PB: Week 19 - race week

Th - Run 6.2 mi/60 min very easy. Felt poor.
S - Longest Day adventure race. About 12 hours.

I'm really no good at race reports. Good news is that I had a good time and I'm happy with my performance, considering the training I put in. I was so worried about my own fitness that I didn't stop to think that it really didn't matter because I'm still stronger than my female teammate. The pace was very manageable for me. I didn't feel very fatigued and sore until the bike climbs at the end of the race, when we did some walking. The course was well designed and had optional points on all the trek and bike sections. It took a little bit for me to get back in the navigation groove, and we lost some time on the first couple points because of it, but once I figured out what was going on in my head I was able to turn those skills back on and get back into the habit of knowing where I am and where I'm going at all times. I regret that because of our slow speed and the cutoff times we were only able to do a tiny bit of the optional trail riding section. The canoe paddle sucked up a lot of time because we hemmed and hawed about the safest put-in location at a difficult portage, then capsized in the rapids right below the portage, and because we are just really slow paddlers. By the time we rode from the take out to the rogaine-style trek, we only had time to get one point before the 7pm cutoff. I'm proud of us for taking the capsize in stride and for going out and bagging that last point right under the wire when we could have stayed in the TA/Finish. Overall, I had a good time and it was great to see so many old friends and feel back "in the scene" for a day. I will probably trace my routes on the maps and post them on my personal blog this week.

I'm not sure what's next. My wife did great with the kids, and they didn't give her a hard time, but I'm still not going to be racing on the weekends frequently. And given my lack of success in establishing a regular training schedule I'd like a break from the pressure to get up early and the guilt when I don't. I'm also thinking about a conversation I had with my friend Scott as we were walking to the prologue. He looks in the best shape I've ever seen him, and he said he's been doing a lot of core strength, yoga, weights, better diet, and not worrying about putting in a lot of miles. This mirrors some popular training philosophies I've read about, but haven't had the freedom to try because I've been worried about putting in the miles. Or maybe it's just been easier to do the same old thing. Regardless, maybe keeping away from racing would help me try different ways to get and stay in shape. We'll see.