Tango 2009 Race Report - KB2 Victorious Again!

My second Tango as a competitor is complete and the KB2 winning streak continues. Who would have thought, right? Before I get into my race report, I have to thank my teammates, Maija, Michelle, Cindy and Ellis. They were AWESOME and each of them left it all on the course on race day. Truly inspiring! And an extra special thank you to Michelle for being such a resourceful talent scout! I know that you already are planning for Tango 2010…love it!

KB2 - Tango 2009 Pre-Race Team Photo

Going into the race, I was hopeful but still a bit cautious about my biking. I was confident that the miles I have been logging with Matt on my bike would help to improve my performance over last year, but the factors of riding a relatively unfamiliar bike (thank you, Michelle! It was fantastic!) and my lack of skills on dirt/gravel road conditions (throw in the down hills for good measure) still weighed heavily on my mind. How would I really feel out there?

Me at the Bike Start - Here we go!

After passing 2 people on Longhouse Rd and the next climb, I found Craig shortly after getting onto the dirt road. We basically road the entire course together exchanging leads until the final steep decent. He smoked me, as I knew he would. While I have almost over come my fear of down hills on my road bike, it still remains on a dirt road. I figured that was the last I would see of Craig until the finish. I assumed that he broadened his lead enough on the steep decent that I would not be able to catch him once we got back to the paved road. But I was determined to give it my best effort. After getting back to the black top and releasing the death grip on my handlebars, I started to dig in. I passed 2 guys and then David Brook came up on me from behind. We chatted for a second and then he moved along. I decided to make him my pace car for catching Craig….and it worked! I caught Craig on the final climb of the course (I think) and kept pushing to the finish line. I was convinced that he would zoom pass me at any moment, but he didn’t. Woo-Hoo! He rolled in about 30seconds behind me. Awesome ride, Craig! Thanks for pushing me!

Orienteering…..ugh. Let me keep this as brief as possible. Maija came out of the water, I met her in T3, she grabbed shorts, shoes, cookie and Gatorade…we are good to go. We started with a muddy climb up the hill. Points 1 and 2 were found easily. Point 3 eluded us at first. We were not alone in the woods at that time, so we were observing and assessing what other teams deemed the best solution. It was then we decided to move ahead to point 4 (found it) and then back to 3, which was more easily found this time around. The trails on the map looked to be very clearly marked to get us to point 5 (extra point added this year) and then it would be a straight shot back to Rt 59 and run to the beach. Well, apparently the map needs to be updated as we totally overshot the “T” in the trail to turn down to point 5. Grrrrr……we turned around to try to find our missed turn. It didn’t exist that we could find, so we cut through the brush and trees until we got to Rim Rock Rd, over the other side of the road, check off point 5, scurry/slide down the hill to road (more mud), hop the guard rail, and run down Rt 59 to the beach. It is at this juncture that the vast difference between my running pace and Maija’s is evident. I held my own as we ran down the road, but as we began to approach the beach entrance she began to speed up. Whew-wee! I did my best to hold pace, but I instantly felt the queasy feeling in my stomach start. As we tagged Ellis to start her run, I quickly ran behind the medical tent and knelt down with my head between my knees….please don’t throw up. I had visions of the Mooseman finish racing through my mind. The feeling subsided quickly and I continued on without incident. I am convinced that is totally related to nutrition. I’m not sure if I had enough calories in my system prior to the start of the orienteering, we were out there with almost 30minutes longer than expected and with the final push at the end (I even commented to Maija as we were running on 59 that I was feeling hunger pangs) equaled a not good situation.

Maija & I tagging Ellis at the end of the orienteering.

Michelle and I gathered our stuff and drove down to the boat launch for the final leg of the race. We cheered at Ellis as she was running the 4.5miles. She looked great out there! Arriving at the boat launch, I quickly went to the bathroom and prepared my food/drink for the canoe. Oh…and the very important ice packs for me to sit on! After a fall in the grass and a major stitch in her side, Ellis came in from her run with a photo finish! (She is a warrior!) It was Ellis' run time that pushed KB2 ahead of the second place finishing womens' relay team. Michelle and I tag Ellis, run to the canoe and the final adventure begins! Within the first 10-15minutes, I knew my ride would be painful. Both of my hips were sore and inflamed from the orienteering and my gluts, hamstrings and calves were tight from both of my previous events. My left leg would totally seize up if I attempted to change positions. There were several times throughout our ride down the river that poor Michelle had an up close and personal view of my behind as I was trying to stand and stretch my legs in the canoe (ala Matt & Shawn 2007). All credit for the speedy KB2 canoe split goes to Michelle. I was quite impressed with her canoeing skills. She mindfully navigated us to the finish line in approximately 1 hour 20 mins…cutting nearly an hour of off last year’s time.

Michelle & I at the finish line!

I’m still not sure what our official race finish time is, but I do know that we improved significantly over last year and repeated as the champs of the women’s relay open division (despite some possible womens' team category controversy). We decided that we are donating our $200 prize money to the Dana Farber research fundraiser. That makes it all worth it right there.

I would be remiss if I didn’t say Congratulations once more to Shawn and Bart for their monumental achievement in completing the full Tango despite their insurmountable obstacles. I was so proud to cheer you across the finish line!!!

And to Matt……YOU TOTALLY ROCKED THE SWIM!!! You never cease to amaze me. Thank you for care and support on race day and every day. Complete Tango together next year…you & me??? Let’s see where my running leads to over the next year………..and if I can keep up with you on the swim! :-)

Working hard and playing hard with friends and family is what I enjoy most about the Tango. Looking forward to seeing results and times soon……so we can begin planning our match ups for Tango 2010!!