Spring has sprung!

Seems to be harder and harder to try and find time to blog. I have a new phone maybe I can find an app for blogger. Yup upgraded to the iPhone 4. Sad to see the Nokia 2610 go away. Solid phone just needed an upgrade, the features with a smart phone are amazing. They have changed quite a few things for me. I am more flexible, but I still can't find time to write. I do seem to update facebook often. It's easy to post a pic. I will try that here.

Where did I leave off? Maybe just be fore LBL. What a great race! It was a another tough nav for me. I started us off with a wrong turn with in the first mile. It got worse for about the next 6 checkpoints. Jeff and I began to disagree with navigating....I offered him the maps several times and finally I turned and said Do Not Question Me. I was so flustered I wanted to give up. That was a first for me in a race. I did get us back on track and we made it to the paddle portion. The lake was getting beaten by 20knot winds I think. There were 2-3 rollers with white caps and spray. The paddle was shorted from 8 to 5 miles. I would have been happy with .5. It was tough. We took a rogue wave a bit crooked and I watched Jeff get launched over the side of the boat. Oh don't worry I was right behind him. You know there is always a turning point in a race. This was ours. Our packs and the map case had floated out from under the canoe as we are being tossed about, some 20 yards off shore. Jeff managed to his feet first but not before sucking up half of Lake Barkley. We managed to drag everything to shore and eventually flip the boat and drain it. My first reaction after hitting the shore was to get our rain gear on. the rain jackets did the trick and helped conserve what little body heat we had left as the lake temp was a nice chilly ~55*F. I think we spent about 5 minutes total on the beach getting reset and deciding to move on. Quiting out here still means you have to get your boat back to the take out...about mile and a half away.

We finished the paddle and my legs had stiffened and I was very cold. With the shortened paddle we would have to run about 2 miles back to the start line to get our bikes for the next section...thanks to our being lost first thing in the AM I was now familiar with our current location. We had been here about 4 hours earlier. The earlier run took a toll, and I was feeling it. Was it the BONK happening? Possibly. We got on the bikes and it was only minutes before I found my groove on the Hei Hei 29er. Jeff let me lead out and I was flossing the singletrack. I haven't ridden that well in a long time. We found our rhythm. We were right on from this point out and we got to enjoy some fine Kentucky singletrack. The canal loop is fast and lots of fun. If you haven't ridden LBL, find the time. It's worth the trip.

So at the finish my Bonk had set in. The last couple miles on the bike finished me off. We crossed the line and I was done. fell flat on back and managed to roll over and lay there for a bit. I had to be helped back over and then up to my feet. I kinda think running out of water as we got on the bike was a bad idea....My fuel bottles had been sitting on the bike in the sun for hours so they went bad...it was gross. Jeff gave me a few pulls on his bottle and whatever concoction he has turned my stomach. Thought I would die. This was the first race that I have ever turned down a cold beer. I could barely drink the cup of water someone brought me. Enough of my whining. In the end we managed a 6th place in the 2Person Male division out of 23 teams. Over all I think we had a top 10. The results I was sorting through seem to be missing a team or two. so lets just call it a top 10. Sweet! 2 races and now what? We have taken off some time from running so I could focus my training for the 200 miles of gravel roads in June. My birthday I have decided to take on the DK200. 200 miles around Emporia, KS through the remote countryside of the Flint Hills region. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint_Hills This is gonna be a true test of personal; endurance. This race is about beating someone else, it's about persevering, and overcoming those personal struggles as I push myself to new boundary's. At 43, I think the thought of riding a bicycle around a loop in Kansas that is as long as trip across Missouri is pretty cool idea. 10 years ago I would have called myself nuts. So the sky is lighting up with the morning sun and I have an urge to ride my bike...I will try to find some time to put more on the blog. Until then, find me on facebook, always lots of pics of fun being a TrailMonster.

Can't seem to find the LBL pics....moar soon