Training Log Archive: angelsimpson

I don't do many race reports, please be kind. LOL


Oct 25, 2020 - R2R2R - 15:48 total time. Started at 4am local time.

South Kaibab Trail Head to Phantom Ranch (7 miles, ~2 Hrs, ~25min stop from 2:07-2:31): Technically I started my watch where we were dropped off at the gate, which was a short jog to the actual trailhead. I was so excited to finally start! The weather was great, started in medium weight arm sleeves and felt good the whole way down. Fueling was on schedule, even ahead of schedule, I originally planned for every 2 hrs, decided to change to every 1.5 hrs and was hitting that or sooner. The large steps down SK trail were harder than I thought they would be, bigger steps than I expected, therefore slowing me down the whole way. Whenever there were stretches without these large steps I was able to run comfortably. It didn’t take long for the quads to start feeling the braking of the constant downhill though. We did stop at Ooh Aah Point for the bathrooms, but there was no real view for us since it was still so dark. Off we went and we kept plugging away until we could finally hear the river and then eventually made it across the bridge. It was a little confusing coming into Phantom in the dark with a few trail offshoots and after a back and forth we finally came to the water and bathrooms at Phantom. Here we filled up water bladders (started with 1 liter, but each stop I filled up to 2 liters, except the last stop at Indian Garden). Everyone reorganized packs, filled water, and used the bathrooms. I also took off my medium weight arm sleeves since it was starting to warm up and as a result my arms were feeling overly warm.

Phantom Ranch to Manzanita (8.5 miles, ~ 2:20 hrs, 7 min stop from 4:49-4:56): First light was finally coming up as we left Phantom and headed into the box. I wasn’t ready to put away my headlamp yet, so I kept it running for another 20 min or so, then I stashed it in my shorts pocket until I knew I would need it on the final climb out. This next section I had hoped would be one of my stronger sections through the canyon, it was the most flat/gradual climbing terrain we would see the whole day with the exception of the return when it would be mostly flat/down. Unfortunately this is when I started to fall apart. I was running what I thought would be a maintainable and comfortable pace, but quickly I found myself feeling way out of breath and my heart rate climbing. After a short time I needed to take a walking break on a small hill. I was able to start up again but faster and faster I would find myself needing to walk more and more. I had no idea what the problem was, I just felt like my effort was excessively higher than it should have been and not sustainable. This continued for what felt like forever.

Manzanita to North Rim Trail Head(5.5 miles, ~ 2:20 hrs, 20 min stop from 7:14-7:34): When we arrived at Manzanita I was relieved to have a small break. The wind was starting to pick up so I added my ultra light weight sun sleeves at this top for both wind and sun protection. I don’t even remember what/when I ate during this section or the previous section, all I remember is feeling the worst I have ever felt in any event and for the longest time. It was during this time that Erin and Jeff started to really worry about my ability to even get to the north rim, let alone go all the way back across the canyon again due to my major struggle bus. There was a point where a real question of whether or not I should even keep going, meaning turn around immediately or even continue to the north rim but figure out how to get a ride back to the south rim. In my head I started going through all the different options, how each one of them sounded, how I would feel about them, etc. Eventually I made the decision I wasn’t going to quit, I had to make it to the north rim no matter what and that I’d evaluate how I felt after we got to the top. We never discussed backup options again after that, I just put my head down and kept moving. I tried not to complain too much, but I did keep apologizing for my bad attitude, pathetic effort and slow pace to these two that were trying to support me through my own personal hell. This was a real low for me, I doubted myself in every way possible, it was brutal.

North Rim Trail Head to Manzanita (5.5 miles, ~ 1:30 hrs, 10 min stop from 9:09-9:18): Finally, we made it to the top! What a relief!!! I found the water spigot and immediately got working on pack organization, refilling water, etc. The water at the North Rim tasted amazing, and it was ice cold! My only focus was on the task at hand, I wasn’t even paying attention to how I felt anymore. We filled up water, rearranged food and put coats on to battle the strong/cold winds. After a pro bar and some electrolytes and salt tabs, we were off on our way. I finally felt great!! I have no idea what happened on that north rim, what caused the change in how I felt, but it was a complete 180. I was excited to finally move fast-ish and it was really great to go through this section almost an hour faster than when we came up. The biggest challenge during this time was actually the wind, it was so windy a few times I had to stop running and turn into the wall / away from it. One time a huge gust came up and hit me right in the face, so much sand in my eyes, that was rough, literally. After a few minutes of blinking and slow walking I managed to ignore it and move on, but the wind continued for much of this section and the next one. Other than that, this was a fairly uneventful section and I was feeling really good.

Manzanita to Phantom Ranch (8.5 miles, ~ 2:10 hrs, 10 min stop from 11:25-11:38): Another quick stop to refill water again, as was always our plan at each stop, top off the water. This next section through the box was the hottest of the day. I’m glad we filled up water here, it was unfortunate it was not as cold as the water at the north rim. For the most part this next section felt like we were moving much faster than the way out, but as I looked back at the times, it was only about 10 minutes faster. I’m shocked! Perhaps I’m just not remember when I fell apart, that or we weren’t moving as fast on the way back as I thought we were. Either way, this was one of the longest sections of the day, probably because of the heat, but it just felt like it took us FOREVER to get to Phantom again.

Phantom Ranch to Indian Garden(5 miles, ~ 2:10 hrs, 10 min stop from 13:37-13:45): Woohoo, back to Phantom! When I originally planned this trip I had anticipated taking time to actually visit the store here and get a snack/drink as so many have suggested. However, with all the struggles I had earlier, I wanted to save as much time as possible and decided to move as quickly as possible through this stop. We again topped off water, fueled and then moved out. We originally planned a bathroom stop, but they were cleaning the Phantom bathrooms so we decided to move out anyways. On the way past Bright Angel Campground we found a real bathroom, with running water! We decided to stop there to use the plumbing and actually wash our hands, that was fantastic! Then we were on our way and crossed the great Colorado River again, it was such an amazing view and I loved being able to see it in daylight. The rest of the way to Indian Garden we made every attempt to run (meaning shuffle) whenever we had flat or downhill sections. These were few and far between, but we did the best we could and just kept plugging away. Several stream crossings happened through this section as well, I was thankful for my hiking poles to get across and maintain dry feet. I offered my poles to both Erin and Jeff, they both declined at all the crossings, Erin came out unscathed, but alas, Jeff stepped in twice and ended up with a wet foot! During this section I was starting to struggle with my remaining fuel and things not sounding/tasking good. Erin gave me a package of Skratch Labs Chews, I managed to make it through this package and found it better tasting than what I had available, thank you Erin!

Indian Garden to Bright Angel Trail Head (4.5 miles, ~ 2 hrs, 15:48 finish): Final stop at Indian Garden, it was still light out, but just barely. We filled up again, although not as carefully and Erin ended up running out of water about 3 miles from the top. But she is a tough cookie and never said anything until the end! It was during this final section that I was finally starting to feel everything, legs were sore, back was sore, body was tired in general. There was no more running for me at this point. Within 20-30 min after leaving Indian Garden it was dark again, headlamps on and we just kept moving forward. I was struggling to eat anything at this point, my stomach was upset. No matter what I tried to eat I would take one bite and then have to immediately drink water to get it down, bite after bite. I kept wishing I had something better to eat, but nothing sounded good. I managed to choke down some bites of beef jerky and cliff bar, that was it. I should have eaten more, but I couldn’t do it. Eventually we started making what felt like real progress, we could see lights at the top of the rim. But, we were still like a mile away, ha! Such a cruel joke! Switch back after switch back, eventually we came to the final tunnel, one more switch back and we were finally there. Kim was there waiting for us with water, beer and jackets, so awesome! We took a quick picture and then loaded up to get out of there. The heat was blasting in the car and it felt amazing. I chugged some Gatorade and we headed to the hotel to shower, eat and rest.

What an amazing experience! After struggling for so many hours during this adventure, I was pretty confident I would never do it again. Now that I’ve had a couple days to reflect, analyze and recover, there is a possibility I might consider it again in the future… maybe :-)

Gear/Fuel Details

Clothing: Baleaf compression shorts w/ pockets, Champion sports bra, Nike ultra light weight t-shirt, Brooks medium weight arm sleeves, Brooks ultra light sun sleeves, CEP compression socks, buff, Nike cap, Smart Wool headband, gloves, extra pair of Feetures socks, Brooks ultra light jacket w/ hood.

Clothing I didn’t use: headband, gloves, extra socks

Gear: Salomon speedcross trail shoes, lightweight gators (minimal sand in shoes!), Black Diamond carbon trekking poles, Fenix 5S Garmin w/ portable battery and charging cable, Spot Tracker (thank you Barbara!), UD Adventure Vesta 4.0, 2 liter bladder, 500ml soft flask, 4 - 5oz GU Flasks, Nitecore HC60 headlamp (1000 lumen), backup 18650 battery, backup Petzl Actik Core Headlamp, mini zipper light, sunglasses, mini body glide, mini aquaphor, 5 individual wipes, 3 ziplocs of small TP packs, chapstick, salt sticks tabs, leg cramps pills, ibuprofen, norco pills, tums, 3 blister pads, 2nd skin gel squares, printed map w/ time estimates and planned stops, $20 cash, cell phone.

Gear I didn’t use: backup battery, backup headlamp, mini zipper light, mini body glide, mini aquaphor, norco, tums, blister pads, gel squares, TP packs, $20 cash (donated to breast cancer research on the flight home)

Fuel: 2 scoops Orange or 2 scoops Chocolate UCan (2-each), 5 Ucan bars, 1 probar, 1 Honey Stinger Waffle, 1 GU, 1 pkg Beef Jerkey, 1 pkg peanut butter crackers, 2 Nut Filled Cliff Bars, 1 Justin’s PB Cups, 2 Fun Size Snickers, 5 pkg UCan Hydrate electrolytes, trail mix

Fuel I didn’t use: 3 UCan bars, 1 - 2 scoop Choc UCan, PB Cups, Fun Size Snickers, 1/2 package beef jerkey, 1/2 package PB crackers, trail mix

Borrowed food: Skratch Labs chews (Sour Cherry)

Food I wish I had more of: Honey Stinger Waffles, Pro Bar cut up in small pieces

What I would do differently next time: If I don’t feel well, no matter what the reason, try different fuel immediately. Train more on stairs, big stairs (such as taking 2 at a time), and going both up and down for long periods of time.

4 x 1/2 mile intervals

TM 6% Incline