As some of you know me and a buddy completed Pain in the Pines Adventure Race this weekend at Tyler State Park. I had been interested in these races for a while but had not been on any specific training program to prep for it. I took the offer on a weeks notice with the intent of finishing and testing my endurance.
There was a 12 and 6 hour race this weekend and we entered the 6 hour. We actually ran into another guy from Mansfield named Phil and we all stayed together throughout the race. This was Phil's 7th time on this event so he kindly took us "rookies" and showed us the ropes. It was good to have someone with a little experience and knowledge of the course.
Getting ready for zip line. Sorry bout the grainy pic..
Here is a short overview of events.
Sprints/Mountain Bike/Kayak/Mountain Bike+mystery events/Ropes course/Running/hiking and finally back on the Bikes for the finish. All the time finding points with map and compass. After finding your designated points you return to base for more tasks and points. At this time you change over to the appropriate gear (running shoes, biking shoes, harness or whatever you need for that task). Our final time 6 Hours and 18 minutes.
We were nowhere near the level of the competitors out there that train directly for these races. But we had fun and accomplished the goal. Probably could have saved some time by getting through the transitions faster but....we didn't.
With no specific training and little time on my bike lately I will say I felt good up until about 5 hours into it. This is a good sign that our training has some good carryover to endurance. With that being said I do have a background in endurance and I have been taken to the limit mentally/physically during long training evolutions. I think this does give me some advantage but remember I have not been training endurance specific leading up to this.
We have about 8 people running the Warrior Dash in May and I would like to see us get teams together for more events. It is a great test of mental fortitude, endurance, stamina and teamwork and I highly recommend it!
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