Race up Mt. Evans…
Well, my sister did the race up Mt. Evans a few weeks back and has a report for us…
Ok, I am finally feeling stable enough to give a race report:) We started out fast. I was staying in the pack, feeling good, and hiding well. Then at 5.56 miles, just a little before the curve where more noticeable climbing starts, there was a crash right in front of me. There were bikes and girls flying all over the place. It was very unnerving. It looked like a wave coming at me. I know one girl lost a tooth. I don’t know the outcome of the rest of the heap. I got gapped from the pack by the crash. It took about 10 minutes to catch back up. By then the pack had split. I never did catch the front pack. About four more miles up the road I started to feel some asthma pain. I tried to get my inhaler from my pocket. It had fallen apart. I thought it was back together but was wrong. I tried to use it as it fell apart and fell to the ground. It would have taken so long to retrieve all the pieces that I decided to just leave it and do my best on my own. I wasn’t climbing as fast as I wanted to but was doing ok until about timberline. A couple of my friends from the JDS team, Eric and Jeff flew by at Echo. I found some inspiration from watching those guys go! Wow!
So… Just a little before Summit Lake I realized I was in worse shape than I thought. The chest cold I was fighting and altitude were taking a toll. I may have overestimated my ability to be ok without inhaler. I felt like I was breathing through a soda straw and each breath was more painful than the last. I tried to focus my thoughts on my pedal strokes, the next curve, and the pretty scenery, anything else besides the pain. The positive thinking held out until the parking lot was in sight. 2 or 3 switchbacks from the top I felt my windpipe constrict and started to lose periphery vision. I was starting to get scared. I hedged my bets that there would be some medically inclined folks at the top, dug deep, and got there as quickly as possible. My time was 15 minutes off of my goal. It was my second best time for the four times I did the climb this year.
I crossed the finish line with a feeling like I was falling. I don’t think I fell but don’t entirely know either. Fortunately my JDS friends were at the top. One of them helped me get to the medical people and the other grabbed my bike, then they found my clothes. Those guys are awesome!!! I thought I was home free, but the medical car only had oxygen, no inhaler and no good way to force an airway open. Oxygen is great if you can get it in otherwise it doesn’t help a lot. I sat there for a while trying to suck in some O2. After about 20 minutes I started feeling extremely claustrophobic. It is a strange feeling to be on top of the world yet having such limited escape options. I was panicking and felt I had to get down immediately so I pronounced myself ok(ish) and took off with the guys (who waited for me, I love those guys!). It started to rain/hail a little, the clouds turned dark and ominous, and we got to watch some lighting beside us. I still couldn’t breathe too well and was still extremely dizzy. I have truly never been more thankful to see timberline!
I learned a lot from this race. I need to carry extra inhaler! I learned I have a very hard time backing off of my goals, even when they are somewhat arbitrary and only really matter in my own head. At the top while I was fighting to stay conscious I reflected on how exactly I came to be in that condition and wondered if the risks I took were worth it. I never feel more alive than when I try things that are very challenging and don’t have a sure outcome. Given that, the risk was worth it but I need to be better prepared to deal with the consequences if/when things don’t work out flawlessly. Things change quickly up there; one minute you can be on top of the world and the next on your knees. Even after all that happened during the race I can’t wait to do that epic climb again!!! What a place! I have never experienced beauty, serenity, and freedom as I have on this climb!
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So if you liked the story and would like to support more craziness and pain feel free to donate for the MS Global
http://www.tylerhamiltonfoundation.org/tammylucas112.html