2019 Pikes Peak Ascent race recap/ report

Finally, it was race day. My first (and possibly only) race of all of 2019. Yes, I normally run at least a few casual races each year, but this year I tried to dial it in on only the Pikes Peak Ascent. 

I started off a bit incorrectly as I didn't sleep well at all the night before. Still, I was excited and bouncing and ready to go in the morning when Alex dropped me off at Memorial Park.

I tried not to show up excessively early (I hate waiting around forever for the race start), but I probably was a bit too late and should have warmed up more. Mistake two!

The buzz and excitement was apparent at the start!

The mountain peaked out from behind layers of cool clouds.

I was off to a good start and I tried to stay steady throughout the Ws. I didn't pass too many people, but every once in a while if someone passed me, I'd cling to them for a little while and take advantage of easily overtaking a few of the slower climbers through this section. 

At the top of the Ws, the sea of clouds below was gorgeous!

Around Bob's Road, Lori was hanging out and she snapped this photo of me!

I can't remember where exactly, but at some point I caught up with and briefly passed Sharon. I was still very focused on my race at Barr Camp, crossing the timing mats around 1:56. Soon after, Sharon caught back up to me! We stayed together for the segment from Bottomless Pit until almost A-frame.

It was tons of fun keeping pace with my friend and primary training partner! Unfortunately, close to treeline, my left calf seized up and I had to stop for a moment. I lost at least 45 to 60 seconds while I stretched and waiting for my calf to become movable again. A friendly guy saw my muscle cramp and offered me a salt tab, which I accepted and took immediately, hoping it would remedy the situation.

I was able to start moving again, but I had to slow down a little to prevent my calf from cramping again.

As I neared the 2 miles to go sign, a huge gust of wind knocked the wind out of me! The conditions above treeline had cleared out the clouds down below, but overcast skies above brought cooler temps and breezy bursts.

I soon donned my long sleeve shirt.

Above that point, my muscles did not want to cooperate. I felt a general sense of fatigue, tightness and "I just want to be done" syndrome.

I kept pushing as best as I could, although I feel that the cramping in my calves had now resulted in making my hips tight and sore as well.

I kept up the death march with the other participants until I FINALLY crested the last ridge of the trail, the wide open switchback where the race time is visible.

I saw the time and did the quick math for my wave, and I saw that I still had a chance of getting a PR! I wasn't sure how, as my time above treeline was about equivalent to a crawl, but I went for it.

I crossed the line in 4:24:04 total, a 31-second PR from my 2016 time of 4:24:35!

Although I felt pretty tired and unable to get my legs to comply, I still barely made a PR. I wish I'd had a better day, as I felt I had the training necessary to be at least about 4:15, but I cannot complain too much about a PR. I was just glad to be done, and at least be able to make a small claim from the day.

And that is a wrap on the racing season for me this year! During the autumn, I plan to just explore the mountains and do tons of adventure runs with friends. I have to thank everyone I ran with this season for helping push me towards this goal for the year! And my husband and family for supporting my running endeavours.

See you out on the trail, very soon!

Pikes Peak Ascent is only 6 days away!

My last training update was Friday of last week. Since then, I've been sticking to local trails and runs from my house. 

I am backing off on the altitude right before an altitude race. I'm not sure if that's a good idea, or bad idea, but I guess I will find out. Perhaps it's a good idea for me to give my body a bit of rest from all the altitude? 

Last Sunday, I "ran" from my house to Monument, but I went really slow. For a 20 miler, it took me almost 5 hours, as I included several miles of walking.

My mindset was already looking forward to ultramarathon training for the Silver Rush 50. If I can keep the same pace for 50 miles, I'll make it in 12.5 hours, well under the 14 hour cutoff. Although I probably should stay focused on my immediate upcoming race, the Pikes Peak Ascent, I can't help but also plan for the future. 

During one of my walking segments, a runner came up behind me, and I asked if I could keep pace with him for a while. His name was Rob and he is in training for an Ironman. He had gotten up at 3 am that morning to swim for over an hour, followed by a 5 hour bike ride, and he was now in the middle of his 2.5 hour run to make it a day. Talk about motivating! He sure did make me feel lazy about sleeping in until 8 am and then casually jogging 20 miles. It was really fun and helpful to keep pace with him for a while.

As I continued northbound, clouds began building over the Palmer divide. I finally made it to my destination, just a few minutes before the torrential downpour! Alex met with me and we ate a late lunch at Chile's.

Then on Wednesday night, I did a late run at Palmer Park. I did the Yucca Flats top loop. The moonlight was so intense that I ran most of my jog by the moon alone, although I had my headlamp. My phone was even able to take a photo of the mountains illuminated by the moonlight, without the flash on.

On Thursday, I took my kids for a hike at Rainbow Gultch trailhead (by Rampart Reservoir). They had a fantastic evening and they're becoming little outdoor adventurers themselves!

Finally, on Saturday, one week out from the Pikes Peak Ascent, I ran at Palmer Park again. This time during the heat of the day, and this time I did a short/abbreviated loop of both mesas, starting by short-cutting from the street to Grandview trail, cutting over to Kinnickinnik trail, and then crossing the main road and taking the Greencrest trail until I reached the picnic area. Then I climbed back up the mesa and circled Templeton backwards from my usual direction, coming down the north canyon by the stables before going home.

For the last week before the Ascent, I plan to really back off on exercise. I'll still swim at the gym and maybe do some yoga, but I'm trying my best to avoid running and heavy lifting. (Ha, like running and lifting are things that happen on their own if you don't avoid them, amirite?)

Weekly training (and life) update 8/9/2019

After the loop with Jim a week ago, I took both Saturday and Sunday off. On Saturday we took the kids to the swim beach at Aurora Reservoir since it was Aurora Pride. Sunday I was going to go to the gym, but pretty much slacked around for too long.

Instead I went to the gym on Monday, did some plate squats, and got in the pool for 45 minutes.

On Tuesday, I ran the Templeton loop at Palmer Park, all the way around the northern mesa. Dude, it was hot! Especially on the sun exposed parts, I felt like the heat was reflecting off the rocks and making the run even more intense.

Then I went back to Palmer Park in the evening with my family, and we had a picnic up top and climbed around on the rocks with the kids for a while. Kids are natural climbers, making adventures out of all the neat formations that are in the park.

Then on Wednesday, I ran the 10-mile loop from my house that is mostly on the western Rock Island trail and the Legacy Loop.

I felt pretty good and not really burnt out by the end of 10 flat miles, considering that I haven't been doing a lot of flat mileage this season at all.

When running with Jim last Friday, when our conversation turned to racing goals, I mentioned that my planned goal race for next summer was the Silver Rush 50. This race is held up in Leadville, mostly on dirt roads. He suggested that I needed more high altitude flat mileage because most of my mileage at altitude this year has been steep climbs. I either need to change my training or change my goal race.

I've taken his advice to heart, and decided that instead of changing my goal race, I'll be doing a lot more flat mileage in the coming year. I'll start with mostly flat runs in town in the winter, and graduate to longer flatter runs at altitude as the spring comes around. Of course, I'll still have all autumn to play in the mountains, and I won't give up adventure runs next summer, either - they'll just be a smaller overall portion of my training distance.

Anyway, on Wednesday evening, I walked about 3 miles with my children to the playground and back. Even a short evening walk after a morning run can feel revitalizing for the legs.

On Thursday, I did some lifting at home. Not enough to really fatigue myself or knock me out for a few days (I've had heavy lifting sessions in the past that left me sore for a week!) But just enough to keep my muscles accustomed to the major motions of squats, overhead presses, pushups, etc.

And then today (Friday), I ran flat again, this time on the Rock Island trail to the east from my house. This direction has a little bit more pavement to pound than the generally gravel trails to the west, so my ankles were a little more sore from the 8+ miles I put in today. Also, it was still hot outside.

Still, I tried to stick to the dirt where I could, and I mentally tried to tell myself that prepping for heat is a good way to ensure that I'm not surprised by a super hot race day.

I'm looking forward to a Pikes summit trip with Sharon on Sunday. Our final summit before the Ascent!

I'm happy that I'll have run four times this week. This kind of mileage isn't anything new for me, but it's been almost a year since I've been this consistent about my running mileage. In previous years, I typically ran five days a week, but after my ankle injury in July of last year, I really cut back and did mostly cross training and weight lifting. The truth is, I miss running more often, and I'd prefer to get back to a typical week featuring at least four runs for me. It makes me happier and more centered to run more often, even if it comes at the cost of slightly less time in the weight room. I still plan to incorporate at least two days of lifting in my normal routine, but it might be less overall effort compared to how much time I've been putting in this last year.

Hankins Pass/ Brookside-McCurdy/ McCurdy Park/ Goose Creek Loop with Jim!

I could have titled this "the coolest rocks loop," as there were so many awesome rocks!

I wanted to include this link to the AllTrails route, in case anyone was interested in doing this loop. My recollection of every turn in the trail is likely not as good as following the map!

Jim and I set out at 6am on Friday to run this loop clockwise, starting with Hankins Pass. The sunrise greeted us just as we arrived at the trailhead, and early on in the trail we were already frolicking though wildflower-strewn meadows.

The climb to Hankins Pass was mostly forested and still nice and cool in the early morning.

The views got better and better as we kept going. The Brookside-McCurdy trail has some really cool rock outcroppings and some gorgeous open meadow views.

The most difficult part of the day for me was the descent into Refrigerator Gultch. So many switchbacks. Way too much downhill! But as the law of ultra goes, often a high will follow a low. The McCurdy Park trail was the highlight of this loop for me.

This is the part of the trail that crosses Lost Creek. This whole vast wilderness area is named after this spot where the Creek gets "lost" and goes underground through the canyon below. I didn't know that until Jim told me on the trail!

I wish I could have stayed and camped in this canyon. It was so fantastic!

Truthfully I was a bit more fatigued than I should have been from my gym sessions earlier in the week, and I started feeling a bit crashy nearing the end of the loop. But the views, the aspen forests, and Jim in front of me kept pulling me on.

Wow! What an amazing day in the Lost Creek Wilderness! I have to thank Jim for inviting me to do this loop with him. It was such a great tour of this wilderness area. I wish I could have stayed and played for hours in McCurdy Park.

To wrap up the day, my husband came to get me and we took a drive through the Tarryall area.

Just another wonderful day, living the dream in Colorado! Our total distance for the run was 24 miles and it took us a little less than 8 hours. My phone reported the total elevation gain as just a bit more than 6000 feet!

Thanks for reading!