Will of Man - Part One

by William Scanlan

  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 fluids I used up during the race.

  My legs are all cut up from running through thorns and now I have a nasty cough I can't seem to get rid of. But I loved every minute of it and can't wait for the next one.

  On the way home, the electricity went out and all vehicles around us went dead for at least three hours. It was hot out and I felt like crap from the race.

  Dad was worried for me and had me lay under a tree next to the highway. Dad and I talked a lot about the blackouts and he thinks we need to start preparing for the possibility of a long term black out.

  He's talking about teaching me how to hunt and fish, grow gardens, and he also discussed teaching me some self defense. He was a golden gloves boxer back in his younger days and even had a shot to go pro.

  It's hard imagining my dad with six pack abs, fighting in some arena. I guess he even won a few amateur championships and was on TV once. He doesn’t talk about it much.

  I don't think he ever wanted me to be a boxer. I notice the scars above his eyes and across his nose and wonder how much it must hurt to get hit.

  The blackout finally ended and we were able to head back. The blackout was a pain, but it was nice spending time with Dad, just him and I talking.

  There’s still no explanation for the blackouts. But one thing’s for sure; they're happening more frequently and lasting longer. What if the lights go out and never come back on? What will happen? I'm kind of scared of the possibility. I like my life the way it is.

  Here is a recap of my race today:

  IRON WOLF – (1st place div, 3rd overall)

  Training/Preparations:

   Used heart rate monitor (up till end)

   Used recovery drink

   Ran up to 6 miles and biked up to 27 miles at Woodbury Trail.

  Weather: 73 degrees

  Amount of Sleep: 10 hours

  Terrain: Not bad – lot’s of sand and mud

  Average Heart Rate: NA

  Worked:

   Pushing until the very end.

   Understanding limitations

   Not cheating – sticking to the coarse when it would have been easy to cheat.

   Not wasting time at any moment.

   Ate an early breakfast. Wasn’t bloated during race.

   Ran well

   Not over hydrating

   Keeping a good pace

   Not starting out too fast. Work up to a good HR.

   No sprinting at anytime other than the end.

  Didn’t work:

   Navigation was weak.

  Strengths:

   Biking was pretty good

   Running was good.

   Drafting worked very well. Find the best biker and stick on their tail.

  Weaknesses:

   Kayaking was weak.

  Will Change:

   Do practice runs in higher gear

   Run more at 160 average heart rate

   Try more brick workouts

   Go over race more thoroughly before hand

  Mistakes made:

   Got lost a lot.

  Mistake time: 30 minutes

  Comments:

  It was FUN! Started off drafting the best bikers and stuck to that strategy throughout. We made a mistake of getting lost on the first phase. Got a little frustrated and vented a little too much at race directors about the two guys ahead of me skipping the first loop. I think if I do the race next year I will have a much better time since I will understand the coarse more.

  During the kayaking phase we had a very fast transition compared to the rest around us. Kayaking was very hard though, since we had to go up stream. Kayaking ended with having to pull the kayak up a steep hill. Was very hard getting it up the steep hill and took much out of me.

  Running wasn’t too bad. I felt sick at first and we got lost a lot, but once I entered the cold river it refreshed me and I felt one-hundred percent again and was ready to go. Had a couple “weak” moments where I considered cheating, but remembered my dad and stayed the course. Not cheating paid off, since I think I would have got lost like the racers in front of me. I went through the final check point and they t
old us we was in fifth, when we came to the finish line we somehow ended in third over-all. It was a sloppy race but a fun one looking back. I’m glad I chose to not cheat. I know I would have felt bad for a long time. I will probably do the IRON WOLF next year.

  Tyler’s Journal Entry: 125

  Date: May 13

  Day: Saturday

  Weather: Hot and sunny

  Training: Rest Day

  Dad decided we should begin to prepare for the worse. Meaning, we need to start preparing for a long term black out. I think it’s silly to spend the money and time, but Dad said he would make it fun and we would work together as a family.

  He made a list of goals he wanted to achieve over the summer since we will be out of school soon. The list included:

   starting a garden, and stocking up on seed

   learning how to can and preserve fruits, vegetables, and meat

   building a smoke house to preserve meat

   buy fishing and hunting gear and actually using it during the hunting and fishing seasons

   Compiling a paper file of survival information like what vegetation is edible around us, how to make fire, how to give medical attention in different situations, building an atlas library of the U.S. and Canada, what medicines we may need and how and when to use them (i.e. penicillin, etc.), Morse code, print off calendars for the next few years, etc.

   start buying different traps (squirrel/rabbit, muskrat, raccoon, etc)

   stock up on kerosene and other fuels

   install a wood stove and start cutting wood from the woods around us

   buy tools that don’t require energy like axes, hand cranked drills, etc.

   stock up on building materials like treated wood, plumbing, cement, etc.

   buy camping gear like sleeping bags, flint for starting fires, kerosene lamps, grills, tarps, etc.

   buy first aid kits

   buy and learn how to make candles

   stock up on bleach for killing germs

   buy backpacks for each of us in our family. Each filled with survival gear and food and ready to go if we need to leave our home quickly.

   Although we have plenty of bikes from years of triathlons and mountain bike racing, they will still need supplies to keep them moving.

   learn different ways to purify water

   get a hand cranked water pump that can replace our electric water pump if needed (we have a well and do not get our water from a public water system)

  Whether or not Dad will accumulate all this stuff is speculative, but he’s already started organizing and cleaning out the pole barn in the back yard. Mom thinks he’s crazy. But she knows once Dad gets an idea in his head it’s hard to stop him.

  His plan is to scour Goodwill’s, Salvation Army’s, and yard sales and buy stuff as he comes across it. A good thing my parents make a decent living, otherwise the apocalypse may be too expensive. Ha!

  Dad said this was going to be a fun project for us and he said it half jokingly, but he also got very serious and told us to tell no one about our stock pile of survival gear in the pole barn. He said if anything does happen and the world is without electricity, not all people are going to be prepared.

  He went on to say that those who are not prepared may resort to stealing. Dad said the more people know about our supplies, the better chance we have of it all being taken away. He told us to tell no one, not even our best friends.

  It had to be kept our biggest secret. I don’t think I’ll have a problem keeping it a secret, because to tell you the truth, I think Dad’s gone a little off the deep end and I’m kind of embarrassed with the whole thing. So his secret’s safe with me.

  Tyler’s Journal Entry: 136

  Date: May 27

  Day: Thursday

  Weather: Hot and sunny

  Training: Biked home from school today

  The power went out at school today. The new policy at school is that students that live in town can go home after the powers been out for two hours. Students with permission slips from parents that live out of town can leave at that time also. Today’s blackout was a TB meaning a total blackout, which means anything using electricity was deemed useless. Some teachers had to use hour glasses filled with sand to tell time. Primitive, but it works. Some have their own wind up clocks.

  Anyways, as part of Dad’s “APOCOLYPSE” plan, he asked some people in town if we could leave a couple bikes at their house for Tanner and me to ride home if ever we’re stuck in town.

  So I was able to leave after the two hours with my brother. We had a good time riding the six miles home. We joked around and were able to have a little bonding time.

  We rode by the old Montgomery farm and I remembered the story kids would tell of it. I’ll do my best to tell the story. It kind of freaks me out whenever I go by this house. So here’s the story:

  THE MONTGOMERY FARM

  Once a long time ago in the year 1956 in the small town of Laingsburg lived two brothers named David and Mathew. They fought all the time. They fought over anything. They fought over who got more cereal for breakfast, who was faster on their bike, even who could eat the most pancakes.

  One day they were arguing who could jump the highest while plugging their nose and holding one ankle. "I jumped at least 2 feet high!" said David.

  "Then I'll jump three!" proclaimed Mathew.

  David looked across the field behind their house and saw the old abandoned Montgomery farm. It was a huge old farm house built in the late 1800’s, a large gray barn, and one tall silo.

  "I know," said David. "We can see who's the bravest!"

  "How we going to do that?" said Mathew.

  David said, "We're going to sneak into that abandoned farm at midnight. We'll take turns. "Sounds like a dare to me," said Mathew. "I'll do it!"

  People say this true because David and Mathew had a little sister named Amy who saw and heard it all. It was the old days when siblings shared rooms together. She’s claimed to tell the same story over and over through the years before they moved far away.

  So midnight came. David and Mathew and Amy pretended to be asleep in their room. Once their parent's went to sleep, David headed out his bedroom equipped with only a flash light. He would prove himself the bravest that night.

  That night the moon was full, the leaves on the ground danced with the wind, and the trees creaked from side to side.

  David sorted his way to the old Montgomery farm. He climbed over fences, he stumbled through the corn field, and he jumped the flowing creek. When he reached the farm, he saw a great big silo. It was the closest structure to him, so he went inside.

  “They must have kept corn here,” David said to himself.

  On the top of the silo was a huge cap with a big M mounted on it. “That must have stood for the Montgomery’s. The people who owned this farm before it was abandoned. I’ll take that big M back with me and prove I was here. No one will miss it.”David said.

  David climbed and climbed till he reached the top. He pried the big M off and tucked it in his jacket. Suddenly he heard a terrible sound. Thump! Thump! Thump!

  “What could that be???”

  A ferocious wind picked up and the silo began to shake violently. The thumping got louder and louder. David covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. His heart pounded harder with each thump.

  Then all went silent and calm…

  David heard a low, crumbly voice: “Montgomery’s my name, and this is my farm. Steal from me and I’ll cut off your arm!”

  With the M tucked in his shirt, David jumped out of the corn and ran from the silo. He jumped over the flowing creek, sorted his way back through the corn field, and leaped over the fence. He sprinted back to his bedroom as fast as he could go.

  When David reached his bedroom window, there was Mathew and Amy waiting for him.

  “You won’t believe what just happened!” said David.