I collected up with Lisa G, Bronwyn M, Claude C and his cousin Tony for some work on Pikes this AM. Claude and Tony were already in the Springs so met them there. Bronwyn, Lisa and I headed out of Louisville-Superior around 6:30, and made it to the road entrance a little after 8. The ride flew by, as we yapped about training, families, injuries, fellow runners, the Olympic trials, upcoming races, and the Kitt Car we were in that made for a very sweet ride.
Once collected at the road entrance, we made our way up the 18 mile serpentine road, dropped of CC, BM and Tony at Elk Park (at 12000 feet) (how to get there and a good story, because it does look like when you go there you are going to drive off a cliff). From there they would run down to Barr Camp (6 miles) and then to the summit (another 6 miles plus) (about 3400 feet of elevation gain).
We all were a little concerned about the weather, as the temps were advertised to be 38 degrees at the top and it was spitting some rain. We were less concerned about the cold and the wet, and more about the possibility of lightening as the day wore on.
For reference, the course description helps beyond here.
Lisa and I continued to the summit to do the famous 3-2-1 workout. In this workout you run from the top (1411x), 3 miles down to the A-frame (treeline, about 12010 feet), then 3 miles back up, then 2 miles down, 2 miles up, 1 mile down and 1 mile up. It was spitting a good amount, with a fair breeze and gray skies. I put on my ultra light windbreaker over a long sleeve poly shirt, half tights and we got to business. I ran the downs more aggressively than Lisa (as she is training for the Ascent and I have not ruled out a marathon). The first down was a bit tricky as the rocks were a bit wet.
Down 3 ... 10:28, 7:25, 9:12.
Did a quick take off of the breaker and got to work.
Up 3 ...15:09, 13:13, 16:57.
I was pleasantly surprised as to how good I felt. Of course, when I typically reach this spot, I have gone 10 miles and have climbed 5000 plus feet - so I had better feel good! Of course, within three minutes, my body reminded me I was running at 12000 feet, and at a 11.5% grade on average. The second mile flattens out, so it is always a bit faster. The last mile, includes the Golden Stairs, and is always tough. Throughout the day, I would reach the Golden Stairs 10+ minutes into the last mile and then take 6-7+ minutes to finish this last difficult half mile.
This 45:19 up roughly equates to a 2:37 Ascent according to Matt's pace calculator. When I raced in 06 to a 2:37 Ascent, I ran this section in 47:18. Recon last year (on a round trip) was closer to 54 minutes, and in the Marathon last year with the wheels falling off I went 21+ minutes, 16:18, 19:54 (~57+ minutes) for a 2:51 Ascent there. Different circumstances (training versus racing) on all of these so simply a comparison.
I was feeling good at this point ... definitely worked a bit but well in control. I grabbed some Gatorade from the car, took a quick bio break in the concession shed and started back down. The short rest left me absolutely ready for the down and I was moving quickly, feeling good, and enjoying the skies that were for the moment clearing.
Down 2 ... 10:58, 7:27.
I was not running the downs super hard because a.) I did not want to get hurt, b.) I want to focus the effort on the up, c.) I was trying to take in what the course did as information on the down - harder to do when you are moving well ... that said, I was not dawdling either. On the downs I'd wear my windbreaker, and on the ups I tie it around my waist. On the 2 down, I caught the other members of our crew making their way up.
Up 2 ... 12:23, 17:19.
I moved through the second mile well, but I paid for it once I reached the Cirque sign. Suddenly I was out of gas. I was not tired as much as I had no power. This, of course, means I went into debt a bit in that second mile and had to struggle through that in the last. Of course, while my 2nd mile here was almost a minute faster than on the "3" set, I lost 20 seconds in the last mile. In the final switchbacks a hiker in jeans saw me and started to run. Dumb ass pride kicked in and I was determined not to let this guy get me so I put it up a notch and passed him. Of course, then he started walking. I finished off the final switchbacks, and got some cheers from some spectators at the top. I thanked them while I grabbed my knees.
The 29 up was still near a 2:37 Ascent from the pace calculator, although the 12:22 was, according to that, more aligned with a 2:25.
Anything I had feeling good at the end of the "3" set was gone now post the "2" set. I stared a slow drop down to the one to go mark. I was feeling it now ... not in the legs, not in the connectivity tissue, not in the lungs ... I was just out of gas because of the lack of air.
13:22 down.
I started a very taxing climb up, focusing on running what I could, holding on to what I could, walking when I needed to and then getting back to the run when I could. The skies that had cleared some had turned gray again.
Throughout the runs, I'd see Lisa and we'd give each other cheers of encouragement. There were obviously a handful of others out there doing the similar workout. There was some comedy and inspiration in seeing the faces of those I passed multiple times in the day. The first time they see you they'd say something like "Nice job," or "Right on!" By the third time they see you, they shake their heads and look at you as if you must have something wrong with you.
And of course, you do. It is that you want to get up this mother of a mountain faster.
Struggling through the last set of switchbacks, the final up was 17:35. My final slower "last" miles are more indicative of a 2:50 finish.
Immediately began getting hydrated, fed and warmed back up. Lisa finished up shortly after me (I had a 2:31 run ... 12 miles at 12000 + feet ...). We hit the car, started our descent and headed home. Again the ride buzzed by as the company and conversation was great.
So ... what does this all tell me? I need to chew on that a bit as to if it predicts anything, but I do recognize my altitude weakness right now. Lacking experience running at 14k showed up big time for me today, and I was paying for that in the last miles. This is something I can adjust for, it is just a matter of how much.
Tonight I am rather stunned at how I am not sore at all despite the effort. That reflects how I felt today - that I had the strength in my legs but I was beginning to hit a wall with what I could do based on the available air.
"oxygen is overrated ... just keep running"
Week in review ...
- M - Flagstaff road, 75 minutes RT (41:30 up)
- T - AM - 35 minutes easy, PM - 45 minutes easy
- W - Green, 75 minutes, took a good spill
- Th - night at 10K feet, tempo (not at alt) for 60 minutes, 80 mins total
- F - night at 10K feet, 45 minutes easy
- Sa - 0 miles, rest
- Su - 151 minutes, 3-2-1 on Pikes
A good week with 3 good workouts, a nice transition to making hard days harder and easy days easier. 506 (~8.5 hrs) minutes on the week ... a drop in volume, but expected with the Sat off, and Friday super light.
I need to catch up on a bunch of blog reading, cross posting, and plans for training ... as I have been out of pocket for a few days. But... that will have to wait: I am off to look at roller blades and ball gloves with the kiddos.
40 days ... Live it.
Last year I thought I was in about 2:40 Ascent shape. Since I have not raced, I am not wholly sure what sort of shape I am in. And despite what I had thought, I ended up being in 2:51+ Ascent shape come race day. I have been perusing my log from last year to get some idea, some targets to better determine where I am at. I am not sure actually that these tell me anything about my true readiness for Pikes, as much as they tell me where I am in comparison to last year. I find the track workout I did on the 30th of last year to be interesting - I am right near that (a touch slower now). I am going to see if I can get some efforts up Green to get in a comparison.
Anyway ... track this AM. Me, the oval, the sprinklers, those birds that seem to run on the ground more than actually fly. Warmed up for about 10 minutes, then 2 x 200 (34s). At this point I knew that I was not totally on top of running today. I was, well, just a little off. Not enough to tank the workout, but enough to know that I was not going to rip it and that it would be a bit more of a struggle. Funny thing about workouts ... when you kill them they seem easy. Well, not all the time, but a good deal of the time. And the opposite holds true. When you are running slower in them because you are struggling, you are really struggling. This was not either end of that spectrum but I knew I was feeling the load of recent training (I can't think of ever doing 1:45 of running the day before a track workout when I was running 5Ks and 10Ks). For most workouts, I have been able to hide these off days in a tempo run, but the track does not lie.