An Overdue Spread Your Wings 2008 Race Report November 6, 2008
Posted by riverbrady in : Adventure Racing, Race Reports , 1 comment so farYoutube Video covering the race
This May I found myself virtually thrown into my first adventure race - the Spread Your Wings 2008 24 Hour race. I had thought about adventure races, been trail running with the Austin Adventure Racers, but had never imagined jumping in straight to a full day race.
However, with some prompting from AAR friends, and quick emails jotting back and forth between the Austin, San Antonio, and Houston groups and acquaintances, three weeks before the race a team was born (Trying Not to Die). The four of us consisted of Steve (our navigator and only 24 hour race vet), myself (who has done a couple Ironmans, but never an adventure race), Claudia (a 6 hour AR vet), and Shayne (another 6 hour AR vet). We knew we weren’t going to be breaking records, but going in our only purpose was to have fun and finish the race - preferably in one piece each. Claudia and Steve knew each other, but otherwise we were all strangers - representing the three major cities in the area and simply coming together for fun-filled times.
The race was Saturday. My sleep deprivation began Friday. I had promised a friend I’d be in town that evening so I didn’t head to the race site early to camp out (something I’d change next year, if I did the race again). Between finishing up the double checking of packing, nerves, and just generally tossing and turning, I wasn’t getting more that catnaps. So, about 2:30 I hopped in the truck and started the 4 hour drive to Camp Eagle. Arriving on site I found the rest of my team and we all introduced ourselves to each other. At this point I was simply feeling good and hoping the 1-2 hours of restless sleep since 7am Friday wouldn’t be an issue.
Checking gear, mixing nutrition, last minute maintenance, then it was time for the 8am race start.
Leg 1 - Trekking
Grabbing our maps with the rest of the individuals there who were as crazy as we were, we started the race and began plotting leg 1 and looking at the lay of the land. We quickly realized that we were heading up the biggest hill from the get go, and heading to the windmill. Little did we know that throughout the day we would have fun visiting this windmill again and again. As Garrett put it, the day would consist of:
- Run up the steep hill to the windmill
- Bike up the steep singletrack to the windmill
- Go caving to the windmill
- Swim to the windmill
- Hike and bike to the windmill
- Paddle to the windmill
- Climb, traverse, and rappel to the windmill
- Bike/trek to the windmill a few times
- Trek to the windmill one last time for good measure
:)
Reaching the windmill we found it accompanied a large cistern of water. Floating in the water - lots and lots of tennis balls with team numbers. We debated for a few seconds on jumping in, searched t he sides, and in a stroke of luck I was able to fish our tennis ball to the side with my hat before a volunteer tossed it back into the middle. From there - back down the hill and to transition.
Leg 2 - Biking
We began in high spirits and quickly came to a rest for our first and worst injury of the day. It wasn’t too bad (and we count ourselves lucky it was the only one of the day), but an early turn found Claudia sliding out and banging up her side and both knees. After figuring out bandages weren’t going to stay on she decided to just continue on and take care of it in TA. The rest was difficult for us simply due to relative inexperience and how rough the singletrack was. Many areas of the trail had all four of us off our bikes and walking as the treacherous terrain combined with steep hills combined to make things un-ridable. However,after a loop on the hill rims and reaching the windmill again (where we were thanking the nice cool cistern of water to play in and refresh our water stores), we made it back to transition.
Leg 3 - Trekking
After plotting our checkpoints and choosing our course, we decided to take a counterclockwise route from TA and hit the cave checkpoint first. The first part went quickly - the searching for the cave did not. We knew there was a tree with marking on it, we knew it was in the area, the other 4-5 teams who were also searching for it also knew it was there, but none of us could find it. We joined up with three other teams and compared UTM plots with their navigators and found they agreed. In the end, we all were simply not looking far enough up the hillside and the yell of “we found it” from one of the teams brought everyone running…and then calmly waiting and joking around as team by team, we all headed in, punched our wristbands to prove the entire team had made it there, and enjoyed a couple minutes in the coolness of the dark cave.
At this point the four of us took a look at our time, at how much we had covered, how much was left for this leg, and made a decision. Our first goal was to finish with all of us intact. There was worry that if we went scrambling after all the other checkpoints we would run out of time. Thus, we decided to map out the each checkpoint, or set of checkpoints, from each leg and continue forward. Back to transition it was.
Leg 4 - Swimming
Yay! Simply - yay! We get to play in the river, climb up and jump off a big inflatable iceberg, cool off, relax, and watch those teams that are two legs ahead of us go by while paddling. By this point we were into the middle/later afternoon.
Leg 5 - Ride and Tie
For those not familiar - in this leg, with 4 teammates, we’re only allowed 2 bikes. Normally a team would match up people of similar builds and swap away. Our team had two middle height guys, a shorter gal, and a tall guy. Us sitting there trying to figure out who would swap rides was probably a comedy unto itself. A short discussion later we were off, up the hill with only a slight detour when we figured out we didn’t want to try freeclimbing up a 50-60 foot rockface with bikes (and would rather simply take the road we passed). We found the checkpoint at the top of the hill and realized that the other checkpoints were further uphill - way over there - by the Windmill. Again we made an executive decision to enjoy the view from where we were, and head back to transition to start the paddling leg.
Leg 6 - Paddling
I write paddling. In reality it felt like a little paddling with a lot of portaging. We started with a choice of going upstream or downstream and chose up with the intent to head downstream if our light held out. During this trek we: portaged over a 6-8 foot dam, a lot water area, the camp road river bridge, and another 3 foot dam - each way, with a pair of tandem kayaks. We found our checkpoints and headed back to TA just as dusk was setting in.
Leg 7 - Climbing & Ropes
A chance to rest, relax, have a bit of fun and mix up the race. Trekking to the base of the cliffs we found out we’d be climbing, then traversing, then rapelling back down. The beginning found us hanging out with a few other teams while waiting in line for the ropes. The ten foot rope ladder to get to the start of the climb seemed to give the most problem to the most people, twisting and throwing people into the rock and generally trying to make us with desperately for a couple bolts to attach the thing to. Thankfully for us (and the teams in front of us), Steve and another larger guy acted as counterbalances and helped people scramble up. A quick traverse, wandering around wondering if we were on the right path, a late night run-in with other campers on a night hike, and we finally found the rappelling are. The rest of my team made it down…and I sat there waiting for another figure 8 to make it back up. Finally it was over the edge where my legs screamed at me that they missed the padded harnesses of my earlier life and I insisted and cajoled things through to the bottom. Back to TA.
There’s is nothing quite like climbing and rappelling in the dark with no more light than your headlamp. Granted, we were running pretty significant headlamps. But…climbing into darkness with only your teammate’s lamps shining above you, traversing across a dark cliff (yes, we were clipped to lines), rappelling into what is effectively a black hole until you reach the bottom and the pool of lights from your mates…and through it all the soft glow of the moon and stars swirling about. It’s times like those that make this time so incredibly unique and enjoyable.
Leg 8 - Biking and/or Trekking
We took account of everyone, debated, and finally decided that we were going to trek this leg. A couple of us were stiffening up and none of us looked kindly on biking up the hill to the windmill…yet again…as our best set of checkpoints lay that direction. Up the hill, past the windmill, and finally to the checkpoint at the 10 foot with crazy-scaffolding-on-each-side fence. We sat there for a few minutes watching, and helping, another team get there bikes and themselves up and over the fence. Then it was back to the windmill, where we saw a folding table by it’s lonesome. Not wanting to leave it feeling unused or unloved, we spent the next 20 or so minutes simply sitting there, or laying down, staring at the stars, chatting, and enjoying the fact that it was nearing 1am, Sunday morning. We’d been racing for close to 17 hours…yet for a time we were able to forget it all, forget the other teams, and enjoy the immense solitude and peace in that place before heading back down.
Final Leg - Trekking
Our final leg found us again trekking. We mapped the checkpoints up toward the windmill, and those closer to the river, and decided a change of scenery would be good. Heading out of transition we jogged along with anther couple teams for a bit before splitting. Our goal was one checkpoint and then calling it. By this time most of us were working through blistered feet (though remarkably nothing worse) and were simply getting to be dead tired. We thought we could simply follow the riverbank up to an inlet and streambed we needed - until we found out we’d be scaling vertical walls. There was some debate about simply jumping in the river and swimming, or hacking through the underbrush, and in the end we hacked our way to the streambed. A couple hikes up and down with no luck and, thinking about the cave,we made one more trek further up that we figured we needed to go (as in a lot further) and finally found our checkpoint…and a hole under the fence…and a nice easy path back to the road from which we’d started (and had missed the path by a mere 20-30 feet). There was a bit of a scare and quick scrambling over a fence when we realized we were actually inside the fence with the cows/bulls (couldn’t tell in the dark - but weren’t taking chances). A quick hike back to transition and we were able to turn in our passport and call the race done just before 3am - 18 hours and 55 minutes after the race start.
We’d made our goal - finishing the race officially (with all four team members). We soon found out that we made our other goal of not coming in last.
Thinking back, I should have headed back to transition and slept. Instead I decided to pack it up and head back, hoping to make Austin in time for a friend’s race. I was wide awake and having a blast. I was not, however, considering that by this point I had effectively been up for 44 hours. The drive back was my first (and last) bout with NoDoze. The amusing part is that I was thinking 1 pill = 1 cup of coffee, but am used to my caffeine in a mocha form when it happens at all, so I thought nothing of popping 3-4 pills for the drive home. Now I know what it’s like to be wired out of your mind…
Overall the race was an amazing experience. I knew I’d be able to cover the distance, just not how fast or how well. I hadn’t been training much except for running and some random biking and was mainly pulling from what I could do on any standard day. Combined with how the race went - that make me very happy with where I am right now. Shawn, Steve, and Claudia were wonderful. Throughout the day we were keeping each other up, refusing to go on without the entire team, and remembering & reminding each other that we’re simply here to have fun, know we’re under-prepared, and looking forward to a fun time. Nutrition-wise I went with my standard Ironman formula of Infinit for most of the day, with a bit of real food tossed in here and there. For future races I’ll bring more pizza and other assortments of real food 
I felt great throughout the entire day and got everything my body needed, but there’s nothing like something substantial when you’re sitting at hour 16 in the race.
An excerpt from the Spread Your Wings AR forum May 29, 2008
Posted by riverbrady in : Adventure Racing, Quotes , 1 comment so farThis follows on my experience, and is one of the reasons the weekend was so great.
“There’s something succinctly different about adventure racers. Crazy, yes. Disciplined, sure. But they are the most optimistic, good humored people in the world as a whole. Sure, there’s one or two who are way too intense, but most, nearly all of them are just incredible people. In so many ways. It’s amazing to watch a team come in to the T.A. at 2 am, wet, muddy, beat up from the day, exhausted, ending leg 5, handed leg 6 clue sheet, knowing there’s another 4 to go, and they’ll joke about the time, the event, the checkpoint in the dark cave, but they don’t complain, there’s no whining, no bitching. And they often leave T.A. telling me “thank you” and each other, “Okay, let’s get after it!” Even if they are down a team member, even with a broken bike, blood on their knees, they leave with as much of a smile as their face muscles can muster up. It’s indicative of their inner spirit and strength. I always leave these weekends very uplifted and humbled in my daily doings.”
The Distance April 29, 2008
Posted by riverbrady in : General, Quotes , add a commentI was going through things this evening and realized I’ve never posted this here…one of my poems from a few years back. I always like revisiting this to remind myself of the joys I can take from running…
Formatting is a bit funky and I’m tired, so a simple link will have to suffice.
Catching up April 28, 2008
Posted by riverbrady in : General , add a commentIt’s so easy to let oneself get caught up in the hurricane surrounding every day…to imprint upon your mind and thoughts that this and that need to be done now, that you’ll get back to that email or phone call sometime later, that one more week…or two won’t make a difference in the trip you’re planning on taking.
It’s easy to forget to slow down, and ensure you make the phone call, write a quick note, let a friend know you’re thinking of them - simply slowing down and enjoying things.
Yesterday I spent a couple hours catching back up with a friend. Time of nothing but talk, coffee, and realizing how much I don’t keep in touch when I should, especially with those people who mean a lot in my life, whether I’ve known them for years or found myself newly remaking their acquaintance after too much time.
It was a good day - one of the better ones I’ve had in a while.
Biking Heart Rate April 25, 2008
Posted by riverbrady in : Training , add a commentFrom lactate threshold testing we know I can get my running HR up to at least 203. Yesterday while maxing on the bike I hit 200. Normally your biking max is supposed to be 10-15 beats lower than your running max. It’s looking like I’m one of the anomalies, along with having a huge range to play with, as I don’t start going anaerobic until the mid-high 160s.
Call me weird.
Ongoing April 7, 2008
Posted by riverbrady in : Training, Nutrition, Medical , add a commentThe past week has marked the first full week I’ve been back training and enjoying it. I joined up with 24 Hour Fitness right after Easter due to an incredible price on a new membership. Since then it’s been a gradual transition back into a regular weight routine, trying out some spin classes to get back on the bike, and mucking about in the pool (wonderfully non-chlorinated). While I prefer to be outside, it’s made getting up and making myself do something in the morning much easier, and given me the ability to hit the gym during lunch those days I wish to.
As usual, right now the main focus is getting back into shape, flexibility, and shedding a few pounds before the wedding. It feels a bit odd to say that, and I find it increasingly annoying when most friends seem to get angry when I talk about “needing to lose a few pounds,” but the fact of the matter is that I’m carrying extra weight around my midsection that doesn’t need to be there, and that I’m easily a good 15 lbs over where I used to be as standard.
Right now it simply feels nice - no exhaustive tracking, no set schedule (though I’ve a few things I’m planning to cement for every week), just getting out and doing something for and hour or two and enjoying feeling good again.
Humans as Distance Runners
Posted by riverbrady in : General , add a commentAn interesting article on why humans make good distance runners .
Slowly March 17, 2008
Posted by riverbrady in : Training, Medical , add a commentToday marked my first Monday yoga. I plan on incorporating more days as we continue and as my leg allows, but Monday is the day we absolutely get together for the bit of time to ourselves.
Afterwards I headed to the gym for some upper body. Tomorrow the plan is to gently work what lower I can and progress back to the 4 day/week, alternating body area weight schedule that I kept for years before I moved to Austin and got lazy about it.
The leg and knee continue to pose problems. The hematoma in my calf seems to be getting smaller - thank goodness it’s in the muscle and not connected to the bone. The ankle…is mysterious. The first week it was fine to the point where I could dance. Then it started swelling like mad and darkening as if blood was draining and pooling under the skin. As it was right after some hard massage work on the hematoma we were worried that we’d cause something to start bleeding again. Thankfully the darkening has almost completely disappeared, though the swelling continues to come and go. I’m heading back into the doc’s on Wednesday for some more x-rays of the ankle to see if I might have a hairline fracture or something. In the meantime, I get to continue playing the old man with the cane (but at least it’s a collapsable cane!).
Motivation lately has been difficult, but I’m working on it. Right now there is no focus for racing with the wedding coming up. The only focus is to do something, to bring myself back down to the low 160s where clothes are comfortable, and to work on my flexibility. So far I’m keeping on track.
I really liked Rich’s idea about awarding himself points for specific positive goals, focusing on a balance of training and life. I believe I’ll have to come up with my own similar system.
Alex - Nine Years Passed December 16, 2007
Posted by riverbrady in : My Stuff , add a commentIt’s been nine years and while I know how he died, I still don’t know the cause. I don’t think I could bear to reopen that wound with the people who would know, but that last afternoon we were all together and seeing Kent, RJ, and Nick walking back has forever been seared into my mind.
I remember thinking,
I’ll go on forever knowing that I’ll see you again.
But now, as you have passed
You will be in my heart forever.You were a light.
A light that shined so incredibly bright it touched everyone.
It began with your smile.
Your smile was electrifying, and your laughter filled us all with love.
So proud, and beaming with them you strode confidently into our hearts.
I sought your guidance.
And I confided in you secrets that were never told.You were dynamic, a leader, you emerged in the toughest situations.
And now, as your light is gone from us, it remains in our hears and minds.
It radiates in the night sky.Last night, I gave you a star, the middle star in Orion’s belt, my favorite star.
Orion is the hunter, and fittingly in my mind, you are with him.
You were our hunter.
You hunted perfection, you had to be the best.
Your dreams, goals and ambitions had to be achieved.
You would not settle for less.More than a teammate, a person to share lane or locker with,
You were a friend, a best friend, a brother.
And now as you depart and leave from this earth,
I just wanted to say
I love you.by Brian Bell
Key Speed Workouts for the Week October 26, 2007
Posted by riverbrady in : Training , add a commentMonday was a day off. Tues - Thurs ended up as key workouts where I kept pushing myself while making sure I got the proper nutrition/stretching (min 20 minutes, until tightness was gone)/sleep afterwards (at least 8 hours).
Tuesday
1:25, 9.85 miles
30 min run in the morning - 3.5mi
Running at Barton Springs - evening
18:25 warmup
2 loops [0.9 mi w/some hills + 2 hill repeats of 0.15 mi, jogging down]
- 6:35 (7:26 pace), 1:02 (7:10 pace), 1:01 (6:49 pace)
- 5:59 (6:42 pace), 0:57 (6:17 pace), 0:56 (5:47 pace)
9 min cooldown
Wednesday
56 min, 2725meters
Warmup
- 2x [4×100M: 100free, 75free/25tech, 50free/50tech, 25free/75tech]
- 50M free
Main Set - Decents: Start at 75 on 1:30, decrease 2s per until you can’t hold the pace, then switch to 50s on decent, then similar to 25s on decent
- 16×75 on 1:30 - 1:00
- 9×50 on 0:58 - 0:42
- 6×25 on 0:40 - 0:30
125M cooldown mixing free/back/breast
Thursday
45 minutes, 5 miles
15 min warmup
16:20 min tempo, increasing pace every 5 min (7:25 avg, 5:28 at the end)
5x 400ft hill sprints (0:26, 0:21, 0:23, 0:20, 0:20)
3 min running, 7 min walking cooldown