Pole Pedal Paddle - Jackson, WY - 4-5-08

"Number 127! Fifteen seconds!"

I looked blankly into the swirling snow ahead of me and tried to make out the first gate. I could barely see the top of it as the terrain dropped away below me. It was maybe 20 degrees and I had already been standing around at 9,000 ft for half an hour wearing a minimal amount of tight-fitting race clothing. Race? What race? I just want to get moving and get down. I wasn't really thinking about anything else. Not the race. Not the course. Not the cold. Not the fact that I was about to launch into a non-stop, frantic, four-sport, three hour journey through Jackson Hole. Not the 26 racers that had disappeared down the mountain before me 30 seconds apart. Not the 20 racers behind me waiting their turn. Not the fact that I was about to send myself rocketing down the mountain into a swirling white abyss.

"Ten seconds!"

It was one of those moments when all my pre-race details and mental preparedness had scurried off into the warmer, more protected regions of my brain. Oh well... It's too late to think anyway. I'm better off without those wimpy little thoughts anyway. I operate better on instinct. 'Man, I wish it were more like yesterday afternoon when I pre-ran the course in above freezing temps and under sunny skies.' Guess it doesn't matter now. 'Wait, what am I doing here again?!'

"Five! Four! Three! Two! One! GO!"

And I was finally off. Whereas the day before I could follow the arcing ski tracks around every turn, I immediately could tell this run would be completely different with a thick, heavy snow covering up each track behind every racer. This was going to require me to pay attention.

The forecast for Saturday morning wasn't very promising when I went to bed the night before. 4-8" of snow was predicted on the upper mountain with flurries and gusty winds down on the valley floor. Sure enough, on my way to Teton Village that morning, the highway shoulders (where we all would be racing our bikes in three hours) were coated in ice, snow, and frozen slush and in many places, the gusty west wind had blown thin drifts out towards the center of the road surface. Is this for real?! Is this really April?! Are we seriously going to racing on this icy road surface into a severe cross-wind with skinny tires and aero-bars while traffic zooms past at 45 mph?! Yeah, actually we are you whiny little baby monkey. I tried to think that during the next three hours during the time it would take me to get to the bike leg, the sun would come out and melt it off a bit. It only got cloudier and began snowing more.

The downhill course was a blast. I know I missed at least two gates because I didn't read the course properly and took a line around the wrong side of the gate. Apparently, I wasn't the only one however, because after the race, I heard other people saying they had the same problem. I don't think any penalties were assessed. I just tried to play it relatively safe and get down safely and securely knowing the most time I would likely lose on this leg would be around 30 seconds to the fastest one down. In this case, it was Crystal Wright taking the top honor in 3:04.7. I finished the leg in 32nd place in 3:51.5. Perfect. Right where I thought I'd be. On to the nordic track!

After quickly popping off my skis, prying off my boots, and stripping off a few layers of clothing, I was off and running on the 1/4 jaunt across the parking lot. A few minutes later and I was gliding off on skinny skis and WOAH!!! How come I just got passed by like 6 or 7 guys?! These guys are FLYING! I can't do that. I just learned how to skate ski this past winter and although I have improved tremendously since my humble introduction on Thanksgiving Day, I am now aware of just how much MORE improvement is possible. The nordic leg was around 10-12 kilometers and the hills were BRU-TAL! UGH! The fastest finisher for this leg came in at 23:43.4. I finished this leg in 58th place in 35:16.8. I knew that every guy who passed me on the nordic leg began the race behind me and now they were going to be heading off on the bike leg with a solid multi-minute advantage. I also knew that the bike leg would be my secret weapon for this event and I hoped I would be able to make up the difference and then some. By the end of the nordic leg, I was feeling pretty winded and I wasn't looking forward to the frozen hell I was about to encounter.

I got to my bike, changed out of the nordic boots, into my Sidi's, forgoed putting on booties, warmer tights, warmer gloves, or a balaclava in favor of saving precious time and figuring that riding a 19 mile time-trial at near maximum effort in 30 degree temps would keep me warm enough. I was pretty close to being right.

The road shoulder was covered in ice. The cross-wind was so strong, it was blowing snow off the shoulder and over the road. The only portion of road surface that was melted happened to be out in the lane where the vehicles were driving. And then we turned west straight into the icy, cutting gale. The ice-water that was spraying up from my wheels was freezing on every surface of my bike. My shoes were coated in dirty ice. My head was cold. I'm used to riding in this kind of cold, but I usually wear more clothes. After five minutes, I had caught and passed two guys. ten minutes later, I had caught and passed three more. A few minutes later, I caught a couple more. They were the carrots dangling out in front of me and I wanted more. I was hungry. I pushed harder, ignoring the ice buildup occuring on my drivetrain. I knew my gears were in danger of freezing, but I only hoped they would continue functioning for just twenty more minutes. I felt surprisingly good on the bike especially given the conditions and although it definitely was painful (as time-trials are supposed to be), I felt good about the ride. The fastest time of the day was a scorching 41:12.0. I finished 4th with a leg time of 47:53.6 while making up almost every second I had lost to the faster skiers on the prior two legs.

And this is where my "race" ended. When I began the boat leg, my combined time had me in second place in the individual racing class, 40 seconds out of first. And then I got in the boat (my second time ever in a kayak on a river) and began my agonizingly painfully slow voyage down the river with siezing glutes and hamstrings and numb noodle arms in my rented Tsunami 140 river kayak and got passed one after another by the super-experienced boating guys behind me in their carbon/kevlar downriver racing kayaks. The fastest boater finished the final leg in 59:33.3. I finished 70th in 1:23:13.8. I did stay warm enough although I'm not sure how because halfway through the boat leg I looked down and noticed the ice coating my spray skirt and paddle jacket.

(I should clarify that most of the people who finished ahead of me in each leg were members of a team who were each only doing one or maybe two legs. There were 18 competitors in the Men's Racing Individual category and out of that group, I ended up in 12th overall.)

The highlight of the kayaking section was not flipping into the river! And also, about two-thirds of the way down where an enormous bald eagle was screeching while perched high up on a dead tree branch just above the left side of the river. (unfortunately, I did see a few guys who had tipped their racing kayaks over into the river. The first guy I saw only made it about 200 yards down river before he got dunked. Another guy flipped over just after crossing under the finish line bridge while trying to move over to the shore.)

So I guess I need to work on my kayaking and find myself one o them thar carbon/kevlar 20 lb boats to go float in. It was a very fun event though. And even though I got smoked in the kayak leg (just like I thought I would), the point was to just go out and have fun with it and, you know, I gotta be honest, being out on the river feels good for my soul. If I had time, space, and money to get into another hobby, I would buy a boat. I'll have to work on that. Well anyway, I love multi-stage, multi-sport events and this is definitely a great one. But maybe I could do without the sub-freezing temps and icy roads.

You can find the full results here

I will be posting some photos of the race tomorrow. Stay tuned...