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Team Santa Fe Newsletter
November 2003
La Ruta De los Conquistadores
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Mountain Bike Race
November 14, 15, 16, 2003
Costa Rica, Central America
Kim and Jan Bear: written by Kim Bear
Las Ruta was first organized in 1992 as a mountain bike race that follows the
path of the 16th century Spanish conqueror, Juan de Caballon. The route follows
his journey across the land of Costa Rica beginning on the Pacific Ocean side
and finishing on the Caribbean Seacoast. It is a stage race that is
approximately 300miles in length over 3 days. It climbs roughly the same
cumulative vertical feet as Mt. Everest (27,000 + feet) over volcanoes,
rainforests and banana plantations while daily temperatures fluctuate over 60
degrees.
Jan and I had done the La Ruta 2000 Mountain Bike Race. I had a miserable
experience with getting lost the first day, hypothermic the second and having a
mechanical problem on the third day. I wanted to successfully finish the race
and talked Jan into going there again with me. I felt like the adventure racing
had toughened me up mentally, made being uncomfortable an expected feeling, and
taught me the importance of preparation. I wanted to test this.
We flew from Albuquerque on a 6 am flight and landed in San Jose, Costa Rica
arriving in the afternoon. Memories of 2000 came back as we waited for a long
time (hours) to get driven with our bikes to the hotel. This time, Jan and I
both just relaxed and waited knowing that we were now on "Costa Rica" time.
Memories of "organized chaos" returned. The organization is amazing in
transporting riders, their bikes and gear to all the designated locations to
each start and from each finish line. The easy part seems to be the actual race.
After arriving at our hotel, Jan put together our bikes and we left the next
morning for Jaco on the Pacific Coast. The highlight was stopping on a bridge
over a river with about fifteen 30 foot long alligators. We then arrived at a
beachside resort and took advantage of the beach with its warm waves. The
humidity was intense so the swimming felt great.
Day 1: The race began on Friday as the sun was rising with 326 riders of which 28 were
women. Day 1 would be 146 kilometers long and have altitude changes from 0 -
1200 meters. It was very hot and humid. We started into the jungle immediately
began climbing dirt 4 wheeler roads which led us deeper into Costa Rica. I
quickly lost sight of Jan. By the time I got to the first check point I had been
in the mud and jungle for several hours. From here, the rain forest got hotter,
muddier and presented many steep climbs and river crossings. At about 5 hours
into the race, I was crossing a river and noticed a familiar jersey floating in
the water with Jan in it. I was shocked that I had caught up with him. He was
trying to cool off, had stopped sweating and drinking was making him throw up.
He urged me on, so I pushed up the next muddy steep slope out of this river and
was confident he would soon catch up to me. The rest of the route led out
through the jungle, and then climbing roads led to villages until the route
relented into screaming downhill's which were never ending. Finally the finish
line was at a pool recreation center in the middle of a town. As the sun set,
Jan rode in feeling terrible. His muscles were fasciculating in his legs. He
had terrible cramps. He did not feel well and if he did not improve, we were
worried that he would not be able to start day 2. He immediately began drinking
and eating what he could.
Day 2: The start was in San Jose right outside of our hotel. Jan felt good
enough to begin the race. It was a much cooler day with the route being 120
kilometers going from 1200 to almost 3000 meters. Jan took off as he thrives in
this type of weather and I didn't see him until the finish. The route was a
major climb to the Irazu Volcano, then it led you on a technical downhill's
until you finally reached Turrialba. It rained on me making me happy I had my
GoLite gear and my disc brakes. I was warm and my brakes worked great. I did
have to keep tightening the cables on the brakes because of the never ending
downhill, but at least I didn't have to change out brake pads. That night, we
stayed at a bed and breakfast which was located on a beautiful hillside. (We
came in at night in fog, so didn't get to appreciate the beauty until sunrise
the next day.) We were treated to a homemade meal. We went to bed whispering to
each other that we could hardly wait for day 3 to be over!
Day 3: The race began about 7:30 am after we were all bussed to the start.
Bikes were found and checked. I had no rear brakes, so not only did Jan have to
attend to his bike, but also to mine. "Organized Chaos" was definitely the
descriptive adjective for this start line. Taking deep breaths, bikes got fixed
and the race began. The road led from Turriabla and would take us approximately
160 kilometers with altitude changes from 2000 meters to sea level. It would be
a very hot and humid day. The villagers would come out and stand in their yard
with their water hoses attempting to cool the riders down. We thought we had
finished with the mud from day 1 in the jungles, but we were mistaken. The
rainfall had been intense the previous week, making for the course leading us
down a huge mud slope. (I think it used to be a road.) The mud was so deep,
that you would step down and pull up a shoeless foot. Then you had to dig around
in the mud to find your shoe. Finally it led to a river which riders splashed
and washed their bikes in attempt to rid derailleurs and other vital equipment
of thick mud. After an especially hot and long climb, we ended up at a
checkpoint. I saw Jan and he was feeling the heat again. This time, he would
stop to get an IV to re-hydrate. I continued; the next challenge was miles of
railroad tracks and trestles crossing rivers. It wasn't as bad as I had imagined
as rocks filled in the rails somewhat, but you had to get into a rhythm of
quickly going up and down the concrete posts. Crossing the rails over the rivers
was challenging, but doable. I finally placed my tires on the rails and tried to
keep a straight line. The challenge was with the widely spaced trestles, where I
longed for Jan to take care of me. He usually comes back for me and takes my
bike while I just have to worry about me crossing. I was behind a couple which
made me long for his help, but felt proud that I completed this on my own. After
the railroad tracks, the route led to the coast line of the Caribbean. As we
rode into the city of Mantione, I tucked in with some local riders and we
drafted in to the finish line on the beach. Later as I sat at the finish line,
another woman told me how this American helped her across the trestles where she
was terrified because of the heights. She was so grateful, because otherwise she
would never have made it to this finish line. I would later find out that this
American was Jan. Jan had recovered after the IV, made his way to the finish
only to get lost in the town where he rode for several hours attempting to find
the way in the dark. He finally came in happy to know I had successfully
finished and he would not have to suffer again.
I ended up finishing 13th of the 28 women. I FINISHED!
I finished La Ruta because of the following: AXO shoes, Bolle sunglasses, and
Dermatone sunscreen. On the first day, I stopped to get stream water to keep
hydrated using my iodine provided by WPC Brands. My Polar heart rate monitor
kept me from overdoing sections. I kept hydrated using the wide opening
CamelBak reservoir. What was nice about this system was the staff at the
checkpoints could take the reservoir and fill it up without me having to double
check to make sure all the connections had been secured correctly. I only had
to worry about eating and taking care of other issues. You can also just lift
it by the lid handle without removing the entire reservoir and have it filled.
This reservoir is fool proof! Secondly, the bite valve can be turned to an off
position when done riding so it does not inadvertently deplete the water when
the pack leans on it. My GoLite rain jacket kept me warm as it poured rain on
day 2. The hood is roomy so I could pull it up and over my helmet. The other
nice feature is it has fabric at the neck closure making it comfortable to sink
your chin down into the jacket to your nose. On Day 2, my feet stayed warm
because I wore the waterproof SealSkinz sock. I went through many streams and
it also got warm; my feet were always comfortable. Last, but not least, my
Litespeed bike with all of its BTI parts performed flawlessly even in the mud!
Great Mississippi Relay and 50km Ultra Race
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Nov. 16, 2003
La Place to New Orleans, LA
Barb Dutrow, Carl Gable
4:21:49; 4:33:00
1st female, 4/39; 4th male, 5/39
http://www.runnotc.org/results/2003/river_relay.html
Under record high temperatures, 85+F and 100% humidity, the inaugural Great
Mississippi (MS) Relay and Ultra race was off. Beginning in LaPlace, LA, the run
followed the MS levee 50K down river to Audubon Park in New Orleans. Getting
lost was NOT an option! The mighty Mississippi was ever on your right, with its
barge traffic and Navy patrol ships. The levee was one of the best aspects of
this race; no roads to cross nor traffic to dodge and it provided a great view
of the surroundings.
Forty-one ultra runners were bussed to the start long before the crack of dawn
to start with the relay teams (5 person teams running 10K each). Rabbits!
Realizing that this was going to be scorching run, I recalled what Joan
Benoit-Samuelson admonished prior to a projected hot Boston marathon "if you
sleep through the night and aren't up peeing, you are gonna be sorry"! We were
well hydrated, didn't sleep through the night, and the pot-o-let lines were too
long. Not to worry, LA is blessed with trees!
At 7:30am, a pack of folks began by sprinting up the levee to the shell path on
top. Ack, crushed shells for 10 miles (there are no rocks in LA), which made for
slippage while running. Thankfully high clouds thwarted the sun's attempt to
roast runners in the early hours of the race. Carl and I ran together until
about mile 10. We were psyched as we were passing Relay teams! By mile 18, the
sun was out in full force. Water drops kept hitting my calves, no rain; finally
I realized that my shorts were soaked and dripping on my legs. I've never
consumed (and lost) so much fluid during a run, 10K and water at each aid
station plus another 8 oz between stations.
As all New Orleans Track Club races, it was well-staffed with volunteers and
well-executed. Aid stations were every two miles with 10K (the drink), water and
food (candy, GU, pretzels, etc.) for the Ultra runners. 10K (running) exchange
points were a bit congested but that made for cheering and more rabbits. It was
great to keep passing 10K relay teams to the finish. Once across the finish line
we were greeted by the standard Louisiana cuisine; red beans and rice, beer,
smoothies, cheezey's, etc. It was a great training run, despite the heat and
being well off pace.
Out of 41 starters, 39 finished. I finished 4th overall, 1st female in 4:21:49
and got to break a ribbon! Carl finished 4th male, 5th overall in 4:33:00. More
results are found at: http://www.runnotc.org/results/2003/river_relay.html
Saving a pair of new Thorlo tennis socks (cushy) to wear, assured that my feet
were well padded and survived without a single blister. My Polar Heart rate
watch kept me going on pace. Carl ran in CMX tights. Thanks to all!
New Mexico Cyclo-Cross Championship
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November 23, 2003
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Jan Bear, 3rd place 45+ category
http://www.nmcycling.org
After that disappointing race in Costa Rica I figured that a 45 minute race
might be more my style, boy was I wrong. The NM state cyclo-cross championship
race held just outside Santa Fe in 10 degree weather was not easy, my hands and
feet were VERY VERY cold. The race included dirt, grass, short climbs, asphalt,
3 barriers and some very sharp turns. The course was about 1 ¼ miles long. The
race started at 9:45 AM in the chilly weather with a strong wind out of the
northwest, by the end of the first lap I was cold and being left behind. The
competitors in my race were 35+, 45+ men and all women; there were about 20 of
us. Slowly I was able to catch a few people but the pace was fast and my heart
rate was about 160 bpm. I think we did about 8 or nine laps. By the end I was
beat with my nose dripping, my fingers so cold that my shifting really suffered
the last couple laps and my feet so cold that when I hit a barrier with my feet
it didn't hurt, but I finished third in my category. This was my first
cyclo-cross race of the year. I was really glad for my great gear sponsors,
Polar HRM, AXO shoes and gloves, Litespeed bikes, Terry saddles, Bolle
sunglasses, BTI bike parts, ThorLo socks, Polarmax fleece and balaclava and CW-X
tights.
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