The Backpacker Bushwhacker race report is finally posted and can be found here or by going to our Race Reports page.
Pangea: Turkey Burn AR
It’s official, we have signed up for the 12-hour Pangea Turkey Burn Adventure Race. Unfortunately, Super Stu won’t make it this time, which is a real bummer. Ana and I will do our best to guilt him relentlessly for his abandonment. We’re really excited and a little bit nervous about the race. Our first one was a 5-hour sprint and we did okay. We’ll see how this one goes. The race starts at 3 AM and goes until 3 PM, how cool is that! Click on the image above if you want to see more race details.
Tough Mudder
It was tough, it was a little muddy, and in the end it was the best idea ever. I must admit that I owe it all to Stu. I never would have done a Tough Mudder if it hadn’t been for him. The two things that I like most about the Tough Mudder are the emphasis on teamwork and that it is a challenge, not a race. There is a real sense of camaraderie among Mudders and everyone takes the time to help everyone else make it through. The obstacles are difficult but not impossible.
Of course, Stu and Ana dominated, bounding over obstacles as if they didn’t exist. By the last two miles, my knees were in pretty rough shape and I wasn’t able to run through the last few obstacles like I had hoped. Maybe doing the 1/2 marathon two weeks prior wasn’t such a great idea.
I don’t remember how long it took us to finish it, maybe 3 hours. We were really basking in the event of it all and weren’t trying to push ourselves. We all had a great time and I highly recommend doing at least one TM.
Maybe it was the Arctic Enema or perhaps the Electroshock therapy, I’m not sure but something happened during the TM that made me want to find something else that would provide that same kind of thrill and physical challenge. I knew that I wanted a team-based event since I really enjoyed that aspect. I wanted something that my wife and I could do together and that we both enjoyed. I knew I didn’t want to get into distance running or triathlons because honestly they don’t look to be any fun. I wanted it to be adventurous but not too adventurous–I don’t mind a little thrill but I want to keep my shorts clean.
After a little googling, I came across Adventure Racing and recalled watching the Eco-Challenge back in the 90’s (yes kids, it was even in color). After doing some reading and talking to Ana, we decided to do one and see if we liked it. Stu, always up for a challenge, went without a fight.
Pensacola Marathon
It all started with Stu wanting to do a Tough Mudder and me absolutely refusing. In fact, I think my exact words were, “No way in hell.” Then, he had to go and tell my wife about it and she, of course, thought it would be super cool. So, there was no way I could refuse and retain my Man Card.
A Tough Mudder is typically 10-12 miles with 20-25 obstacles and since I had never ran more than 3 miles at once, I was in desperate need of training. Ana had already completed a 1/2 marathon and a full marathon, plus she does P90x and Insanity on a regular basis, so she was good to go. The only thing I do on a regular basis is drink beer. The next thing I know, Ana has me on a training plan. We used an abbreviated plan from the book she used for her marathons, “Four Months to a Four Hour Marathon” and trained for a 1/2 marathon.
About 2 weeks prior to the Tough Mudder, we had a long run day that was supposed to be 12 miles. Ana calls me at work and says that since we have to run 12 miles, maybe there’s a 1/2 marathon going on nearby and we can just do it. Come to find out, the Pensacola Marathon was going on that weekend and all of us signed up. My goal was to complete it in under 2 hours, which I thought was respectable. Ana and I came across at a corrected time of 01:55:20 or 8min 43sec per mile.
Stu came in slightly behind with a very respectable 02:08:01, that we blame on the chili con carne from the previous night 😉 The event was a blast, though I doubt I’ll ever run a 1/2 marathon again.
teamdisoriented.com 