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Appetites and Adventures

Resolution Adventure Race

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Being pushed to the edge of your ability and beyond is empowering.

 

It’s a scary ledge.

This weekend I re-learned a lesson in mind over matter.  I completed the Resolution Adventure Race, an 8 hour adventure/orienteering race with my cousin, Steven.  It was my first time, his 6th.  Luckily he was patient with me!

 

Pre-race pic

Freezing cold, but excited to go!

 

The Race

We start the day at 6am (remember I’m a not a morning person).  Each team receives an orienteering map that utilize the contours and elevation changes of the course.  On the map is a series of 37 mandatory Check Points (CPs).  These are the locations we must find over the course of 8 hours with the help of our map and a vague clue (ex: large palmetto in the middle of a field).  Each CP has a patterned stamp you use to mark your card to prove you were there.  You don’t have to get them all, but each one is worth 1 point.  At the end of the race, the team with the most points wins.

The points are separated into 3 categories: trekking, biking, and canoeing.  They give you a punch card per leg so you can’t cheat and grab a biking CP when you’re on a trekking portion, for instance.

 

Adventure race map

 

The first two portions were trekking and biking.  We jogged through the first leg pretty easily and grabbed every point in about 30 mins.  The biking was a little more challenging.  Most of the paths were on sugar sand!  I am NOT a strong cyclist (read: I don’t ride at all), so I slowed us down.  We took about an hour to gain those points.

Then came the canoeing.  The check points were along a lake, and our clues were distances and degrees.  For example, on clue might say: 977 meters @ 160 degrees.  You must then use a compass to find that point.  I was the “engine” paddling the boat while my cousin orienteered.  This portion took about 2 hours.  Weight lifting pays off – my arms were still feeling strong at the end!

 

Transition area

Transition area

 

From there we had a choice to trek or bike.  We were almost half way through our 8 hours, and opted to trek first since I suck at biking that was our strong point.  We spent about 2 hours and 15 mins trekking and only left 2 CPs behind.  What shocked me is that I was able to jog a lot of it!  The goal is not to run the whole thing – there is hiking and climbing involved.  You have to slow down when you get near a CP to follow your “clue” to the point.

This was my favorite.  We jogged through orange groves, swamp land, forests, and sugar sand.  We did some bushwhacking, got some scratches, and emerged covered in cockleburs.  It was a BLAST.

 

Cockleburs

Cocklebur aftermath… and I’d picked a lot off already! Had to trash these pants.

 

The last section was biking.  It was hour 6 and I was questioning my ability to continue after we hit a grassy, sandy, uphill trail.  I did what I could, walked when I had to, and got a little edgy when my cousin got too far ahead of me.  Being exhausted and limited by your lack of ability is frustrating!

We didn’t make it to half of the biking CPs before our 8 hours ended.  You must be back at the check-in in exactly 8 hours or they start deducting points, so you don’t want to try to over-achieve if it’s going to make you late.  We made it in 7:44.

First Adventrue Race = Done!

Survivor!

 

The Fuel

Last week I posted my concerns about staying fueled throughout the race.  Having just recovered from the stomach flu, I was especially nervous!

I started the day with my Morning Cocktail, Starbucks oatmeal, a banana, and coffee.  And lots of water.  Throughout the race we tried to eat and take an electrolyte pill every hour.  I aimed for 100 calories per snack.

 

Adventure Race Nutrition

Race Fuel

 

What I Consumed: homemade fuel bars (recipe coming soon – these were a win), 1 Espresso GU, 1 Hammer Gel, 1 peanut butter cracker, 1/2 a Stinger Waffle (I didn’t like this – too sweet), and 3 pieces of gum.

I also drank about 40 oz of water… this is not a lot over 8 hours, but I had a lot the day before and morning of knowing that I can’t take in a lot during races due to sloshing and cramping.

Once we turned in our punch cards, we were award with subs.  I don’t like mayo-soaked chicken salad… but I ate this sub like a cave person.  Food.  Any food.  Nom.  With Cheet-os.  Bonus.

 

Post-race food

 

We drive 6 hours back to Atlanta that night.  No shower, just a baby wipe cleaning and a quick change of clothing.  I’m sure the people at Waffle House appreciated our good looks patronage.

That’s right.  After burning 3000+ calories, Waffle House was my race day treat food of choice.  I love gourmet food, but there is something about a chocolate chip waffle… with a Strange But Good spin, of course:

 

Adventure Race Refuel

 

I asked that mine be topped with a runny egg.  The server thought this was so weird she took a picture with her phone to post on Instagram.  The movement is growing!!!  Bwhahaha!

Any guesses about what the red stuff is in the last pic?  I finished my last couple of bites with some hot sauce.

 

The Results

Resolution Adventure Race - Elite

Team Halling Ass

 

We weren’t sure how we placed in the race.  There were several very competitive teams that compete for national rankings, so competition was fierce.  It turns out we finished 9th overall!

We received credit for 27 our of 37 points.  Not a single team “cleared the course” (earned all 37 CPs).

***

Thank you to the Pangea crew that organized the race.  It was a well-organized, fair race… a fantastic first experience!

Have you ever done a race like this?  Would you want to?

Have you ever been pushed beyond the edge of (what you thought was) your ability?

 

Comments

  1. Wow, so intense! Super impressed with you Laura! That must have been so amazing to finish and realize what ou had accomplished! It sounds like a ton of hard work, but fun in the end! You are incredible.

    • Thank you so much! It’s amazing what you can do when you don’t really have a choice. Hour 6 I was too far in to quit. LOL!

  2. Awesome! So much fun and a great finish.

    I always used to have runny eggs on my waffles and pancakes, too. The husband still does. I didn’t know it was an odd thing!

  4. Wow, that sounds crazy!! I did an adventure type race a couple of years ago, only it was 3 hours instead of 8. It was 45 degrees (113F) and we were running in the peak of the heat at 1pm. We covered 15km by foot that day. I was so dehydrated afterwards I couldn’t even think about food!

    • They ran a “sport” 3 hour race during the second half of this one too. They looked like thay were having a blast!

  7. Ninth Place; damn, that’s impressive. Good for you and glad you had a great time, even if your legs were covered in burrs (I hate those things). After burning three thousand calories, I think you deserved some Cheetos and waffles and pretty much anything your little heart desires.

    • Thanks! I was alittle disappointed they were Baked Cheetos…. but they were suprisingly good!

  8. THIS IS FREAKING UNREEEEEEAL!!!!!! I’m so proud of you, lovie!!!!!!! SO PROUD! And I love the IG story with the waffle and the waitress! BAHA

  11. Looks like a fabulous time and nothing like refueling after something like that! I love Honey Stinger waffles during endurance events!

    • Thanks! Maybe the honey Stinger was just to sweet for me late in the race. I wanted real food at that point!

  13. Wohoo! I’m so proud of you! I’d love to do something like this but I’ve never canoed before. I think I’ll build my endurance first for the next year or two or three and then attempt something like this ^^ I guess the BadAss Dash that I did back in October is somewhat similar but nowhere near as intense. You truly are fitfluential or I should say fitinspirational 😀

  14. Awesome job!!! I just can’t imagine doing a race like that at all. I think I’ll stick with maxing out at half marathons 😉 My husband loves those honey stinger waffles for long bike rides. Can’t wait to see this new recipe of yours!

  17. Yup…that’s what I WON’T be doing when I go to Florida! 😉 So proud of you for such a cool accomplishment, Laura. Love that first photo of you and your cousin. Also pretty neat that you got to do it together!

    • OMG… YES!!! They do “sport” 2 hour races all the time. Let me know if you want to chat…

  20. This is the most badass thing ever! And how funny that the server took a picture of your waffle with the egg. If only he/she read your blog, he’d realize that’s not even that strange!!

    • My cousin ordered poached eggs and put them on his hashbrowns. That also blew their mind. Adele, GA isn’t excatly the mecca of innvation… 😉

  21. I feel like I’m being pushed everyday! I’m definitely learning how to take these daily challenges, learn from them and hopefully build up some stamina! 😉

    This race sounds amazing. I’m not sure that I would do one like this, but it sounds like something Tony would LOVE! He’s definitely more of a checkpoint adventure seeker.

    Thank you for talking about your fuel too! Congrats on the race. You guys did an amazing job working together!

  22. That sounds like a lot of fun! Well a lot of fun so long as I never actually have to do it!! Hahaha! Well done to you and your cousin, both badass mo fo’s for sho!!!! Ha! Also, I’m not normally one for the stranger food combos but a chocolate chip waffle with a runny egg actually sounds really good to me?!

  28. Man, even just reading about all that you had to go through makes me tired. Way to kick some serious butt, girl! Mental roadblocks are definitely something that I struggle with… Oftentimes I’ll shoot myself down before even bothering to try something. Teach me your beast mode ways? 😀

    • You just have to jump in and do it. Once you’re in the midst there’s no quitting even though it seems impossibly hard!

  31. haa, I love that the server took a photo!! she probably told people about it later… “strange but good?”

    girl, you ROCK. this sounds like So Much Fun!! I love the idea of checkpoints, like a compassed scavenger hunt! those burrs… good thing you had long pants on, wow!

    I love those honey stinger waffles 😉 (which is weird for me, I generally DON’T like overly sweet – must be a need after workouts?)

    • I don’t know why… I just couldn’t finish my Stringer. Maybe too late in the race and I just needed actual food?

  33. what an amazing race!! I need to do something dynamic like that. CONGRATS. Nothing like chocolate chip waffles mmmm. I’m a pancake girl myself. Ha and that egg…never done it but I get it! I like the savory/sweet, liquid/solid contrast 🙂

  35. Congratulations! I’m looking forward to those refuel bar recipes. Yesterday I went to the gym for an hour long beastly workout, and then came home to pack and move my boyfriend’s roomates stuff (he randomly moved out west and decided to stay). After only a couple hours of that, I was already beat. Your race sounds like more fun, but you’re definitely a soldier!

    PS, Eggs + waffles (or pancakes or french toast or anything with syrup, oooh, plus sausage)= so goood, and not really that strange at all. just good. 🙂

  36. I am seriously impressed. As I have said before, I don’t think I have half of the ferociousness in me (perhaps tenacity is the better word?) that you do.

    I used to crave mayo when I had had too much to drink the night before. It’s been a helluva long time since that happened–I hardly drink at all anymore–but maybe mayo is like a cure all for dehydration? 🙂

    And I’m kind of obsessed with the fact that your server at Waffle House took a photo of your food. Normally I get weird looks for that. Tables. Turning.

    • Sarah, you are totally ferocious!!! I mean, you’re a ginger!

      You are also crazy. The thought of mayo while hung over makes me want to hurl. And I’m not even hung over.

      I know!!! What is the world coming to? It happened once before with a drink at a bar. Hell. Freezing.

  39. CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy crap – I am too tired to type after reading that! 😉 YOU ARE AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!! Honest – I would never do that, even at a young age! AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • Jody, I am absolutely confident you could do it. My trainer smirked at the proof that lifting provides enough endurance training to get through something like that.

  40. AH!! That looks like such a fun, fun, hard, insanely challenging race!! You must be so proud of yourself for finishing it. Maybe one day I’ll feel confident enough to try something like this. 🙂

  41. This sounds like SO MUCH FUN!!!!! And you’re amazing for having completed it!
    I love biking and kayaking- so does Greg. I’ll have to look out for something like this in the future.
    And the burr look is hot. You should’ve totally kept those pants.
    Also- a runny egg on a waffle is weird??? Not thinking that’s a great idea is WEIRD. 🙂

  43. Wowza, you did so good! Just finishing is an accomplishment… but 9th place?! AMAZING!!

    Also, I love that your server took a picture of your waffle to put in Instagram hahahaha

  45. Wow, great job on the race! You’re a beast!! That thing sounds super intense. Good job & I’m glad you rewarded yourself with a yummy waffle. I LOVE choc chip waffles & think the runny egg would be kinda good… don’t know about the hot sauce part though! 😉

    • That hot sauce was good… would have been too much to eat the whole thing with it though. 🙂 Thanks!!

    • I think maybe April… you should do one after Iron Man. You guys would love it!

      Lower cal was the way to go. I wish I’d had something that was less sweet to eat though. Another more savory 100 cal snack would have been perfect.

  48. You deserve a dozen visits with a dozen waffles each time my friend, way to go with your intense exercise passion 😀
    Brilliant!

    Cheers
    CCU

  49. I am like LITERALLY bowing down to your greatness right now! Dang girl…dang! And seriously, I LOVE that you went to Awful Waffle afterwards…I don’t know what it is about that place, but I love it! Never tried their chocolate chip one, but their blueberry waffle is incredible! I usually go sans syrup because they’re always good and moi-…humid…but I swear I’m kicking myself for having never thought to top it with a fried egg! Duh!

  53. It would be so much fun to do a race like this! Glad you had fun and WHOLLY CALORIE BURN! Gotta love the Polar!

  54. Waffles plus hot sauce are amazing. Seriously so.

    And giiiirl, you continue to inspire me like nobody’s business! You ROCK for doing this! I can’t even imagine 8 hours of GO, and you just killed it! Now I want to sign up for one…or maybe just read about you doing another one some time in the future 😉

    • That’s where they get you – there’s no stopping once you’re in the middle of the course!

Trackbacks

  1. […] doesn’t fly by is the soreness after a long day of exercise.  After that run and then this past weekend’s race I am no stranger to delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).  But I do have a solution!  Or… […]

  2. […] last weekend’s adventure race, I made absolutely sure I had what my body needed.  A big part of that was these bars.  If they […]

  3. […] managed to stay away from Waffle House.  My trainer changed up my diet and I’m enjoying more healthy fats while keeping a good […]

  4. […] squats.  However, prior to beginning my training I couldn’t run more than a mile.  I ran an adventure race 3 weeks ago with no issues […]

  5. […] you all sooooo much for all of the kind words about the adventure race.  This weekend… I’m […]

  6. […] Have you ever noticed that smiling literally makes you happy?  It’s true.  Whatever muscles you use when you smile trigger something in your body, that triggers something in your brain… let the experts tell you about it.  It can also make you younger, prettier, friendlier, and on and on.  The point is – SMILE.  (Editor’s note: this actually works.  I was skeptic, but after Kat told me this I grinned my way through my 8 hour race!) […]

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