Sunday, November 6, 2011

CitySolve National Championship Las Vegas

We just got back from Vegas and made it to the elite race to compete for the big money at the National Championships for CitySolve.  We placed 7th in both the preliminary race and the final race.  A little beat up and tired but we had a good time with a lot of great company.  Thanks guys for making it a great trip.  And a HUGE thanks to our support team, Angela, Christopher, and Annette!
Preliminary Race Recap                                              Elite Race Recap

Saturday, October 8, 2011

PDX Drink and Hunt

So today we tried the first ever Portland Drink and Hunt.  I thought it was going to be a laidback pub crawl, but then found out there would be prizes!  I couldn't help myself and had to run to the car and change from my jeans to my running shorts.  We placed 2nd.  See the full race recap.


Thursday, October 6, 2011

Hybrid Adventure Games Results

So we finally got the results for the hybrid.  I was 7th female overall for women in the morning race!  Will was 26th overall.  We rocked it and had a great time doing it.  Check out the video link  and the race recap below Enjoy!

HAG video                                                             


Race Recap


Recap by Jen

Okay, so we started the day a little tired from staying out a little too late the night before.We were out until 1:30 a.m. and then had to get up early and we didn’t exactly have a carb loaded dinner the night before, unless bar food counts.So we were tired and dehydrated and both of us had to visit the bathroom several times before the race.Damn that bar food.The system is not used to that prerace.


It was a nice chilly morning.The temp was in the high 40’s low 50’s, which is much better for me than the extreme heat that we had had just a couple weeks ago.So we met up with the rest of our team, Amy, Patty, Carl and Dave, and got ready to go!The run was up first and there were a little over 500 people in our heat.We could see the course and it was intimidating.Straight up the mountain and then you got to the top of the chairlift and when up again to the top of Mt Hood Skibowl.Up, up and up.The race directed said that it was a gain of 3400 ft. and the up was only 2 miles.So we set out, Amy lead the way, Bill was not far behind, then Patty and Carl, I was right behind them and Dave was behind me.He is not a runner and I don’t think he was too happy about being suckered into this one.It was a beautiful run though, amazing view from the top of the mountain.The way down was quick all down and around and to the bottom.Bill caught Amy on the downhill and made it to bottom in 52 minutes.

 

As soon as you finished the run, you were put in a holding area for the obstacle course.So with not any rest, you were put into groups of 5 and set off on the obstacle course.It was through a bay of tires, then over and under a bunch of hurdles, some wrapped in barbed wire.The hurdles were placed on an incline making it even harder!We all were just throwing ourselves over and diving under them.Then it was over an inclined wall and then the belly crawl under the barbed wire for about 15 yds.Then up a hill and down a slip n’ slide. This was my downfall.I slide face first and slide off the side.They made me climb back up and redo it!Talk about costing me precious time.Not to mention I was completely soaked and it was only about 50 degrees.I made it down the second time and then it was over a running single-track tail with obstacles.When we got down with that, there were stumps we had to cross, if you fell off, you had to start over.Then finally it ended with a 6 ft wall that you had to get over, with no assistance. I ran and just threw leg over and got my foot on top and was able to pull myself over.Bill was a gentleman and helped the lady he was with giving her a hand to get over.Once we were done with the obstacle course, then we had to compete the rest of the events in any order we wished.


We all got in line for the archery.The last time I shot a bow was in 6th grade outdoor camp but I was pretty good for a 12 yr old.So we each got 4 arrows and they counted your best 3.Bill and I got 7 pts and Carl got 9.That was it for our group.I must say though that I was at a disadvantage because I am left handed and they only had right-handed bows.Amy was the only one in our group that had any experience shooting and she is also left handed so it really threw her off having to use the right handed bow.It turned out okay for me though because the top female score for archery was only 8 pts.So I did pretty well on that item.

Next it was on to the tractor tire flip.We had to flip huge tractor tires from one side of the field to the other and back and the way the back was slightly up hill.All the boys went first against each other and Bill won that race in a blistering 42secs.Next up were the ladies.We all lined up and I ended up winning the heat in 1:01.It was definitely harder than I had anticipated and my fingers were numb afterward.

Next, we were at the keg toss.We were not allowed to practice at all so it was tough trying to decide what technique to use.We all stepped up and grabbed a keg and gave it a good heave ho.So my toss was the best of the ladies at 18.4 ft but I think if I had another shot at it I could get it further.

So we finished and now time for a drink and lunch.

When we got home, we got an email update from the director and they had timing issues which delayed the results but they are now finally up and believe it or not, I came in 7th female overall for the morning race!!My tire flip and archery gave me a lot of pts and my keg through wasn’t too bad either for the ladies.So guess I am a hybrid athlete.Bill ended up being 26th overall for the race too!The finisher’s medals were stolen so we didn’t any hardware but we have memories and we also raised money for the Quinn Driscoll Foundation, which is a foundation that was set up in the memory of one of Bill’s students who died at school of the heart condition that I have.So it was a meaningful race and we had a great time. Thanks Hybrid Adventure Games.



 

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Hybrid Adventure Games

So on Saturday, we had a team of six compete in the first Portland Hybrid Adventure games.  It consisted of a 5 mile mountain run, an archery station, a tractor tire flip, a keg toss, and an obstacle course. We are waiting for our results and I will give the play by play when we get them.