Team Santa Fe Adventure Racing Team

November 2008 Team Santa Fe Activities

November 2008 Highlights

Ironman Arizona, Phoenix, AZ, November 24, 2008, http://www.ironmanarizona.com, Kim Bear 19/52 age group finish 13:28:03
Atalya 5K Turkey Trot, Santa Fe, NM, Nov. 27, 2009, http://www.santafestriders.org, Jan Bear 26:44, Kim Bear 30:56
AdventureXstream Expedition Adventure Race Moab, UT, September 25-28, 2008, http://www.gravityplay.com/axs , RHOC Santa Fe, Carl Gable, Joel Krypel, Elberta Seybold, Keven Ormerod, 8th of 18 4 person coed

Upcoming Team Santa Fe Activities

Pacific Coast Trail Running Series, Rodeo Beach 30K, Dec 20, 2008, Marin CA
AZ Endurance Series, Mountain Bike, Kentucky Camp, Dec. 14, 2008, Tucson, AZ
Mount Taylor Winter Quadrathlon, multisport race, Grants, NM
12 Hours of Temecula Mountain Bike Race, Jan. 17th, 2009, Temecula, CA
Old Pueblo 24 Hour Mountain Bike Race, Feb. 14th, 2009, Tucson, AZ
AdventureXstream 12 Hour Adventure Race, April, 4th, 2009, Moab, UT
Tour of Socorro, mountain bike race, Socorro, NM
High Altitude Classic, mountain bike race, Cloudcroft, NM
AdventureXstream 24 hour adventure race, Buena Vista, CO
La Tierra Torture, mountain bike race, Santa Fe, NM
Santa Fe Century, road race, Santa Fe, NM
La Tierra Torture Mountain Bike Race, May 2-3, 2009, Santa Fe, NM
TransPortugal Mountain Bike Stage Race, May 30-June 7, 2009, Portugal
Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race, Leadville, CO

RACES:

Ironman Arizona

Phoenix, AZ
November 24, 2008
http://www.ironmanarizona.com
Kim Bear 19/52 age group finish 13:28:03

By Kim Bear

Kim Bear, Arizona Ford Ironman

This was my third Arizona Ironman adventure. My goal this year was to take a minute off my swim and a couple of minutes off the bike leg as well as the marathon. My training included more consistent swimming over the past 3 months and mountain bike racing all summer. However, I did not really train well for the run. The most I had run was a half marathon. I would have plenty of time to reflect on my running during this race. The nice thing this year was that Jan went with me so I had support the whole race. The swim began at 7 am. This year I decided to be a bit more aggressive and get toward the front. At the start, I immediately got crushed by swimmers. I got my goggles pulled off, ran into fixed buoys twice using the immersion technique, became a magnet toward several huge men who had a power kick and felt like they had to kick me as hard as they could and got boxed out by 3 swimmers necessitating a stop to figure out my next move. I was so traumatized once I exited the water that it took me the whole first bike lap to get settled. I was still trying to get rid of all the lake water in my stomach but by the second lap I was feeling much better. For the bike leg, I decided to use Perpeteum in my water dispenser. I think that helped me immensely. I never bonked. I also had a new Litespeed and did not feel uncomfortable until that last 6 miles or so of the 112 miles. On this leg, I really did feel like the bike made me FASTER! The only part of my body that ached was my lower back, but I think that is because I did not train with the drop bars enough. Then I began the run and I could hardly walk much less jog. I walked for first mile to try to loosen up my back. I would spend the next 6+ hours wondering if I am too old to learn to run faster, and do I want to, and maybe I should be doing this as a team event, and why would I want to run more…I really don't enjoy it….then I would lecture myself to try positive thinking…I love to run…I do?@! You get the idea! It was a long, long, long, long, run. But it finally ended and I got my $400+ finisher hat and t-shirt which I covet. JJ (my 18 year old daughter) called me 10 minutes after I finished and printed off 2007 results to compare. I took off 2 minutes on the swim, 40 minutes on the bike and added 7 minutes on run. Go figure! My results are proportionate to my training. Overall I took off 30 minutes from 2007. Thank goodness for the biking leg! Thank you to my husband Jan and all the Team Santa Fe Sponsors: Litespeed, BTI, Bike & Sport, ThorLo, GoLite, Gaerne, Camelbak, Montrail, Leki, Niterider, Dermatone, CW-X, Princeton Tec, SofSole, Shain, Polar, Hydropel, Outdoor Research, Suunto, Polar HRM, Maxxis, E-Caps, Wingnut Gear, Potable Aqua and Bolle.

Atalaya 5K Turkey Trot

Santa Fe, NM
Nov. 27, 2009
http://www.santafestriders.org
Jan Bear 26:44, Kim Bear 30:56

By Jan Bear

This was a new event for Kim and I but our two girls were home from college and they are into running so we decided to do the Atalya Turkey Trot to start our Thanksgiving. The course was a fun but hilly 3.1 miles. There was a great turn out despite the weather (rain). Everyone had a great time and we saw lots of friends at the race so it turned into a real social occasion. Despite the fact that this is not really and endurance race we plan to try to make it an annual family event.

Thank you to Team Santa Fe Sponsors: Litespeed, BTI, Bike & Sport, ThorLo, GoLite, Gaerne, Camelbak, Montrail, Leki, Niterider, Dermatone, CW-X, Princeton Tec, SofSole, Shain, Polar, Hydropel, Outdoor Research, Suunto, Polar HRM, Maxxis, E-Caps, Wingnut Gear, Potable Aqua and Bolle.

AdventureXstream Expedition Adventure Race Moab, UT

September 25-28, 2008
http://www.gravityplay.com/axs
RHOC Santa Fe, Carl Gable, Joel Krypel, Elberta Seybold, Keven Ormerod, 8th of 18 4 person coed

An Adventure Tale

By: Kevin Ormerod

This is a Tale mostly in the fact that most of this race occurred in a state of sleep deprivation, which in the end seems to make it all that much more memorable and for lack of a better word INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let me begin by giving a little background on the weeks leading up to the race.

My wife, Elle and I are scheduled to get on an airplane on Sept. 30th for Bologna, Italy. (Elle is to attend school) The race begins on Sept. 25th and ends on Sept. 28th. Elle spends the weeks prior, packing our things and moving us to a temporary residence. I had promised to build an addition on my mom’s bedroom, and like any good contractor had waited until the very last moment to start building it. To say the least these were very trying times for our new marriage, all culminating in the 72 hour Adventure Race!

Prior to this race my adventure racing career has consisted of 4-12 hour races, mostly averaging 9.5 hours and 50-60 miles. This race is 72 hours and between 250 -300 miles (the exact mileage is unknown: probably for the best) .

Arriving in Moab, Utah at 4:00pm on the 24th Elle and I have time to unload our gear and get settled. Since the itinerary for the race isn’t revealed until a few hours before the race starts there is little to do as far as preparing is concerned. Our teammates Joel and Carl arrive and we have a nice dinner and off to bed. I load up on the Tylenol PM, because, I know this is to be my last good rest for some time.

Sleep finds me well and the morning has arrived too soon. Off to breakfast and to pick up our race packet. You would think I would be nervous, but years of racing have taught me that there is nothing nerves can do for me now. Our agenda comes in the form of a little book with UTM coordinates for each checkpoint. Elle and Carl take to the task of plotting the points on the maps provided. We are briefed on the course and prepare for the first leg, kayaking. So now the packing really begins. How exactly do you pack for a 3 day adventure race? I still can’t answer that but this is what I did. Pack all the required gear: first aid, hiking, ropes, biking and kayaking gear etc. Oh yeah and a razor scooter! That’s the easy part, then, it’s whatever else you can fit in your Rubbermaid box that will make your life easier. 3-days of food (don’t even ask), extra clothes, a tent (just in case), and as I’ve learned now, more extra clothes (would have been nice)! Enough of that I’m packed now. If it’s not in the box I won’t see it for 3 days.

Race starts at 12:00 noon so we drop our bikes and boxes off and head to the starting line. Bang the gun goes off, (or maybe he just said “Go”), either way we are off and running. Literally, we have a ½ mile run to the kayak put in. We push off and it finally sets in. I have officially started an 8 month adventure, of which the race is just the first leg. As Carl and I paddle I reflect on it and enjoy the pure beauty of Moab.

I learned in my first adventure race that you can only go as fast as your slowest teammate, so in these races I allow urgency to fade. Paddling is definitely not our strong suit. We did not train for it and as I am not a “boater” both my technique and my strength leave much to be desired. Carl has done a lot of on the job training with me and I think with each race I get just a bit better.

3pm’ish we arrive at the takeout and the first checkpoint and transition. During the race we talk a lot about being ready to do something else as our muscles tire from doing one sport for too long. A short run over a bridge and we are at our boxes. Mountain biking time, which for the most part, is my favorite thing to do in the whole world (I will eat my words later). We eat and change and off we go. A short ride through town, and 5 miles or so of good road and we hit Pritchett Canyon, rated 5 out of 5 on the 4-wheel drive rating system. What this means to us is lots of sand and huge vertical rock steps. Mostly what it means is hike-a-bike. We pass one Hummer broken down, and another group where there is a couple watching, probably their dad, stuck trying to go up a nearly vertical 20ft cliff with a turn at the top. As we approach them I stop and do the Statue of Liberty, falling on my side in the sand. The girl sees me and sort of laughs, I do the same. What else can you do? The sand makes the pedals extremely hard to get in and out of. We push our bikes to the top of the canyon. A short ride and we are at the next checkpoint. Now we decide to ride in the wrong direction for about 20 minutes. Well we didn’t really decide to but it costs us 40 minutes total. 2 teams that decided to join us don’t turn when we do and we actually never see them again. Hmmmmmm? Back on course, 5+/- miles of hike-a-bike on what is supposed to be a mountain bike trail. We catch 2 other teams and make our way down to a natural spring at the bottom. We fill our water and add iodine tablets (we think) to purify the water. After all bottles are filled Carl realizes that Elle has only brought the pill used to neutralize the taste not neutralize. We then add the right pills, (Carl has the correct ones) eat, (you’ll find we do this a lot) and get our lights out as the sun fades. Back on a good road and up and over a pass. On the way up Elle decides to stick her front wheel in a hole and try her Superman skills. A bruised wrist and calf but no major injuries, Elle is definitely tougher than most guys I know. We reach the checkpoint at the top of the pass, and find a couple of guys standing around a fire. They do a required gear check and we joke about having a beer (“no really I say”). Down the other side of the pass we go and at the bottom there is a lady on a 4-wheeler who flags us down. “I don’t want you to go the wrong way” she says “Be careful, don’t die it happens every year”. What?????? Makes you think, well just for a second, got to keep moving.

The next road isn’t terrible a bit of sand but not too much walking. We see the Potash Plant off in the distance and then about an hour later we see it again in the same place! Woops, missed the turn. Not too bad probably lost 25 minutes. When we get back to the turn you can see the team in front of us, I mean on top of us. This section is nearly vertical (probably where the 4-wheeler lady was talking about). We heave our bikes and ourselves up the 400’ nearly vertical boulder field called Jacob’s Ladder. Elle seems particularly fond of this section as she decides we should trade bikes because hers is too nice to thrash (and mine isn’t). As bad as it sounds it goes quickly. We reach the top and then have a nice technical ride down and back on the road we came up. Then it’s back through town and to the place we left the boats. It’s now 3am (yeah!), we eat and change into our boating gear. I wear fleece pajamas, warm and comfy! We walk across the bridge and are back in the kayaks.

This is probably the most memorable section for me. There is absolutely no moon out as we paddle into the canyon. The stars seem to be multiplying as the canyon walls surround us. It was truly beautiful. The paddling turns to floating as we look for a place for Elle to get out and use the bathroom. No easy task as the shore is extremely overgrown and steep. Mission accomplished, by now the time of night is starting to take its toll. The captain of my boat, Carl, seems to have an unusual talent. He is able to fall asleep in mid-paddle. On a couple of occasions he would ask if I would take the wheel for a few minutes. After a couple of 360’s I would get it going straight, then without missing a stroke Carl would be back. I suppose the many expedition races under his belt have trained him well.

At one point Carl and I float past Elle and Joel and continue floating downstream for about a half an hour. We can see their light in the distance, but it doesn’t seem to be getting closer. We soon learn that they had become disoriented and were paddling upstream! A two man team, paddle past us and ask “what’s wrong with your teammates”. Can you say sleep deprivation? Well word travels fast and for the rest of the race we were well known as the team that paddled upstream.

As the sun rose we all got our second wind and made good time to the next checkpoint and the razor scooter section. Yeah razor scooter section, you thought I was kidding earlier. It’s 7am and 6 miles of paved road separate us from the next checkpoint. Turns out even nice paved roads aren’t “nice” when you are riding on wheels the size of silver dollars. The scooter Carl borrowed was apparently from a very small child. His handlebars didn’t extend, so Elle trades him scooters. Carl is 6’2”, can you say “backache”? I think the visual says it all, close your eyes and picture the four of us razor scootering down the road!

10am we arrive at the checkpoint and our boxes, which has now become a very comforting thing. We eat, change and grab our ropes gear. This section will contain a Via Ferrata (short climb using ropes), Rappel, and a hike scramble to two checkpoints out in the desert. The temperature is rising fast as we take off. This section turns out to be our low point as a team, and definitely my low point of the race. I have ridden what I was calling the Poison Spider mountain bike trail, but what I actually rode was the Poison Spider jeep trail. I had led our team in the wrong direction for some time and we were now a mile off course and more or less lost. I also found out that the sleep deprivation hit me extremely hard here. We were looking for an arch which I seemed to be seeing numerously. It took me awhile to realize that I was hallucinating. I have to admit myself useless. Tired and extremely hot we decide to cut our losses and head back to the rappel as not to miss the cut off time. We get to the rappel and I quickly hook on and lower myself the 200ft or so.

We arrive back at the transition, tired, hungry, and beaten. Most teams look the same as the heat seems to have taken its toll. The sun is dropping fast as we load up on fuel.(eat) I lube the bikes as the sand is tearing away at our chains and pedals. The delirium sets in as the damage of being up for 36 hours really sets in. Joel seems to feel the same, so we decide we will ride through town and find a place to hunker down for a little while. A rocky hillside overlooking the noisy town is my bed for an hour and I sleep for probably half of it. The crux for me is getting going again. The next few miles were like a “sleepbiking” nightmare. This leg is to take us from 3500ft in town to 8500ft in the La Sal Mountains. My nightmare fades fast and soon I find my legs spinning and my head in good shape. My right leg has hinted at cramping so I stay very aware of how I exert myself.

10 miles or so in Carl starts to fall asleep at the wheel, so we stop to rest. I lie next to Elle and shiver. Carl pops up and says, “I’m cold”. (Me too) Back on the bikes, the climb is relentless and towards the top we miss a turn. Luckily another team has done the same and we are turned around just a ¼ mile past the turn. (We definitely owe them a beer) We pedal and pedal. A bit of hike-a-bike and we are at the top. One more small mistake in navigation and we are pedaling back up the road we just came down. Elle is a bit moody at this point and informs me that she is “not sleepy, just tired”. I heard that a couple more times during the race. We reach the checkpoint, after riding down the road that we had just ridden down and back up, and hunker down for an hour of sleep.

7am again, time to hike up the La Sal mountains. This leg involves 6 checkpoints and 2o+/- miles of hiking. At checkpoint 2 it begins to hail, checkpoint 3 it’s hailing even harder. Lightning just above us and 2 inches of hail on the trail. We decide to head back, as many of the other teams do the same.

We are back in the transition area at 4pm. We eat (told you we do this a lot) and prepare to ride down the Kokopelli Trail. It looks to be a 30-40 mile section to the next and final transition before the final leg. At this point everything hurts. Well, it actually started hurting days ago but now it really hurts, most of all, my butt. I remember saying at one point that I wish I could just sit on something other than my butt. Getting on the bike is tough and it takes the first couple of miles for things to go numb, at least for the moment. There is a short downhill and then an 8 mile climb with multiple false summits. The mental aspect of pedaling now becomes harder than the physical. We reach the top of the pass and a breathtaking view. Never too tired or in too much pain to enjoy the beauty of Moab, we stop for a moment to take it in.

It’s time to dawn an extra layer and our lights. Dark is upon us once again. The next 30 or so miles to the transition are either fast and technical or a brutal hike-a bike. The fast sections are satisfying, only to the point when we reach the bottom of each canyon, and then the steep and brutal hike-a-bike up to the top of the next canyon. At this point I should fill you in on Joel’s light dilemma. Three weeks before the race Joel purchases the nicest bike light money can buy. It works in his backyard in a trial run and never turns on again. The extra light he has brought burns out the instant he turns it on! Luckily Carl has an extra handlebar mounted light, the illumination equal to a small flashlight, but, better than nothing. However, on these steep, fast, rocky sections it leaves much to be desired. So we zip-tie an extra headlamp to his helmet and I go to lighting the road for both Joel and myself. I adjust my light so it shines between the two of us and ride just behind and next to him. I seem to spend more time watching his line than my own, but somehow it works. At one point we fly down a section with a short uphill and I go flying by him leaving him in the dark. A huge rock appears in his tiny light and brings him to a dead stop, unharmed. I look back and realize my mistake and promise to never leave him in the dark again. I do my best to keep my word which is hard at times. The road is extremely technical, and it’s all I can do to stay on my bike at times.

We arrive at the final checkpoint and transition at 3am +/-. Since the next boating section has to be done in the sunlight we are given a reprieve and take to our beds (clothes, space blanket bivuoac and backpack as a pillow). The 3 hours of laying there achieve 15 minutes of sleep. It was very cold and hard. Joel has the same problem. Carl snores the whole time so I think he sleeps well and Elle had crawled into one of the kayaks and rests well.

I pop out of bed and am anxious to get going. The finish is only 14 miles away, which at this point seems like a short walk. We get ready and are back in the boats in no time. These last few hours of paddling are a complete struggle. Each stroke reveals the beating that my body has received the past 3 days. An Advil would have been a good idea, but for some reason good ideas don’t come easily at this point. The thought of real food keeps my paddle moving (lots of time during the race is spent thinking about what one will eat when done). The joy of eating has ceased to exist for some time as it is more a necessity than a convenience.

We round the last corner and the finish is in sight. The place we left 70 hours earlier. A tear comes to my eye as I realize that I have done it. All the stress, worrying and personal self doubts, gone! We walk across the finish line, not just a team, but mostly a family. The bond that is formed during the previous 70 hours will last the rest of our lives. We have laughed and we have cried (at least inside) together. This has been for me, a time to be cherished, again and again for the rest of my life.

I gained a true respect and love for the racing. It is the true test of one’s limits, to just keep moving. It’s really just a bunch of hard work and suffering, two of the things that I do best. So here’s a big thanks to my teammates Joel, Carl and Elle. WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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