31 Miles for 31 Heroes

From the event website:  31Miles for 31Heroes is a 31 mile ruck through the night to honor the lives of the Heroes of Extortion 17.  Participants will carry 2 bricks in their rucks, one to represent the lives of our fallen and the other to represent the burden carried by their families.  Periodically, Ruckers stop to read the bios of these warriors and raise a drink (of water) to their memories.  All funds raised will benefit The 31Heroes Project, a non-profit which serves to impact the lives of our nation’s heroes and their families, while remembering the fallen.


Planning the location of our virtual participation was amusing to say the least.  Suggestions ranged from Umstead in Raleigh to an out and back on the AT for 15.5 miles.


Cooler (read Army) heads prevailed and we planned a route at Anne Springs Close Greenway (conveniently 10 min from my house!)


The planned route was the Blue Star Trail (7.2), Dogwood Trail (1.2), Muscadine Trail (2.9), Field Trail Loop (1.5), Trekker Loop (.8), Prairie Loop (1.5), Mill Pond (1.5), Sugar Loop (3.4), School Loop (3.7) and then back to Old Nation Road and return to the parking lot for 31 miles!


My packing list consisted of my Snugpak ruck, 2 challenge bricks, 6 liters of water, 1 water bottle, 1 soft dog bowl, 1 extra shirt (Columbia Chill Shirt), 2 bags of beef jerky, 1 bag dried cherries, 1 bag of Very Cherry Jelly Beans, 1 can of Cheese Um Pringles and 1 Dutch Shepherd.


I wore a ball cap, Nike ACG wicking shirt, Nike ACG shorts, Compression Sleeves and my awesome Salomon hiking socks, along with a new set of Merrel boots I picked up.


Since dogs can't drink from a bladder, you have to carry the water bottle to fill the bowl.  Copernicus doesn't like the soft bowl, so he didn't drink until he was really thirsty.


My first 5 miles was the Thursday workout with Team Spearhead.  Angler and I did a loop around Carmel middle school.  The only thing bad about that was having to make up the flutter kicks when I met the crew at Mile 5.


That's right I said flutter kicks.  Again I was able to influence the crew here.  Since I am doing the 10,000 flutter kick challenge, I was all for it.  (At least for the first 10 miles). During our rest breaks, we banged out 31 flutter kicks! 


The amazing thing about hiking at Anne Springs is how remote it is.  I guess especially if you do it on a weekday.  The starting trail, the Blue Star is predominately under cover.  This trail worked out great because there was a bathroom/water stop at two locations.  The only problem we had on this trail was when we got to the peach orchard, we couldn't find the trail and had to double back to the Timberline trail to get to the turnaround point.


The Muscandine trail had some challenges in a few places where it is not marked as well as the Blue Star.


The heat really didn't come up until around 3.  We were just completing the loops out around the Field Trial barn, which were all out in the open, when we headed back into the tree line around 3:15.


I changed from a black shirt to a white one at around mile 21.  Not really into changing socks as my feet were well prepped with the Kiehls lotion I use for running.


The loops in the Southern part of the park were a little more of a challenge, especially during the later miles.


We came out of the woods at around 6:15-12 hours for 31 miles.  My feet were feeling good!


Lessons learned:


1. Bring electrolytes.  What an idiot.  I always use Endurolytes or Gatorade or something for running.  Why I chose to not bring them I don't know?  I paid the price Thursday night with muscle cramps, even though I reloaded.
2. Wear a sweatband.  I seem to have turned into a head sweater.  It becomes annoying to the point where I can't wear sun glasses because I am wiping so much. 
3.  Army (okay and Marines)  vs. Navy.  Interesting dialogue about humping.  All Army and Marine units hump. (or Ruck, or road march, whatever floats your boat).  Navy Seals don't do a whole lot of rucking in BUDS or at their units.  Very different philosophy from Army and Marines who have extensive long range movements under weight.  The Seals feel there is no sense practicing being miserable, just suck it up when the need arises (Olympic conditioning helps I guess).  I was still competitive with the crew at the end from a walking perspective, but the last 5 or 6 sets of flutter kicks were agony!


A great experience for a great cause.  Now I hope I can count this for Pathfinder...

Hero Rush-5K Obstacle Race 10/20/12

WTF did I sign up for here?

After posting a 5K PB a few weeks ago, I thought this would be a lovely way to spend a Saturday and it supports a great cause.

Joey, Jennifer, Darwin and I (Team Darwin) all headed to the zMax part of the Charlotte Motor Speedway to particpate in this race.  Jennifer and Darwin would be the rooting section and Joey and I would be the runners.

After sliding down the fire pole, the start was a 1/4 mile sprint to the first obstacle, an easy jump over the wall.  Joey pulled away from me right away.  The next test was a low and a high cargo net.  The low one was a little harder because it was not very stable. 

A short jog later, we picked up a tire and ran around a short lap.  After dropping the tire, a little further up the trail had us going through a 2-3 foot deep stream.  No problem so far, but for many people who aren't used to running through the woods, the creek freaked them out.

Then it was a climb out of the creek and a trail run to waiting CPR dummies.  30 compressions gets you a pass and after another short trail run, was the surprise mud pit (this race prides itself on no mud, but whatever).  Another half K on the trail led you to the crowd control obstacle, a bunch of hanging tires and tires on the ground.  Jennifer and Darwin where here to give encouragement. 

Moving on takes you to another tire carry, this time, two tires, and an over wall, an under wall and a sprint to the finish.  Dropping the tires and another 200 yard dash to a ladder up into the "smoke house".  This is a shipping container filled with junk and smoke.  This is also where the lines started.

After climbing down some cargo netting and a dip down (and up!!) a valley, it was time for the rope climb, 3 rope bridge. 

After balancing my way down the bridge and another 300 yard dash, came the hardest obstacle, the towering inferno!

Imagine climbing up a drain pipe 20 feet (keep in mind the drainpipe is 3 feet in diameter and come to think of it, so am I) while water is showering down, and I mean showering down on you.  You worm your way up and through some wood to the top.  Once at the top, you slide down a tarp into a shallow pool.  Let's just say it felt like I hit the water at 100 MPH.



Coming up for air I'm thinkin, hey I'm almost done.  I would be wrong.

After another 1/4 mile jog (I was actually still jogging at this point) and running on the dirt track, I came to the stretcher carry.  Basically more tires (they love them some tires at hero rush!) through an obstacle course, barbed wire and all.  I dropped my tires and now I am almost done...yea right.

Another jog and three skips over fire, you come to the foam obstacle.  More pipes, filled with foam.  Yum!

Okay, now I can see the bleachers, how far away could I be?

Down into a dark tunnel for the next obstacle.  More sewer pipes, but these have a spider web of ropes that you have to weave your way through in the dark.  Those 100 pushup worksouts came in handy here.

Up out of the tunnel, still jogging, (ha ha) and what is this?  A water stop?  This close to the end?  Uh-Oh!

Around the corner and the spectators take a shot at spraying you with a fire hose (the advantage of beign slow: when you get here, they have lost interest). 

Now I run into a nice gentleman who tells me to pick up that 200lb (okay maybe it was 40) hose and run up the stands with it, back down, up again and back down.  WTF WTF WTF, what I am I a Navy Seal? (nope). Someone asked me how high the bleachers were.  I think I could see Russia from those bleachers.



So now I gotta be almost done right?  Just a few more surprises.

Another 50 yards and you come to the hazardous material pit.  Don't know how to describe this, think baby oil and jello.  You have to squirm under some barrels fully submerged.  But hey, at this point, I am hangin by a thread anyway.

Now the final turn for home.  I can see the finish line 300 yards away and I start running (okay, I thought I was running, I was probably crawling).  Wait, what is this?  Cones are directing me to what?  Oh it's a smoky maze I have to crawl through on my hands and knees.  No problemo!  Out of the maze and cross the finish line.  5K, 20 or so obstacles, 2.5ish hours.  Wow.  Lots of fun.

One of the staff I ran in to on the course told me "This is the hardest race we ever did"  Thanks for telling me now!  And I lost my wedding ring to boot!

Still great fun all in all.  What's next?

Road Trip 5/5/12-Lake Norman and Catawba, NC

Jennifer had a great idea to take a ride out to the country.

Our first stop was a quick breakfast at Einstein Bagels.  Then on the road to escape the golf tournament traffic.

Our second stop of the day was the Terrell General store. 

At the corner of 150 and Sherrils Ford road, they serve ice cream and soda in glass bottles.  They also sell penny candy and other locally made goods and some light groceries.  Nice people, it is nice to see that a small business can still thrive in today's economy.

They told us about a place called Murray's Mill.  About 20 min away, this is a still working mill that used to be the industrial hub of the area. 

We started out at another general store, The Murray & Minges General Store.  While they sell some things here, it is really the gift shop for the site.  They still have much of the goods arrayed like they used to be. 

Then we visited the actual mill.  They still have the water wheel connected, and it is pretty cool to watch it work the machinery.  You can walk around 3 floors of the mill.

They also have some nice nature trails on the property.

The rest of the pictures are here:

https://plus.google.com/photos/116220729005084753753/albums/5739519320111542401

Running 5/1/2012

Can't believe it is May 1st already.

So I did my rehab for the shin splints.  Rest for 5 days massage and Hammer Nutrition's Tissue Rejuvenator.

Good stuff.

Pre run Ibuprofen (not always the best idea) and lots of stretching.

Anway, I took it slow, not the usual sprint I always end up starting at.  A little soreness, more on the right, but no serious on the left where it was really killing me.

Was a slow run, very hot for May, but no pain.  Iced the shins after the run.

Also starting to try new hydration tactics.  Today I tried Nuun Lemon Iced Tea flavor.  Thought it would be good during a run to fantasize about drinking iced tea.  Don't do it!  It's like brown water.

Orienteering Lake Crawford 24-Mar-2012

Okay, this is it, last meet of the season.

First I was informed that I will be the meet director for this meet next year.  Hmm...

Then off I went.

Was smokin points 1 to 6.  Then I made a bone head mistake and followed a line of drift and had to backtrack to find point 7.  Then I went into wandering mode (not following my compass or pacecount) and ended up on a major wasteful hike shown on the map by my crazy route between 8 and 9.  Shoulda took 5 min, endedup taking 25, duh!  Then I woke up and finished quickly. 5th out of 7.

Joey for the first time ever did not finish the Orange course.  There were a large number of DNFs so I know it was difficult.

Results here:

http://www.carolina-ok.org/results/season_2011-2012/2012-03-24/index.php

Orienteering Kings Mountain National Military Park 3-Mar-2012

With my recent terrible performances, I needed a good showing this month.  It is usually cold and nasty, or the place is on fire.  It was great weather this month.

I ran Green again. Point 1 was no nonsense, 2 was an easy find. 3 was a pretty long let, but an easy ridgeline to track to.  4 seemed like climbing Mt. Everest.  I hadn't really been working out that much and paid for it climbing a hill to get to 4.  5 was a hike, decided to take the high road and stay away from the jungle below.  Passed a young wipper snapper who decide to stay in the valley.  6 was super easy.  7 was a little of a struggle.  Many folks were circling looking for this point. Then off to the finish for a 4 out of 15 place.  Not too bad, one of those days where if I woulda pushed harder, I could of easily come in 2nd.

Joey came in 2nd on Orange, he did a great job.  I have been pushing him to run the more advanced courses and he is stepping up.

Results are here:

http://www.carolina-ok.org/results/season_2011-2012/2012-03-03/index.php

Orienteering Reedy Creek Park 4-Feb-2012

What a dreary day for orienteering.  We arrived to a large crowd.  I gave a quick class to about 20 people while Joey got off to a quick start. 

Then I ran Green.  I had some difficulty on one point and had to back track, the crowning achievement was smacking my head on a branch!

Results are here:

http://www.carolina-ok.org/results/season_2011-2012/2012-02-04/index.php

Joey, 1st out of 50 (great job) competitors and me 12 out of 20.

Orienteering McDowell Nature Preserve 3-Dec-2011

Well, this month was very interesting indeed!  Joey ran Yellow and came in first of course.  I decided to "coach" my princess and stay with her.  We did the White course and she did a great job.  It was pretty long for a white course and fun to walk through the woods with Jennifer and Darwin.  Alas, not enough time to run a course of my own, but I did get a workout doing control pickup!

Results are here: http://www.carolina-ok.org/results/season_2011-2012/2011-12-03/index.php

We finished the day off with lunch at T-Bones a very interesting place on the waterfront at Lake Wylie.

Zino Platinum Crown Series Chubby

You gotta love the name.

Cigar type-Perfecto

Ring Gauge-61, in the middle.

Length-150mm

Price-they go for $30, but I had this one in my humidor forever and don't imagine myself paying $30 per stick.

Rating-90/100

Look-it was a little aged for the wear, but it still looked pretty good.

One match light and even burn, excellent draw and a smooth smoke. The flavor was a little nutty and somewhat bitter, but at a 90, a testament to the quality of the cigar that it lasted so long.

Kings Mountain State Park, 11/5/2011

Well I had to make up for my worst meet ever last month. Jennifer and Darwin came in 2nd out of 4. Joey again came in first out of eight.

Where did I come in? Drum roll please... 1st! I smoked it today, beating the competition by 43 minutes.

http://www.carolina-ok.org/results/season_2011-2012/2011-11-05/index.php

This was as a great course (of course it was ). Strong right out of the gate to point 1. Got behind a crowd going to 2 and then 3 was a bit of a challenge. 4 and 5 were straightforward and could have done better on 6. I blew right past 7 on the road and then had to make up for it at 8. 9 was a little hard to find and then it was the mad dash from 10 to the finish where everyone was surprised to see me so soon!

To top it off, we were locked in to the venue! We were however able to call and get the combination to the lock and free ourselves from a night in the woods with a pack of gummy bears and Gatorade!

Crowders Mountain 10/1/2011

Well Joey came in 1st out of 36 teams, Jennifer and Darwin came out 9th out of 15. And me, I got a wonderful DNF! Not to make excuses, but, coming off the half marathon personal best and seeing that there were 14 DNFs on Green that day...

http://www.carolina-ok.org/results/season_2011-2012/2011-10-01/index.php

Anyway, enough whining.

I started off easy enough. One and two were right on. Then it was a climb up the ridge for point 3. I was off to the right, but regained and was fine. I love coming up over the ridge and all the hikers looking at you like you are crazy.

Four was simple to find and then the fun began. I could not find 5. I combed the area for 30 min and ran into other parties searching as well. I decided to bag it and plead my case at the finish.

7 was super easy, but once again I could not find 8. I decided at this point to bag it and try again another day. I will just have to make up for it next month.

You know what they say, a bad day at orienteering is better than a good day at work!

Lake York, 10/31/2010

OK,

I am going to try this one last time, that is, keep up with my blogging.

This one goes way back to the yearly trip to Kings Mountain, Lake York in 2010. It was an Orange course that I took 1st place out of 19 runners:

http://www.carolina-ok.org/results/season_2009-2010/2009-10-31/index.php









On this one, I was way off to the right on point 1 and had to work my way back west to get the point. 2, 3 and 4 were really easy. I don't remember 5-8. I remember when I got to 9, how close I was to the finish, but still had to get the points to the south. 10 was also easy, right down the valley. I took the easy way around on the trail to 11 and on to the finish!

Vacation to Riviera Maya 10/13-16

Well this year, Jennifer and I got to escape to Hacienda Tres Rios. It is a really cool green resort South of Cancun.

On our first day, we checked into our hotel and just explored the resort and hung out at the pool.

Our room was wonderful, here is the view:

Of course a visit to the Caribbean would not be complete without pool critters:

These guys are called Coatis and of course some redneck was feeding them!

We dined in the Asian restaurant and Jenny even ate sushi. They had some wonderful Mayan/Japanese fusion sushi that was amazing.

On day 2, we headed to Playa del Carmen for the requisite shopping trip.

Jennifer bought some cool jewlery and of course I bought cigars.

Here is what was left of the world's largest cigar:

After heading back to the resort, we had a very interesting and fun dinner. We ate at the "chef's table". Chef Oscar and the wait staff presented 7 courses. We dined in the kitchen and of course every course came with it's own libation. Lots of tequila was flowing!

The next day, we headed to Xcaret. The only way to describe this is a combination of water park and zoo. It was raining, like typhoon raining and was pretty miserable. We had a great session swimming with the dolphins, swam in some caves, saw some interesting animals and after a mexican lunch, high tailed it back to the resort.

Since the weather was still not cooperating, we headed back to Playa on Sunday to a sports bar!

We watched the Eagles (and drank Margharitas!) and then walked (splashed) around and had a great dinner in one of the many excellent establishments in town.

I almost had Jennifer scuba diving, but the weather did not permit it.

Lesson learned for next year, really check the weather forecast!

Getting away alone with Jennifer is awesome, regardless of the weather!

See the rest of the pictures here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/116220729005084753753/RivieraMayaOctober2011#

Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half Marathon-Sunday, 9/16

I made my yearly (ok, it is only the second year) trip to Philly for the Rock and Roll half marathon.

I started last year to challenge myself to run farther and faster.

Training this year was a little easier because I was on the road so much, all I did was work, sleep and run.

I convinced my dearest wife to come and meet me in Philly (honey, we can have a weekend to ourselves ;-) ). She was a saint, putting up with me pretty much sleeping all weekend when I wasn't running.

I drove down from CT and picked Jennifer up at the airport.

We had a wonderful lunch on Friday at the Valley Green Inn in Wissahickon Park. From there we went to the packet pick up. My wife the social butterfly talked to more people at all the booths than I did. We also got some cool hydration belts. I know you shouldn't try anything new for the race, but my current set wasn't getting it.

We had parked at the Reading Market. I was born and raised in Philadelpha and lived in or near Philadelphia for 30 of my 45 years and I have never been to the Reading Market. Probably a good thing given my love affair with food. Even though I was on a strict runners diet (I made that up), I had to sample the roast pork sandwich. (Protein and Carbs, just keep telling yourself that). Then it was off to see mom and Trinket.

Saturday, we pretty much hung out and relaxed and then met our college friends for a mini-reunion.

On Sunday, Jennifer and I woke up early and headed downtown. We found great parking and made our way to the starting point.

Jennifer decided to go to the art museum while I ran. You know you are a slow runner when someone can tour a museum while you are running.

Since I knew what to expect, I guess I was less nervous this year. Off we go with Jennifer cheering me at the start.

Last year it seemed like the first few miles went really quick. Maybe they did because of course I went out too fast. This year, on the run down Market street, it seemed forever till we hit the turn around point. Then right before mile 3, disaster, had to make a pit stop. There goes the world record!

Anyway, once I got going again, this is the critical part of the race. Mile 4 is back on the parkway approaching mile 5 and the art museum for the 2nd time. Fire up the Rocky music and grunt up the hill (okay, it's a small hill, but there is one).

Once you pass the Art Museum (and see the running gods finishing), it is time to blast the river drives. Flat and straight. For me, miles 6, 7 and 8 are the hump. In Philly, once you hit the mile 9 marker, you are at the turn around point at the Falls Bridge. Grab some GU and gut it out.

I actually felt like I was picking up speed and the last few miles flew by.

One of the things that irked me this year was the number of bikes on the course. The last thing I need at mile 12.5 is to try and dodge some idiot on a bike. The crowd was awesome at this point, and their was my gal waiting for me as I sprinted (okay, that is an exaggeration) across the finish lline. Brad Michaels was still on stage when I crossed the line (damn, if I had run a little slower I would have missed him).

Thanks to Jennifer for supporting me through this.

Amazingly, I knocked off 13:35 off my time (3:11:19) from last year, a mile a minute faster!

Keys to training this year-run with someone, the miles cruise by!

Lessons learned-strengthen the core and run sooner afterwards.

Crowders Mountain Carolina Orienteering Club-Saturday, 10/1

The new orienteering season is finally here!

Jennifer, Joey, Darwin and I made the trek to Crowders Mountain for the first meet of the year.

Jennifer and Darwin ran the White course, Joey ran Yellow and I ran Green.

I thought my course was pretty easy (here start the excuses), but my resistance was down after the Philly half marathon.

Anyway, started out pretty good. Point 1 was 400 meters away, no problem, easy find. Point 2 was 800 meters away, up the trial, along the creek. Point 3 was also easy to find, but the climb up Crowders Mountain was on. Over the ridge and down into a stream to point 4. I love the look of all the hikers when you come scaling up the side of Crowders Mountain. They look at you like "theres a trail here you idiot". I agree!

Now is when the fun begins. They did a whole bunch of work on the trails. I could not find point 5. I searched for 25 min and ran into another team looking for it as well. I eventually gave up. Skipped to 6 and 7 which were easy finds. When I went to 8, again, ended up lost. Decided today was not may day and packed it in for the finish.

Jennifer and Darwin finished 9th out of 15, Joey was first out of 36. Way to go Joe!!! Time to move up to Orange. I was one of 14 teams that did not finish on Green. It always says something ot me that when that many teams don't finish (especially when I am one of them!), the course was too hard.

I will have to make it up in November!!!!

Here is the link:

http://www.carolina-ok.org/results/season_2011-2012/2011-10-01/index.php

Hebron Rock Colony at App State-Saturday, 10/8

The whole family took a ride up to App State to see Mark Jr. He said he always wanted to take us on a hike so we headed out to Hebron Rock Colony.

This is a cool hike located nearby, where many students and locals go. It is essentially a hike up a waterfall.

(notice wonder dog in the foreground)

After a short .5 mile hike, the trail basically follows the river upstream. How you get up there is up to you, but there is lot's of boulder hopping involved.

Joey and Mark shot up, and Jennifer and I managed Darwin. This little dog has no fear, hopping across boulders like a big dog!

Jennifer was also a trooper, it was a little rough going especially at the top, but we all made it.

The rest of the pictures can be found here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/116220729005084753753/HebronRockColonyOctober2011#

2011 Mount Whitney Trip With Joey-Sunday, 8/21

OK, I have been really bad at my blogging, but I am going to try and reform myself.

To finish up the trip report, Joey and I spent the night at the Dow Villa Motel in Lone Pine.

It is a really cool place, old time, lots of antiques and they have a pool!

After a quick breakfast at a local diner, we decided to go on the "Rock Fantasy" tour in the Alabama Hills.

The Alabama Hills are steeped in movie history. Anytime you see a commerical with mountains in the background, it was probably shot in the Alabama Hills. Old Western movies to Iron Man were shot here. Now everytime Joey sees them on TV, he says "there they are dad".

Anyway, they have a bunch of rock formations that look like creatures.

We started to do that and found about 10 of them, but we got bored.

Joey said, "Dad, where does that road lead?" and off we went on the road to Horseshoe Meadows.

I had never been up there before. The road is better than any rollercoaster ride (thank God certain nervous passengers weren't with us).

It leads up to Horseshoe Meadows which is a pretty cool place.

We hung out for a little while and then started our trek back to LA.

Going down 395 is always interesting, the crazy houses, the airplane graveyard and we stopped for Jerky and Pistacios.

The flight home ended up being an adventure. We missed our flight and they re-routed us to Dallas where we got to stay an extra night.

We were both glad to be home, but it was a great trip!

2011 Mount Whitney Trip With Joey-Saturday, 8/20

Early rising? Well some of rose early.

First up, before hiking, Joey had to attempt the Whitney Portal Store Pancake.

Then we were on our way.

This year was the first year in 8 years that we decided to camp at trail camp. That meant carrying a heavy pack vs. doing as a day trip.

Well I was in for a rude awakening, I am not in that kind of shape to lug 40 lbs of gear (more on weight later) 11 miles and 6,000 feet of elevation gain.

So after a brief discussion, Joey and I decided to make it a day hike to Lone Pine Lake, eat lunch and return.

We arrived at Lone Pine Lake and Joey immediately began to explore while I made lunch. We were then raided by a chipmunk. They are fearless.

Once we had lunch, we rested for a bit (well I rested, Joey continued to climb around). We packed up and headed back.

You can see the rest of the photos here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/116220729005084753753/MountWhitney2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCP2utOe7xuSr_AE&feat=directlink

2011 Mount Whitney Trip With Joey-Friday, 8/19

I have not been keeping up my blogging duties!

Made my yearly trek to Mount Whitney, this year bringing Joey along.

We arrived in LA and hot footed it to Lone Pine to see if we could get a permit. While there were no overnight permits available for Friday, we got one for Saturday.

Our first stop after getting the permit was to get dinner and carb load. We stopped at the Pizza Factory and both of us got Spaghetti and Meatballs. Joey's verdict-"really good"

After food shopping and getting some odds and ends in Lone Pine, we made our way up to the portal to set up came for the night.

The obligatory "up the portal road shot"







We found a campsite in the walk in campground and set up camp for the night.

Our humble abode.

DuPont State Forest Orienteering 5/14/11

It has been a while since I have posted. I have to catch up!

The whole family made the trek to the DuPont State Forest for the last meet of the year.

Mark Jr., Jennifer and Darwin did the White Course and finished 1st out of 1, Joey ran Yellow and finished 2nd out of 11 and to keep it short, I ran Orange and finished 3rd out of 9. All the courses were pretty long and the green is already grown in.

I continued my crazy start process and wandered around to find point number 1, then it was through the first very green gully to #2. I took the easy way down the trail up to point 3. 4, 5 and 6 were all easy in a line. Had to break heavy brush to get to 7,needed a machete!. 8 was a little hard. I had been losing a lot of elevation and was about to make it up. Point 9 was difficult to get to because of the steep valley, so I opted to jog the trail all the way around. That cost me the win. The remainder of the points was easy and it was back to the finish.

Track:

Results:

http://www.carolina-ok.org/results/season_2010-2011/2011-05-14/index.php