Monday 19SEP2023 Blah blah blah woulda coulda shoulda

My mind has been scrambling with typical post race thoughts ... what went well, what I could have done better, what I want to do, what is realistic ... 

It is the same as it used to be, but perhaps tinged with quite a bit more of a realistic view.  It is sort of fun to watch the thoughts come in and out and my assessment of each of them.

I haven't raced in a long time.  Certainly not this year.  Doing a race creates its own weather patterns in my head.  Some good, some not so good, but probably none bad.  I haven't avoided races because I don't want to, but I haven't leaned into going to get any done either.  I should swing back to that a bit more ... it is a healthy thing for me ... as long as I am healthy about it.  

I was asked if Pikes is the hardest race I have ever done.  I think the hardest race you ever do is the one that you do the hardest.  I have done 800 meter races that have hurt pretty damn bad.  And there are 100 milers that sting pretty good too.  Both can be hard. 

The recovery however is different.  :)

I do love Pikes.  It is absolutely brutal.  I am a bit of a wreck today but I am on the mend.  My right ankle seems to be the worst of all of it, but its okay.  I am still somewhat pleasantly surprised that I didn't wipe out and rip skin.  

It is pretty clear to me that if I am going to approach this sort of thing at all with any degree of expected improvement from where I am at, I will need to ... uh, actually train on hills, get to altitude ... and get on leg weight work.  I have some sort of deficiency in the strengths of my hamstrings.  When I consider it, I could see that for years, maybe decades if I am honest ... but the degradation that comes with age has made it more obvious.  

I took Monday off.  

Pikes Peak Marathon 2023 Report (17SEP2023)

6:28:50, with a 3:58:36 ascent and 2:30:14 descent.

I gave myself a lose predictor last week of a seven hour round trip.  It wasn't sandbagging in as much as I really didn't know what I could do.  I knew I was a far way from any sort of 5 hour attempt given recent runs and ... well, lack of training.  I hadn't run more than a dozen miles on any single run this year and the most vertical I got on any day was around 3k feet.  A 26 mile affair with 7800 feet of climbing was even questionable to finish.  

I had friends tell me I ought not to do it, but I felt I had to do it, simply to show I still could and I was not sure when, if ever, if I could do this again.  The goal was to finish.  And then from there, if I could make some sort of arbitrary goals while enroute, I'd do that.  But even race day, I was wondering if I'd be racing the cutoffs to just finish.

I will come back with what my splits were, but they are nothing stellar.  Pretty sure I got to Ruxton around 4 and change, and Hydro around 12.  I took no shame in going to the walk early and often - I didn't want to be worked over by the time I got to Barr Camp.  I got to the top of the Ws in just under 43 minutes and to No Name in about 63.  

It is a different dynamic in the race in this space.  I was getting passed by a lot of walkers who could just power by.  It was pretty amazing to see these tiny women with powerful glutes just kill the climb with a walk that looked like a Sunday afternoon stroll while I was trying to keep up with a sort walk-run-shuffle ... and I'd lose ground to them.  

With the wave start too you get passed by later starters (I was wave 1, but I am sure that is from old day times and it won't be the case if I return).  The trail is much more crowded at the start ... it is not a problem unto itself, but you can find your mindset tricked into doing things based on what is around you with other racers versus doing what you should.  You may want to walk because the others around you are when you should run ... and you may want to pass hard when you ought to chill.  

I did get to Barr Camp in about 1:50.  I was not overly worked but I knew I was working.  And then I almost didn't run another step the rest of the race.  I could feel the hamstrings starting to sing on the climb to A-Frame.  So, it was just moving forward.

The altitude became noticeable to me too.  I felt there were sections I could run from a leg perspective, but I'd be spiking my HR quickly when I did because I was not breathing great.   Probably a lack of time up high, hanging out at sea level last week, and some of the scarring from the PE.  And age, getting fat, etc.  I'd get waves of the "you are up high buddy" headache but was able to shake those with some adjustment.  

Somewhere around A-Frame I started doing the math for my predicted 4:20 climb.  It seemed very reasonable, but then I started thinking about it being quicker, and if I could pull a sub 4:00.  I knew it would be very close.  The miles before Barr were well on target but I knew it would be slower going, close to 2mph up high.  

It got challenging with the runners coming down too.  This has always been the case with the leaders coming down, but obviously the farther you are back in the pack - the more you have to deal with that.  And when you are dealing with it with people who are slower, they are more naturally going to come to a complete stop and wait for the downhiller to pass, versus just going to the side and still moving.  In some cases I'd stop, but in other cases, I'd just keep moving by the person who stopped.  It irritated a couple for sure ... 

Of course, on the up I saw JV coming down, JT as well.  It was good to see them having good races.  

The hammies were starting their cramping through the Golden Stairs, but I managed to walk it out a bit carefully.  As we crested that little ridge, I was around 3:55 so I was pretty sure I could get the sub 4, but also knew it would be tight.  I managed to gimp across at 3:58 and change.  I took some liquids and started the slow gimp down.  

I guess that means I did from Barr to the top in about 1:58.  Not an equal split, but pretty good for the type of work I had done.  

The game then shifted to if I could still get under 7 for a round trip.  I was moving VERY slowly through the rocks.  I could feel with any sort of curl to my leg the hammies start to yell and so I'd go to a walk to work that out.   I think my first mile down was like 18 minutes.   Of course, it starts to smooth out a little and you can get to running but it was careful and slow.  Really slow.   Saw Don S and gave him a high five - just love sharing the hill with that guy over the years.  

The run down is a constant monitoring the dashboard for me:  do I need fluids?  should I take a gel?  can I run?  watch those rocks!  hey there is a guy up there can we catch them?  oh shit the legs are cramping again!  ... etc, and adjusting.  I'd lose focus for a second and almost inevitably I'd almost take a digger.  Amazingly I didn't.  

And I was calculating:  could I still get a sub 2:40 on the down?  I know the signs down indicate a slightly greater distance to the finish then they actually are and I was thinking that would help me for four or five minutes.  

Once you get to Barr Camp ... the down seems almost like punishment for the sake of punishment.  You have done the thing, but you have a half dozen miles to still put it all to bed.  It is hot, you are tired, and the downs seem almost even more steep than they were on the way up.  

Somewhere in the Ws I knew I was going to break the 2:40 down and so it became a new adjustment to 2:30 it.  I got passed by three in the last 300 yards but I managed a 2:30:14 down for a total of 6:28:50.   9th in the age group and 175 overall.  

I am aware my down is nearly the same time I used to go up.  I am aware that sort of decline is inevitable.  But I am also aware of what I may still be capable of if I am willing to dedicate to it.  But I am mostly aware that I am happy that I got this done this time.  I could have easily not done this, but it was important to prove I still could and make it hurt a bit.  My brain is naturally thinking about what is next ... but any longer term aspirations are trumped by a short term understanding that I need to recover from this.

Monday Saturday 11-16SEP2023

Ah, Santo Domingo.

I really don't think I'd say this is a top ten favorite place to run.  It is hot.  It is humid.  It is flat.  It has a lot of trash.  There are some great ocean views though.  Monday AM ... 3 something miles.  Nothing in the evening as we did the corporate weenie dinner,

Tuesday AM - Same thing.  3 something miles.  It takes an hour to get to the site.  And an hour to get back.  Haina is quite an education.  4 something miles in the evening but then it took me 20 minutes to cross the street back to the hotel cuz ... traffic.   Ah well.

Pikes has been apparently blanketed in snow.  And it is supposed to get walloped again on Friday night.  I can't worry about it right now ... just too busy with work.  I guess I will figure out what I am gonna do when I get home Saturday.  

Wednesday was a goose egg.  I didn't run in the AM and then I did dinner with the team down here.  I wasn't overly concerned with miles anyway given the taper / rest up for the week.

Thursday AM - the three something, PM - the four something.

Nothing on Friday because I slept in, packed out and then traveled to Miami that night as we finished with the site.

Saturday - also a zero ... headed back to Denver from Miami, got back to Broomstick mid day.  Then down to Manitou Springs to get situated for the Sunday race.  Picked up my number at Memorial Park as they were doing awards for the Ascent.  

Bonnet broke the Ascent record with a 2:00:20 - which is absolutely insane.  There is video floating out there of him running the final stretches and he makes it look so ridiculously easy.  He is just blasting it at 14000 plus feet.  It is sick.  

That said, his record comes in an Ascent only run, whereas the prior record, Carpenter's 2:01, was in a full round trip.  It was cool to see Matt giving props to Remmy at the awards for breaking a record that stood for 30 years. 

And Matt did it with complete class.  He was not the grumpy guy wanting his record to never be broken.  

Meanwhile on the JZ front, on Saturday he did a burro race in Frederick and took fourth.  

The weekdays of 05-08SEP2023

Each of these days were 8, 8 something miles.  Easy.  Hot.  Legs felt like crap.  I complained to GW on the start of one run - "can I ever have a day where I don't feel like complete ass?"

It doesn't set up well for running into Pikes.  I am 70-30 likely to do it.  

I'll get a taper for sure as I head to the Dominican Republic for the week on Sunday.  I get back Saturday mid day ... so the day before the race.  Not ideal, but I am not thinking I am set to run an ideal race anyway.  

There are a good number of reasons I could bail.  If my travel back is a complete shit storm, if I get some illness in traveling, if the weather for Pikes is like 2008 ... 

I don't want to bail because I am grumpy about the whole thing or my fitness is not where I want it to be.  

I don't have a hard goal other than to finish if I do start.  I have guessed it could be a 7 hour affair (4:20 up, 2:40 down).  That sounds ridiculous to me ... but frankly that is where I am at.  

Part of me is doing it because ... well, frankly, I am suddenly at that point where I am not sure how many more I can or will do.  And if I make that call now, it could be done.  So there is a bit of screw that mentality there, but not to a point of full on stupidity

Pikes Peak Marathon 2019

Bullet list race report for now.
- 5:25:53 off a 3:22:16 ascent and a 2:03:33 descent.  Got 67th overall, and 3rd in men's 44-49 AG.
- I forgot how tough this race was.  I mean, it is hard, and I knew that but I sort of forgot how stupid hard it is to run a marathon up a 14er.
- I had come in thinking that if I broke 5:30, that would be a good day.  So with that, I had a good day.  My descent was pretty rough ... I was struggling to run any significant pace, often getting the hamstring "shooters" up the inside back of each leg.  I had to stop and gingerly walk twice to manage this on the down. 
- This is my slowest finish at Pikes by a handful of minutes (2013, every other time has been a sub 5 - and this was my 9th marathon.  I have to be okay with it though when I consider how I prepared, other priorities in life ...
- It was hot today.  Some folks said 97 down low.  I dunno if it was that hot, but it was a pretty hot day below Barr Camp, and especially below No Name Creek.
- Got to chat with some cool folks (Wendy, Dagmar, and Gene - all from out of state) before the race.   Also chatted it up a bit with Max K and JV and Corey D.  And also got to chat with Don S and Don B post.  The community of this race (and ones like it) just can't be beat.
- I was probably out too fast, but I still find it nearly impossible not to be.  I jogged to Ruxton in 3:20.  Given road training and lack of hill, it is just going to be that way.  But I was probably in over my head even by the Top of the Ws.  I just have not prepared for that sort climbing and I was feeling it.  There was a LOT of walking today - up and down.  I made it to Barr Camp in 93, but the lack of specific training then hit me.  It was another 1:53 to the top ... and I was really tenuous on the down all day.  Altitude was a factor for me too ... I got to the summit and actually sat on a rock for 15 second to take a drink and eat a few grapes ... I was getting dizzy and tunnel visioned and realized I needed to get the hell out of there. 
- Saw Bill Lee below Barr Camp and gave him a hug. 
- A lot has changed at this race.  Of course, it is the same race, but there is a shift in the things around it - the shutdown of Manitou Avenue, the big screen as you come in, hard to find race day parking, the post race party, the wave start, etc.  You can really feel the impact of the Golden Trail series.
- Matt's record lives another year.  I am not surprised.  There was some post race chatter that the record won't be broken because the course has degraded too much for someone to make a good run at it.  I am not sure I can buy that ... 8 minutes of course degradation for the Ascent?  I really don't think folks can appreciate how good a sub 2:10 is ... and each minute below that is another crazy layer of stratosphere ... 2:01? 
- on the women's side, there is a new CR of 4:02.  That is ridiculous and is likely to stand as long if not longer than Matt's record.  By the way ... that sort of blows up the course has degraded thing since the women's CR has fallen twice in the last two years.
- had to hang out in medical for about a half an hour, maybe more with my typical set up - on my back, ice on the chest and legs up on a chair ... just to flip the BP.
- slipped ahead of JT, but I feel fortunate I caught him on a Double.
- this was my first time back to the race since 2014.  I won't absolutely commit to saying I am back to doing this every year now, but I am still in love with this race (and its grueling cruelty).


More later this week.

Saturday night before Pikes

I knew that having Tijuana work the week before Pikes would be a challenge but had hoped it would force some unloading, and maybe bring me into the race a bit fresh.  It accomplished that, but it feels like it a bit too much.  And actually, I slept like garbage down there so maybe it wasn't so great. 

It is the classic thing - I feel a bit fitter when I am sitting on top of some fatigue.  That is 100 percent stupid of course.  Instead now I feel like a plate of tacos. 

Anyway, I am back to Pikes - arguably my favorite all time race - after a five year hiatus.  I last did this in 2014.  I had intended to run it again in 2015, and then come back the next week for the Leadville 100.  With the success that Jack and I had that summer (winning the Triple Crown), I felt I had too much racing in my legs to do both of those effectively back to back weekends - and pulled from Pikes.

I am not sure how tomorrow is going to go.  I could mumble here about a lack of specific training this, or not enough time at altitude that.  Those things of course are true.  It could be a rough go, and a four hour climb.  Or maybe I can get up in 3:20 ish.  I really don't know.  In some ways, it will be a nice test - almost a re-start to see where I am at as I get ready to enter my sixth decade on this rock.



Joe Gray won the Ascent this AM with a 2:09.  Anytime under 2:10 is sort of other worldly to me.  Each minute under that has always been a next level of  "holy crap."  With that, I am a homer and will say that I don't see KJ running 2:01 up but do acknowledge if there is a guy to do it - it is him.  I almost feel though he could be pretty dang close and then have a better shot at a RT record because of some ridiculous down. 

But that is what they run the races for. 

Kim D got another win for the women.  Truly a legend on this hill.

Galen - a former winner and a helluva an athlete - got third in 2:25.  I think it is sort of easy to look the race and say it was not a super deep year, but I think it is sort about average compared to the past decade.  It might be a bit lighter compared to some years (10th was 2:38 - a lot of years it takes 2:30 to crack the top ten), but I think in part that is because the marathon looks to be stacked.  We'll see how that shakes out tomorrow.

Tuesday 13AUG2019

AM - 10.1 miles.  Got to practice early with Greg and did a few miles and we did some turn over work on the track (MS track as soccer was down at the HS one).


Nice pic of Hal and me with Full Tilt Boogie and Jack respectively at about mile 11 or 12.


So with KJ breaking Jono's SZ record, there is scuttlebutt among the 100 (okay, maybe a 1000) or so folks who care about this that Carpenter's round trip Pike's record is in jeopardy.  Could be I guess, but I'll take the over on it for now.  Of course with Dakota Jones running the fastest descent last year, folks made a note that Carpenter no longer held all the records on the hill.  While that is true, it is of course important to note that DJ ran his 73:53 down after a 2:18:26 where as Matt his 75:33 after a climb record of 2:01:06.

Monday 12AUG2019

First official day of practice for XC 2019.  I gimped around a bit for 5.6 easy miles ... trying to work out the knot in my hip from yesterday's race and crashes.

Pikes has posted their bib numbers.  I think I was given some grace with my bib number at 128 for the marathon. I don't think my qualifying time from a 29 mile burro race in 2018 is really that great of a qualifier, but hey - I ain't gonna argue with.  I'll just say "thank you."

I'll admit here that while I feel a fair bit of fitness compared to where I have been in the last few years, I recognize that I am a bit off.  Greg has said this is probably fine and I haven't completely wrecked myself as I am a "classic overt rainer."  Still - a few runs up 2500 feet to a 8100 foot peak is significantly different than a climb of 7800 to 14k.  It is gonna be a grind.

I have come to terms that this is what it is.  I have work ... and frankly running my own work is a heck of a lot more consuming and gratifying than when I was working in the corporate world.  I don't have the time to get out and do the same training - but arguably I also don't have that same itch either.  That might be because I have already burned that match in this life ... or it might be that I am a few weeks out of becoming 50.  It doesn't matter - it is going to be a grind.

I also don't pour over the race rosters the same way any more.  I am also not sure if that is because I am too busy to care or if because I have "been there and done that" ... or because I just have lost track of the names.

Look - don't get me wrong ... I intend to fight the whole damn way ... and have that "if I am still standing when I am done hit me with a board because I didn't run hard enough" sort of mentality when I am racing - but I also recognize that my very mental and physical ability to do that does not quite seem to be the same.  But I am going to try.  It is going to be a grind.

Here is to the grind.  Two weeks to go!

This guy was cracking me up at the Buena Vista race yesterday ... he was checking out the burro staging.

Afternoon - a little bit of ditchin’

Pikes - is this the most deep year?

Corey and Don clued me in that if you look at the bib numbers on the Pikes page (all the way at the bottom) you can get an idea as to who has a competitive entry, who has an entry from last year's race or as a prior winner. 

I don't even know how to start to unpack that at this point.  There are close to 50 entries listed as competitive, and then at least another 20 race entries from prior winners, age groupers, top ten folks.  At least initially on paper it would seem it is stacking up to be one of the most ridiculous fields assembled for Pikes ... ever.  Or at least the most global when you consider all the different entrants from all over the planet. 

Monday 22APR2019 and considering Pikesmas

8.4 miles with Greg at practice.  Easy but as we were animated in conversation the pace rolled along pretty well.

At the HOF event last week I bumped into Corey Dobson.  He and his wife Kim (CR holder on the Ascent at Pikes, and multiple time winner) were also there to see Scott inducted into the Hall.  Each time I meet the Dobsons, I am impressed at just how nice and thoughtful of people they are.  They are just wonderfully positive people.

In conversing with Corey, we of course chatted about Pikes, preparation for it, where we were in that preparation, etc.  Corey mentioned a few things that I recognized were things I knew, but that I had not really thought about in a while: 

- “Pikesmas”  - or how the race weekend is a celebration of another year where we are blessed to break ourselves against that hill.  I had forgotten about this build up of excitement including the thinking about everything that we think about going into the race, like who got a comp entry, last year’s winner, the weather, if Matt Carpenter is going to show up race day and freak us all out. 

I’ll start beating the “Pikemas” drum here a bit with a goal of it crescendo-ing over the summer.

- “just getting to the line itself is something we should be thankful for.”  We discussed tiered goals and Corey’s reminder was spot on.  Getting to the line and being in a position where you can actually seriously consider getting up and down that hill is its own victory itself.  Then getting to the finish line in one piece is another.  After that we can start to discuss goals of times, age group and overall placings.

- “the veteran of the mountain doesn’t need to spend as much time on the hill.”  Certainly to have success at Pikes, getting on the hill helps with vertical training, familiarity with altitude, and all the little rocks on the course.  But at some point, you can know the course well enough and you can get a better bang for your training buck doing it at home (versus driving 5 hours round trip to get 12 miles on the hill in).

Soooo … 124 days until August 25.  Or just about 18 weeks.  Might be time to be getting a little more focus.

First glance at PPM list ... wait a second

I did  little once over of the Pikes marathon list.  I have not given a lot of attention yet to those that have a qualifier from a road marathon.  Certainly while there will be folks that bring their road experience to the mountain that do well, but a 2:40 marathon at Twin Cities (or where ever) is no guarantee of a 2:40 climb. 

The first thing that caught my eye was that there was a list of qualifying times for the Ascent from 2018.  At the top of the list was all around good guy and strong athlete Corey Dobson.  He was listed with a climb qualifier of 2:32.  I checked his stat page from the Pikes Peak database and his best climb is 2:41.08. 

Corey - sorry, this is not meant to pick on you - it just so happened your name was at the top of the chart.

So what's up?  Recall in 2018 the Ascent was cutoff at Barr Camp because of bad weather.  Corey got to Barr Camp in 76 minutes.  I am assuming that the registration folks took some sort of extrapolation and landed on a qualifying time for what a full Ascent would be.  It's looks like they just did a straight up doubling of it. 

I'd suggest that most folks don't even split from Barr Camp up and that a slightly positive split is actually a pretty good race.  It really doesn't matter because qualifying times don't mean much - as I just mentioned with road times, but it does sort of give a bit of insight.  The qualifying lists, if you are interested in them, need to be viewed with this in mind because there are folks listed with qualifying climbs that are significantly faster than they have ever climbed. 

Corey will run well and has a shot at the top ten if he runs like he did in 2016.

A few other male names that caught my eye were Spillman, and some good spirited rivals like Solberg and Tiesher.  I am a bit bummed to see Solberg has rolled over into the 50 age category as I will still be 49 come the race.  If they had only moved the race to later in September, I would have just made it to 50.  Ah well. 

In continuing the being concerned about my age group, I also saw Romero but he is listed as a Doubler.

Interestingly those that have qualified with "ultras" or any distance over a marathon are not on the qualifying time list (they are on the list by name but that is a lot harder to parse through since, well its sorted by name and not by time).  That includes me.  My burro running affairs at Fairplay are likely to land me a wave position a ways back and I will see if I can get some times posted this year by which I can lobby the registrar to move me up to the first wave. 

Understandably there are no competitive entries up yet.  There are only 8 entries up with marathon qualifiers.

Finally, there are two 80 year olds in the Ascent, including Bill Moyle who has run the Ascent THIRTY TIMES.

AM - 10 miles.

Monday 28JAN2019

True qualification lists are up for Pikes.  I start eyeballing these lists.  Knee jerk reaction is a bit of surprise at how few are listed having qualified with a Pikes marathon – but a road marathon or the Ascent.  Of course, I fall into that category at this point too. 

Admittedly, it is a bit hard for me to imagine grinding up and crashing down that mountain right now.  My “training” seems so far from that.  I am not feeling particularly fit or strong, physically or mentally, especially coming off that sickness.  The right foot is still a problem.  I know there is a long haul to go, but I’d sure welcome being in a bit of a better spot than I am at this point.

Yesterday I got back from Okpik and had intentions to run, but I ended up napping on the couch instead.  I get it … it is easy to say, “hey you were just gonna slog five miles anyway and not get anything really out of it so the nap was better.”  And that is right.  But it is also right that sometimes getting out and getting that slog five in and grinding through can make a bit of a difference.  And a lot of little bits can make for a big bit. 

3.3 miles this AM.  We were supposed to get an inch of the white stuff so it seemed like folks were caught off guard with this morning’s drop. 
I was first out before the plows on the paths.  Once one of them made a pass, it was clear to me how much the ankle deep stuff snow had an effect on pace.  For the same effort (easy) I went from 10:30 to 8:30 pace. 

Afternoon – 7 miles on the Sterns Lake loop.  Snowy.

Registered

Changes for Pikes

JT alerted me that Pikes has changed its schedule. 

First, even though I haven’t seen JT in like 14 years, it is great that he continues to reach out, keep in touch with me and even send me loving post cards on occasion.  He might be my new man crush from the Springs area over Matt.

Well, at least a distant second.  I mean really.

The changes to Pikes are interesting, especially in light of their challenges they had with weather this past year.  For what it is worth, I recall being rerouted for the Imogene Pass Run due to weather in early September … so it could be argued that chasing (or running from) the weather is a fool’s errand.  I dunno.

It will be interesting to see how many nut cases turn this into a double or a triple event.

On a personal level, I find the shift interesting in that I recognize I have been at Pikes or Leadville every weekend since 2006 … and I sort of have the feeling like I’ll be at one of those for the rest of my life.  That ain’t a hard core commitment but it is sort of like me expecting that I will run some sort of race on Thanksgiving day morning for the rest of my life.  With the two split, it creates some choices I guess. 

I did, unrelated to this announcement, dust off this book this week and have it on my desk.

That weekend in August.

So, five guys went sub 3:40 at the Pikes Marathon.  That is not normal, as in many years a sub 3:50 would outright win the race. 

And Dakota Jones ran the fastest descent recorded – breaking Carpenter’s downhill mark of 1:15:33 by posting a 1:13:53 bomb en route to the win. 

Bjorklund’s female marathon record from 1981 – 4:15.18 – was broken by Megan Kimmel with a 4:15:04.

Krar ran Leadville for the win in the second fastest time ever at that race in 15:51 (yes, again we talk of Carpenter holding a record – his being 15:42 – and yes, feel free to start course differences over the years discussions and debates).

Dave Mackey ran sub 25 for a big buckle at Leadville.  Coming off Leadman.  And Dave runs on a prosthetic leg below the knee after losing the leg due a few years ago post a rock crushing it on a mountain jog. 

And the Ascent was cut short to a race to just to Barr Camp rather than to the summit because of weather.  It left folks contemplating or being upset over decisions regarding safety in an event which by its definition is “America’s Ultimate Challenge.”  (search Mike Rowe and safety first to those that say that) 

Which is to say …

WTF.

Those are the headline stories.  Along with those come countless stories from these two race events that almost coincide every 3rd weekend in August (the two races at Pikes and the Leadville race). 

Since 2007 I have been at one of these events every time they occur.   Over the last four years, I have been at Pikes, either running the race, stumbling out of Periodic Brewing to watch the finish or pacing.  This past weekend I paced Eric Strand from Twin Lakes to Mayqueen.  Eric got his seventh finish there. 

The human energy at these events is palatable.  And they have become a Christmas in Colorado in August for me … and apparently many others … every year.

As I waited to pace Eric at Twin this weekend, the otherwise sleepy village had become a epicenter of people – crews, runners, pacers, fans, vendors.  I’d say rock concert, but you’d be hard pressed to find a cigarette at this show (why burn your tightly sewn puffy down coat?).   It was big and loud and buzzing with the energy of people doing stuff that was not that special but rather ridiculous and special … running a 100 miles through the heart of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.

As I paced Eric through the night, we turned up the infamous Powerline Climb shortly after 2AM.  This 3 and a half mile 1500 climb comes at mile 80ish in Leadville.  It is a fairly stout climb but placing it at this point in a 100 mile race actually has made or broken many a racer and sets up for what fish story they will tell later. 

I looked up the scar on the hill that is the climb and I could see hundreds of headlamps.  Nearly all were moving, at some slow imperceptible pace.  Some, as I would see as we made the climb, were stopped, with racers hunched over poles vomiting, or huddling under a blanket as they came to terms with what they were going to do in this event.  As Eric and I made the climb, this view flipped – I could see the rush hour of lights behind us, grinding through each of their stories of their race. 

These events and their stories come with a scene, a vibe, the victories, the defeats, a camaraderie, a sense of competition, disappointment and disgust, tears and laughter, heat exhaustion and hypothermia, connection to friends and families and a connection to each other and the land we love here in Colorado.  They are exhausting and exhilarating. 

Photo credit Jeff Cotner:

I had no plans to run Pikes or Leadville this year.  I was not even on the calendar to pace this past weekend until Wednesday of this past week.  I had forgotten how much I love this weekend.  It is as a friend of mine put it, “the most wonderful time of the year.” 

I’ll be back.

Nothing to worry about

I went for a walk with TZ and the dogs this AM and started to talk through my Pikes dilemma of possibly needing a qualifying race.  I even started to talk through the possibility of doing the Pueblo Marathon (recommended by JT and Wyatt).  TZ questioned if I really wanted to do the PPM versus the Ascent.  I confirmed that doing the marathon would be the desire there if I did the race.  

In talking it through, it dawned on me that perhaps my Fairplay Pack Burro Race result from 2017 would serve as a sub six hour marathon qualification for the PPM.   I pinged the race folks through FB …

So that was good news.

Yes, this confirms (further) that I am an old miser of a man with my race dollars.  I’ll confess that I have a hard time with 40 dollar 5ks.  And while the Pikes race is a good deal in its cost for a marathon in comparison, I still recall the days where I was paying 85 bucks for it (and the marathon was cheaper than the Ascent because they didn’t have to give to a ride down if you ran the round trip).  Of course for a good number of years I effectively dodged the costs to some degree by either winning a comp’d in full entry fee for the next year or a partial one.

Admittedly, looking at the site, exploring the options, doing a fartlek run yesterday, going over the little bump of a hill in my neighborhood and seeing that slab of rock a 100 miles to the south … it has me a touch stoked to be gearing towards that again.  Now … just got to be putting in the reps.  All you old guys, get your game on because I want a good fight and I hope to bring one.

Afternoon – 10.1 miles.  Slow slog. 

Thinking on stuff

So as my head is starting to wrap around the year, and consideration of Pikes, I went checked if I was still “eligible.”  There is this …

I last raced in 2014.  So I am rookie.  So I’d have to do a marathon or a ultra of some sort in the past two years.  My 2015 LT100 is too far in the rear view mirror to count and my burro racing at Fairplay is shy of a 50k.    I did do a half in 2016 but that does not quite cut the mustard for the marathon at Pikes.

So there is that to think about.  190 bucks for that marathon in addition to whatever other race I decide to do.  And I’d need to figure that out pretty quick as registration opens on March 10 (can’t wait to do a race like the Dirty 30 or something like that)

I could certainly “jog” a marathon to get the requisite time, but I have a feeling that might be a bit outside of my mindset once pinning on a number.

There ain’t a lot of marathon options between now and March 10 – as far as I can tell none in Colorado.  There are some AZ and TX options in February. 

Ultra events … I still need to explore those but those also seem to be a bit of a travel burden or are at least 50 milers.  My not racing and my skipping of Pikes for three years and my not thinking about this until now has created a bit of an issue here.  Which is to say – I ain’t griping at all about the Pikes registration process … it is fine.  I made this bed.

I could just do the Ascent, but that is not what I really want to do if I go down there.  Then again maybe this is a blessing in disguise.

I could toss my name in the hat for a competitive entry but as Bob said to me when I brought that up, “who the hell would take you and on what merits?”  He is right of course … I have only cracked the top ten in the race once so why would I think I qualify now?

More to come.  In the interim, the short term focus is getting that old man 5k back under 18:20 to see if I can get a BB qualifier in the A wave. 

Afternoon – 6.7 with some fartlek thrown in, touching sub six pace as much as I could on the hilly trails.

Tuesday 25JUL2017

AM – 5.5 miles.  Tired and tired. 

PPA/M Men’s predictions … well sort of a starter:  I have no idea how he is racing these days but Weldemariam for the marathon and Gray for the Ascent.  Now that said … Weldermariam is listed in the Ascent as well … if he is doubling … not sure. I’ll need to research that a bit.  For some guys (ahem Carpenter) they are just stronger than everyone that the Double does not impact their ability to perform on day 2. 

On the marathon side, it would seem the regulars of Beck, Spillman, O’Brien and Dobson are in the mix.  Solberg should still be a strong contender on the masters side.  Actually just typing that has me itching a little bit.

As crazy as it sounds, Ortiz could win the women’s marathon at the age of 53. 

Bracy for the women’s win of the Ascent.

Thoughts anyone?  Dobson, what say you?  How about you Spillman?

Afternoon- five and change in the rain.  A little less tired.

Pikes Predictions 2015

JV and Donnie … this is for you.

I ran with JV today for a short bit.  He is heading down to Pikes this weekend so it was a short easy jog.

I have been pretty non-attuned to Pikes this year which is unusual as it was THE race for me for so many years.  I am not sure why that is the case.  Shifting jobs to my own business, getting a kid graduated and off to Europe, going canoeing in Canada, recovering from injury, helping with the team at the HS … it just has all filled up the space.  I don’t think I am burned out on running or Pikes or any of it as much as a variety of events dealt me up a break this year. 

But talking to Jeff, it did get me a bit fired up on it.  For the first time this year I went and eyeballed start lists.  Every time I look at those lists I think it is the deepest field ever.  I just see piles of good athletes.  At the same time, I know that at least half won’t show up, or will blow their races by Barr Camp, or otherwise get ripped up by the hill.  It is a tough race. 

At first glance, it seems that Nichols is the favorite for the PPM win on the men’s side.  Macias could be a strong challenger however.  I just like that Nichols has the experience on both directions of the hill and a greater depth of experience in the long stuff over Mario.   Vargo and Ricks will certainly be strong in there as well.  Parr as a former PPA winner pops out but he seems to be a few years past his best years and he is doubling.  Maksimow also is doubling but I’d probably put those two guys in the top 10.  Burrell (another former winner) will be in there as well.

How in the name of Matt Carpenter Miyahci got a competitive entry is beyond me.

On the PPM women’s side, I like Shay slightly over Dobson in part because Dobson is doubling.  Shay does not have Pikes experience but she is no rookie to the longer or mountain stuff.  Dobson normally ought to have enough room at the top given her climbing prowess to hold off Alicia, but I will take the fresh runner there.  Fleury (former winner), Ortiz, Lunkel will all be in the mix there as well.

Mens masters:  Dickey looks to be the favorite again with Solberg and JV right there, but the challenge with masters is there is always a younger guy popping in at the bottom of the bracket.  Those guys are 45-47.  But I think their motivation to get a free entry for next year (versus paying 180 bucks) will drive them to the podium there.  None of these guys broke 4:30 last year, so if someone shows up and does that they ought to get the win.  It is supposed to be a bit cooler so maybe times will be faster. 

PPA Women – even though she is doubling, this is her event and it is day 1:  Dobson FTW.

I will go with Miyahara over Wacker for the win on the mens side, Blake gets in the mix.  Manning ought to show well if he can stay on the course.   Others in the top ten will be Parr and Maskimow (I will go with Peter as the doubler winner).  Gerald B the GOAT ought to secure the mens master win here (and he is a doubler as well).

Not much on the picking there compared to last year but that is a quick analysis.  Time guesses:  PPM M – 3:47, PPM W- 4:28, PPM Ma: 4:33, PPA M 2:11, PPA F:  2:32, PPA Ma 2:41.

Fire away and tell me what I got wrong.  I am sure I am overlooking like 2 dozen really good names.

I am not expecting to make it down to Pikes because I’d probably have a stroke to watch the race and not run it.  2017?  Hmm.  Maybe. 

Was this my last Pikes finish (from 2014)?

Oh yeah, JT will get crushed by Amanda.  Most important race of the weekend.  If JT breaks 3:18, regardless of place against anyone, I am good for putting up a growler for him.

Sunday 15AUG2015

So Wacker went off course in his second place run at PPA.  As an observer of digital data and not the actual race, and realizing GPS tracks can be wrong … I still conclude that is probably a DQ …

I sort of thought the same thing with all that went down at PB last year.  Admittedly I am not wholly consistent on this:  for the guy who is a mid back of the packer that is not winning an age group award, I am less concerned. 

It sounds sort of like #GOM because it is probable that Wacker lost the race because of his going off course mishap.  Still, he ran about two tenths shorter than the rest of the field.   At some point, you just respect what the RD decides, but I think I would have DQ’d Wacker, Krar and Killian. 

So I am probably setting myself up for going off course and a DQ at Leadville and having to live through that karma.

It sort of looks like – that he took the wrong turn at the A Frame.  This has been a pretty common spot historically for people to get confused (if this is the spot in question he went off course) (I think even Carpenter talks about taking that wrong turn to start in his first year), but it has been pretty aggressively marked in recent years (again, if this the spot he went off).

AM – 6.3 miles. Yeah, it is good that I did not do Pikes this weekend.  My legs are a bit thrashed still from the last three weeks, and so I need to back off big time this week to get them right.  Maybe not thrashed but fatigued.  I got 60 on this week and that is probably a bit too much – but most of it came on little shorter runs.  I got counsel from a friend, LT veteran and all around smart guy that there was no need for me to do an 8-6-4-2 taper this week – and he is right.  I am not going to do anything to move fitness forward this week.  In fact, I will probably lose some fitness and that is okay.  I need to unload fatigue.  Besides – I expect to get at least a 100 miles next week!

So feeling that I know that while I have a tinge of regret to not race Pikes this weekend, it is far over ruled by knowing it was necessary to get ready for next week.  And given the carnage I am seeing in the results (hot?!), I am glad I let it go.  A run down there today would have wrecked me even more.  Thanks Jack Speedy Burro for imposing that wisdom!

Good to see local Nichols get the win at Pikes after playing bridesmaid a few times.

154.5 miles on the month, with 22.43 hours, 12425 of vertical.  On the year I am at 2431.8 miles, 338.56 hours and 172, 495 of vertical.