What's the hardest thing you've ever done in your life? Well, I just discovered my answer to that question...the Mt. Taylor Winter Quadrathalon.
Quad-a-who-uh...you ask? Think triathalon but with 4 events instead of 3, held during the winter time, and at high altitide. The race starts in Grants, NM at the base of Mt. Taylor at an altitude of 6500 ft. You race 21 miles to the top of Mt. Taylor reaching an altitude of 11,300 ft. (For you math majors thats a climb of 4,800 ft!) The 21 mile climb is split between biking, running, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. Once you reach the top, you turn around doing all the events in reverse back to the start/finish line. It's a round trip of 42 miles. Here's how the race breaks down:
Bike:
Racers begin at an elevation of 6,500 ft. with a 13 mile road race through the streets of Grants and then begin the 1,700 foot climb from desert cactus to ponderosa pine.
Run:
At the end of the paved road, bikes are parked and racers must run the next five miles on gravel roads. The road generally starts out dry but usually turns to snow pack. This part of the course will climb 1,250 feet in elevation.
Cross County Ski:
Runners then turn to cross-country skis to challenge the next 1,200 foot climb of the mountaineering ski course that covers two miles. During the final yards of this course you must face the notorious "Heart Break Hill" that lies waiting for weary racers.
Snowshoe:
The remaining one mile climb on snowshoes gains 600 feet to reach the 11,301 foot summit of Mt. Taylor where a person can see for over one hundred miles on a clear day.
and then...
The race is only half over. You must reverse the four events and race the 21 miles back to the Start/Finish line.
The race is only half over. You must reverse the four events and race the 21 miles back to the Start/Finish line.
I'm not really sure why I wanted to do it...but for some reason I was driven to accomplish this. My time diddn't break any records...wait, maybe I broke the longest time record...my goal was simply to be able to finish the race. So if I were to sum up the race in one word...BRUTAL! But now here I am one day later thinking of what I need to do for next year to improve my time. What kind of wack-job am I anyway? I should add that this race is very professional, well organized and had many, many helpful and freindly volunteers. So a big thanks out to all who put on this amazing and affordable "race"
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| Unloading the equipment |
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| Getting ready to start |
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| #271 |
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| At the Starting Line |
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| The cheering crew |
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| The last few yards! |
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| Under 9 hours, baby! |
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| So glad to be done |
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| Time to head home! |
Bike Up: I knew I was with some serious athletes in this race when I hit the 3 mile mark of the bike portion and I noticed that people were no longer passing me. So I peeked behind me and noticed only the police escort...great, I was in dead last! It was at that point that I cemented in my brain to forget about everyone else, that I was racing against myself, and to simply finish the race...which was my real goal in the first place. The road kept getting steadily steeper and steeper until the 13 mile mark. I did actually pass two people on the climb which restored a little dignity. But, by the time I hit the bike/run transition I was ready to stop peddling. (Note to self: the closest preparation ride is probably Sandia Casino to La Luz trailhead in Albuquerque since it is a steady continuous climb with a very steep ending)
Run Up: Wow! What a gruel. This was my weakest event of the four. The gravel road here was even steeper than the end of the bike run. I ran as much as I could, but had to alternate running with walking until I could catch my breath. The 8000 ft altitude affected me more than I thought. It was at this time that I noticed the race leaders running the opposite way down hill. They had already reached the summit and were coming down on their 7th of 8 events, while I was still on my 2nd of 8 events. I was very impressed with these athletes. The last mile up was very steep and I quickly realized that I was wasting energy trying to run (it seemed like running in place), so I ended up walking the last mile focusing on taking long, efficient, hiking-like strides.
Cross Country Ski Up
This was my strength event in the race as I cross country ski on my own for fun. I even passed several people. The ski was a nice steady uphill through the forest that got slightly steeper near the end...but then I hit heartbreak hill. The uphill slope doubled for the last 200 yards just as I thought I was as tired as I could be. I had to rest at several points up this hill (Note to self: My homemade rope ski "skins" worked well. There was only one small downhill area in the ascent where sliding would have been useful but even those in skins weren't sliding anyway. The rope even worked well on heartbreak hill. But if REI rents skins it might be worth trying that next time.)
Snowshoe Up:
The first half of the snoeshoe was on a nice wooded trail with a gradual uphill. Then you hit the fully exposed ridgeline where you climb to the summit on a much steeper slope. I felt like I was climbing Mt. Everest. I would take 20 steps, then have to stop to take 10 breaths. Near the top it was more like 10 steps and 20 breaths, Add to that the temperature was below freezing, and the winds were howling at a steady 40mph with heavier wind gusts. It was quite the experiance. At this point I was about 5 1/2 hours into the race.
Snowshoe Down:
...or should I call it chaos down. The separate trail down was steeper than the climb with softer snow. It felt more like jumping down while semi-skiing on snowshoes. I fell once and found it difficult to get back up in the powder snow. When we merged down to the main snowshoe train the aid station not only had water, but were offering shots of hard liquor. I saw several half empty bottles on their tables. I wish I had my camera as that would have made an awsome photo. It was definitely un-expected. And yes...I did have a single shot of...water!
Ski Down:
Now I could fly. The ski down was actually 3 miles using a different route than the climb up for safety reasons. The first and last quarter of this section were a nice gentle down slope where it was easy to stay in control. The middle half was another story as it got very steep by XC standards. My XC skis do not have metal edges and doing a very wide awkard snow plow on a narrow trail for 1.5 miles can make you cramp quickly in awkard places. But I was happy with how fast I did it given my equipment. I even passed several people on the way down. If I ever do this again, metal edges are a must and I could ski even faster while in better control. (Note to self: XC ski up and then down the Sandia Peak ski area is very good preparation for the climb and the speed of the downhill)
Run Down:
I actually got a nice second wind at the start of this section. What was the steepest section on the way up became a breeze on the way down. I only seldom had to walk to catch my breath. But by the time I hit the halfway mark, the road flattened out and I really had to dig deep to keep going. This section is a very lonely road because the race is so spread out at this point. I didn't see a single other racer during this 5 miles. And who put those uphill sections near the end of the 5 mile downhill anyway? Funny how I didn't remember them on the run up. It did start to rain a bit in the last mile but didn't get me too wet.
Bike Down:
I was so happy when I hit this last transisition. I could nearly taste my victory of finishing the race since I thought gravity would do the rest from here. I was in for a surprise. The first 3 miles were the steepest and I really could have a nice rest here as I came flying down the mountain. It then got to be a bit more rolling in spots and I had to work a bit to get up hills. Then I realized that some idiot put a half mile STEEP uphill in the middle of the way down. I had to gear down as far as I could and even had to stop 2 or 3 times to simply catch my breath. I didn't eat much after I passed the summit. Next time I'll have to focus on eating more during the ski and run so I have more energy to end the race. Once past this uphill there was a nice downhill again until you hit the outskirts of Grants. Then the road got very flat with a wicked, sustained headwind. So the last 3 miles became a gruel as I tried to find the energy to finish. Sharee and the kids along with Julianne and Eric were there to cheer me on as I crossed the finish line at the 8 hr. 57 min. mark.
Final Thoughts to self:
If you ever do this again, don't carry around a 40 lb backpack during the entire race. (i.e. lose 40 lbs before attempting this race again)
