Race Report: Muddy Buddy Orlando 2010

I did Muddy Buddy with Jason this morning, and it was a lot of fun. Our team name was Alice in Muddyland, so I dressed up as Alice (or my take on what she'd look like as a runner), and Jason dressed up as the rabbit. Doesn't he look amazing? We were impressed at how many awesome costumes there were. I think being hosted at Disney brings out the creativity in people. We even found Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum while we waited for the costume contest to start. Unfortunately, in the midst of excitement and nervousness, I neglected to take more photos so I'll post more when the official ones are available.

After the costume contest, we quickly ran to the car to shed some of the accessories (wig, ears, nose, jacket), listened to the pre-race meeting, then lined up to wait for wave #7 to start, which took at least 30 minutes. Since I have very little experience riding off-road, I started the race running so I would run 3 legs and only bike 2. I did not wear my Garmin, so I have no idea how fast I was running but I was working hard. My goal was to run the whole time, and I did that. Since Jason is faster than me, he got a little break at the obstacle courses while he waited for me to arrive with the bike, but I had no such luck. I was moving the entire time. Every time I got to an obstacle, I was glad to get a breather and riding the bike was a nice change of pace. For a moment, I wished I was riding more than running, but when I ran I was glad I was not riding through some of that terrain.

The Course:

• Leg 1: Ran 1.4 miles, climbed a small rock wall, then climbed down a cargo net on the other side. The grips were pretty small, but the wall wasn't too big and I used the beam on the edge to help me up.
• Leg 2: Biked 1.23 miles, spotted Jason and handed him the bike, then ran to the obstacle. I climbed a 25 ft inflatable wall with a cargo net, then slid down the inflatable slide on the other side. Grabbed a sip of water and started running again.
• Leg 3: Ran 1.12 miles, then walked over a short balance beam. This was not as hard as I thought. Maybe I was not running fast enough because my legs did not feel as wobbly as I expected. This leg of the course had a mini mud pit and I was really glad I was running instead of biking and did not have to carry my bike over that.
• Leg 4: Bike 1.42 miles, handed Jason the bike and asked were the obstacle was. It was a lame crawl under a net a short distance. I wish they had substituted this with running over some tires instead, but I guess it was a nice breather before the final push to the end.
• Leg 5: Ran to the buddy meet up area, including some stairs towards the end where I found Jason. We crawled across the mud pit together, then ran hand in hand to the finish line. This last leg was a bit tough, mainly because I was so tired, but we were running on the side of the road at an incline. My foot felt really funny running lopsided like that.

We're still waiting for official results, but I wore a cheap watch to get an idea of our overall time, which was around 1:05. I'm pleased with my performance and this was a fun race, but I am not sure it's worth the price to do it again. One thing is for certain, I am in far better shape because while it was challenging I did not feel impossible. It was also the kick in the ass I needed to finally sign up for some triathlons. While I may not do my best at these events, I enjoy the variety and would miss it if I didn't try. So this afternoon I registered for the Central Florida Triathlon Series 3 Race Package. I'll be doing a sprint tri each month in June, July and August. I also registered for the Firefighter Challenge to round out my month of crazy adventures :)

Official Stats:

• time: 1:07:05
• coed 56-65: 92 / 149
• overall: 1007 / 1495 finishers

Race Report: UCF Adventure Race 2010

"Duck Duck Goose" before the race


Adventure Racing 101


high ropes course


zip line at end of ropes course


getting our barings


check point


carrying the canoe


our egg survived the race!


Duck Duck Goose is done!

This was certainly an adventure! =) It forced me to go outside my comfort zone a bit, but I got through it in one piece. I'm very proud that we finished the entire course with all check points before the cut-off. There was a 4 hour time limit, after which you'd start losing check points. After 4 1/2 hours, you were disqualified. We finished in under 4 hours, and were not last! Yay! :)  (I'll update when official results are posted later next week.)

Pre Race
We had nice weather, cool and no rain, but the wind was fierce. This made everything far more difficult. Many teams were running late, so we got a late start, but that was fine because the sun was out by then. They had a little Adventure Racing 101 session to teach newbies (us) the basics. There are 2 rules in adventure racing: (1) race your own race, aka don't follow other teams who are probably going the wrong way; (2) if you don't have it, you don't need it -- we were required to have a helmet while on the bike, and a life vest while on the canoe. The rest of the gear (map, compas, water) was helpful, but you could still race without them.

Race Details
The race had 4 legs that each of the 40 teams completed in different order to spread out the field: trekking, cycling, challenge course, canoeing. Each leg began at the Reflection Pond, where you got instructions and the team passport for that leg. Following the instructions given, we made our way through the course to various checkpoints where we punched our passport. After we finished each leg, we returned to the Reflection Pond for the next passport. The first leg was assigned at random, then you got to choose the order in which to do the rest. We also had to carry a raw egg (some teams had to carry a water balloon) through the entire race with us, and got 2 minutes deducted off our final time if it was still intact when we finished.

Leg 1 - Trekking
We rode our bikes to the Observatory, dropped them off, and followed some trails to find 5 check points. As soon as we got there, we had to go off-road a bit to the check point station and show them our egg before beginning the trek. I fell off my bike and got all muddy right away, but was able to go on. Doug was not so lucky---a stick got tangled in his bike and broke his derailleur hanger, so he walked the bike back to the car and met us at Leg 2.

This leg was a bit frustrating for me because I can't run as fast as Jason for as long, so I was always trailing behind and he found most of the check points on his own. But I didn't give up and tried to run as much as I could.

Leg 2 - Challenge Ropes Course
After biking back to the Reflection Pond and getting our 2nd passport, we made our way to the ropes course and met up with Doug. This leg consisted of 5 check points, a "gear challenge," and the high ropes course.  We had to complete the "gear challenge" before gaining access to the ropes course.

The gear challenge consisted of our entire team making it across the "water" (marked area on the ground) by only stepping on 5 discs and carrying the egg, which could not come in direct contact with any of us so we had to hold it between 2 pieces of foam. The 5 discs had to always be in contact with one of us, or we'd lose it. We got into the groove quickly and made it through in no time.

We then had to put on a helmet and figure out, without any help from the staff, how to get the harness on and tie the ropes with hooks to it (I don't know all the technical terms). Once we did that, they checked it was done properly and let us onto the ropes course. The first part of the course was a huge cargo net. I started off well, but the higher I went the more anxious I got.

Once I made it to the top of the net, I fell apart. My brain could not comprehend how I could possibly not fall while standing on tiny cables. I froze and had to pull myself together before going on. With the help of my team mates, and hanging onto the ropes for dear life, I made it through the first section.

I was still a bit apprehensive as we moved along to the other 3 sections. However, since I had conquered the first one without dying, I felt more comfortable and confident I could do this. I got through the others 3 sections a bit quicker, mainly because I wanted to get it over with, but not without ample screaming =P Oh yeah, did I mention the ridiculous cross winds that made this even more terrifying? 

The last section was a zip line to lower us to the ground. That was fun and not as scary as it looked. (See video.) We forgot we were in a race for a moment, but quickly got back into it and found the 5 check points with little trouble.

Leg 3 - Biking
Jason and I rode back the Reflection pond and completed this leg without Doug, who walked backed to Lake Claire to wait for us to return to complete the last leg with us. This leg was not very challenging, except that biking into the wind sucked. It seemed that no matter which direction were rode, we had a headwind. After we found the 4 check points, I rode back to Lake Claire to wait with Doug while Jason rode back to the Reflection Pond to retrieve our last passport.

Leg 4 - Canoeing
When Jason got back, we grabbed life vests and 2 paddles, then walked over a bit to pick up the canoe, and the boys carried it to the dock. There was a check point along the trail way, then we had to canoe around Lake Claire for the other 4 check points. The wind was insane, making it very difficult to paddle. The boys paddled, and I manned the map/passport and prayed we wouldn't tip over. After getting all the punches, we had to return the canoe and tie it back up before getting the final punch. Jason returned to the Reflection Pond to drop off our last passport, then return to "cross the finish line" at 12:34 p.m.

Post-Race
After we checked in and showed that our egg was intact, they recorded our finish time, we filled out some feedback forms, got a raffle ticket and a t-shirt, then ate some yummy Qdoba (chicken, beans, salad and chips). We hung around after lunch for the awards and raffle, then headed home.

I had a lot of fun and would consider doing this race again next year, but maybe I'll put together an all girl team. I felt a little bad because I know I was holding Jason back during the race, and he had to work a lot harder than us, but we made it through without killing each other; I call that progress :) So what's next? Stay tuned to find out =P

View more race photos and videos on Flickr.

Adventure Racing

I've run 5Ks, 10Ks, a 15K, half marathons, and I will run my first marathon in 3 weeks. Last year, I put my cross training and bike communing to good use and ventured beyond running to complete a duathlon (run-bike-run). I went outside my comfort zone, conquering my fear of swimming in a lake, and completed a few sprint triathlons. Tomorrow, I go one step further.

I will be participating with Team "Duck Duck Goose" in the UCF Adventure Race. The OA Annual Super Adventure Race is a sprint adventure race, taking teams about 3 hours to complete, that is fun for all types of racers whether they are seasoned or just a beginner. We don't know exactly what it will involve, but the site says to be prepared for lots of challenges, teamwork, climbing, paddling, navigation and a seriously great time.

I'll get to use my mountain bike, which has been seriously neglected since I bought it. Since there will be running involved too, we (by we, I mean Jason) had to change the clipless pedals so I can ride with regular shoes (see photo mosaic). Since we don't know exactly what to expect, I have no goals for this race other than to do my best and have FUN! This should be a blast and just the distraction we need to fend off taper madness :) I'm excited for the new adventure, and I will post all about it tomorrow night along what crazy adventure I'm considering next ;)