Lightning Strikes 8 Hours

Team:  Off the Front Racing
Teammates:  Todd Dohogne and Zdenek Palecek

With USARA Nationals being in Brown County, Indiana this year, my team and I were eager to attend an adventure race which would be a qualifier for Nationals. In order to qualify, you have to be top 3 at that race However, the rules state if a team qualified in a previous qualifying race then, the spot rolls down to next top team. Not all adventure races are qualifiers for USARA Nationals. There have only been a few qualifying races so far this year so we would have to probably place top 3 in the next race.

I found a USARA National qualifying race in Mt. Carroll, IL., Lightning Strikes. This is a 8 hour adventure race consisting of MTN biking, running/bushwhacking, paddling, and rope sections with ascending, rappelling, and traversing, all using map and compass in Northwest Illinois. There were some competitive teams registered and I was sure we would all be fighting to win top 3 to qualify for Nationals.

Race Headquarters

We arrived in Mt Carroll, IL and there was still snow on the ground. Some of the exposed areas were muddy and sloppy. Race Headquarters and lodging were Camp Benson. This is normally an adventure camp for kids in the summer where they learn how to navigate, paddle, ascend/rappel/traverse on rope sections, team build, caving, and much more. Our race fees help provide scholarships for kids who want to attend camp but, maybe can't afford to go.They will never turn a kid down who wants to attend camp but, can't afford it. We also had the opportunity to buy a cool sweatshirt and 100% of the cost went towards the kids scholarships too. Being an advocate for kids being outside, I had to buy one!

While on our way to register,  we ran into Robyn Benincassa, who is known to be the top female adventure racer in the world. She raced with top teams such as, Team Nike, Eco-Internet, and Zanfell, in some of the toughest 7-10 day adventure races in the world- Eco-Challenge and Primal Quest.  She was also a national level endurance kayaker and currently holds the Guinness World Record for distance on flat water in 24 hours. I was quick to pick her brain about the paddling section in the race, river level, and boat types. She informed us the race director had
to remove the paddling section due to water levels, frozen sections, and cold temperatures. Bummer!





 Our race fees included meals and lodging at the camp in these cool cabins which can sleep up to 16 people. The cabins are equip with electricity, heat, and bunk beds. We knew we would be sharing the cabin with other teams and I was a little worried about us getting sleep or us keeping up other teams. More on this later. We also got a bag when we registered which had a ton of cool schwag to include a nice first aid kit and gators. I think this is the most I've ever received in a schwag bag at any race.









After we  registered, we had the opportunity to practice the ropes sections before the race. These were the permanent courses for the camp and would not be the actual rope sections for the race. We decided to take this time to fine tune our climbing gear and practice. We also
found this really cool human luge where you go through a long tube system on a sled. We decided to have a little fun before the race.

Traversing across the river

 Pre-Race

The pre-race meeting opened up with Robyn Benincassa sharing her previous experience and knowledge on how to be successful as a team and at adventure racing. She is no longer adventure racing due to multiple hip surgeries but, has now started Project Athena Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping women who've endured medical setbacks achieve their athletic dreams. Robyn is also a keynote speaker across the nation for team building events and has a new book out, "How Winning Works." http://www.robynbenincasa.com/ Her talk was so inspirational, motivating, and perfect to hear the night before a race.

 When she was done speaking, the race director handed out some of the maps and checkpoints to plot around 9:00 PM. We quickly headed back to the cabin to plot what we had on a fold up table I brought. The other teams in our cabin chose to plot at the main lodge either on the floor or on the metal chairs since all the dinner tables were put away to accommodate the racers for the meeting.

Since this race was important to us we took a lot of time with the maps
with double checking and map rolling road sections so we could be quick during the race. The other teams came back to our cabin and quickly crawled into bed while we were still plotting and gathering our gear. This meant we were still talking, make sounds, and lights were on! I felt really bad about this but, we were there to race and needed to do well.

The Race

When we awoke, with approximately 4 hours of sleep, the ground was covered with a new thin layer of snow and the ground froze underneath it. It was slick out there. We arrived at race headquarters for the pre-race briefing and 20 minutes before the start, we received our passport and a new map which had pre-plotted checkpoints 1-3 and 18-22.


Trek 1:  (cps 1-3, 1.0 mile, 0:14 min )
              

All the 4 hour and 8 hour teams gathered at the start line and the race begun at 6:00 AM. It was still a little dusky out but, not dark enough to need a headlamp. The first orienteering section which consisted of 3 pre-plotted checkpoints (cps) which could be done in any order. Teams scattered from the start in all directions. We chose to run a trail out to the furthest cp first. Once in the woods, the ground and rocks were slick due to the snow and overnight freeze. Yep, I took a good fall running down some rocks. We nailed the 3 cps and hustled into the transition area in 2nd place overall behind team Rev3.  Then, team Rib Mountain slipped in there and choose to use platform pedals so their transition was quick with not needing to change shoes and both those teams were out of the TA before us.


Bike 1:  (cps 4-6, 10.49 miles, 0:54 min)

After a quick transition, we took off on our bikes to collect the next set of cps, 4 and 5. We had 2 competitive teams in front of us and we weren't sure who was on our tail. Our plan was to utilize the bike tow on all the road sections but, the road conditions were not good. The temps were in the 30s with a thin layer of snow and hidden icy spots.  We tried to stay in a pace line as much as possible and visibility was difficult due to snow pelting our eyes from the sky and road. We picked up the 2 cps and headed to the steep road that dumped us into Mississippi Palisades State Park. We saw a couple sets of bikes laying there when we arrived. We quickly transitioned back into our running shoes and pulled out our maps we plotted the previous night.

Trek 2:  (cps7-15, 3.5 miles, 1hr 9min, elevation 700-940ft)

Zdenek took a quick look at the orienteering map which had 9 cps we plotted the night before. As soon as we stepped foot in the woods we were already heading up a steep re-entrant. The terrain was really hilly in Palisades Park. We worked together really well in this section. Zdenek was dead on with each checkpoint and Todd was efficient punching the passport. After grabbing all nine cps, we had a quick steep downhill run on the road back to where we left our bikes. Once again, we changed into our biking shoes and headed back to Camp Benson on our bikes.

Bike 2:  (cps 16-18, 12.9 miles, 1hr 11min)

With warming temperatures, the roads became more wet and slushy. We were told there were still two teams in front of us and we assumed it was still the co-ed teams, Team Rev2 and Rib Mountain. We were getting closer to the finish and tried to hammer out the last bike section hoping to gain a little time. We picked up the 2 cps on the road section and flew into transition area 18. Here we dropped the bikes and quickly put on our climbing harnesses and gear.

Ropes Course: (cp 19-22, )

We headed off running to the first ropes section which was ascending. We had to find the quickest way to get to the bottom so we chose to run the trail a little and found a section that wasn't as steep to scramble

down.  There were 3 ropes set up but, only one rope per team. We decided ahead of time we would send Todd up first so he could scout the area for the next cp. I went up second. I felt I was ascending pretty fast until I got to a ledge near the top. I couldn't get my ascenders to slide along the rock. I kept trying and my arms became very tired and shaky. I realized I had to push off the rocks with my feet and do a little jump to push my ascenders past the ledge. That did the trick and I was able to ascend over. Zdenek quickly ascended behind me.

Next, we had a quick zip line off a steep ledge that required a running start. This brought us to the bottom with a nice snowy slide on our butts. We ran across the flats and scrambled back up a hill to attack the next cp in a rocky ledge. Once we got it, we realized we could of stayed low to save time. We knew we had to get to the rappel next but, there was a wide creek with some pretty cold water in front of us. We knew the race director said we would not have to paddle or cross any water "intentionally" for the race anymore due to the conditions. This seemed to stick in our heads and could not figure out how we were suppose to get across. The night before they had fixed ropes across the same creek that folks were traversing across to practice. We figured this must be somewhere since we weren't going to have to cross water anymore. We went up and down the creek for awhile. I finally told the boys "screw it. We are going to jump in." We found a spot we thought was safer and jumped in. The water was about thigh high and boys helped me get across. Wow..that was some cold water!


Once we  got to the rappel, we realized we really were suppose to jump in the water and there was no static line crossing the river to traverse. The rappel was high and fun. Once we all got down we headed to the "human luge." Since we practiced the night before, not knowing we would use it in the race, we knew exactly where it was and what to do. We shot down the tubes with a big grin on our face and headed towards the finish line. We ran across the line with arms in the air. We were told we finished 3rd in division, 3rd overall, and going to Nationals. Yeah..goal achieved!!

Innsbrook Off-Road Team Triathlon

The weather didn't looking promising for the 4th annual Innsbrook Off-Road Team Triathlon to be held on March 10th this year. The forecast called for 80% chance of steady rain all day. The race director decided to remove all the dirt roads and trails from the course, due to extremely muddy conditions,  forcing us to run and bike mostly on paved and gravel roads. I was bummed to read this initially since this could make the race faster for experienced triathletes.  We made a last minute decision to use our cross bikes instead of mountain bikes due to single track/double track sections being removed.

Todd Dohogne and I were signed up to race in the combined age 80 and over coed division and our other Off the Front teammates, Marci Morris and Aron Rauls, were to race in the under 80 coed division. This was going to be an interesting race for us. We have mountain biking and adventure racing experience but, neither of us have ever raced a triathlon. We were worried about the speed triathletes would have on the run and bike especially, since they removed the dirt sections. We knew we had to hammer on the bike and attack the hills. We have a lot of paddling experience and hoped we could gain some time in this section too.  We decided to use a running tow, which was a bungee attached to Todd that I can hold on to in order to keep his pace. 

Pre-race

The rain stop when we arrived which made it nice for pre-race set up.  I tried to pick a prime spot to hang our bikes on the racks in the transition which was on the end of the last rack on the way out to the gravel road. We put our biking shoes upside down in plastic bags to prevent the shoes from filling with water later. The radar showed more heavy rain and wind coming again.  It started out a little warm and muggy but, I kept my tights and long sleeve base layer on since temps would probably drop once the rain started. I chose not to carry anything on my back since I knew I could hydrate after the short run once on the bikes.  

           

Run 1 (2.88 miles)

We maneuvered our way to the front row with my bungee attached to Todd's pack and the start gun went off.  We started off on the run pacing ourselves since we were warned of the "hills." In fact, the first run had some pretty decent elevation. We were thinking the elevation would be good for us since we are not flat road runners. Our goal was to keep our other teammates, Aron and Marcy, in sight since we knew they were faster runners.  We seemed to be able to pass some of the teams the more hills we encountered. We came into the muddy transition area (TA) and quickly changed our dry shoes and put on a helmet. 

Bike 1 (2.94 miles)

We took off quickly on the cross bikes onto a flat gravel road which was slick in spots.  We seemed to be in a pace line with other teams until we reached the paved roads. I tried to hold on to Todd's wheel as close as I could. Good thing I had clear sunglasses on since I was constantly being sprayed in the face with his back wheel. We started passing teams once we reached the first couple of climbs.  We could tell the wind was really starting to pick up so it was really helpful and fun working with Aron and Marci taking turns pulling in a pace line. This section seemed to go pretty fast and we found ourselves pulling into the boat launch in 3rd position overall.

Paddle (2.83 miles)

Todd and I felt we could use our paddling experience to either gain some time here or at least, hold our position. I was worried about the 31 total all male teams who might be stronger than a coed team.  We had 4 checkpoints we had to collect on the paddle section which could be done in any order but, you had to punch the corresponding checkpoint number with the same number on the passport. Excited but, nervous about our current position we quickly put the canoe in the water and jumped in. It didn't take me long to realize we got in the boat backwards. You have got to be kidding me! Of all the years I've been paddling, I made a total rookie mistake.  I decided the quickest way to correct for it was for each of us to carefully turn our bodies around in the canoe. Oh crap..this meant I had to steer the canoe. I don't usually have to do this.  I became a little more nervous so, I made Todd still navigate so I could focus on the steering.

We decided to attack our checkpoints (CPs) in a counter clock direction. Each of the 4 CPs were in a deep cove which can be seen on the above map. Once we arrived to the first CP and punched our passport, we quickly switched spots in the canoe since Todd is more experienced with steering and navigating at the same time.  However, I was surprised I seemed to do ok steering our boat on the way there.

It was hard to tell how we were doing overall now since teams went off in different directions. We seemed to be holding our 3rd place overall position at least in our direction.  On the way to the third CP, the rain and wind really started to pick up. When we got close to the CP, Todd had a great idea and decided it would be quicker to pull over and run along the bank since it would be faster than paddling in there and back out. We were on our way back to the boat launch which was the last CP. The rain really started to pour and we were now paddling against the southeast headwind.  We pulled the tip of the canoe onto the rocky shore. We both attempted to get out of the boat at the same time. Suddenly, the whole boat tipped since it was partly onshore causing me to fall into the water on my left side. Oh crap...again! That was some cold water! We came off the water in 3rd overall so managed to hold our position on this leg.

Bike 2 (9.4 miles)

The last bike leg was super hilly and mostly all gravel roads. This was good for us since we are normally mountain bike racers and we were hoping we could catch another team here or maybe lengthen our gap with other teams behind us. Initially, the steep climbs were warming me up since my clothes were soaked. But, I'm sure everyone's clothes were soaked anyway since we were all out in the pouring rain.  The downhills were starting to getting a little sketchy on the cross bikes and water was starting to accumulate at the bottom of them.  The downhills were also making me really cold with my wet clothes and my teeth chattering.  I tried to keep focused on catching the top 2 teams.  Where were they? I starting giving up hope on seeing them then, in the last few miles, my eyes spotted them. "Oh yeah! There they are!" Immediately, Todd and I started to really crank it out and passed them on a big climb. It looked like maybe the two person male team was a little tired. We bolted into the TA for the last time and heard we were now in 2nd place overall. We quickly changed into our cold running shoes with our frozen hands and soaking cold feet.

 Run 2 (1.4 miles)

Initially, I was excited at this point that we were doing well and I could smell the finish line. However, Todd and I both felt like we were running with bricks in our shoes and could barely feel our feet and legs.  The last run leg was mostly flat. I was worried some of the fast triathletes could catch us on a flat run. The first half started out on gravel which was getting really soupy and not easy to run on. Sure enough, the 3rd place 2-person male team decided to get us back by passing us up in the first 1/2 mile of the run. Bummer! We kept our heads up and keep trying to squeeze it out. We had about another 1/2 mile to go on pavement and headed up a short climb. I looked over my shoulder and there was another 2-person male team chasing us down. "Oh no you don't!"  I turned to Todd and asked, "how bad to you want to win 3rd overall?  Let's do it!" 

 The Finish 

We started to dig a little deeper on the last quarter mile of the race and found ourselves crossing the finish line in 3rd overall out of 48 teams and 1st overall coed team. We were both so stoked about our finish with our first off-road triathlon but, we were also freezing so it was hard to stand around to celebrate. I waited around the finish line for our teammies, Aron and Marcy.  They came in shortly after us with an awesome finish and won 1st in their division and 5th overall. They also raced in the trail run the day before and both did really well. It was great for both Off the Front teams to podium and make our coach, Chris Mileski, proud!