebars far greater.

I didn’t flip over, I think this has something to do with me being a big baby and super wimpy. I’m slow. I think really hard when riding. Unlike cycling, where I can zone out and ride for hours, mountain biking forced me to focus and use my brainpower fully. I kept my eyes where I wanted the bike to go, not where I DIDN’T want it to go, like over a cliff or into a tree. The second my brain wanted to shift to ‘life-talk’ I’d hit a rock, or go the wrong way into a stump, so my mind stayed focused on what was directly ahead of me—forgot what I had passed, I wasn’t worried about a mile or two down the trail, on the mountain bike I am where I am. If not, I’ll surely crash.

 

I’m going to let you figure out the life lesson I learned on the trail both days. No need for explanation.