Alexandera Houchin sets new Arizona Trail 300 Singlespeed Record!

Alexandera smashed the singlespeed record this year on the AZTR 300 and we are so stoked that she did in leopard print! See more here over at : Bikepacking.com

Katie's AZTR ITT Round 2

Arizona Trail Race Individual Time Trial Second Attempt:

The first day I was right on the pace I wanted. My body felt good, I had a tailwind, and the morning temperatures weren’t as cold as my first attempt. I could push my pace until about noon when I had to meter my energy just a bit to deal with the heat. I took my last sip of water a mile before Kentucky Camp, perfect timing. It was my first break. I took my shoes off right away to air out my sweaty, soggy feet. I filled up my water and ate a burrito before I kept going. Since I started later and at the border, I got to the magic green gate in the dark. The descent was a welcome break, but the nighthawks kept ruining my flow, flying into my face if I didn’t see them in time. 

Sunset on the AZTR

I started my second day with the Italian Trap section. I hiked Molino Basin during the day and man, what I would’ve given to jump in a creek that moment. I must’ve blocked out the Prison Camp climb last time, because I was expecting to get to the Lemmon Highway much faster than I did. When I finally made it, I kept a steady pace, dreaming about the creek at the top on Sunset Trail. 

I arrived at the Summerhaven store at 4pm. I refilled my water and bought an ice cream bar and a 7up for now and another for later. A hiker asked me where and when I started. “That’s kind of annoying. I’ve been out here for 9 days.” I tried to keep my stop quick to get as much of Oracle Ridge done in the daylight as I could. I got most of the way down before sunset that second night. 

Once the sun was gone, I started getting slower and clumsier and my breathing was getting worse again. I stopped for a 20 minute nap but couldn’t relax enough to sleep, so I kept going. After a few minutes, it was clear that I was going to need to sleep to keep a decent pace so I stopped again and set a timer for an hour. Maybe it was having less pressure from the timer, but I was able to sleep this time. When I woke up, my body needed to get rid of some shit in my lungs- it was an energy sucking cough and the episode lasted about 10 minutes. Like a cat with a hairball, I was bent over, coughing up more hard and sticky junk from my lungs than I ever had in my life. When it was finally over, my lungs felt better than they have in years. I could take a deep breath again. While I was still coughing up crap the rest of the way to Picketpost, I didn’t need to use my inhaler once which is very unusual for me. I’ve always had to use my inhaler at regular intervals to keep my lungs under control on long rides.

As I made progress, the trail opened up and got faster again. I laid down for a few more dirt naps that night. The sun came up again when I was in the Black Hills section. The land was covered in cholla. It was beautiful as long as they weren’t on the trail! 

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Things were going okay until the late afternoon. While it wasn’t terribly hot, the sun was oppressive. I neglected to put sunscreen on my legs and they were on fire. I took my sun sleeves for my arms and put them on my calves for some relief. I saw my first substantial tree of the day at about 2pm and stopped in its shade to cool down and drink the 7up I saved from Summerhaven. My progress was slowing and I was frustrated about all my coughing. I’ve done a lot of reading on sleep lately and one of the things science tells us is that emotional regulation is one of the first things to go when you’re sleep deprived. Despite knowing that, it’s still difficult to keep your emotions in check. Right as I started feeling sorry for myself, I saw a Gila Monster right in the trail! I was so pumped. I’ve always wanted to see one in person. I took some pictures and rode that energy all the way to the top of Ripsey at sunset, man what a view. 

As I approached Kelvin, I remembered camping there with some friends this winter. It was an amazing spot right by the river, but what was really on my mind was the fact that Karla saw a mountain lion while we were out there. As I was having that thought, I passed a cow skeleton with a gut pile. Creepy. I made it to the ADOT yard to refill my water with plans to take a nap as soon as it made sense. That night is when things really started to fall apart. If you remember from my goal time, I wasn’t planning on having to go through a full third night. I found a nice flat spot to lay down. I got my puffy and emergency blanket out. There was a large spider that kept wanting to check me out. I kept brushing it away but it wouldn’t leave me alone. I tried to sleep but couldn’t stop thinking about the spider so I decided I’d try to make a little progress before trying to sleep again. 

I knew I’d need to take some longer chunks of sleep that night. I’m not sure why I decided to set my alarm for 1.5 hour blocks instead of just trying to sleep 4 hours straight. I guess I was trying to keep moving forward, still hopeful I’d finish at a decent time in the morning. Unfortunately, that just wasn’t realistic with my level of fatigue and sleep deprivation. I finally made it down to the Gila at sunrise where I found a set of mountain lion tracks. 

I knew the climb up Martinez Canyon would be tough and “Little Debbie” was running out of Little Debbie snacks. I knew I’d have to turn it on low and slow, burning snack cakes from times past for fuel. My progress was slow, but I was in good spirits. Martinez Canyon offers some of the best views of the AZT 300. It was so quiet and I was soaking it in. I was fortunate to have cloud cover that day. Denny, another bikepacker on an ITT, caught me near the top of the climb and I didn’t have the energy to hang with him. I continued my slow pace to Picketpost. I saw my first hiker of the day who told me I was an amazing athlete for doing this on a bike. I think he’s an amazing athlete for doing it by foot! I finally made it to the end, 3 days 11 hours after I started at the US/Mexico border. Denny, his partner Alissa, my husband Andrew, and John who organizes the Arizona Trail Race were there. They’ve all done the trail and knew how I must be feeling.  

While I didn’t reach my time goal, I was happy to finish the route. I still have some work to do to figure out how to manage my breathing better. If I had known I would have to ride through a third night, I definitely would have slept more on the front end, but in order to go fast, you have to take chances. This time, skipping on sleep didn’t work out, and so the experimentation continues. - Katie Strempke

Katie's AZT 300 2021 Attempts & Lessons Learned

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!