Dressing for the weather
With the start of winter, seemingly overnight, dressing for the weather can make all the difference during an outing. This weekend’s Milwaukee Area Fall Frenzy Adventure Race was a great example of how preparation can make a cold day a great day!
This was my first adventure race in the snow!
This weekend I teamed up on Rib Mountain Racing with IRONBULL board president Tim Buchholz and IRONBULL 50k finisher Terry Gibbs. We knew going into the race that the weather would add a unique challenge to this year’s race. With four inches of fresh snow just days before the race and daytime highs hovering around the freezing mark, we’d have to make an effort to stay warm during the eight hour event.
Packing for adventure racing is a challenge since the race course is not revealed ahead of time. Racers paddle, run, and bike throughout the race course so it’s easy to get hot or wet in one section then get cold on another section. So I brought LOTS of layers.
When informing my teammates that I was bringing waterproof pants, waterproof pants, and waterproof shoes for the paddle, Terry asked if I planned on dunking them! I was/did not. But I was rewarded with my decision, even getting a bit toasty on the end of the paddle as we fought the current! My jacket and pants came in use as I am not a clean paddler to begin with and sitting in the middle of the boat results in additional crossfire! My waterproof shoes were helpful on two portages, too. Although our team typically does not change shoes during races, I am thankful my teammates were willing to wait a couple of minutes as I made shoe changes before and after the paddle. But it was sad hearing my wet running shoes swish as I put them back on after the paddle, especially since the breathable mesh equals numb feet when jumping on a bike, which was the case here.
Team Rib Mountain Racing had a solid 2019, capping off with another Wisconsin Adventure Racing Series win to capture the overall series win!
So the lifesaver was hand and foot warmers that lasted the duration of the race. With the snow on the ground, our shoes were soaked just minutes into the race. Ironically, the paddle was the only time during the race with dry feet, thanks to the shoe change. Not long after, we trekked through a frigid marsh for CP 17. Immediately following was the “mystery challenge.” (Adventure races often have challenges that often aren’t revealed until you reach them on the racecourse.) What better to do with numb feet? Scale up a climbing wall! But taking off my lobster mitts for the climbing wall wasn’t too bad…in a race last October, we had to swim to checkpoints!
Thankfully after the climbing wall, everything was on foot, which is typically the best way to stay warm in an adventure race. By the time we reached the finish line we were all toasty again - just in time for a celebratory ice-cold beer!
This weekend concluded Rib Mountain Racing’s race season for 2019. I look forward to sharing about the 2020 season in a couple of weeks! Stay tuned!