Castlewood 8 Hour Adventure Race

Due to LIFE getting in the way, I am just now getting a race report for the Castlewood Adventure Race out.  And since I have waited so long, I don't remember a lot of the details.  This is what I do remember. 

Chuck and I decided to have two teams this year, a guys team and a girls team.  We had some newbies that really wanted to try Adventure Racing and some people that we showed the ropes in the 2011 race that wanted to do it again. 

The guys team was Chuck, Jacob Vohsen, Keith Timmins, and Patrick Albert.

Of course I was on the girls team, it was Lori Vohsen, Jenny Norton, Krystal Giltner and me.  Lori was our navigator and I tried to help where I could, but it was really all Lori.  I think Chuck told her, what ever you do, do not let Robin navigate, which is really good advice. 

We started the race hanging with the guys, but then they got restless waiting for us so they took off.  Oh don't worry they didn't just ditch us, we had decided before the race that we might do a couple CP's together then go at our own pace.  Plus we got to test our skills without help. 

The day was beautiful and we quickly went from long sleeves and pants to shorts and short sleeve jerseys.  Lori's orienteering was spot on all day long, we were hitting the CP's dead on. 

Krystal and I sucked at paddling and we were just dragging the team down during the paddle, but we did better on the bike.  I think the hardest part of the entire race was dragging the canoe off the beach.  Everyone we knew was at the manned CP's.  It was a like an Adventure racing reunion and so good to see everyone who wasn't racing.

We worked together like a well oiled machine, it was a great team that we had. We ended up in second place, although we had the same number of CP's as the first place team, but our time was slower.  We missed the last two CP's because we were short on time so skipped them. 

Below is our race in pictures.

Figuring out which way to start

 

Hanging out with a great race volunteer



Good Friends

Checking to see if we have time to pick up one last CP

Both ROCK Racing teams

Punching the CP

Another CP bites the dust

One More CP

Lori, which way do we go now?

Blood, that makes it a great race



We got it, lets move out

Some time on the water



The fast paddlers

Krystal can paddle, but Robin steers all over the river

A taste of a bike leg

The Finish Line

Jen, Krystal, Robin and Lori 

 



Skippo Trial Race

Rock Racing - a victory for Jacob

So, have I whined enough about what bad shape I’m in, if you don’t think so then you haven’t been around me enough lately.  I know Chuck keeps saying he is in bad shape too, but not nearly as bad as me.  I mean how did we both just finish an Ironman race only 8 weeks ago and then have a simple little 20K trail run almost kill us.

Well this is a very short tale, but I’m sure you will get a full picture of what transpired.  Chuck and I both signed up for the 30K race, but as the race neared we both came to realize that we were in no shape to run a 30K, so we both dropped down to the 20K race.  Chuck’s son Jacob was also signed up for the 20K, which put Chuck in a bad position, he would have to do anything he could to beat Jacob. 

I got to Castlewood and parked my car right next to SuperKate, she says “I just got a text from Chuck, Jacob forgot his running shoes so they have to go back home to get them, they would like one of us to pick up their race packets”.  Since Kate already had hers, I said I would grab them.  As I was in line to pick up the race packets the computers went down and the race organizers were scrambling to manually give out numbers.  I also found out that they only had size small girl’s shirts so I would have to have one mailed to me when they came in.  This race was not starting out well.  I put my number on and waited for Chuck and Jacob to show up, if they didn’t show by the start of the race I planned to leave their numbers on my car windshield for them to grab when they arrived.  As I stood at the back of the pack of runners, stretching I saw them walking up, it was one minute until start time.  They quickly pinned their numbers on as the race started.  Jacob ran for the bathroom hoping to get back before our wave took off. As we took off Chuck and I saw Jacob running to the starting line. I figured in about a mile he would be passing us.

So this race was two laps for the 20K and each lap consisted of a 6.2 mile loop with 217 stairs to climb on each lap.  As we hit the stairs, Chuck and I were still together, we stayed together for a long while then I heard Jacob yell my name from the trail above, he was about to catch us.  Well that’s all it took as soon as Chuck heard Jacob, he took off like a lightning bolt.  I kept trudging along thinking Jacob would over take me at any moment, but he never showed up.  When he finally caught me we were at the creek and he showed me his war wounds, he had taken a nasty fall right after he saw us. He is a tough kid though and he got back up and kept running. Soon he and Chuck were ahead of me and I could see them about half way up cardiac hill as I was just beginning the climb.  We had less than 3 miles of the first lap left. I caught the boys at the top of cardiac hill and from there we passed each other off and on for the rest of the race. 

When we ran past the finish line to start the second lap, Jacob and I were just behind Chuck and we both thought it would have been really nice to have turned into the finish line, but we didn’t, we trudged on.  On our second time up the stairs there were not as many people, we could have run, but REALLY, my legs would not have gone for that, so we walked up.  Then it was back to the cat and mouse game that we were playing with each other.  Just before the creek, SuperKate passed us and my gosh she was running well, and she was doing the 30K, this really put me in a mood.  How could she pass me like that and she had to do a third lap.  At least someone was having a good day.  

Really though it was a nice day, even a little warm, there were tons of people so it didn’t feel like I was last and at least I was close enough to talk to Chuck and Jacob some of the time. As I headed down the trial towards the road, I still, had the boys in my sights, but I didn’t think I could catch them.  All of the sudden a fellow Godzilla teammate, Maureen, comes flying by she was about to finish the 30K, I got lapped.  Now in my defense she is super fast and she won the 30K race, the overall Female, so at least I didn’t get passed by a snail.  As I got to the road Keith was sitting on the hill cheering me on, telling me that the boys were just in front of me.  As I ran down the last straight away, I see Jacob finish then Chuck finish right behind him.  I made the turn into the finish and the boys were there waiting for me cheering me on, that really felt good. 

So I finished the race 2 minutes behind Chuck and Jacob beat Chuck just by seconds.  I wanted to run a 2:30 and I ran a 2:30:30, so I’m calling that a victory.  Even though today, two days after the race, I’m still limping around, I think it was all worth it.  It was a great day spent with good friends and I got a little exercise to boot. Oh and Jacob won his age group and got a really cool glass. And Jeff who finished the 30K just behind us finishing the 20K, also won his age group. Even if I’m not fast, I can say I know people who are fast.

NOTE: Chuck was in such a hurry to make it to the race that he had been driving on empty for 25 miles, so I had to follow him to the gas station after the race to make sure he made it.  Well he did, but it would have been pretty funny if he hadn’t. 

The Moral Of The Story

I think someone might be sending me a message. This reminds me of that joke about the guy sitting on top of is flooding house and while a boat, a plane and a helicopter try to rescue him, but he refuses to take the help because he says god will rescue him. Then after he drowns, he is in heaven and asks god, “why didn’t you save me” and god answers “I sent a boat and plane and a helicopter, what else did you want me to do”.

My story is this, I broke my tailbone in mid-October, I took a week off training, and then moved to a modified training schedule, still competing in all the races I had already registered for. Well, the tailbone pain just kept getting worse instead of better. I know that my doctor said to take it easy, but I think his idea of easy was not my idea of easy. So when late December rolled around, I decided it was time to come off the easy training plan and back on to the normal training plan. Get this, my tailbone started hurting even more, I just couldn’t figure out why it was hurting so bad. So after another visit to the doctor, he said that he wanted me to take 6 weeks off of running and biking. So if you know me, you know I took this very badly.

Ok, so I saw the doctor on Friday, and the way my mind works, I figured I would give this taking time off thing some good thought before committing to it. That means I would go ahead and ride on the snowy trails on Saturday and run the Castlewood trails on Sunday, then on Monday I would start my 6 weeks off, well maybe.

So 45 minutes into our run on Sunday, I’m running along telling Chuck about a movie I watched that I knew he would hate and the next thing I know I’m on the ground, rolling around, chanting in my head, “it doesn’t hurt that bad, don’t cry, don’t cry”. Chuck runs over to me and says please tell me you didn’t land on your butt. I of course replied, “no butt is fine, but everything else hurts”. Chuck grabs my arm and pulls me off the ground, after a couple minutes of walking, as I finish the story about the movie, we start running again. We finish another hour of running, then I pull my bloody gloves off to check the damage, then I pull down my bloody tights to see how bad the knees are. Who knew that the dirt feels like concrete when it’s 28 degrees outside.


So now I have to think was the doctor telling me to slow down my first offer of help, then his telling me not to race, the second offer, and now the falling down, my third and last chance to get it through my thick head, that I have to take some time off.

Or

Is the moral to the story, don’t tell Chuck about horse movies, because he hates horse movies.

You decide!

Conquer Castlewood 2011

No paddling, can you believe that, stupid rain. I know what you’re thinking, every race report I have ever written says, I hate paddling and I do, but in a short race where the paddle is just a couple miles, I’m ok with it. I’m really ok with it when it comes at the beginning of the race and can be used for a nice warm-up that keeps my legs fresh for a fast mountain bike ride.


So at this years Conquer Castlewood race, there would be no paddle. The water was up and there was no beach to be found, so the paddle leg was cancelled. I was not at all happy with the circumstances and my teammate, Allan was not happy with the change either, but he is a super fast runner, so I didn’t think it would really make much of a difference to his time. Instead of starting the race paddling we would sprint a 1.5 mile loop, I call it a sprint not a run because that’s what it ends up being. The loop consisted of trail with sand and mud, at one point there were so many people that I was pushed over to the muddy side of the trail and ended up ankle deep in the mud. I kept running with mud and sand weighing my shoes down and my feet kept hitting slimy sections and sliding around. I had been running next to Chuck for the entire leg and then at the mile mark Chuck pulled away, and I chased him all the way to the bike transition.



I was about 2 seconds behind Chuck at the start of the bike, but he quickly left me when we hit the field section. I really hate to say it, but he is stronger than I am. There Chuck write it down, you might not ever hear it again. Since the run was so fast, I was tired and the mountain bike leg just didn’t feel as good as it does coming off a paddle leg. After the loop around the big field I started to get my legs back and turn on the heat, passing a few guys, then my friend Mike passed me, he is always saying how he is slow, he is not slow, he flew past me. The problem was we both got to the steep part of Grotpeter and there was a line of riders stopped and walking. There was no way to ride around them, so we both jumped off our bikes and ran up the hill, then hopped back on and took off. That is when Mike pulled away from me like I was standing still. I was still passing people but at the top of Grotpeter where the trail turns back into the woods next to the road, I caught 4 guys and we were on a narrow single track section, and I couldn’t get past them. I was riding way slower then I should have been, but there was no way around. I finally made it around the first 3, but was still behind one more guy and I didn’t get a chance to pass him until I was almost to the road crossing by the rangers station. I don’t know how much time that cost me, but if I had to guess it was at least 3 minutes. So I turned the heat up again and bombed the rest of the loop into transition. I was in and out of transition in 25 seconds and running back down the trail to the section that was filled with sand and mud. This time there were a lot less people so I could pick a better line. I passed Mike in the sandy section, I think his smoking fast bike time, might have taken a toll on is legs, he looked good, but said he was slowing down. I kept pushing thinking maybe I could catch Chuck, but it never happened. I gave the race my all, but my time wasn’t what I wanted it to be. I really need to get in better shape.


Still I had fun and my partner Allan smoked both runs and the bike, I just don’t know how he does it. Allan, I promise next year I will be in better shape.


Chuck and Megan had a great race too, Megan is my stand in on the Rock Racing team.


Allan and I were in the first wave of the race so after we finished there were lots of racers still out, including my friend Kate. Another friend, Keith and I headed out on our bikes to cheer on our teammate Kate, she had started in the second wave and was running the last half mile to the finish so we rode with her into the finish. This was her first Conquer Castlewood and she was really having a great time doing it. She crossed the finish line with a smile on her face and another great accomplishment under her belt.


This is such a fun race, that I encourage everyone to do it and after the race when you know everyone, it’s like one big fitness party. It’s one of those places that you can stand around, sweaty, muddy, bloody and stinky and everyone around you thinks it’s just normal.

Chuck's Bloody Eye
Ballwin Parks and Recreation, you put on an awesome race!

To read Kate’s account of the race, check out the Super Kate blog.

And a big THANKS to Lori for taking all the great pictures, it’s so nice to have a photographer follow us around and document all our adventures.