The 2008 version of Swomp Stomp was held 0n President's day weekend, which happens to coincide with the Daytona 500. Something to remember when trying to get a rental car and hotel in Florida.
Prerace, we were jumping thru the same usual logistics of team racing. People always ask "how can you bike, paddle, and trek for 30 hrs." Honestly, that's not the tough part. The real challenging part is getting everyone to the race without being sick , injured, or missing a bike or piece of luggage. Those are the things that I lose sleep over, and in all honesty, those are the things that probably wear down adventure racers over the long haul. At least the team organizers. It happens so often I can't begin to count. I believe 4/5 of the top finishing teams had issues. I suppose that's why alot of teams don't sign up for races until the last minute. The early registration fee doesn't make a tad of difference if you have to cancel a race, sucking up the costs of travel and registration. There are a few selected teams who have a large pool of racers who can sub last minute, but the majority of us, that just doesn't exist. My own team has gotten hit with this so often that I scratch my head. It's usually injuries. Alot of time we find a replacement, but then that throws in a new dynamic. It was sort of what killed us team wise before Nationals. So, we came up with a simple idea, so we can sleep better. Maybe it's that I am tired of getting people last minute. For most of us, no matter how competitive we want to be, it's still all about the fun. So, we decided that if someone has there uterus cut out last minute or twists an ankle, tough luck. If we planned on the 4 racers, we are going with the 4 racers, or possibly going to 2 person. Instead of bringing in someone completely last minute, we would rather just nurse along as a group.
The idea partly came into use for this Swomp Stomp. Tamela was committed to racing with us, and we simply wanted to build on that. However, without going into major details, she needed to have her uterus taken out, somewhat urgently. I hooked her up with a top notch minimally invasive gynecologist specialist. Usual recovery time for a open hysterectomy is 6-8 weeks before any true activity. For some of the newer techniques, patients are pushing closer to 2-3 weeks. In all honesty, Tamela or anyone wouldn't want to be inactive for that long, so doing the minimally invasive approach was a no brainer. Knowing we had swomp stomp coming up, we of course were scratching our head, and as a physician, it wasn't easy allowing her to think about racing. She recovered well from the surgery, of course with a few issues along the way, but the real issue might have been the lack of training. As soon as she had the go ahead, she started training again, but then the injury risk temporarily goes up since your adding volume to a body that has been on near bed rest. Cardiovascularly, the body can handle it and a majority of the mitochondria and aerobic enzymes have hung around, but the connective tissue might have another say about that. So, not surprisingly, she developed some normal connective tissue soreness (probably a version of shin splints for her) putting her training back into rest/recovery phase.
So, we were scratching our head again. Yea, most of my hair has tried to fall out at one time or another. Luckily, mentally she was going and seemed not to want to deviate from the game plan. Since we are all friends, we would deal with whatever issues arose on the course. In reality, a preexisting condition prerace probably pales in comparison to the pain and suffering developed during a 24hr+ race.
On to Swomp Stomp, we arrived on time with 4 bikes and 4 teammates. I was happy. Sure, a few of us were not 100% healthy, so be it. We were gonna have fun and hopefully execute well. Most importantly, we didn't have any last minute substitions this year and were able to show up on time. That killed us last year. Despite being a strong team, you just can't arrive hrs after checkin and expect to have fun or do well.
The checkin and race meeting were as painless as possible. I have always loved the Wecefar race organization for that. On to the maps and real fun stuff.
Jim, the new race director, gave a rundown on the maps, which to sum up, were plain cool. I imagine some people missed having a topo map for their own reasons. Or maybe they missed actually plotting 40+ points since they haven't plotted 25,000 pts in a lifetime, but wecefar as an organization knows better. Part of their idea is that the prerace planning should be on the routing and strategy. Usually, the wecefar modified rogaines required a bunch of routing and strategy, so the plotting just gets in the way. The maps apparently were a joint venture of the park service, wecefar, and the race director. Everything was preplotted, in color, and they had water locations on the course noted. Since they were aerial photo maps, there was some adjustment and learning process on the race course. Prerace, I couldn't decipher well what was fast moving terrain or not, but after a few hours on the course, the little nuances started to come to life. During the prerace, we got to spend most of our time just focusing on the routing, the important and fun part. Possibly, more importantly, we got close to a night of sleep. In reality, I think that's an important thing, since after so many races, the endless nights prerace plotting and routing can wear on the fun factor.
We intentionally showed up an hour after the TA was open. There was plenty of space for setting up a TA, so we decided that being an extra 15 feet farther away from a central location was less important than an hour of sleep. We were probably one of the later teams there, but still got a nice spot with a picnic table.
At the race hotel, everyone was rushing around and leaving before 5am, so a little bit, we were wondering if we were missing something.
The race started near 7am just as it was getting light out. At 6:50am or so, we were handed out a preplotted aerial map of cp0, now with enough light so we could put our headlamps away. We had only one prerace strategy, and that was to get a canoe with a specific color in it. The boats were a mix from 3 outfitters, but all heavy. We at least wanted a red canoe that matched our outfits. So, we got back to the TA in 2nd place. I think EMS was first back, and they got a blue canoe. Smart, that matched their outfits. I knew they were smart. Of note, the colored boats had less rocker and theoretically had a higher speed potential. The first 3 teams back were EMS, us, and Snickers Marathon with cp0 and TCO closely behind. This apparently didn't change the entire race, until we went unofficial.
After the TA, we proceeded to a modified rogaine paddle section. Within the paddle section, there was a short Trek section thrown in, of about 13-20km depending on which route we took. The first paddle also had numerous points that had to be obtained off the boat. So, many times we were grabbing our backpacks and compasses and orienteering to a cp. The weather was cooperating, and it was a perfect day if you were on vacation sitting at a pool or beach. Since we weren't doing that, we might have considered it a bit warm, since it was already 70+ deg in the morning. We brought along lots of extra fluids and electrolytes, just in case. The checkpoint descriptions were "south tower canopy walk, grand old oak tree, tree stand, North of trail intersection, point on small peninsula, under bridge, and birdwalk parking lot." So, we were spending time on foot in and out of the boat. Short paddle, then get out and run. Made it fun, but also alot of time could be added if you weren't efficient at changing gears. It took us a few cp's to get it down, but after cp3 we had it dialed in and were in 3rd place. At cp4, we transitioned well and passed Snickers Marathon, but EMS was a good 7-10 minutes in the distance. I was wondering how they were so far ahead (maybe it was the blue boat matching their outfits), but later learned they had skipped some of the bonus points early on.
3 of the cp's were gotten while paddling within Upper Myakka Lake. This park is well know for it's alligator, and it was here we started seeing a few, but I think we were bummed we actually didn't see more. The first one I saw we were about 1 mile from cp4 and at least 100 meters off shore, and this alligator turned toward us and swam in our direction, then submerged. Yikes! It was then I told everyone, "i think it's a good idea as any to paddle faster." We didn't see another alligator till the nighttime. However, the park was teaming with other wildlife. Of note, were the many birds and armadillos which scared us while either paddling or trekking/biking. Something about the sound an armadillo makes as it crashes off into the undergrowth when it's dark out... The wild pigs were definitely less of an auditory experience. It was around the 3rd bonus point on the paddle when we were bushwacking down a heinous trail and my arms were already bleeding, that I paused to throw on my orienteering pants and looked around me and noticed the wonderful little flowers that were growing around me. Ok, back to suffering.
Ok, that was only a 10 second break.
EMS and us had developed a generous lead at this point, but we were only 3-4 hours into the race, and most of the other teams weren't too far off behind. We had Bo and I in one boat and Joe and Tamela in another, and that worked very well for efficiently carving thru the small creeks North of the lake. Unfortunately, we were partly boxed in behind EMS and couldn't pass until we got back on the Lake, but that allowed us to enjoy the scenery and recover. It was here we learned that EMS hadn't gotten all the bonus points yet, so we had a nice lead.
Maybe that blue boat wasn't so great after all.
We paddled back South to a punch and take out across the river from cp6, and onto a short trek section of 4 points. Our friends at Wecefar were so nice on encouraging us on with the lead.
That was uplifting.
Within a 100 meters of the canoe, we immediately felt the heat of the day, which for most of us, was slightly more than we were used to. We probably played this section conservatively until we knew we were ok with the heat. Our only time loss was taking a dead ended trail that ended up being full of briars (gees, I thought I was back orienteering in maryland). It was a small time loss, but it was enough that EMS had managed to sneak back in front. So after a short paddle winding back down the Myakka River to the central TA, we were in TA with EMS, but with snickers marathon, cp0, TCO all close enough that the first big race of the year was open for grabs. Unfortunately, it was about then that I remembered I forgot to put on deodorant that morning, but maybe if i got smelly, it would scare some other teams away. I have no idea why I remembered that some 5+ hrs into a race, but apparently prerace the bodyglide got put in my travel kit, and bodyglide looks like ordinary deodorant stick. I guess it came to me when I looked at the body glide I put on my feet in that TA. (Now that bodyglide markets one brand with sunscreen, maybe they should just add DEET and body deodorant and make it, New and Improved Body Glide for Adventure Racers.) Maybe that would be a nice niche company!
After I remembered not putting on deodorant in the TA, we packed our bags for the upcoming epic trek section. Epic because of the sand, heat, saw palmetto, little water access and mileage would have us away from TA for a long time.
We left on to the epic trek section about 2 minutes behind EMS. They went in a semi clockwise direction. We went in the opposite direction. The teams behind us were split also. Although I was navigating the race, I let the team do alot of the routing since they wanted to, and I could also eat pizza while they routed some. They came up with the decision to do it counterclockwise. But I agreed with the decision, since the potentially toughest cp's and bushwacking would be done during the day. It seemed the least fool proof way.... Of course that always doesn't work for us. All teams had to hit cp9 first on large trek, not because of numerical order since the pts could be had any order, but mostly in that it was on the way to the rest of the trek section. Our approach to cp9 was fool proof (or maybe lucky:-), but some teams described having problems bushwacking in from a different attack point. I know some teams were apparently upset about it's apparent wrong position, but one route and it's attack point made most sense on paper no matter where the point was at.
I looked over the maps again postrace, and scratched my head why some people approached the way they did. Ouch, it's Florida.
After a short run on the main paved park road, we ventured back onto the canopy walk trail, where I decided to allow the team to see the loop twice. Lucky it was a short loop, other wise, I would of gotten serious flack from that. My excuse was that I was eating. The short bushwack to cp11 was seemingly straightforward in and out of an old horse trail but we lost the trail shortly so I headed more SE to hit the trail and proceed North on the next trail. It was a good plan, but then we came off the cp11 laminated flag sticker and some stray marking trail marking a ? trail to cp. So, we were temporarily thrown off by this. The cp was indeed North on the trail. What all that other stuff was some 50 meters away from the cp was our guess.
We headed out to a mighty bushwack to bp13. Mighty in that it was hot out and we were going thru lovely Florida underbrush. Not everyone wanted to thrown on pants with the heat, so some those to suffer the underbrush and threw on pants when the temps or shade provided some relief.
We luckily hit bp13 spot on after that bushwack, but telegraphed that to a few teams behind us since it was easy to see the top of your body peering above the undergrowth during the day time.
Most notable was Snickers Marathon who certainly didn't need any help, but more importantly, they were moving thru the saw palmetto underbrush so fast that our jaw dropped. Obviously, it was good for us since it told us to suck it up. When we hit the trails again, we caught back up, happy to be moving faster than a snail.
The next bonus point both teams came almost together, but got a no go after searching the "west edge of the wetland." Michael Moule had apparently already tried to call the race director who said the plot was correct. There was actually tape at the location with a cp number on it. After we confirmed the location with him and searched some more, we called them back and they told us to wait, the cp was moving just South of us. Meaning, it was in jessica's hands and it was coming toward us. It had inadvertently not been placed. The location was correct, but no punch was there. Because of the time delay from the first phone call and looking some more, Jessica gave us some leeway. We didn't get a time bonus, and Snickers Marathon got a small time bonus, but they gave us both credit for getting the multipoint. That seemed fair to us. In the end, it didn't matter either way, at least for us.
The rest of the trek was unnotable except for us and Snickers Marathon running most of the trek together. They claimed that our relentless running kept them pushing the pace and helped them win the race at the end, since they weren't feeling that well during the trek. When we hit a cp about at the halfway point, they had ice water on the pickup truck at the cp. That was like a beautiful oasis in the desert, and we certainly took our leasure there. However, it lifted our spirits, or at least mine, since the sun and heat were and squinting at the map were taking it's took. We had been doing that shuffle jog thing, but after some stretching and the ice water, we were moving along better. We caught up to Snickers Marathon and we all bumped into EMS then cp0 just behind. That was about the halfway point, so by my calculations, we were ahead and could go back to the ice truck for another break. That didn't happen, but the day was getting late and things started cooling off, which was very welcome. We were actually dying to put on our headlamps, since that would mean it was cooler out. As typical, we played back and forth with Snickers Marathon. If we stopped to pee, they passed us, and then we would run and catch back up. This basically happened over and over again until the night co0l off and we ran ahead. At the 2nd to last cp, there was the option of another potentially lovely bushwack or a nice trail run, to the last cp. We chose option two, our legs had had enough of scrapes for the time being. So, they caught back up. Low and behind, EMS, Snickers Marathon, and us were in TA all together again. What a happy family!
Now in all honesty, we were moving very slowly. As a foursome, we would normally be a physically strong run team on most terrain. However, Tamela's own demons were coming to haunt her, and they came on in full force, nearly all at once. We had to take a longish TA to allow her some chance at setting the systems straight, and attempting to alleviate all the aches. We were about 18 hrs into the race, and felt very confident that we could continue to execute well, but the reality was that she had a major abdominal operation only 5 weeks ago. Most people would still be layed off house work, but she was out doing a long race. Trust me, the surgeon wanted to write this up in a journal, since he is a semi famous robotic surgeon.
We limped down to the paddle, and shifted boat positions some. Partly so that I could navigate from the front in the dark. Bo and I stayed up front to help find the way. Somehow, we managed along well and passed Snickers Marathon again, and caught back up to EMS on lower myakka lake.
As we hit the shore to trek to the final bonus point on Lower Myakka Lake, Tamela's body was just under too much stress to reasonably continue. The rest of the story is another whole chapter, but after some thought, two of us decided to go on unofficial. We had lost EMS ahead, but Bo and I caught up to EMS while joe and tamela tended to her first aid. EMS was having a challenging go at that cp, and it probably meant the race for them. It was described as a tree on west edge of wetland, or something like that. But the small differences in the terrain and maps in Florida can be beautiful, but also killer. We bumped into Joe B as we approached the wetland spot, and he admitted to having a heck of a time matching terrain. We said hello and explained what had happened to Tamela. Then I looked at our map and told Bo Eagle Eye Martin to keep walking another few meters west. CP was there, bright as can be. Bo thought it was his excellent eye sight, and I thought it was my brilliant navigation, so we had a good laugh about it. I turned off my headlamp while going to the bathroom, and again was amazing by the full moon. So, we walked out of that wetland back to the trail, watching EMS still searching and Snickers Marathon catch up to them. It was sort of surreal, since our race was over, and as we walked to the canoe to get Joe and Tamela. There was enough moonlight that we just walked along with our pfd's and glowsticks and just the moonlight showing us the trail. Bo and I both realized the large time lead we now had, and half joked about trying to duct tape Tamela to her bike and push her around. She wasn't too happy with herself when we got back, so we didn't think she wanted to hear our goofball plans at that moment.
I hopped in the canoe with her and we limped back to the TA, back up the winding river to the TA. Everyone was excited when we got back, and apparently it was posted on checkpoint tracker, so alot of people couldn't naturally understand when we came off with a nice lead then said we weren't continuing. We obviously debated what was right and wrong and who/if we would continue. Luckily, we had access to another car, since joe's dad was back a the hotel sleeping, and he kindly came and picked them up to get them back to the hotel.
Now, Bo and I decided to go have play time. At this point, nothing was serious anymore, and we just made the decision to get all the cp's and bonus points. We had planned on skipping the time trial run, but when we got there, we realized we were almost done. Technically, we were a 4 person team, so to get all the bonus cp's, we would actually have to run the time trial twice. So, we did. I will add, that we got out picture taken twice by going by the photographer twice, and there was redbull drink, so that extra silly effort was probably worth something.
Notable things during the night. 1) I found that I don't need to eat as much when not racing hard or mentally concentrating much, but on the other hand, I wasn't pushed while racing, so ended up eating alot. 2) The sleep monsters do set in a little hard when not racing 3) as a 2-person team, Bo and I worked very efficiently and had a great time 4) armadillos don't like when you nearly run over them with a bike, and they will scare the piss out of you when they go crashing off thru the underbrush 5) there is a certain aura to adventure racing, which attracted to me it the beginning, and only when not truly racing, could I experience that same feeling again
We spent alot of time near Snickers Marathon during the bike. Mostly hanging back or out of the way to not bother them too much. We stopped alot and had luxury to organize maps and read signs. We sometimes caught back up, and they were curious to what happened to our other teammates. They were pretty funny about it, saying "well, we are glad you aren't pushing so much, you guys were killings us." I guess the heat during the day was tough on them too. I think when we relayed that comment to Tamela, it might of made her feel better. Given that she was 5 weeks out of major surgery, it was a pretty amazing achivement for her to race for 17-18 hrs at the front of the field. In some ways, we were certainly bummed since we are improving each race and felt we could of won this one if we were all healthy, and possibly done the cp0 series. But, on the other hand, we took home alot more lasting memories.
Bo and I did manage to come across the line in 3rd place within 60 minutes of Snickers Marathon and EMS. Since we were unofficial, nothing was noted. Snickers Marathon won with a 30 sum minute margin. The real bummer was then we learned by Kip that indeed, a flock of crows had raided our transition area, and truly had eaten or destroyed all our valentine's day cookies that Tamela had made and brought down to the race.
After the race, Bo and I had the luxury of having two teammates and Joe's dad to help us take things down before we headed to the airport.
My wife and kids picked me up at the airport, and she handed me a bottle of water. I thought that was strangely curious, since she never does that, but I was parched, and needed it. It was my birthday, so she was being generous. When she asked how the race went, I just said "pretty darn well, all things considered, how was your day." Back to normal life.
William Vickers, MD
-Capital Bicycle http://capitalbicycle.com -Annapolis Canoe and Kayak www.annapoliscanoeandkayak.com -Specialized Bicycle www.specialized.com -Team Wicked Fast 2007 www.recover-ease.com -Bonk Breaker Nutrition www.bonkbreaker.com
Sent via BlackBerry from Cingular Wireless
