Tis the time of the year when I start planning 2024 adventures. There will be those that I will do again because of the fun factor, tradition, or redemption (PMBAR, Marji Gesick, Snake Creek Gap TT, War Daddy). As long as I put in the training, show up to the starting line, and my bike doesn't break, I will finish it.
The past couple of weeks, I had been thinking about an event that could top Marji Gesick on a single speed or the Death March Revival YoYo.
I wanted to find one that terrifies me. Not in the scared I am going to die sort of way, but that puts me out of my comfort zone, where failure lurks around the corner, challenging both my physical and mental fortitude. And then Lisa texted me Thanksgiving morning.
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I answered her before I had the chance to process the enormity of this adventure, because I felt that if I let that question linger for longer than few minutes, the monkey in my brain would give me all sorts of reasons not to do it.
And so, I will be teaming up with one of our nation's best female adventure racer for the Warrior Sea To Sea Expedition Race in Florida in February of 2024. The race starts on the west coast and ends at Saint Augustine on the east coast, and according to the website, covers 300 miles. Jeff, the race director, is notorious for doing "Todd math," as last year's event covered 340 miles ... oh, brother!
Lisa Randall is a beast when it comes to adventure racing. She has competed nationally on elite level teams as well as capturing the title of solo adventure racing champion the past two years. Last March, I tagged along as her team mate at the Oak Mountain 10 Hour Adventure Race. This was my first adventure race and it was so much fun. But I didn't have to do any navigating. It was amazing to see her in action! How she was able to navigate while bushwhacking at significant speed as well as on the bike was mind-blowing!
During this year's race, there will be an orienteering relay section, where two members of each team (a team can be 2-4 people) will have to navigate alone. And I did not realize this until I started reading about the race details. This is the part that scares me! I am a newbie to orienteering. Yes, I was in the military, but any compass-type nav skills I learned 30 years ago were deleted from memory 28 years ago.
My fear of failure is that I don't want to let Lisa down and look like a fool fumbling through the woods trying to find checkpoints. I was hoping that I could be a great team member by being the best mule ever, while Lisa did the nav.
But if the race doesn't challenge you, then what is the point of doing it? So I have got two months to buckle down and figure this map and compass thing out. The test shouldn't be too too hard, if I do the homework, right?
Sometimes I wonder why Lisa asked me to do this, when there are other more capable adventure racers out there. But, I am glad she did, I think. She has been there to shove me into the deep end more than once, which has allowed me to grow as an athlete and as a person.
I just hope that, once on the other side of this adventure, I can look back and wonder why I was so worried. Or perhaps that I should have been more concerned about the 75+ miles of trekking and 75+ miles of paddling. And alligators ...😆
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