Cat Guts and Frozen Donkeys

A week of flu in the house and somehow I have been spared. I’m not sure whether to credit excessive exercise or excessive wine drinking, but I have no plans to stop either, just to be safe. I am cautiously optimistic at this point, and am hoping to remain healthy for the Big Race this Sunday. I was recruited to be part of a 3 man (actually, 2 woman 1 man) team for this year’s Ice Donkey Adventure Race. This is a new race for me, but similar to other multi-sport races I have done in the past. In the summer. With no snow. This one is particularly gear intensive, with legs consisting of ice biking (on mountain bikes), snowshoeing, x-country skiing and skating. Really the only one I have any real confidence in is the skating, and in fact have not snowshoed (is that a real verb?) since grade 3. If I recall correctly we loped around the school field in tennis racket style snowshoes made of wood and cat gut. I probably cried. Partly for myself, and partly for the poor cat that had lost its life (and guts) so I could walk on the snow. Which I couldn’t. Poor kitty had died in vain. The gear pile I have started is enormous. Half the stock of Mountain Equipment Co-Op is piled in my basement and destined for hockey bag which will weigh roughly twice my body weight. I have not checked the various distances of each event, but will assume that the one that I suck at the most will be the longest. Stay tuned for detailed race report complete with photos after the race. Weather has been so mild here, hopefully the skate will not become a swim.

On a separate note, very bummed out to be missing group (livingroom peleton) ride tomorrow morning. I need to start doing some longer distances if I am going to survive Tucson training camp, and it looks like I’ll be flying solo in the basement tomorrow for an hour and a half. Thank god for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and The White Stripes. Me and Tony and Jack can rock it out together, at least until the music runs out.

7 Weeks ’til TUCSON!!!