Such Great Heights

Kurt's a crazy man. He did the 206 mile, one-day Logan to Jackson race again this year. It was on September the 10th. I flew out to Utah a few days early to hang with Steph and see the Sibert's. On Friday Kurt arrived and we drove up to Logan where he prepped for the race and I played Dominion with my cousin Michelle and her husband Brian. (And seeing them interact with their 5 kids made me want a big family sooo bad. Is that strange?)

Saturday morning was an early one! Kurt's race time was 6:58 or something like that. We arrived a bit later than we liked, but okay time-wise. Except when Kurt's group lined up two minutes before their start time, he realized he'd left his timing chip in the car. In cycling shoes, he ran the two blocks back to the car and back. He started the race over a minute after his group! This caused more than just a minor delay. The race starts in downtown Logan. To accommodate the race, cops stop traffic whenever a group is coming through. After that group passes through, they re-open traffic for two minutes. So, that meant Kurt had to WAIT AT EACH TRAFFIC LIGHT. In between, he sprinted. Let me tell you something about cycling: going 25 mph with a group is MUCH easier than going 18 mph on your own. Kurt didn't catch up with his group until they were outside of Logan. He said his heart rate was the highest during that part of the race (he wears a monitor on rides). Even higher than any of his hill climbs or his sprint at the end!

So, that was flaw number one. Mistake number two happened at the third feed zone. We'd already agreed that he would skip the first feed zone and I'd meet him at the third (the second is a neutral feed zone, with support provided by the race). I arrived in Montpelier at 8:45. I found the Wilcox's and we hung out together while waiting for Alex's dad, Randy, to pass through. (PS, Randy is the man! He completed the race in 9 hours and 45 minutes, or something close to that.) At about 10:50, I was feeling pretty hungry. I had parked across the street from the feed zone at an Arctic Circle. Here are the elements that led to me missing him:

1) We hadn't coordinated which sign to meet at (there are numbered signs to make it easier for racers and support crews to find each other);

2) I wasn't sure how fast he'd be going. Montpelier is at the 80 mile mark. I didn't think he'd be averaging 20 mph. That's booking it on a ride like this.

3) He took his cell phone. In 2009, he called me as he approached every feed zone. Since we hadn't coordinated before the race, I thought he'd do the same this year, at least at the first feed zone.

4) I didn't understand that he was RACING the Lotoja this year, not just riding.

So I thought, "If I run over to Arctic Circle and he calls, I'll easily be able to hop back across the street and give him his stuff."

BIG MISTAKE. After I received my food, Kurt called and said, "I missed you! I called for you, and you weren't there! I'll see you in Afton."

Yeah, I felt terrible. So Kurt had to go 30 miles before getting ANYTHING and that was just at a neutral feed zone. They didn't have the supplies he prefers. Someone in Montpelier gave him a water bottle and good thing, because he might've gotten way sicker than he did.

The rest of the ride went well. We were able to meet up in Afton and Alpine. I enjoyed driving through Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming and jamming out to my music. At Teton Village, the finish line, I met back up with Alexson. Allison and I went to the sidelines to cheer Kurt as he raced in, and Alex met him at the finish line. Kurt was exhausted, but happy. He got 7th place out of his group (50 guys). Not bad for so many mistakes! His official time was 10 hour and 13 minutes. That's 42 minutes shorter than his previous time. So proud of him!

BUT! The story gets better. After about 30 minutes, we head back to the car. Our plan was to drive back into Idaho and stay with Caroline and Skylar, about an hour and a half away. While in the parking lot, Kurt sat down and said, "I don't feel good." I got him to make it to the car at least. And then he threw up. Okay, no big deal. He just rode his for 10 freaking hours. On a sunny, uncomfortably warm day with little shade. Totally understandable. He decided he needed to eat and Alexson invited us to eat with them in the village.

Kurt didn't even make it past ordering drinks before he left the table. Alex took him back to their room in the hotel. When he returned, he said Kurt was pretty nauseous, but OK. So, I finished out dinner and even ordered Kurt something mild for his stomach.

When we--me, Allison, Alex, Randy, and Christie, Alex's sister--returned to the room, we discovered that Kurt had been throwing up this whole time. I went to our car and grabbed some PediaLyte for him to drink, to replenish his electrolytes. I knew he was throwing up because of his dehydration, and I knew that once he got hydrated, he'd feel better. Well, three hours later he'd drunk an entire bottle of PediaLyte. And hadn't kept a drop of it down. It was almost ten at this point. I was not attempting to drive him all the way to Idaho Falls. I was taking him to the hospital. (Also, while I was grabbing the pedialyte, Alex and Randy gave him a blessing. So grateful for the Priesthood.)

I was never worried about Kurt not being okay in the long run. I was pretty sure he was just seriously dehydrated, to the point of being nauseous. And I figured he wouldn't be able to keep anything down until he got hydrated again. Kind of a conundrum. When I was pulling out of the village, Kurt noticed the lights were on at the finish line still. We decided to check if the EMS were there still as well.

As luck would have it, they were! They gave Kurt anti-nausea medicine and some Gatorade, but said I still needed to get him to the hospital. So, off we went.

We arrived at the emergency room at 10:45. Kurt was admitted after about twenty minutes. Three-quarters of the way through his first IV bag, he was feelings tons better. (He said he was no longer dizzy and light-headed.) He was even able to go to the bathroom after that first bag (which is a great sign). Halfway through the second bag, we planned on leaving after it was empty.

HOWEVER, it was late! 12:30 at this point, and I'd just driven all day. I wasn't too perky myself. I was NOT looking forward to the long drive to Caroline's, especially not over Teton Pass that is steep, long, and full of animals just waiting to be hit. At 11:30 or so, I started calling hotels to see if they had any cancellations. No dice. The doctor came in around midnight to check on Kurt and I told him our dilemma. He said the hospital owned a hotel with subsidized lodging. He warned us that it was probably full, but to check anyway. And, thank heavens, they had an available room. At only $45 a night! So finally, at 1 am, we drove the three blocks to the hotel and crashed for the night. I woke up the next morning around ten, Kurt around eleven, and we were back on the road by noon. Kurt even felt well enough to drive the 5 hours to my Grandma Hatch's house. We ate with my family, then headed over to his mom's for the night.

The next day we got lunch at Red Iguana with Alex, then headed home. Kurt actually felt worse on Monday than he did on Sunday (mostly from the strain of racing and not the dehydration, though his stomach didn't feel completely well again for almost a full week).

So yeah, that was an adventure I could've done without! And the Kurtstanimal is eager to race the Lotoja again next year, with dreams of winning his group. He's insane.