Will of Man - Part One Read Online Free Page B
Author: William Scanlan
someone or something. The one boy jumped out in front of me and stopped me.
He looked panicky and said a crazy guy was yelling and screaming and had chased them into the woods. He went on to say the guy was carrying a burlap sack with something in it. I could tell by the expression on their faces that they were seriously scared.
My dad always taught me to help people when I can. Even though it messed up my training for the day, I walked them out of the woods to their car.
It was a good mile and a half I had to walk with them pushing my bike. Good thing I know the woods like my backyard. It felt good to help and they really appreciated it.
They're high-schoolers and it felt kind of cool to be helping someone older than me. Maybe I'll run into them sometime and they will remember me.
I don't know why, but I chose to go back into the woods and finish my training for the day. I've never been one to quit and take short cuts. I wasn't going to let some crazy guy stop me today.
It also added a bit of adventure to my normally uneventful mountain bike training. Knowing there was someone in the woods with potential to be nuts made me bike a little harder and take the corners and hills a little faster.
I never did see him. I wonder who he was. Hailey joked that maybe he just needs a running partner and I should volunteer. She cracks me up.
Tyler’s Journal Entry: 112
Date: April 26
Day: Monday
Weather: Hot and sunny
Training: Rest Day
I raced last Saturday in the IRON WOLF ADVENTURE RACE and took first in the two person male division and third overall (I raced with my dad as a team).
This was an adventure race that lasted six hours. An adventure race involves trekking in the woods, kayaking, and mountain biking, while finding checkpoints located on a map.
My dad has been doing races for over twelve years now and is pretty well known amongst adventure racers. He started me young (around eight years old) and got me hooked.
It’s a whole new challenge compared to triathlons. You have to have a good understanding of navigating across country using a map and compass. We started off strong but made some mistakes early on. The course was swampy, dirty, full of thorns, and a lot of steep hills.
We made some serious mistakes in the beginning and had to push hard the remainder to catch up to the top racers. I had to cross swamps that went all the way up to my chest, bike what seemed to be endless mountain bike trails, and kayak five miles around a lake.
My kayak cracked in the back and took on water in my back compartment. The back of my kayak was under water a good portion of the race. One portion of the race took us into a fast moving river with a lot of bends.
At one point I found myself with a bunch of drunken canoers. One pair was having trouble controlling their canoe and ended up running overtop my kayak. Completely sinking me!
I went under and my life vest caught on the roots of a fallen tree. I struggled for few seconds, but was able to calm myself and think my way out of the situation.
I tried forcing myself out of the roots but couldn't, so I had to unbuckle my vest to free myself. It was scary but I made it. I was even able to grab my kayak and their canoe (because they fell out too).
With my dad’s help, I pulled myself and the two boats to the edge of the stream where I could dump them out. The one girl was crying and her boyfriend was hugging her.
I've nearly drowned myself before and know how scary it can be. So I'll forgive them for running me over and not saying sorry.
Once I knew everyone was ok, I snatched my lifejacket that floated back to the top and jumped back in my kayak and finished the race. Dad was happy I was ok.
I feel like crap today. Pushing that hard for six hours takes a toll on racers. It usually takes around three days to feel normal again. During those three days I just want to sleep and replace all the
He looked panicky and said a crazy guy was yelling and screaming and had chased them into the woods. He went on to say the guy was carrying a burlap sack with something in it. I could tell by the expression on their faces that they were seriously scared.
My dad always taught me to help people when I can. Even though it messed up my training for the day, I walked them out of the woods to their car.
It was a good mile and a half I had to walk with them pushing my bike. Good thing I know the woods like my backyard. It felt good to help and they really appreciated it.
They're high-schoolers and it felt kind of cool to be helping someone older than me. Maybe I'll run into them sometime and they will remember me.
I don't know why, but I chose to go back into the woods and finish my training for the day. I've never been one to quit and take short cuts. I wasn't going to let some crazy guy stop me today.
It also added a bit of adventure to my normally uneventful mountain bike training. Knowing there was someone in the woods with potential to be nuts made me bike a little harder and take the corners and hills a little faster.
I never did see him. I wonder who he was. Hailey joked that maybe he just needs a running partner and I should volunteer. She cracks me up.
Tyler’s Journal Entry: 112
Date: April 26
Day: Monday
Weather: Hot and sunny
Training: Rest Day
I raced last Saturday in the IRON WOLF ADVENTURE RACE and took first in the two person male division and third overall (I raced with my dad as a team).
This was an adventure race that lasted six hours. An adventure race involves trekking in the woods, kayaking, and mountain biking, while finding checkpoints located on a map.
My dad has been doing races for over twelve years now and is pretty well known amongst adventure racers. He started me young (around eight years old) and got me hooked.
It’s a whole new challenge compared to triathlons. You have to have a good understanding of navigating across country using a map and compass. We started off strong but made some mistakes early on. The course was swampy, dirty, full of thorns, and a lot of steep hills.
We made some serious mistakes in the beginning and had to push hard the remainder to catch up to the top racers. I had to cross swamps that went all the way up to my chest, bike what seemed to be endless mountain bike trails, and kayak five miles around a lake.
My kayak cracked in the back and took on water in my back compartment. The back of my kayak was under water a good portion of the race. One portion of the race took us into a fast moving river with a lot of bends.
At one point I found myself with a bunch of drunken canoers. One pair was having trouble controlling their canoe and ended up running overtop my kayak. Completely sinking me!
I went under and my life vest caught on the roots of a fallen tree. I struggled for few seconds, but was able to calm myself and think my way out of the situation.
I tried forcing myself out of the roots but couldn't, so I had to unbuckle my vest to free myself. It was scary but I made it. I was even able to grab my kayak and their canoe (because they fell out too).
With my dad’s help, I pulled myself and the two boats to the edge of the stream where I could dump them out. The one girl was crying and her boyfriend was hugging her.
I've nearly drowned myself before and know how scary it can be. So I'll forgive them for running me over and not saying sorry.
Once I knew everyone was ok, I snatched my lifejacket that floated back to the top and jumped back in my kayak and finished the race. Dad was happy I was ok.
I feel like crap today. Pushing that hard for six hours takes a toll on racers. It usually takes around three days to feel normal again. During those three days I just want to sleep and replace all the
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