Yep, we actually won (our division) at the sixth annual Swamp Donkey adventure race... probably the largest adventure race in North America this year in terms of the number of teams (113!) in attendance. We were racing against nearly 45 teams in the three person coed category.
Tammy and I after our first race together back in 2010 |
On that note, i learned a cemented a few lessons about racing with one's spouse during an adventure race. Sure they may not apply to everyone, but i'd be shocked if they didn't apply to most:
1) If your partner is hurting and going slow, have them go slow in front of you. You'll find that they go faster trying not to slow you down than they ever would trying to keep up.
2) Plan strategy before the race. Think you'll go faster if you take all of your partner's weight? Even if you're right, if you come to this conclusion and try to implement it once the starting gun has gone off it might not go smoothly. I was adamant that this was a 'must do' for us weeks ahead of time and so all the discussions/arguments/ego issues were well out of the way by the time the race came around and it mattered. By the way - it did matter, and it worked really well!
3) Hold hands at the starting line. Even though i turned into a task master once we were underway, we went in to the race feeling connected and loving towards one another. This meant that all things being equal, it was harder for the negative feelings that came up during our inevitable suffering to take root.
AND trust each other in your suffering. It is hard to be negative when you trust that you are each working as hard as you can for the team - hence, for each other. Love you, Andy!
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