A few months ago, I bought a new pair of running shoes. They were so pretty and new, but a little snug and not as nicely broken in as my two year old pair. I've been reluctant to wear them for a run so they've sat alone in the laundry room, waiting to be used.
I brought them with me this weekend, thinking I might wear them for the adventure race. Early Saturday morning, I took them out of my suitcase and almost put them on. For some reason, I stopped. I didn't mind getting them dirty, because I really wanted to break them in, but what if I got blisters or didn't like the feel of them? So I put them back and put on my old ones.
We'll call that the first good omen of a very long day.
Having arrived Friday afternoon, Moyra, Alison and I woke up early (but still later than we hoped) to arrive at the Quest For A Cure race headquarters for 8am. We were excited, nervous and optimistic. Our equipment was laid out and properly placed, our bikes checked. At check-in we announced that the Blister Sisters had arrived and were given a team number of 24 and our maps.
We found a little corner of the large military building to sip our coffee, eat breakfast and pour over the maps. At this point, I sat back and let Alison and Moyra do their thing. Orienteering was not my strong point, so I filled out waivers and watched. I understood where we were headed and where to go, but they zipped through the coordinates and found all of our checkpoints within just a few minutes. While going over our maps and instructions we realized two things we didn't know we would be doing, swimming and an obstacle course. Shocked, but up for it, we laughed about it and were ready to go.
After a late start and a quick briefing, all teams were handed a list of ten word jumbles as our first task. Once the puzzle was completed we could set out for the first leg of the race. Alison brought the map over and I was pretty much unstoppable. If there's one area that being ADD helped me, it was this. I whizzed through it and we produced the answers in less than a minute and first.
The first portion of that first leg was a run from the core of CFB Petawawa into town where we hopped onto a beautiful treed path until we reached a clearing and a small body of water, maybe 250 feet long. Without hesitation we put on our PFDs and dove right in. The water was glorious and our shoes were soaking wet, but we swam our asses off and arrived on the bank feeling slightly heavy. More running brought us through some residential areas and then to our first manned checkpoint. Then, down a path to my favourite part, the rapid ride. We jumped in, turned on our backs, put our feet up and let the rapid carry us up the river. It was almost easy to forget where you were or what you were doing; that is, until someone passed you and you stopped daydreaming and booked it up to the bank.
Our next checkpoint was the beach where we picked up our canoes and made our way into the water. I think we were very well matched in all aspects, especially here. I was in the stern, steering my ass off (even if I did sometimes forget what side to go in on!), with Alison and Moyra doing most of the rowing.
There were five islands to find, with five checkpoints. We found the first with little difficulty, but because of some map confusion, we took a bit of a wrong turn that caused us to fall slightly behind. After some frustration and confusion we eventually figured out where we were, almost accidentally, when keen-eyed Alison found our checkpoint. We were slightly nervous that we no longer saw any other canoes on the water, but we made our way up to the canoe drop.
I didn't see any other canoes stacked up, or a race official, so this is where I lost it a bit.
"Where are the other canoes? Where is the race guy!? What the fuck is going on here!" I whined, cried and threw my paddle down, but give me a break, we had just spent two hours in a canoe and my feet were like ice.
We were told to portage our canoes to the checkpoint and drop them off. I don't know how many times I said this in total, but I know I that "Are you fucking kidding me?" was my mantra for the day. This was the first time I said it.
At the checkpoint, we forlornly asked, "Are we the last to arrive?", but were shocked to hear that no, we were not. Not even close.
"Well then, let's get going!?" I yelled out and Moyra and Alison laughed at me.
This portion called for more running through some trails and up, once again, deep into the base. This is also where we discovered our next checkpoint - the RCAF Military Obstacle Course.
After I blurted out "Are you fucking kidding me?" to several military officials, we dropped our packs and went for it. The soldiers were extremely helpful, walking us through each step and explaining what we had to do, even if we did yell and sigh a bit when we finished one portion and were told we had to move on to one more!
The obstacle course was finished and we felt great, especially when one soldier said "You did the Military Obstacle Course at CFB Petawawa. Not many people can say that!"
We set off for race headquarters, giddy with the knowledge that we were at the halfway mark. All we had to do was check-in, use the bathroom, grab some food and get our bikes. Which is exactly what we did.
Smiling, happy, but a bit freaked out at the prospect of a very long bike, we were anxious to move on and get finished. Moyra and Alison have said that the canoe was the low point for them, but I'll be honest and say a good portion of the bike was the low point for me. Bear with me and I'll explain.
The first part of the bike wasn't a big deal really. Down the same road we started and into Petawawa, we were instructed to turn right at a McDonald's. Let me tell you, the smell of french fries and Big Macs were very very appealing. We plugged on and went down a beautiful winding country road with some nice hills to get our legs nicely warmed up (and burning!). We found our first checkpoint of the bike leg and a wonderful couple with encouraging words and smiling faces. They pointed us in the direction of the trail entry and we made our way in. At first the trail was nice and sunny and not too hilly, but quickly we encountered some hills, rough terrain and dense brush. We did well though, with Alison and Moyra totally booking it and paving the way. I was always slightly behind, but at this point, I was starting to go to that place I go when I'm tired and frustrated. I don't really want to chat, I just want to keep going.
We passed the first place team (confirming our estimate that we would be going in a big loop and coming out where we started). They congratulated us and encouraged us, warning us that we were about to encounter some very deep marshes.
"You don't look wet though!" Moyra yelled out.
"You'll see, trust us!" they answered.
Great.
More brush, more rough terrain, more rocks. I bumped my head on a low tree and swore. Another checkpoint and the crossing of Highway 17 to where things got really interesting. Our focus became finding Melody Trail. We had already gone about 12-15km on our bikes, so it had to be soon and it may have been, but it seemed to take forever to find. When we did, we met our next race official at the checkpoint and he instructed us to enter the bush and stay to our left, always to our left. He seemed to emphasize that, so we listened and did what he said.
We stayed to our left.
I'll admit there were a few times when I thought for sure that guy was trying to screw us over. The more rough the terrain and the more dense the brush, I was sure we had gone the wrong way. We would hit unbelievable hills and then come down with so much speed, I think most of my protein came from eating bugs. At that point, I'm sure from my pure stank, I picked up a fly and he proceeded to whiz his way around my head the rest of the race. I was getting hungry and frustrated and angry. Moyra and Alison were ahead of me and I was alone to curse myself out. I wasn't questioning what I was doing or thinking of quitting. Far from it. I was just telling myself to suck it up and keep going.
We hit our first beaver dam and proceeded to plow through it. The water was about a foot deep, but there was no way around it, so through it was.
A few minutes later, I came down a hill, wondering where everyone had disappeared to when I caught a rock and fell off my bike. I stared up at the perfect blue sky and immediately thought I would cry, but I didn't. I just got right back up.
I heard Moyra and Alison yell out "Are you okay?" and I yelled out, so hard my throat hurt, "I'm FINE!" They laughed and decided to proceed, afraid of what they would encounter when I turned the corner toward them, not to mention they were getting eaten alive by bugs.
We continued on when slightly ahead of me I heard Moyra yell. Not just her usual random squeal or giggle with what was coming next, but a genuine yell of shock and surprise. Alison was yelling out "Oh my God!", so I wondered what the freaking hell I was going to find when I caught up. A dead animal? Dead racer? A race official telling us we were so far off course we had reached Nova Scotia?
Turns out, it was only a marsh. Yeah, only a marsh.
I can't tell you how long it was. I want to say the length of a soccer field, because that seems right, but it may have been only half that. It just seemed longer because we knew we had to go through it.
A clearing of water ran it's way through the marsh and we knew that was our best bet to get through. It was clearly where other teams had crossed and the safest way to go, because you could see what was in front of you. We stopped for a few minutes, planning our way through it, when another team came up behind us. I was thrilled to see them, because it meant we were on the right track, but anxious to get through because I didn't want them to pass us.
And so, we entered the marsh. Waist deep black water. I went first. My bike was too heavy to carry at this point, so I just pushed it along side me, through the water. Alison and Moyra were close behind me and I yelled out when I got to a deep point or a bank strong enough to hold us so we could get out of the water for a bit.
Slowly but surely we found the bank and made our way out of the muck and back onto the trail. I realized this trail was the way out and I felt a bit renewed, even if I was angry and tired and so hungry Moyra's head was just a cheeseburger talking to me, inviting me to take a bite. I was so impressed with my teammates. They were still jovial, still chatty and still nice. I felt bad for being so quiet, but I knew that if I started talking, I would either never stop or yell, so I shut up. Alison seemed to have boundless energy, she just kept going. She faced each hill and just made her way up. I swore my way up each and every one, wanting to throw my bike.
We crossed Highway 17 again and eventually reached that first biking checkpoint. The finish line was no longer something I thought we would never see, it was only about 5km away. Alison let us know we had gone over 20km at that point and I was shocked! (It felt like 60).
When we got back into Petawawa, the wind picked up. We had had the wind against us nearly all day, but now it was not only in my face, it was biting and strong. I think if I was going to cry at any point, that was it. One more time I said "Are you fucking kidding me?" We had to walk our bikes up the last hill, over the bridge in town and through the gates of the base. There was nothing left in our legs, but we got back on them at the base gates. From there it was a slow, uphill, final stretch to the finish. Alison in front, me in the middle, then Moyra. We all gathered at the entrance to building Y101 to cross the finish line and hand in our team card.
We were congratulated and given many kudos. I felt good, but really sort of ambivalent to all the praise. I had to come down from what I had just done and get used to being around people again. We had our photos taken with some race officials under the banner. I felt good, but I really wanted to get back to camp to see my family, take off my soaking wet shoes and drink a beer.
I'm not sure what our time was, I think over 7 hours, but I know we came through the gates twelfth out of sixteen teams. Our two goals were to finish and not come in last, so we were happy. I can pretty much guarantee that we had more kids than any other team and say with reasonable assuredness that not many teams had children at all. I think us three stay at home Moms who love to run, play soccer and be active in general really kicked some ass.
Our bikes and equipment were thrown into the back of my truck and we sped back to the campground to see our kids and husbands. They were thrilled to see us. The kids had made cards, beer was in the cooler and lawn chairs were waiting by the fire. The first thing we did was hug our kids. The second was grab a beer. The third, take off our nasty, stanky, wet socks, that were once white and were now black. John told us all to throw them in the fire and he'd take a photo.
How happy do these three chicks look?
We ate hamburgers, which we were easily the best hamburgers I had ever had. The beer was the best beer I had ever had. The shower I had was in the most disgusting cubicle ever, but it beat out the showers I had after the kids were born, it was that good.
The impact of the day didn't hit me until yesterday as I drove home. I was over the sheer fatigue of it and thoroughly impressed with myself. Before the race, I knew I could do it, but after the race I had done it. There's a difference there I can't explain.
My teammates? I can't speak for how they feel, but I can tell you that I can't think of a better team. I think we worked amazingly well together. There was not one point where I wanted to throw an oar or bike or camelback at them. Alison, kept me motivated, not with her words, but with her sheer determined ability. Moyra made me laugh on more than one occasion and even though I already knew how strong she was, I got to witness it, not to mention she kept her spirits up the entire time. They were both just extremely pleasant to spend a day like that with.
Now that we've done a race as a team, we know how we operate. We are definitely planning more races. We've thrown out the idea of doing the 24 Hour Quest For A Cure, next year, but are mainly thinking to train harder for the 8 hour and really go for it next year. We'll see what comes up!
