Race Report: Santette and Vixen at Fantasy Island Ride-n-Tie

The Tucson Desert Heat put on a little race this Saturday for all Tucson tri clubs to participate in called the Fantasy Island Ride-n-Tie. Everyone teamed up with a partner and each team needed a mountain bike. We started off with one member riding and the other running. At some point the biker dropped the bike and took off running, and then the runner found the bike and started riding. Teams leap-frogged each other like this until 2 loops had been completed on the Fantasy Island Bunny Trail (approximately 11 miles total). But, there was a twist or two! First, there were toys hidden all over the trail. Teams were allowed to pick up a total of two toys, and the toys were marked with a colored sticker that corresponded to either a time bonus or time penalty. But teams had no idea what the color coding was! There was also a not-so-aid station at the half way point. One "aid" consisted of eating a powdered donut hanging off of a string, eating a Dixie cup worth of sour jelly worms, eating another Dixie cup worth of Hot Tamales candies, and then chugging another Dixie cup of eggnog. Teams were allowed to do this a total of 4 times over, and each "aid" was worth a 3 minute time bonus.

As soon as we heard about this event, Katrina and I decided to team up and join in the race. This was intended to be a "fun" race for all participants, so in the spirit of fun (which Tucson Tri Girls are known for) we decided to dress up. I decorated my mountain bike in festive holiday tinsel garland, and we donned red & white stripped knee-high socks. I wore a pair of reindeer antlers on my helmet (thus becoming "Vixen the Reindeer") and Katrina had a Santa cap on her helmet (thus becoming "Santette"). We were definitely the most spirited! I think some of the teams were jealous of our costumes. ;)

Santette and I decided on our strategy before the race. We would do the entire race in running shoes, as those were easier to run in than bike shoes. I installed my downhill flat pedals on the bike, which gripped the running shoe soles well. We decided to have me start out on the bike, and I would ride one mile and drop the bike, and then take off running, and then Santette would ride for a mile, and so on. We decided right away not to take the "aid" as I knew it would take me longer than 3 minutes to drink the eggnog, and would surely puke thereafter. It was like an episode of Fear Factor or something.

We had a short LeMans style start, with the bikers having to run to the bikes, followed one minute later with the runners taking off. I quickly got to the bike (a.k.a the Sleigh) and took off with the group. Right away there were toys spotted on the trail. Some people stopped to grab the first ones they could see. With my reindeer intuition, I decided to wait for just the right toys. Up by the Snake Dance Loop I spotted a round rubber ball, and grabbed it. A few yards later I stopped for a Care Bear. We now had our two toys, which were stuffed into the toy sack. I watched my computer on the sleigh, and as soon as it ticked over to 1.00 mile I stopped and dropped the bag of toys and parked the sleigh for Santette to find. I then sprinted off into the desert along the trail in true reindeer fashion. Unfortunately a cholla cactus got wedged into one of my hooves (running shoes), and on the next step I kicked the inside of my left ankle and promptly slammed the cactus into my leg. I stopped to flick the cholla cactus off of my hoof, and remove as many spines out of my leg as I could see. A few steps later I had to stop again and peel down one of my leggings to pull more spines out. After that I was able to run again. Later when I got home I ended up pulling out several spines an inch long with tweezers.

Santette quickly caught up to me with the bag of toys slung over her shoulder and riding the sleigh along the trail. She was right on time, and I only had half a mile to go before I could get back on the sleigh for my ride. The weather was quickly warming up, so the toy bag also functioned as a discarded clothing bag. I zig zagged along the trail, watching out for bikes as I ran, and I'm sure I looked like a spooked reindeer running through the desert. I quickly found the sleigh stashed on the side of the trail, and picked up our bag of toys for all the little girls and boys and continued on. The jingle bells on my antlers jingled as I rode, and everyone that I passed I yelled "Merry Christmas!" to.

Santette and I continued our leap frogging and sharing of the sleigh every mile up until the last part of the first loop, when Santette's knee gave out. Perhaps it was from shimmying down too many chimineys this holiday season? We couldn't have an injured Santette, so we decided to trade off on the sleigh rides every half mile. I surrendered the sleigh and checked in at the Fear Factor aid station, and alerted them that I was passing through and headed out on my second lap.

At the beginning of my second lap I found the sleigh, and just as I was getting in, an elderly couple who were out for a trail ride passed by and exclaimed with joy at the sight of a reindeer on the trail. I told them that Santette was up ahead and to look for her, and gave them a "Merry Christmas!" as I rode by in the sleigh.

Our half mile sleigh rides worked out well for the second loop, and towards the end Santette and I decided to stick together and run alongside the sleigh when it was our turn to run and to keep each other company. We crossed the finish line together and were greeted with cheers from the fellow participants. A quick inspection of Santette's toy bag revealed we had two toys with blue stickers, which was good for a 16 minute time bonus! We came in first place in the women's category, and were given lovely prizes from TriSports.com (of course, we were the only women's team entered, but it still sounds impressive! ;)).

This race was a ton of fun to do, and it was nice to have an event like this where you still get a workout in, but it's all in fun. And of course, costumes make it even more fun! So Santette and Vixen may make it back again for another appearance next year. :)