I did it!
That's right, I finished the entire 12 hour/50 mile race! And I did it under 12 hours - 11 hours, 7 minutes to be exact - I was definitely one of the slow ones but I didn't really push for speed, I just wanted to fini**** was so much fun, a great challenge and just the chance of a lifetime.
The race started at 7:30 am with a 1 mile run to the marina, which I pretty much walked the entire way because of my hurt knee. The next part was 11 miles of kayaking – that was the hardest part for me. I was in a duckie (an inflatable kayak), which is just about impossible to keep in a straight line, so the first hour was me weaving all over the place. I finally got the hang of it but it was pretty slow going – it took me 3 ½ hours, way longer than I thought it would. I was, of course, last, but only about 30 minutes behind everyone so I was pretty happy with that.
Biking was next and boy, did I have fun! There was this fun path that took me from the lake to Breckenridge, about 10 miles, then I had a big ole’ climb for a few miles to the first bike checkpoint. From there I was suppose to ride up to the next checkpoint but it was all single track and by this time it was pouring rain, so I opted to skip the checkpoint. I just wasn’t comfortable with riding single track in the mud so I had a fun ride back down to the bike path and hauled ass back to the transition – I was flying!
I got back exactly at 3pm, which was my goal and headed to the orienteering course. It was still pouring, so I had to get my rain gear out and headed out in the rain. The course was huge but it was the highlight for me – the checkpoints were in the best spots! I got to walk on the beach, do some fun climbing, walk through a marsh, and so much more. It was the highlight for me, despite the rain and being pretty tired. You only had to get 15 checkpoints and that’s exactly what I did, 15. I was going to go for more, I had an hour left where I could of snagged a few more. But I was pretty tired and decided to head back after I got my 15.
I got back and found out I wasn’t last! There was one other sole female competitor who came in just 5 minutes after me and another team that I didn’t see finish, so I don’t know how long it took them. However, when all the time penalties are added up I imagine I will probably be way behind since I didn’t get the one bike checkpoint and only half the orienteering. But I’m still pretty happy with the race – not once did I think “I can’t finish” or “I hate this.” I am sore, but not as much as I thought I would be, although that night I was hurting big time. I am covered with mosquito bites though, they were out in full force after the rain stopped. I actually have a bite on my butt – how did that happen?
So, that’s my race in a nutshell. The scenery was unbelievable, everybody was terrific, and all in all a perfect day. And thanks to all of you for your support - you are all an inspiration to me and I thought of you often when I was out there.
It's people like you that inspire me to go get both my knees fixed up and get out there and LIVE! Wow!
Two of the things I'd like to do after loosing some of my weight are bicycling and hiking. I have never tried Kyaking but I'd like to try canoeing with my husband. Being alone on open water kind of freaks me out.
The other thing I can't wait to do is to go rollerskating! I loved it as a kid/teenager, I'd like to learn on the inline skates.
I'm glad you had a safe run on your adventure!
