Adventure Race

On Sunday, I competed in Luther's Second Annual Adventure Race. The race consisted of a 5 mile canoe, 12 mile bike, and a 3 mile run. My roommate, Aaron, and I competed as a team in the event by canoeing together and biking and runing alone and then averaging our times. Over 70 people competed on a day featuring 80 degree weather, gusts as high as 30 mph, and beautiful fall leaves covering the ground.

The race started with those who were kayaking alone in groups of four with two minute intervals between the next group. Aaron and I started in the middle of the pack and were able to catch up and pass a lot of kayakers. Fortunately we never tipped and stayed dry throughout. The unfortunate part was the wind. We would be paddling as hard as we could and it would seem as if we were not moving. People were literally getting their kayak's turned around from the wind alone.

After the canoe we started the bike. Knowing what the route was beforehand, we knew it was going to consist of 2 long gradual climbs and short, fast downhills. Since my mountain bike is a single speed, it would have not been efficient to ride on the flat surface through town and I would have lost a lot of ground. Aaron and I decided to ride my geard bikes at home. The initial plan was for me to ride my Dad's and he would ride the "Green Machine." After a broken chain link and some other work on my Dad's bike I deemed it unridable for the race and turned to Anne's old Trek 720. Problem was the gear shifter on the right was broke so my only gear options were 1x7, 2x7, and 3x7.....cowboy up! Aaron was the pace setter for the ride and I was suprisingly able to keep up givin my bike specs. The ride ran through town, Palisades Park, onto the gravel portion up Quarry Hill, and down to Luther.

The run was the part that got me. I don't know how Aj was able to move his legs after biking for 112 miles. For the first 1.5 miles it was hard to just keep a steady pace and maintain decent form. It felt like I had never run before (the fact that the run started out on a trail that was incredibly uneven, filled with logs, dips, and crazy turns didn't help). Once I got to the top of college farm things finally got better and I was able to maintain a steady pace on the downhill and back to campus.

My total time was 2:04:04 and Aaron's final time was 2:08:11. I finished 10th overall and Aaron placed 13th. Overall I was pretty satisfied with my results. My only goal was to push myself as hard as I could and finish. Next year we will win the race.

Special thanks to my Mom, Judy and Cat for being great support. I know they made Quarry Hill seem a lot shorter for Ally. Pics are not uploading for whatever reason and I will continue to try until they are uploaded.