Team Kagome headed out to Whidbey Island last weekend for the 15 hour BEAST race. This race was changed to a stage format after some last minute permit issues. To allow for more navigation practice and due to scheduling conflicts, Roger and Jared were on one team and Dave and Jen were on another. Roger and Jared blasted through the first leg (a 4-5hr bike and run course) with one of the fastest times. We then spent the evening putting in some “bonus” training miles that werenot part of the race, just to get more time on our feet. We wandered around for 3-4 hours after the first leg. This meant only 30-45 minutes of sleep before the kayak leg the next morning. We did’nt have a fast boat, so our hope was only to not give up too much time. We put in a solid effort and managed to only lose 10 minutes to the top team in the ~20km paddle course.
The last leg was another bike/run course that started in a “chase” format based on cumulative time up to that point. Roger and Jared were in 2nd place, 10 minutes behind the 1st place team. This meant they started 10 minutes after the first place team. The segment began with a beautiful run on the beach and we closed the gap on the 1st place team by the time we finished the run. The bike leg was fairly casual as we shared navigation with the 1st place team and all rolled into the finish for a 1st place tie. We were pleased with the result given that we had assumed this would just be a training race, but once you get in the mix it is hard to slow down.
Share This
The Seattle Cherry Blossom Festival was held last weekend at the Seattle Center and brought with it many visitors to sample Kagome juice, learn origami, look at the beautiful ikebana flower arrangements and listen to taiko drums.
Jen, David and Roger worked at the Kagome booth over the weekend handing out juice samples to visitors attending the festival. We heard many positive responses about the juice, people really liked it - several liked it so much they tried all three flavors.
Throughout the festival we held several contests where the winners took home a bottle of their favorite Kagome juice. Contestants had 30 seconds to transfer a bowl full of fruits and vegetables into another bowl using chopsticks. It was fun to watch people come up with different techniques to move the food quickly between the bowls. The mini carrots proved to be the hardest veggie to transfer using chopsticks!
Share This
Over the past few weeks, we wrapped up our team certifications for Primal Quest. In order to compete in the race, each participate is required to complete skill assessments in whitewater kayaking, rope skills for climbing and ascension, navigation, first aid and swimming. The final big push for us was the swimming certification, where we all had to swim a mile. We arranged for the certification at a local pool and did lap after lap after lap! But we are now officially done with that part!
The first local adventure race of the year was held at Dash Point State Park. This race was part of the Beast Series. David, Jen and Roger competed in the race. It was a great early season warm-up. The course featured portions on foot and on the bike and some wacky skill tests. The highlight was Jen and Dave watching Roger get to be the one to wade into the Sound to attain a checkpoint. David had one little minor mix-up that cost the team some time on the course, but we finished in eighth place overall. All in all it was great fun and a great course.
Some of the other fun things that the team has done recently: Jared completed a two- day 200+ mile bike ride on the Oregon Coast. Jen continued her ski racing, bagging 3rd place on a course at Alpental. David and Roger completed the Mt. Si 50K. We all got to experience VegFest! We each poured hundreds of sample cups of Kagome juice at this year’s annual convention. The place was packed with people, which kept us on our toes the entire time. It was fun to share the Kagome story and find out why people love the juice so much.
Some exciting upcoming events: We have a 15- hour adventure race as well as rogaine course coming up in the next few weeks. Not to mention lots and lots of training.
Share This
Things were very busy at work this past week so I hadn’t given the weekend much thought until Wednesday or Thursday. During our climbing certification on Thursday, Dave mentioned that he had a very ambitious 30+ mile run planned for one of the weekend days. Jen mentioned that she was going to get out but was going to keep it a little lower key since she is just beginning to regain her health after being sick.
I realized that this was one of the few weekends between now and PQ that I didn’t have something scheduled so I thought I should take the opportunity and go for a long outing. Dave and I tried to figure out a way to incorporate both of our activities and meet up to accomplish them together, but it didn’t work out. I had contacted another friend, but it was logistically too challenging so I was going solo.I decided that I would shoot for a 24+ hour outing. Since the snow line is still so low and I didn’t feel like driving a long way, I decided to take advantage of the Issaquah Alps. The informal goal was to try to be out for 24 + hours, to log some decent mileage, and to get in some elevation. It wasn’t until Friday night after work (in true adventure racer form) that I started to try and put things together. I decided to take care of all my domestic obligations before leaving because I knew I wouldn’t feel very motivated after the outing. I originally thought I would leave Friday night, but by the time I had finished cleaning and packing it was 11:30. I decided I would go whenever I woke up.
I woke up at about 5 a.m., but the thought of jumping out of bed to get right after it didn’t sound too appealing so I just laid there. As I found myself still in bed by 6:30 it became clear that my staying in bed was classic avoidance behavior. I knew it would be a decent work out, but the thought of moving for 24+ hours straight didn’t really excite me especially without the motivation of teammates to share the experience with.
I was finally able to pull my act together and was heading down the road on my bike a little before 8. I left the house with my twenty eight pound pack on under threatening skies. The plan was to ride to Cougar Mt, ditch the bike, trek from Cougar across Squawk Mt and do an out and back on Tiger Mt before reversing course. As I rode to Cougar, I decided I would head for the Sky View Trailhead. I ditched my bike in the brush at the entrance to the parking lot and locked it to a tree. I noticed the pack weight fairly quickly. I commute to work with a pack several days a week, but it doesn’t weigh nearly as much as my pack did that day and my commute is only about an hour fifteen. My back was killing me as I rode up Lamont. It hurt bad enough to make me nauseous. That was a first for me. I clearly need to start wearing a heavier pack more frequently especially when cycling. I think I made a similar comment after our first team outing. Note to self -put weight on back more frequently or pay dearly come PQ.
As I transitioned from bike to foot I realized I had left the first of the three maps that I was going to need at home. Talk about a good start. I wasn’t sure what to do. I could ride into Issaquah and buy another map. I could ride to a trailhead on one of the maps that I did have or I could be lazy. Hmmm…actually it was a no-brainer for me on that day. I would be lazy. As they say on that television game show, I phoned a friend. My teammate Dave is a bit of an Issy Alps savant. Can there be such a thing? Well the guy has logged a tremendous number of hours up there and has a mental blue print of the trail system. He has spent so much time up there I hear rumor they are considering naming a trail after him. I think it is going to be called the Heyting Express and it will be a shorts only trail (no long pants allowed.)
He gave me some solid directions (or in my favorite orienteering vernacular - directions that were “nuts on.”) In the end, I think it was kind of a blessing that I left the map. I can get uptight about things like that and having to force myself to mellow out was good practice. You can’t get lost out there and I had no time lines so in the worst case scenario I would have been walking circles for 24+ hours. Not fun, but no big deal either. With Dave’s directions and a little map of Cougar Mt they had at the trailhead I was able to work my way over to Squawk. I ended up coming off of Squawk into the wrong neighborhood. I decided instead of going back I would just wonder down to Issaquah and pick up a different trail system then I intended. While the urban trek wasn’t necessarily my first choice, it was only a few miles before I was on trail again. A minor price to pay for forgetting the map.
Once on Tiger the plan was to take trails that gave me the most direct line to the Rattle Snake Lake Ridge trail. I realized I probably wouldn’t make it that far, but it seemed as good of an objective as any.
The weather was excellent for this time of year. I really lucked out. It was partly cloudy with lots of sun breaks. Compared to last year when I spent many a long weekend in the rain or worse yet stuck on the trainer inside trying to prepare for IMAZ, this year’s weather has been amazing. I hope I didn’t just jinx it. Sorry if I did. Let me tell you, it would have been a short outing if it had been one of those constant day long rains.
I was surprised at how much I was enjoying the day. I left the house tentative about the long day ahead, didn’t care for the bike ride with the weight, but found myself really enjoying the trek. I tried to jog some of the down hills and managed to shuffle a few of the short flats, but most of the time it was a hike. I never came near race pace (which I was a little frustrated with myself about), but I was still happy I was logging some mileage.
Walking up a particularly step section of trail on Tiger I pasted two woman. Well actually it was a grandmother, a daughter, and an infant. When I passed them grandma was carrying the infant in her arms. And to think I was just whining about carrying a 28 pound pack. Okay, by this point it was probably more like 23 -25 pounds now that I had consumed some water and food. I had nothing on those ladies.
Speaking of goodies, that alone can be a motivating factor for these outings. I generally make a concerted effort to eat fairly well, but when I set out on one of these ventures I load up on some less then healthy food. I made a bunch of ham sandwiches with cheese, I packed a bunch of candy bars, I had some Cadbury Easter Eggs, some molasses cookies, and the obligatory can of Pringles. Now if I had had that list in mind while I was trying to haul myself out of bed I would have been up at 5:01.
It started to get noticeably colder around 4:30 and the roots were getting slippery by around 6. It was definitely freezing at the higher elevations. As my teammates can attest, it is weird how difficult it can be to see at night with your headlamp when it is freezing. Depending on the direction of the wind, when you exhale the fog that your breath creates diffracts the headlamp beam and you can’t see anything but a bright glow. It is like having your car headlights on high while you are going fast in a very dense fog. Not that I have ever done that of course. It can make footing and trail finding a bit challenging. I have tried holding my breath but that doesn’t seem to work so well for some reason. That approach causes all sorts of other issues. Actually I usually end up just breathing out the side of my mouth. I sure was missing my teammates about then.
It was interesting how quickly my resolve and morale started to fad as night set in. What is it about the dark? Originally my turn around time was going to be 8:00 p.m., but after my navigational snafu coming off Squawk I thought I should push it back to 9:00 since I figured I would be saving some time when I went from Tiger to Squawk on my return trip. I then thought I would make it 9:30 because I was going to push a little bit on the way back. However, by the time it was dark it was all that I could do to keep heading out. I played all sorts of mind games, but by 7:30 p.m. I threw in the towel and started heading back. The dark just destroyed my mental resolve.
I haven’t done a great deal of long night hiking solo and boy can the mind wonder. I also found the footing to be a bit challenging, but some of that could have had to do with the freezing conditions.
For those who haven’t been to the Poo Poo Point launch sight at night, you would be well served to check it out. It is an amazing view of the city lights and the surrounding hills. There was very little wind so I decided to take a break and enjoy the view. I think it was around 9:30 at this point. I grabbed some food, put on another layer, and laid down on the paraglider’s take-off carpet using my pack as a pillow and kicked back to enjoy the view. There was an owl in a tree just behind the bathroom that was very talkative. I think he may have been commenting on how rare it is to have so little wind up there and how amazing the view was. He was one of four owls I heard that night. I must have heard two different varieties because one had a much more distinct call then the others. I also had the you know what sacred out of me in the middle of the night by some raccoons as they scurried up a tree. I obviously scared them to. Sorry guys but you got me back in kind.
At 10:30 I ran out of fluids. I heard the dum-dum-dum of the foreboding Hollywood music as I got air on the final suck off my hydration bladder. I knew I would be paying the Piper a little extra before the night was through for running out of water. I was a long way from my bike where I still had two mostly full water bottles. I am not about to drink water coming off the Issy Alps. Not only do you become dehydrated without water, but you are also much less likely to eat which messes with your calorie intake. Maybe worst of all (my teammates will understand this), I still hadn’t cracked the seal on the Pringles. I had been saving them for later in the night when I was going to need the pick-me-up that comes from a tasty snack. Salt without fluids is never a wise idea, so I ended up packing that can the entire trip without having a single chip. Oh well, I guess I am ready for next time.
I set out with three liters of water and knew that I would likely run out, but it happened a little sooner then I had expected, so much for pushing the pace on the way back. I decided that I should probably keep the pace down which would reduce my sweating hopefully limiting how thirsty I would become. Truth be told I wasn’t moving so quick at this point anyhow. Once it got dark, I didn’t seem so motivated.
From about midnight until I got back to my bike at 4:15, I was the lolly-gagging hiker. Each time I had to pull out the map, I would lay down and take my own sweet time. Fortunately it was cold so none of those breaks ever became too extended. This was clearly not race pace.
Once back at my bike I had several long savory drinks of sports drink, boy did that taste good. I ate a little and changed my clothes. Oh yeah and got very cold….brrr. The ride down Lamont was brutally cold. It was cold out, but it felt much colder then it was. I am sure it was a combination of the air temperature, the wet cold riding gear I put back on, the time of day, and low blood sugar levels. I swear it took half the ride before my hands became functional again. I was home by about 6:50.
The final analysis: While I fell short of my 24+ hour goal I was still pleased with my efforts. It was good to be on foot that long and my back protested the pack so it clearly needed the work. I was a little unhappy with my slow pace but without any specific motivation like time or teammates or destination etc., it is tough to push too hard. I definitely need to wear a heavy pack more. I would also be well served to log more long outings, but I don’t think the schedule is going to allow that. As the only person on this team without multiday racing experience, it just boggles my mind how we will be able to do this over and over for up to ten days. I guess come July I will have an answer to that question.
By the numbers - for all those data heads out there:
Time: 22 hours 50 minutes
Mileage: 104.2 - 55 on bike and 49.2 trekking.
Elevation gain: 12,802 ft. - 2,362 ft. biking and 10,440 ft. trekking.
Calories burned: 10,462 - 2,961 on bike and 7,501 trekking.
Heart rate: 115 average with a max of 159 - Most Definitely Not Race Pace.
Share This
On March 1st we took care of our kayak cert with Wave Trek/OAC on the Skykomish River out of Index. The morning started out with dryland training, review of the basics and watching videos while eating delicious waffles whipped up by our great instructor crew. We then headed out to the river to practice our skills of reading the river and basic paddle strokes. It was a fairly cold day, with the snow level not too far above us and a light drizzle which at one point turned into hail. Needless to say, no one was looking forward to an unplanned swim.
After doing some more river reading and grabbing a quick bite to eat, we loaded up the boats to drive down river to run a lower section. Our guides were in play boats and we were all soloing inflatable kayaks. The inflatable boats are much more stable but also less responsive than the hard shell boats. Either way, they were much more seaworthy than a Sevylor Tahiti, which we have all used at some point in local races.
We put in and hit a decent rapid right out of the gate. We all made it through but managed to get an idea of how cold the water was from catching a little water in the face from the waves. We pulled out upstream from Fisherman’s and scouted the river. We all decided to run it on the left side, making sure to avoid the two holes just off the left bank. Roger went first, followed by Jared, Jen and then Dave. Roger made it through, no problem. Jared got turned sideways in a wave and took a swim, ending up sitting on a rock right above a hole. Jen made it through, just missing Jared on the rock. Looking upriver for Dave, all we saw was a boat stuck in a hole – no Dave. Yikes! A few minutes later, he popped out on the shore. It turned out that he was stuck in the hole with the boat, unable to get out. In the flip, he lost his paddle so we got to practice a little towing on the rest of the trip. Not too long later, a local on the shore lent us an oar so Dave was able to paddle again.
After the river, we headed back to Index to change into dry clothes, put away our gear and stand in front of the biggest “space heater” you’ve ever seen. This thing could melt your clothes! It was a great day on the river, despite the cold and rainy weather. We actually got a few sun breaks throughout the day. On the way home, we stopped for Mexican food and went over out to do lists and plans for upcoming events.
Share This
14 hour training session in Anacortes and on Orcas Island. Started off with a 12-mile bike on the single-track trails in Anacortes around Cranberry Lake. Then packed it up and hit the ferry over to Orcas Island for an 18-mile bike to the summit of Mt. Constitution. There was snow and ice on the road and biking up it was tricky. We decided to change our initial plan to bike and hike near the summit on the trail system on the upper mountain and instead headed back down the road to the Mountain Lake trail. There we ran 5 miles around the lake before heading to Cascade Lake trail to run another 2 miles. We saw markers and people sleeping in their cars that were up on Orcas to run the 50k. Their course got changed as well, due to the amount of snow and ice on the planned route.
We biked back to the ferry dock and grabbed some warm drinks and food before catching a few winks on the ferry and running another 4-1/2 miles at Washington park with Dave’s buddy Chase, that had arranged an orienteering course for us to practice on. Fun trip and nice to have some backup options so that we could change our course due to the snow. We’d like to go again and do our original route sometime later this summer.
Share This
