Well that was fun!
I hadn't done an AXS race in a while due to sicknesses. I was looking forward to working on my speed and competing in this fast-paced race. I asked if Danelle Ballangee wanted to race with me to create a coed girls team for this race, "so we could try to beat the boys" and she agreed!
I hadn't done an AXS race in a while due to sicknesses. I was looking forward to working on my speed and competing in this fast-paced race. I asked if Danelle Ballangee wanted to race with me to create a coed girls team for this race, "so we could try to beat the boys" and she agreed!
We met up the day prior and started planning our race. But there wasn't much to plan. Several of the CPs were to remain mysteries and we'd have to plot them after the race had begun.
So we prepared our gear for what we did know: 1. Run to boats ~5 miles, 2. Kayak ~ 6 miles at an ultra high river level of nearly 4000 cfs and try not to swim, 3. Bike to ropes for the Tyrolean Traverse ~10 miles, 4. Bike to the TA to learn of our new checkpoints, 5. Bike some more [ended up being about 15 miles with a short bike-whack] 6. Rogaine orienteer on foot [about 4 miles], and 7. Bike home as fast as possible! [about 10 miles] |
Post by Journey Racing. | The race started and Danelle and I focused on maintaining a steady pace up the hill, keeping the pack leaders in our sights. With a good route choice, we ended up jumping ahead of a few teams who had gotten ahead with their beginning-of-race exuberance. |
The water for the kayak section in Buena Vista was running extremely high this year. We transitioned quickly-but were sure to layer up for the swim we thought would inevitably happen. We knew we wouldn't gain an edge on the water, but swimming would definitely lose time on our competition if it happened. Lots of teams ended up getting dumped out of their boats, but Danelle did amazing at keeping us headed in the right direction, picking good lines, and we paddled hard to stay upright. The wave trains were AWESOME! Since I was in the front, I got repeatedly immersed with waves over my head. It was definitely the best whitewater I'd been on in a long time and I caught myself shouting, "wahoo!" often.
We transitioned to the bikes and pace-lined with Thole Craic on the way to the ropes challenge. The ropes challenge was a 400' Tyrolean Traverse across a gully that was ~200' deep. Typically this really wears me out, and while ALWAYS difficult, I did better than I ever had which was exciting. Next we found out where the rest of the course was going to take us. We made good time to the orienteering course through hail and a short rain, then stagnant heat. |
The orienteering course was a rogaine style with a twist. We had to pursue as many CPs within an hour and then decide whether it was worth it to stay out and get more CPs or skip the rest - Time for some strategizing! Each CP was worth a different amount of time credits, ranging from 2 minutes to 15 minutes. We changed into our Altra Lone Peaks and got all the high-value CPs in the first hour, stayed out and got a few additional higher value CPs for a remaining few minutes, then we skipped the 2-minute CPs. ....We just had to hope our strategy was going to pan out against the other teams. We did really great on our nav and did not lose time searching for CPs which was great.
| We had finished the O course and snagged the last 2 CPs via bike on the way to the finish line. We hammered, and had a fun time on the last bits of single track. What a blast! We were the first team to cross the finish line (well...we tied with Jeff LaForce and Garret in an exciting and hilarious sprint to the finish), and you know what?....We beat the boys! Our strategy paid off. We won first over all the team divisions, and first in our 2 female division. It was an awesome day, an exciting win, and some great racing experience. Here are the posted results: http://axsracing.com/wp-content/uploads/BV14.pdf |