USARA Nationals - Part 2

Our TA3 transition time was spent cramming several hundred calories down our pie holes while changing clothes and grabbing more nutrition for the second half of the race.  Lisa managed all this AND plotting our route on the new maps given to us. Before leaving, we had a mandatory gear check.  All this took about 30 minutes.

The next leg was a 35 mile bike that was almost all uphill.  Darkness had completely enveloped us; our world had shrunk down to what was only illuminated by our lights.  Focusing on the task at hand seemed easier without all the visual distractions that the daytime brings.  There is also the illusion of riding on flat ground that makes those 10% grades feel easier, at least a little bit.

Unfortunately for me, this is where I began to have trouble breathing.  Last month, upon finishing the Marji Gesick Duathlon, I had an episode of exercise induced asthma.  It started about an hour after I finished and lasted about 12 hours.  This was completely new to me.  Hoping that it was a "one and done" issue, I still went to my PCP to get a rescue inhaler, just in case.

Heading up that first climb to CP 14, I began to wheeze a little.  When we stopped at a creek so that Lisa could fill her bottles, I took a couple hits on my rescue inhaler and pleaded with my lungs to recover.  At first it seemed to help, stabilizing over the remainder of this climb.  

CP 15 was hanging over a creek, and not wanting to get wet in 20 degree weather, we attacked it from the opposite side.  Lisa was able to hop onto a rock and with a big stretch, grab it and punch the passport, staying dry in the process.

A couple hours later, however, when we dropped our bikes to go get CP 16, the wheezing returned.  This time the inhaler did nothing.  Frustrated, I had to dial back my effort to keep my lungs semi-happy.

At CP 18, Kristy and I refilled our bottles/packs. From there we turned onto forest road 200 (I don't see how Lisa could read those road signs on the 1:36,000 map). Finding where to head off the road onto a bushwhack that would take us over to Skookum Lake was tricky nav, but Lisa made it look easy.  Fortuntely when we were close, we found a path teams before us had taken.  It still was not an easy bushwhack, as we had to negotiate a wall of downed trees at one point.

Opting out of the lake swing, an unnecessary adventure, we climbed out of that hellhole of a bushwhack, only to be confronted with even a greater challenge.  Once we climbed up to the high point where CP 21 PRO was located, we were served a Fuckaccino, a double shot of bullshit with a side of "you've got to be fucking kidding me!" From CP 21, we had to bushwhack down off this ridge, through a steep maze of thick undergrowth and no less than 20 downed Ponderosa pines.  How we managed not to snap off our derailleurs or snap our ankles, I do not know. I was glad that Rib Mountain Racing was breaking trail.

Finally getting out of that mess, we made our way to Garwood Butte.  Dropping our bikes at CP 22 PRO, we trekked 1 mile up to the fire tower to punch CP 23 PRO. We skipped the O points at the top, as it was super cliffy and the terrain sketchy AF.  Later we heard that WEdali took 5 hours to nab these 5 O points, which are only worth 1 point a piece (the core CP's were worth 5 points and the pro CP's were worth 3 points).  On the way down, Kristy rolled her ankle pretty good.  Fortunately, she had grabbed her poles at TA3 and being the tough cookie that she is, never complained. 

Hopping back on our bikes, we took a little detour off course to get some water from a "spring."  This spring turned out to be more of a frozen swamp.  While Kristy taped her blown ankle, I broke through the ice and grabbed some swamp water for her; peering at it in my BeFree filter, it looked more like apple cider vinegar with the mother in it.  

At this point, it was 5:30 am and it was COLD!  We had 5 miles of descending to TA4, where a warm cabin awaited.  We all had frozen fingers and toes when we arrived, but quickly thawed out in this oasis run by volunteer Jimmy "The Geek" Farmer. Our emergency bag of warm gear was here, and I picked out a couple items to change into for the final push to the finish.  Hot chocolate and 4 Hour Fuel mash was being served.  I swear that cheesy bacon mash was the best vegan meal I have ever had.  800 calories of pure joy that warmed my core and soul!

Thawing out and filling the belly with hot food!

Twenty minutes later, we left the cabin to begin the trek to the summit of Mt. Bailey, a 4 mile 2500 foot climb.  As we were leaving, the Women of AR arrived.  So many questions I had:  What was their strategy?  Had they gotten all the PRO points?  How many O points?  I could only imagine that they had taken the same route as us, so it was game on to the finish.  Would they catch us on the trek to the summit?

Susie had been strong all the way up to this point and then her asthma kicked in as well.  We both wheezed our way up the mountain, lungs struggling to consume oxygen.  What made it bearable was the spectacular sunrise as we made our way up the mountain.  Despite my issues, I was still able to enjoy the sheer beauty of this trek, albeit just a bit slower. Kristy, her ankle now the size of a small orange, never let off the gas.

Mount Bailey, from Diamond Lake 

Approaching the summit

After a brief snack on the summit, we nabbed the final 3 PRO points on the bushwhack down.  Lisa, the nav magician, managed to hit "nothing but net" on these CP's.  Arriving back at TA4, we had a little over 4 hours to get to the finish.  Once again, we opted not to get the O points here.

Quickly transitioning back to bike, we had the enjoyment of a flowy single track descent back down to Diamond Lake.  We almost missed CP 31, but luckily for us, there was a slew of racers, including the Women of AR, that had stopped along the single track. (How did they get ahead of us? Must not have summited Mount Bailey).  I motioned for Lisa to stop, as she had thought this CP was further down the trail.  I grabbed the punch and walked precariously across a small log over a creek to go nab the CP.

We made it to TA6, transitioned to pack raft, and were in the water by 12 pm.  With 3 hours to finish, we took our time to enjoy that 6 mile paddle.  Temps were now in the upper 50's and full sun!  My body was running on fumes, my arms were like noodles, but my face was all smiles.

Two hours and 3 CP's later, we crossed the finish line as National Champions!  Bend Racing is known for its difficult courses and boy, did they deliver!  The most beautifully brutal adventure race I have ever done. We also managed to take 5th overall.

31 hours, 125 miles, 18,000 feet of climbing!

I am so proud of this team, digging deep when the adversity leaned heavily on each one of us, persevering to the end. While the race was not without a few hiccups, Lisa's navigation game was almost spot on.  Susie's dedication to her training paid off, she was so strong!  And despite throwing Kristy into the deep end on this one (this was only her 2nd AR, the first being an 8 hour), she showed grit, gristle, and gumption,  doing most of the grunt work, aka "punch monkey" and "mule."

HUZZAH!