1997 Mt. Taylor Quadrathlon (cont.)
Snowshoe one mile from 10,700 to the summit of 11,301-gain
601 feet:
With so much elevation gain over a mile, I knew there
had to be some serious climbing. The first half mile, I
ran on what seemed to be a jeep road in the summer. It had
just moderate elevation gain through some trees. I started
to think to myself that maybe after all of these years,
the race director never measured the snowshoe elevation
correctly and that it is not really a gain of 600 feet.
I also thought that maybe we really didn't have to ascend
to the summit. Coming out of the trees, I saw six volunteers
at a water station and they were pumping me up. I was feeling
good and then the trail took a sharp left and went straight
up. No ifs, ands, or buts. I didn't even try running it.
This made the sand ladder at the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon
seems like nothing, especially when racing at 11,000 feet.
I finally reached the top to a cheering section and the
scenery was beautiful.
Mt. Taylor is a dormant volcano. At one time it was the
highest point on this continent at an estimated 15,000 feet.
There is a lava flow you can still see which goes for 36
miles. The point is that there aren't many other mountains
in the area, so the view is tremendous. I only caught a
glimpse of the view as I raised my head from looking at
the snow. I ascended in a time of 2:02. Many of you may
think that here I claim victory. However, now, you have
to do everything in reverse order to finish. People cheered,
"it's all down hill from here!"
Snowshoe down:
Gravity and momentum took over. I saw that I was four
minutes ahead of Dan and six minutes up on Andy. I thought,
"I've got this thing in the bag. This is the easiest
$1,000 paycheck I have ever won!" Several times I almost
fell forward which might have been faster because it was
so steep.
Ski down:
I got on the skis and headed out. I am an accomplished
downhill skier and I have classic skied at least a hundred
times. I had never skate skied until the Tuesday before
this race when my friend Bryan Harwood took me to El Dora
ski area to teach me. Skate skis are lighter for the uphill
climb, so I wanted to take advantage of this. My pseudo-Quad
coach, Kevin Jordan, said I should use classic skis because
they are wider for better downhill turning. I felt comfortable
enough after my Tuesday trial to go with skate skis. After
all, it's only two miles of down hill.
Everything was kosher the first few minutes and then things
got scary as my speed picked up. We descended on a jeep
type road again and I was going too fast. Looking like a
Texan on skis, arms flailing, I was able to keep my balance.....for
a little while. A left turn approached and I went straight...into
waste deep snow. I guess I thought it was a triathlon because
I was swimming.
After a few minutes, I got out of the deep stuff and started
again. Zoooom, Dan went by me in tuck position. I looked
and felt like a first time skate skier. I fell again, and
again, and again. Then Zoooom, Andy goes by. In what took
Dan ten minutes to do, he gained 7:30 on me. I came into
the run transition 3:30 behind Dan and 1:30 behind Andy.
I felt like a slep. Here I was cocky and literally on top
of the world 15 minutes ago, now I'm in third place.
Run Down:
I ran hard with Andy in sight. The legs were starting
to feel the effort. My mind kept reliving the ski portion
and that fueled my desire to keep running. I knew I was
going to be sore after this race. As I entered the transition,
I saw Andy leaving as he caught and passed Dan. I was about
thirty seconds behind Dan finishing the run and 1:20 behind
Andy.
Bike Down:
I passed Dan in transition. Ouch, my inner left thigh
and right calf were spasming as I started to pedal. Most
of the bike was downhill, but if I could see Andy on an
uphill at about the seven-mile mark, than I thought I could
catch him. When I came around to the hill, no Andy. He had
a great bike and finished with a time of 3:33:21 plus a
$1,000 check. I was two minutes back with an additional
$500 and Dan was another two minutes behind me with $250
in his pocket.
This race had awesome organization and friendly atmosphere.
If you do this race, be prepared for any type of weather
conditions. The next morning, I woke up to a snowstorm.
Boy, twenty-four hours can make a difference. Also, be prepared
to wake up stiff the next morning, which is of course, if
you go down hill on skis like I do.
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