Big Dog Racing Team Rocks the MOMAR!

After breaking my ankle I was sitting (yet again) on the lumpy sofa feeling a little down, and a touch hostile towards the world of the normal walking people. Since I couldn't do anything, I figured I might as well just sit, watch more stupid movies and eat. I like eating. And if you're on the couch injured YET AGAIN it becomes very very tempting.

So I looked at the calendar and thought, if I don't eat my weight in cookies right now, I can do the MOMAR. And then I didn't eat the WHOLE bag of cookies, and I got on the trainer cast 'n all (crutch to side of trainer, slide casted leg over, drop crutches, wiggle up onto bike seat, start pedalling). The cast came off mid August, and I headed outside shortly afterwards. The YANA ride was my first test, and it went well, so on to the running bit. I managed 3 runs prior to the MOMAR, more than enough?

MOMAR morning was cold, foggy and drizzling, perfect day for playing in the woods. The paddle was really pretty with dense fog highlighting all the colours of the boats. Chris and Chanace paddled one boat and Joan and I paddled the other - and due to the last minute arrangement for me to be back on the team I have only paddled a double boat once (last year's MOMAR) and never with Joan. Next year we'll practice a bit first I think. We got off to an interesting start where Joan's paddle fell apart and we careened wildly into everyone else while she tried to put her paddle together an steer at the same time. Sorry fellow paddlers! Every few minutes she would put it back together and it would function for a bit.....  but we got to the end of the paddle leg without being completely thrashed and more or less as a team, which was the main objective.

The map for the rest of the course had me wondering if this was a 24 hr race...  The run started at the lake, down the road to the entrance to Pity The Fool and straight up the mountainside, along a trail and up to a lookout, up a road where Chris did her best nav of the day. Everyone was running up the road but on the map there was a "gravel road" intersection. We were on a gravel road, and the trail to the side didn't really deserve the same line on the map, but Chris said emphatically "IN HERE" - so we followed. This was the right way, sadly inconveniencing the large number of people that ran up the road instead, some going MILES out of the way. The "trail-road" ran up and then past the entrance to Grub, the highest trail in Cumberland, and the next checkpoint was on Grub. Down Grub we went, slippery rocks, wet roots, moss - and no trips or falls thank God! Then to the Lookout just past Stub and down the road to the top of the downhill course. Down the DCDH almost to the road, up to the exit of Mama Bear's on a logging road, down the road to Cumberland and down to Village Park. PHEW!

The uphill run was fine, especially with trails this steep where it wasn't really a "run" but a fast hike. The road just about killed me, and I may not have been the only person who hugged my bike at the Park.

The bike was great! Obviously I'm much more of a biker than a runner - but it was so much fun. Up to Bear Buns, down that trail to Sykes Bridge, up to lower Thirsty, down Thirsty to Teapot to Shortline, Blue Collar and then out through Cumberland to Cherry Picker, a bit of wandering around in the shrubbery, riding back for a checkpoint, out to the Lake and stash the bikes again. My favourite part of the ride was as we 'cleared' the downhill on Railway with an assertive "Rider's UP" and rode down and up the other side to the cheering of a group of women walking the steep section.  We did look pretty cool, 4 women wearing red ripping up the downhill/uphill and off to the finish!

The last orienteering at the Lake was brilliantly done! I say this knowing I had NO hand in the directions - which is why it went so well. We picked up every checkpoint easily and I don't think we went a step in a wrong direction, which is good because I was getting a bit hobbly by now.

The finish line came just in time. I could have paddled or biked some more, but I was really done with the running thing. And it was time for Nutella and banana sandwich. Time was 7 hours and ?minutes, which put us in first place for team of 4 women and got us some great sunglasses, an adventure race super-towel and some cool socks. And the glory of course! At the after race banquet we got to cheer on many friends on the podium and see a lot of people I seem to see only at races, and that was very nice as well.

It was a GREAT race! Awesome teamwork, as we pushed, pulled, carried gear, drafted each other and otherwise fought together to get the team to the finish. Amazing navigation meant we didn't go any further than we had to, and I'll have to include my ortho surgeon on my Christmas list. None of us could have done this on our own, and it was a great day of running around the woods.

Way to go Team Big Dog!