Greenway Challenge...Done

The Greenway Challenge came and went today, and it went about as well as I could have expected. Seeing as I haven't been running or paddling lately, I hoped that I could survive those two events and put in a good enough showing on the bike to keep me near the front of the pack. Although this event really didn't fall into my TransRockies training plan, it seemed like a good way to get an intense workout in and kind of test the water to see if I was ready to race again.

The race started with a run to our bikes. Yippie, I was the first one to my bike and I took off. I was chased by Patsy Williams-Smith and we both nearly crashed on the first 180 degree turn coming off a downhill in the grass field. There were three cyclocross barrier sections, so that was good for me, although it didn't gain me more than a couple of seconds at each barrier.



Halfway through the bike, we had to go through this "spider web" thing. It wasn't too hard, especially since we got to watch the lead guy go through it and show us what NOT to do. I wore a girly pink shirt so Chris could pick me out from a distance, but Patsy wore one too.



By the end of the bike, I managed to get a small gap on Patsy. This would be the only time I would lead the race, as she came flying by me on the uphill bushwhack section of the run. I had to resort to hiking speed, and she was able to just keep trotting up the hill. Patsy is a smokin' fast endurance runner, so I wasn't surprised..I mean look at her legs! Being at near max effort when I started the run was not something that I was used to, so my body was very unhappy.



The run got progressively worse for me. I got cramp in my side which lingered for about 10 minutes. I also had to walk some sections on the Boy Scout Trail so I was worried that someone would catch me from behind. We had to run up some decent hills and eventually around the rim of this quarry which was pretty cool.



I was slowly running out of steam so I got the paddle put-in just in time. I didn't bring a fast boat, as I was initially told we had to portage it ourselves. Of course this rule changed on race day, and the RD said volunteers could help the women with their boats..so now I was worried about being chased down on the water by the women with 16'-18' boats. The biggest mistake I made was not asking for help to portage my boat after the paddle (it was legal to do so). Carrying this beast up the hill was more than I really wanted to deal with at this stage. I was seriously about to fall over, and I think I almost knocked over some spectators.



I crossed the line in second place, so I figured that given my current lack of running fitness and relatively slow boat, that was the best I could expect. Here I am at the awards ceremony sportin' the BEEFCAKE T-Shirt that Chris had made for my 30th Birthday. That's me...such a BEEFCAKE.



After the race, we headed to Raccoon Mtn to ride the mountain bike trails over there. They were pretty fun - a lot a fast swoopy singletrack with a few tech features thrown in here and there. All in all, it was a pretty good way to spend my 30th Birthday!