On May 16 Graham and I competed in the Central Coast Adventure Race in San Luis Obispo. It's called the Dawn to Dusk because it takes 12 hours... and everything you've got! Imagine swimming 3/4 mile (while towing an inflatable raft), mountain biking nearly 40 miles (while climbing a combined total of 10,000 feet of elevation), route finding/orienteering, running/trekking 13 miles (with a 15 lb. pack), and finishing it all off with another mile of kayaking. Add that to 97 degree heat and you've got one of the most demanding experiences possible.
Finish Line!!
We finished the race in 11 hours 11 minutes. Good enough to place 11th overall out of 48 teams(notice a pattern?) and 2nd in our division!! Thanks to Graham for planning everything and helping me commit to running this race. Rhandi and Graham did the same race the previous year. Rhandi really wanted to do it again this year (I heard she was amazing last year) but she had a 3 month old that needed to be nursed every few hours.
One of the toughest moments was 2 PM with a 97 degree heat beating on us! We had to bike 25 miles to a water drop-off on top of a 3,000 foot pass. This leg of the trip was intense, people were dropping off like flies along the route and the race organizers had to take some people to the hospital for heat stroke and dehydration. Graham had run out of water a half hour before we got there and I had just a bit left...but when we go to the water station they were out of water as well!! Talk about a blow to the morale! We rested and waited for 30 minutes until water came, then filled up and continued on. By the time we finished at the end of the night it was around 8:30 pm and dark. We were dead tired but smiling and super happy we competed. I am so grateful I did this with Graham, it was an experience I will never forget.
The morning after Graham and I had the world's perfect post-body-killer-race breakfast at F. McClintock's Saloon in San Luis Obispo. We ate more than Paul Bunyan and felt great doing it. On our way back to the car Graham spotted the world famous Bubble Gum Alley (previously unknown to us)! It is really the world's most disgusting and intriguing alley! Mold and germs everywhere! But amazing nonetheless!!
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