Here is the story of two Arizona Trail 300 attempts from this spring. While neither went to plan, I was able to finish my second attempt in good spirits with lessons learned.
Katie’s Sendero Steel size small in AZTR 300 ITT mode
My first attempt started in mid-March with some friends and fellow singlespeeders, all with potato pseudonyms. It was silly and I loved it. There was Tater Tot, Pomme Frites, Meta Tater, Young Tater, Mashed Taters, Potatoes O’Brien, and myself, Potayto Potahto. Our group of seven planned an early morning start, excited to race each other and to experience the AZT 300. Half the group had completed the trail before, but as for me, Mashed Taters, and Potatoes O’Brien, it was our first go. After a restless night of sleep, we woke to chilly temperatures at Parker Canyon Lake. The hose to my hydration bladder was frozen solid and my water bottle was slush. I checked later, and the low temp on my Garmin said it was 18 degrees. The sun was a welcome relief from the cold as we rode and hiked the Canelos.
The potato crew!
It was 10am and I was a little concerned that I could already hear myself wheezing. It usually takes longer than that to sound that bad. I took my albuterol inhaler to open things up. My legs felt amazing and Potatoes O’Brien was just ahead of me, providing some motivation to stay on the gas in the West Canelos. Aside from my lungs, I was feeling great. Having the friends around kept me motivated.
That afternoon, I was flying. I got to the magic green gate and rode the 30 mile descent all the way to Sahuarita Road. That’s where I caught the two lead potatoes. For the rest of the night, we leapfrogged. I was taking my inhaler periodically, but at times it didn’t seem to work quite right. I tried rinsing it out in case it was gunked up. I thought I was still getting the right dose but it was difficult to tell. What I did know was that my breathing was getting worse despite taking my inhaler at a regular interval.
During the night, I rode through Tucson, up Reddington, down Chiva Falls, on the Italian Trap section, and up to Molino Basin. I was climbing the Prison Camp section just after sunrise, finding it very difficult to breathe and coughing crap out of my lungs constantly. Mashed Taters (my favorite potato and husband) passed me and we had a quick chat. I told him about the issues I was having and that I wasn’t sure how far I would make it. He encouraged me to take a nap or at least a rest before I keep going. I took his advice, and while I wasn’t able to sleep, the rest helped me feel good enough to start the road climb up Mt. Lemmon. My legs felt strong but I had to keep a slow pace to manage my breathing. I arrived at the Summerhaven store, and to my suprise, Mashed Taters and Meta Tater were still there. I bought a sandwich, 7up, and some water. After I aired out my feet, we all rode out together toward Oracle Ridge.
Someone walking up the sidewalk asked about what we were doing and I could barely talk and keep up with him. Man, I was fatigued and out of breath. I thought I was going to be able to manage my breathing, but as I hiked on Oracle Ridge, things kept getting worse. 10 steps, catch my breath 30 seconds, 10 steps, catch my breath 30 seconds. It wasn't ideal but I thought as long as I keep moving, I'll get there even if it's slower than I'd like. The distance I could go without taking a break was decreasing so I tried taking more albuterol, but it didn't help at all. Hmm on top of a mountain, no roads around for hours, worsening breathing, emergency inhaler not working. I sat there and thought about my options, knowing that the right call was riding back down Lemmon to Tucson. I coughed, covering my mouth with my hand and when I looked at my glove, there was a splotch of just blood. That was the alarm that told me without a doubt I needed to turn around and head back to Tucson. I pushed it too far this time. So I hiked back out to the road and coasted down to Tucson. It took me 9 hours to get there. In hindsight, I probably should have called it earlier. It's always difficult to make that call, especially when for me, breathing issues typically come with ultra racing and it's something I've learned to deal with.
Sunset on Oracle Ridge
I went to the urgent care and was relieved that I had a clear x-ray and that my lungs sounded okay. The doctor gave me an nebulizer treatment and wrote a prescription for a maintenance inhaler since this is a chronic issue for me. I've been to the doctor for this before and received conflicting information, so I still have some digging to do to figure out how to manage my breathing.
I was so disappointed to quit. My legs felt so amazing and I felt like a damn superhero on the first day. I questioned whether I should've kept going but I know it was the right call this time. Being kind to your body is so important and I know if I’m not, I won’t be racing for long. I watched potato dots arrive at Picketpost, proud of my friends for their efforts and scheming my next attempt.
Having to quit got me fired up to try again. I made an agreement with myself that if I was feeling good and there was a nice weather window in a month, I’d give it another shot. Fortunately things lined up. I made a few changes to my gear. I didn’t have to bring quite as many layers because the lows were in the 50’s and brought a more substantial backpack to get some of the weight off my bike and on my back for more efficient hike-a-bikes. I packed 15,000 calories, enough to get me to Picketpost. I hoped to finish in the same range as the potatoes. Tater Tot passed me on Oracle Ridge last time and I thought I could probably hold that pace and maybe even break her women’s single speed record of 2 days, 19 hours, 25 minutes. This time I was “Little Debbie” on Trackleaders. Some people might think using an alias on trackleaders is silly, and they’re right, it is. But I love it. It gives people the chance to be creative and not take themselves so seriously. Plus, it kind of weirds me out if a stranger on the side of the road knows my name (which has happened to me before). - Katie Strempke
See Next Post for the Second Attempt!