Hard to Top this One

Of the three adventure races myself and my teammates have done, this one was definitely the most challenging. We started with a paddle through the luminescent waters (Which wasn't as spectacular as I was hoping. Still cool though). With no moon to light the way, and 4 glow sticks and a soda bottle to find, it was a daunting task. Don't ask me how, but somehow we flew threw the boating leg with the second fastest ti me in the event.

Next was on to the bike, or as I refer to it, hell. Off road biking through ruts and sugar sand with logs spewed across the trails is hard enough during the daylight. It was near impossible to do in the pitch black of night, especially when your bike light breaks 10 minutes in to it. Luckily for me, I have amazing teammates that plowed through the trails much easier then I.

Finally we tackled the trekking leg and with relative ease, thanks to our two extreme runners on the team. With 25 minutes to spare, we checked in to the final check point have cleared the entire course. We felt like we did well, but it is hard to judge how well compared to others.

Just around sunrise, the awards ceremony began. Once the third place team was announce having only cleared 14 of the 15 control points, we knew we were either first of second. When the second place team was announce as also clearing 14 of 15, we knew we had first locked up. Sure enough, our names were called and the four of us went up to accept our medals. That also meant that we were the only team to clear the course and get all 15 control points. (after some research, we found out that we are the only team EVER, to clear the sport course).

(You can view the full race results here.)

It was an amazing race, not just because of the result, but the because of the unique beauty that can only be found in the middle of the night in the wilderness, and of course my awesome team. I have more to say about that, but it will have to wait. I have slept 2 hours since 6:00 AM Saturday morning, and my body is getting ready to shut down.

Race Day

Actually, technically speaking the race does not start until 2 AM tomorrow, but we will be at the race site before midnight tonight.

So here is how the night race is going to work. As usual, we will get our map when we check in a midnight and will have time to figure out the routes we will take to hit the five check points on each leg; hiking, biking and canoeing. Of course we will all bit illuminated pretty well between flashlights, headlamps, glow sticks and bike lights. The biggest challenge of this race will be of course finding those checkpoints, especially considering there is a new moon tonight. But for good reason.

The whole purpose of this night race is to experience the bioluminescent waters of the St John River Lagoon. This Water is home to millions of tiny organisms that light up when disturbed. Each time we run our paddle through the water, a trail of light will explode in the water. It should be pretty spectacular.

I Love Fridays

For seven years I taught elementary school. Of the many perks of being a teacher was having summers off. Four years ago when I stopped teaching, I gave up those summers off. I do however have Fridays off during the summers, which I try to take full advantage of.

Today we took Braydon to the Splash Park. He was a little hesitant at first, but soon jumped right in.

Streak Ended

There is no official count, but it has been a long time since I have had to leave work sick. As a matter of fact, the last time it happened was back at the beginning of this blog before my second transplant.

Whatever that number is, it ended today.

I had to leave before lunch, home by 1:00, sleeping by 1:30 and slept until 5:00. Fever never hit 101, so I think I should be in the clear. Tomorrow will tell.

Race Week

This coming weekend, myself and three other teammates, better known as "The Dirty Thirties", will be taking on our third Pangea Adventure Race. We have had a good showing at our first two races, finishing second and seventh respectively, and are hoping for more of the same this time.

There will be one big difference between this race and the others though. Where our other races started around 1:00 in the afternoon, this race will start at 2:00... in the morning. That's right, 2AM. I will fill in some of the details about the night race later, but I will answer the most commonly asked question about doing this race.

"Are you crazy?"

"Yes."

At this point I have done all the training I can do, so it is just a matter of last minute preparation and packing.

More details on the night race latter in the week.

There was also a Baseball Game Going On

Tonight we went to the Clearwater Threshers (Minor League) Baseball game. I organized a group of about thirty people to go to the game which included our own section of open seating and all you could eat and drink. All in all, not bad for $13.

Of course with a big group of friends hanging out and, me wearing out the pathway between our section and the concession stand, I could not tell you too much about the game itself. There was still plenty going on though.

In the playground area, Braydon made a B-line toward the rock climbing wall. It was scary how good he was at it. He is a natural.

A double rainbow without any rain.

Braydon's favorite part of the game was the mascot. He is getting the sharks autograph here.

Take 2

Here we go again...

So it's been awhile. I can't say that I have a really good reason for the layoff. What I can say is that after two and a half years of writing several times a week, I just needed a break. I can also say that life sometimes has a way of breaking things up for you.

Nothing Earth shattering has happened in the last 3 months, but there were plenty of events that caused more than a ripple.

There was...

• A trip to Zihuatanejo, Mexico for a friends wedding
• Another Wedding locally
• Another trip to Atlantis
• Braydon getting bigger, faster and louder
• Melissa's "minor" visit to the ER and Hospital
• Melissa's "minor" visit to the hospital that concluded with her developing a blood clot in her arm. (She is fine)
• A return trip to Lake Cumberland for a boat trip weekend with friends
• Both my birthday and Melissa's
• A trip to the Florida Aquarium
• Plenty of time on the boat here in Florida
• 4 trips to Orlando, including 2 days at Disney
• 6th Annual Mojito Party
• One failed attempt at Potty Training
• A reunion with our Adoption Agency

I am sure there is more then that, but that is what I can come up with off the top of my head. I realize that I missed out on writing about a lot of events, plus three months of growth with Braydon, which is huge. Perhaps one day, I will go back a fill in some of those holes, but today is not that day.

Today is the beginning of the Second Act of the blog. I rested up during the intermission and am ready to give it a go again.

Here is to new beginnings.