Nat's Raid pulse 4h and Cataraqui adventure trek week end-double win in the women categories.

August was a busy month with the K2O paddle race followed by an extremely hard 3 days of trail running racing at xc de la vallee. We luckily had the chance to escape to Mexico where we were able to relax for 4 days before racing again. After taking a whole week off it was time to get back into training but I just started a new job with AgriCan working on my feet all days lifting bags full of grains. So except from my 1h15 of commuting a day I had been able to do nothing but work.

On Friday just before racing I had been asked to do some overtime. Let say that I was fried before getting to the start line. Saturday morning I was feeling relatively ok but had heavy legs.

The Raid Pulse started in La Peche near Wakefield on the bike. From the start on James and Adam Malory left ahead and I tried to hang out with the next pack behind them. I manage to do pretty well on the first bike and did a quick transition on foot. I put on my altra shoes and I was gone. I don't know why but I always end up with the same duo male in the trek in raid pulse races. And once again I got to hang out with those guys. We ended up doing the whole trek together. First time that a raid pulse trek goes super well for me without me getting lost for an hour or so. I was very happy and left the guys while running to the TA to get on the bike. I did a super quick transition and I was gone...or actually I thought I was gone but realized my back tire was totally flat. This was a brand new tire tubeless and it was flat :(. After struggling to get the tire off I had to ask Tanya's help to put it back on with the tube. I am usually petty fast at changing flats but I could not get this tire back on. After lots of effort from both of us it was on and I was pumping as fast as I could. I was ready to go, turned around, put my helmet on and realized the tube went flat!!! That was it, I was out!!! Tanya convinced me to pump it up to the max that maybe it would work. So I did and it seemed to work. We heard the tire popping which meant it was getting back in place...so I thought. I jumped on the bike to do the 6km to the next transition and after 4,5km saw my back tire becoming flatter and flatter. I ran the last km or so to the transition. I saw the RD Thierry, explained the situation real quick and jumped on the kayak. I had missed the cutoff to make the advanced CP on the kayak at that point (which added about 2km all up of paddling). I went around, struggle a little with the under water CPs but found them thanks to other people, and got back to transition. Thierry had taken his MTB off his car and asked me if i wanted to ride it to finish the race. Thanks to him I was able to go get the last advanced CP and get to the finish a few kms further.

This could have been a very good race but ended up being challenging because of the bike. The course was great with just enough optional CPs to get everybody on the course for the full 4h. There was also a pretty cool part in the caves.

I still managed to come 5th in the solo category (1st female and in front of female teams and mixed teams too) and 7th overall.

Now it was time to go back home and fix the bike for the CATARAQUI Adventure Trek the very next day in Kingston.

We ran into MEC that was about to close and managed to get a brand new tubeless kit which ended up not working. Not sure whats going on with the valve but it doesn't work. James managed to put a tube in which seemed to not deflate (for once) so we would see the next day how it would hold up.

We drove to the race early with a very nice sunrise.

The race was more of an off road triathlon composed by a 2.1km trail run, a 800m paddle and 6.2km bike course. The aim was to do as many laps as possible within 4h. Any lap started but not finished within the 4h would not count.

We could both feel the fatigue from the day before but our 2XU shorts and socks helped a lot forgetting that. I had decided to try and do the entire race in my pearl izumi bike shoes since it was a bike heavy race and there was only 2km or so of running but it was foggy and humid and the cleats were making me slip a lot. 

The start was a Le Mans start on foot. We had to go and pick up 3 items in 3 different corners of a field then get into the course. Some people didn't listen just before the start that going over or under the fence was not allowed and many people ended up cutting up time by doing so. But most important for me I didn't know now how many girls were ahead. I knew that one girl was just ahead of me and she was the only one who had gone around but I saw a few pony tails entering the run course ahead of me. I decided to run hard the first lap to try to be in a good position. By the end of the run I had caught up all but two girls and after the paddle I only had one ahead that I passed as we were starting the bike section. The bike section was mainly twisty single tracks that would lead up to an open field that was hard to ride on then back to single tracks to the end of the loop.

By the second lap my running wasn't as fast. My paddling was strong and my biking was good in the field and ok in the single tracks. On that second loop I had a bit too much confidence and before I knew it I flew off my bike and landed on a tree. My shoulder was screaming in pain but nothing was broken so I kept on going. For the 5 laps I did I was surrounded by the same two guys who kept on passing me on the run and in the technical MTBiking but I would catch up paddling and in the field section. Phil from Strongbars saved me after lap 3 giving me a banana. It was hot and only fruits and water were going down. It gave me a boost for my 4th lap and the competitiveness in me made me start to accelerate. By the end of the run of the 5th lap I still had one of the guy I was racing against the whole race just ahead of me and we started the bike at the same time. He said "catch me" so I tried to hammer that last lap and managed to catch up to him in the field and put the hammer down to the finish line finishing a few minutes ahead of him. I was happy :). The last two laps were very hard physically as my week and week end were starting to get in my legs. I finished the race with 5 laps in 3h37. James did 6 laps in 3h40. He won the race and I won the women by one lap over second place. I also placed 8th overall (in the men) which included some relay teams too.

Very nice race..we will be back :)

Nat

Raid Pulse 8h AR Mont Ste Marie Qc-1st place solo female for Nathalie

For the first time in a couple of years I learnt that there were 3 girls racing solo so we would have a category of our own (I was racing against the guys up to then).
I was excited and nervous at the same time.
The race was a bike start on the road and up to Mont Ste Marie to ride pretty much all the single tracks there.
The rain started as we lined up at the start line. My stress level increased a little knowing that we were going on single tracks with roots and wooden platform that would become very slippery quickly.
I felt good and stayed with the front pack leading to the trails. I decided to climb up to the advanced CP first and make my way back from there. On the way down I missed a turn which forced me to go and do an extra loop. I wasn’t super happy with that but pushed to the TA to the trek where I arrived after 3h of biking (and pushing the bike up that monstrous gravely and sandy road).
When I got to transition I noticed that another solo girl was there. I had kept her behind me on the bike and blamed the fact she passed me on my extra loop. I did a pretty quick transition and left with her to the first CP. After that I decided to take a different route so we wouldn’t be racing together and maybe I would make some time. Orienteering when it’s pure bushwacking is not my strength. After a few CPs I lost my passport so I waited at a CP to see someone and punched my map. My moral went down a lot at that point. Nicky (firend and other solo female) showed up at that CP and we went to the next one together. After that CP she decided to go and do some of the CPs I had done before whilst I had to go and pick up two advanced CPs a bit further away.
I left transition a little too quickly and forgot my map case on my bike. By the time I reached the advanced CP my map was crumbling apart and I couldn’t see much. The transition dot had disappeared and I couldn’t tell the numbers of a few CPs. At that time I was racing along with a coed team and decided to stock with them since I didn’t know how to get back.
When we finally reached the TA the volunteers told me the other girl had left an hour prior. The cut off to do an advanced bike was supposed to be at 2:30pm but they decided to extend it so she was able to go, even if she got there at 2:35pm.. I wasn’t happy but I learnt that she didn’t do all the advanced CPs on foot so maybe I had a chance to catch up. The way It worked is that each CP regular and advanced worth 25 points so if she didn’t get the two CPs on foot but got the two CPs advanced on bike I could still maybe catch up on the paddle and still finish ahead. So without hesitation I took my bike and went away.
That’s when it got better…I left so quickly that I didn’t put my map in my map board on the bike but on top. Going down the massive hill pushing the bike I didn’t realised but I lost my map. Once at the bottom I tried to look where to go and Oh surprise..no more map. So once again I tagged along with some guys until the paddling section where a volunteer gave me his map so I could navigate on the water.
I am ready to go in the boat and I am decided to have a good paddle to compensate all those mistakes.
Where is my boat??? I am looking around, my boat isn’t there! Then I realise that James’s boat was there. James being shorter than me I had to do the paddle section with my knees in my face (didn’t have a screw driver to move the pedals) not very stable with power boats round.
I met James on the water and wasn’t happy…he didn’t realised until I told him what happened even if our boats are two distinctive colors (he did apologize and cleaned my bike at the ned of the race so we are all good :D).
I saw the other girl just a little after seeing James and I knew it would be hard to catch up. She was maybe 10min ahead. At the end of the paddle I jumped on the bike and tried to hammer it to the finish but didn’t catch her. I passed the line not super happy with how my race went and the many mistakes I had done during the day slowing me down so much. To my surprise I finished first solo female. What I didn’t know is that she had missed another CP on the first bike. I had then 25 more points woot woot.
Pretty happy with the result at the end of the day despite all the mistakes I made. I t was a tough course with lots of up and downs…literally…Can’t wait to see the overall results. Thank you Raid Pulse for once again a great and well organised event.
I will be back in August, a little less distracted this time.
Thanks to Nuun and Pacific Health Labs products for keeping us fueled and hydrated throughout the day. I also tested out my new Osprey pack REV6 and I loved it to bits. Perfect AR pack for short races (4-12h).

Nat

Racing Solo at the Raid Pulse 8 Hour Adventure Race

On May 17th, Nathalie, Steve and I (James) headed to Camp Air Eau Bois, near Lac-Ste-Marie, Quebec for the Raid Pulse 8 hour adventure race. We all chose to race solo for this race, giving each of us the chance to test our mettle and navigation skills. Nathalie and I had acquired new Spirit surfskis late in the fall, so this would be our first chance to test them out in a race. With the lingering cold through April and early May, we didn’t have as much practice as we had hoped for on the boats, and quite nervous about the risk of dumping into the very cold water - particularly once we found out the race would be starting on the water.

James on the first trek section

Once we saw the maps, Nathalie and I (and a few other teams) chose the unconventional option of portaging our boats a few hundred metres across a point of land to the first CP, while Steve chose to paddle to the CP with the rest of the teams. It was a tough climb to get up from the shoreline, so Nathalie and I agreed to help each other portage the kayaks to the other side. It seemed like a great plan, as we arrived on the other shoreline to see a bunch of teams still off in the distance approaching the CP we were heading to. Nathalie hopped into her boat and sped off, and I hopped in mine, ready to give chase. Unfortunately, I hadn’t realized that when I slipped on a mossy rock while portaging the boats, I had actually cracked the blade of my paddle at the heel. So when I took my first full paddle stroke on the right side, the blade of the paddle gave way, and I promptly rolled into the water - not the start I was hoping for... soaking wet and with a broken paddle! My only option was to hop back in the boat and paddle exclusively on the left side, using the rudder to keep me straight. 

As I arrived at the next CP, I was extremely lucky to see a familiar face - a fellow athlete who wasn’t racing and had paddled in to the next CP - who saved my race by offering me his paddle. What a relief! The rest of the paddling, which included both mandatory and optional “advanced” trekking CPs, went relatively smoothly. I arrived on shore to see a number of boats, but since not all of the CPs were mandatory, it was tough to know one’s actual ranking in the race. After a quick transition and a slightly tricky “marked trail” section over a big hill, I was off on the first bike leg. Overall, the biking was a lot of fun, particularly thanks to our new Cannondale F29 Carbon 3 bikes, which both Nathalie and I are loving! There was a great mix of gravel roads, trails, mud, and even a fair bit of bike whacking too! I had a few struggles with the navigation at a few points, but eventually managed to find my way. I was really doubting my navigation when I lost the overgrown trail as we approached the first bike drop, but after a couple hundred metres of bike whacking, I came out on the road - very relieved!

Steve hammering toward the finish line

The next trek was the crux of the race for me. I figured it would be some of the tougher navigation and, as such, would be my biggest test of the day. I wasn’t sure if the course was clearable at this point, but I decided I would try to get all of the CPs in this trek section and deal with the potential fallout afterwards. I opted to start with the simplest navigation - straight up to summit of a huge hill - the highest CP of the day, and what looked like the highest peak in the area. This was a real grind for me, as I was trying to push the pace, knowing that if my navigation was poor on the rest of this section, at least I could make up some time here. The view from the top was amazing! Back down I went and off to try and find the rest of the CPs. I was very happy with my navigation through this section, not having made any major errors and having corrected my mistakes fairly quickly. 

I transitioned back onto the last bike section as quickly as I could and tried to put down the hammer. Around this time, it occurred to me that I had forgotten to do something very important up to this point in the race... eat! I had chugged a Boost and gulped as much Nuun as I could at the 2 transitions, but otherwise was so focused on the map and not making big mistakes, that it hadn’t occurred to me to eat. Now I was starting to feel the effects. So I began the challenging task of trying to eat while biking on some pretty gnarly trails. I managed to finally get a Fruit2 and a granola bar into me and chased it with as much Nuun as I could ingest. Again, I enjoyed the trails and the different challenges, but clearly the lack of nutrition was catching up to me. At this point I wasn’t sure what position I was in, but from the information I had, it appeared to be 2nd place, so I pushed as hard as I could to try and catch the leaders, with no clue how far they were ahead of me. At one intersection, I stopped to look at my map and saw a team about 50 metres down what I suspected was the wrong trail. But I didn’t know if this was the lead team or if it was a team that had skipped some CPs. I assumed it was the latter and tried to keep up the pace as much as I could.

James discussing the race with race director Thierry Raymond

I rolled into the manned marshaling point where we could either head for the finish line, or be shown a map with 2 additional advanced CPs to get on the bike before finishing. I opted for the advanced CPs after being told that I was in the lead at that point. I headed off, nearly out of water and feeling really wiped. Not far up the road, I made an error that had me climbing for about 500m in the wrong direction. Coming back to the intersection, I now had no idea if I had been passed by any teams, which meant having to assume I was once again chasing a team in front of me. I chomped on a Fruit3 bar (the new "revved up" version of the Fruit2 bars) and drank the last of my water and headed down what I hoped was the right trail to the final 2 CPs and the Finish. The Fruit3 bar made a huge difference and I finally started to get some energy back. The navigation was a little tricky in a few spots, so I was extremely relieved upon seeing each of the 2 remaining CPs. The final downhill section of trail was sketchy, but super fun. I crossed the finish line and received confirmation that I had indeed won the race. What a great surprise!

Speaking with Nathalie and Steve after the race, it sounds like they both had a great day, with a few challenges mixed in as well. Steve finished in 3rd place of the solo male category. Nathalie was the lone solo female in the race, and therefore got to race against the boys. Even still, she managed to finish in 4th place of all of the solos. She says that she found the bushwhacking tough - and there was a lot of it! But the one time I did see her in the bushwhacking, she was chest deep crossing a swamp - now that’s hardcore!

Once again, we all agreed that the Osprey Rev18 backpacks, Swiftwick socks, and 2XU clothing were awesome! It was also great to sport our new North Face clothing branded with the X:act Nutrition and Endurance Aventure logos. Thanks to all of our sponsors for their support!

Nathalie celebrating her 4th place solo finish

Steve relishing his 3rd place solo finish

James at the finish line - happy to be done!