Ocean/Canyon/Ridge Endurance Challenge 2010
9.5 mile ocean paddle
26 mile beach/road/trail run
38 mile bike (paved/fire road)
If you don't feel like reading the report, skip straight to the slide-show (thanks to Deb & Micah for taking pics):
www.king-dino.com/ocr/index.html
Saturday, May 22, 2010 - 6am
Deb and I arrived at Refugio in the brisk air of daybreak and I checked in with Race Director and all-around good guy Billy Petrini, surprised to see how many paddleboards were lined up already. The race had more participants than I had anticipated which was cool. I was thinking that next to no one would be willing to put up with this kind of torture. Granted some people were only doing the paddle, and there were a few doing the race as teams (not sure how many). It was cold, slightly windy, but not too bad and I figured that I'd warm up quickly on the paddle like I usually do.
The Paddle - 9.5 miles - Refugio beach to Haskell's Beach
At around 6:40a Billy started the clock, 17 boards in the water I think (including a couple kayaks and an outrigger). The start of the paddle was fine, but within the first mile things started to get VERY windy and conditions became pretty miserable, not to mention it was such a cold wind that I wasn't warming up, in fact I soon couldn't feel my feet or my hands.
Open ocean paddling is my most recent favorite sport and I've been out in less than ideal conditions many times before, but I've never had the feeling of "I really don't want to be here right now." Our lovely Santa Barbara Channel became full-on small craft advisory...and here I am laying down on a very small craft. The wind was howling, the swells were pretty big and swirling from every which way, whitecaps, freezing cold, the works. It pretty much sucked and if I hadn't spent so much effort getting in shape for this race I probably would've said "#$% this!" and bailed out at El Cap (at least two people did).
Within the first half-hour I lost sight of pretty much everyone (some ahead, some behind) except for my friend Rick Kreisler who was even with me, about 100 feet away from me off my right shoulder. This provided a little comfort since we could keep an eye on each other, and Rick has been out paddling in every kind of ridiculous condition.
By the time we got to Naples (about halfway), some of the turbulence faded, which made it a little more pleasant, but not really. Although the whitecaps were less prevalent, the current turned against us, forcing me to paddle harder just to keep up my already meager 5mph downwind pace. It was still bitter cold and the bad conditions forced me to lie down prone for the whole paddle since I didn't risk getting up on my knees and possibly getting knocked over, losing the board and becoming shark bait. Laying down and only moving your arms for 2 hours straight is more than a little uncomfortable.
About a mile from Haskell's pier, Rick pulled ahead of me and I followed him in, coming into the beach at 2:06, only a little slower than I had projected. I lost my board in the shorebreak and when I stood up my left quad cramped up something fierce....totally ready to run, yeah right. Waiting on the beach for me were Steve "Pukester" Potter and Joe Cooper, who started helping me get ready for the run. I slammed down an electrolyte pill, ate a banana and a slice of bread with peanut-butter and chia seeds, got my running shit on, rubbed out my aching quad and headed off down the beach.
The Run - 26 miles - Haskell's Beach to La Cumbre Peak (0' to 4200')
Everything eased off on the run. I started to warm up, the weather was pleasant (the wind was now pretty much at my back) and I could go in to 'robot-mode'. The first couple miles of the run are pretty rocky with some slick kelp sections and some wet corner crossings, but quite enjoyable. By the time I got to Sandpiper I had my shoes off for good and ran the rest of the way to Hendry's barefoot. Pulled in at Hendry's feeling really good. Joe and Pukester were there...Billy got my split but I don't remember it, I was pretty much on schedule. Grabbed a pb & chia slice of bread, took a bottle of Heed (electrolyte drink) and punched it for Jesusita trailhead while Pukester headed back to my house to grab my dog Nanook.
I hate pavement running in traffic, so this 4 mile stretch was pretty unsavory, but whatever. Close to the 101 at Modoc Micah and Bridget drove by shouting encouragement, and when I got to the trailhead they were waiting along with Joe Cooper....but no Pukester. Luckily he drove up about three minutes later with my furry running buddy who was to pace me to Tunnel trail. Jesusita over Inspiration was a cruiser with Nuke leading the way...we've been running this trail stacks over the last few months. Passed a couple other racers and got to Tunnel to find Pukester and Bridget with some fuel for the final 5.5, very steep miles to La Cumbre summit. Tunnel isn't my favorite running trail, too steep for much running and precious little shade. Luckily it wasn't hot and I ended up power hiking 75% and running the other 25%, taking far less time to summit than I had anticipated, even passing at least one other runner. At the end my legs were pretty cooked, but over-all I still felt really good and barring a mechanical on the bike, pretty much knew I'd finish the race.
Summitted La Cumbre right around 2:10. Billy told me I was the first solo-ist in, which I was quite surprised by. However I saw no support van, no Pukester. No food. No bike. Turns out I had gone up Tunnel way faster than anticipated while Puke had to descend the bottom of Tunnel, take the dog home, get my bike and drive up to La Cumbre Peak. Not very well planned on my part, but worth it for the luxury of getting to enjoy some of this event with my dog. Paddleboard Rick was up at the top and we chatted for a bit before he said, "I've got my bike in the back of the truck. Ride it." Good idea, and I got ready to hop on his vintage early 80s original geometry Specialized Stump-Jumper. Right when I was about to blast off I heard the familiar sounds of my support van...once again, just in time. I thanked Rick for his generous offer and got my beloved El Mariachi ("George" - single speed/rigid/29er) ready to roll.
The Bike - 38 miles - La Cumbre Peak to Refugio Beach (4200' - 0')
Just as a group of 3 or 4 other racers got to the summit I was finally on the bike with Billy shouting at me about lagging at the change-over. I'm not a really competetive person, and I certainly wasn't doing this race to win it, but when someone tells you you're in the lead, I think no matter who you are, you'd like it to stay that way.
So I hauled ass as much as fast as I could pedal down East Camino Cielo. The first part of this ride is pretty 'rolling'. Some big downhills mixed with some moderate climbs. It was also really windy on the entire ridge. Like REALLY windy. Like the kind of wind that would knock you over if you're not careful. Rick grabbed his bike and rode some of the first part with me, then went back to get his truck, leapfrogging me for much of it, parking ahead and then riding the hills with me. The climb from the 154 to the Gun Club is a 4+ mile slog, but as I got on West Camino Cielo I told Pukester to go home since I was feeling pretty good and had no intention of stopping for any more support.
When I hit the dirt downhill after the gunclub I had to be VERY cautious, as this is where I took my spill a week ago and sprained my right wrist. (Just realized I forgot to mention this. If you're wondering if the injury hurt on the paddle, the answer is yes, but luckily it was mostly numb from the cold). Anyway, I had the wrist in a brace, but going over bumps at any sort of speed on a rigid fork no less, was very, very uncomfortable. So at times I was pretty slow going.
And it was windy. Really, really windy. I'd estimate that the big ridge gusts coming through the saddles were 60+ mph. There were times when I had to pop my feet out of the pedals and stop myself from being blown over. Or the time where I hit a sand patch and was blown straight to the edge of a dropoff before getting off.
And it was cold. Uncomfortably cold.
I made a goal to get to the summit of Broadcast before I got out my cold-weather gear, but I couldn't do it. About a mile, maybe a bit more, from the summit I stopped at Rick's truck and got on my warm gear, grabbed a quick bite to eat and........we watched a lone cyclist powering up the hill past us. Damn. Rick told me he thought it was a team rider, but I wasn't so sure. And I was feeling good, but not that good. He was moving pretty strong and even if I had a geared bike I don't think I could have kept up with him. C'est la vie.
So I rode off into the wind and pedaled as fast as I could muster, hoping I could keep enough distance between me and any of the other riders on my tail. Summitted Broadcast in the howling wind and started down the final descent of 15 miles, which is dead easy downhill, with a few long flattish sections (tough on the single speed). Pulled into Campsites 60-61 to see Deb and Pukester waiting with Micah and Bridget just pulling in when I got there. Ratso and Nanook were there as well, with my old man Ratso taking in the finish of yet another big exercise day in his prolific sporting life. He's accompanied me on more adventures than either of us can remember so it's good to still have him around for another one (he's over 15 now).
Billy handed me an ice cold beer and it was finally over!
11 hours 28 minutes, 2nd place solo division (by 14 minutes) - I had a GPS on the entire race and my time read 11:36, but hey, I'll take the better official time.
Final notes:
I would never have expected the paddle to be the most difficult part and it was, mostly from the mental standpoint. It was supposed to be a cruise, but instead it was super cold and rather scary. Shane Scoggins, one of the best stock paddlers in the world, won the paddle in 1:46, I think (20 minutes ahead of me). I've been in several races with this guy and every time my beginning goal is to keep him in my sights for as long as possible, which never turns out to be that long. In this race I heard Scoggins basically tacked with the wind during the paddle, essentially using sailing techniques. Not only is he an outstanding athlete, he really knows the ocean. Very cool.
The run was the best part, great beach running and great trails. The savior was there wasn't any heat. It had to have been under 70 most of the day. Really made it not a big deal if you're in ok shape for long-distance running.
The bike was really brutal in the wind, bordering on misery, but that's to be expected on a ridgeline (although this was a little extreme). It would be nice to have more dirt and less pavement also. Overall a great ride though with the best views you can imagine for practically the whole thing. There's a few points up at Broadcast where you can really get a good view of the entire course that you'd been through that day.
Nutrition:
I never eat much on big days, it usually makes me feel like crap, so I tend to eat very small amounts spread far apart. Dinner the night before was a huge plate of Manny's Linguini at Petrini's washed down with 6 or 7 beers (race fuel). Here's what I ate during the on race day, as you can see, calorie-wise, it ain't that much:
1 cup coffee
1 glass V8
3 slices of bread with peanut butter/chia seeds
3 bananas
1 Hammer gel
1 Clif Shot
1 mouthful of peanut butter
1 Powerade liter
24 oz. Heed electrolyte drink
8 oz. of Keefer(?) yogurt drink that Rick had
1 small square of chocolate at Broadcast (thanks Rick)
Endurolyte (electrolyte) pills almost every hour (probably had 10)
Thanks to my most excellent girlfriend Deb, Rick Kreisler, Micah, Bridget, Joe Cooper, Nanook, Ratso, and most especially Steve "Pukester" Potter who drove around like a madman all day trying to be there when I needed him and never complained about how disorganized I was.
Also thanks to Billy Petrini, Mike Postma, and Paul Shields for putting the event together. Super fun!
