After 6 winter seasons in Colorado and 25 years of snowboarding and skiing, hypothermia was still just a distant term. It got real for me on April 14th in Arizona of all places. It was not pretty or fun.
Teenie and I were racing Colossal Cave RR today. She survived a 4 lap finish but I logged a DNF after 4 laps(5 laps scheduled) . Marginally dressed for 55F dry temps, we faced 42F/15 mph wind/driving rain the entire race.
Uncomfortable quickly escalated. I lost complete use of my hands and could not shift, my HR fell to 135 on an RPE of 10(usually 170 on RPE 10), I totally lost focus, my vision was effected. Ultimately, I could not think.
When I got to the car, I violently shook for 40 minutes. I could not turn on the heater, despite the fact we have owned the car for 8 years. I was a wreck. When I stopped shaking, I promptly fell asleep.
Teenie, dressed smarter, was in pain but not to my extent. Maybe she is just tougher? This is not first time I have ask myself this question.
#24 Marginal gain - Make sure I have clothing in AZ for all conditions.
Sorry, I don't have picture. I am glad to have survived and be writing about this.
1 comment:
Glad you survived! I wouldn't expect that in Arizona, except on top of Mt. Lemmon, and only because you told us so.
We never stop learning...and in some cases RElearning.
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