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Aspen Uphill (3400 ft/4.8 miles) - Run


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Aspen, CO
United States
Aspen HS Cross Country Team
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 57m 35s
Overall Rank = 8/200
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 3/
Pre-race routine:

Drove To Basalt, CO on Friday night and crashed at my friends house. Had a cup 'o joe and a cookie and drove into Aspen. Grabbed the local news and checked out the fine public bathrooms beneath the gondola. Paid my entry fee hiked up the hill about 200 feet and set my clock with about 2 minutes to go before the starting gun.
Event warmup:

The walk up the hill to the starting line.
Run
  • 57m 35s
  • 4.41 miles
  • 13m 04s  min/mile
Comments:

This is an awesome race. Perhaps one of the hardest races that Lilia and I do each summer. I have now run this race 4 times and this time went very smooth. Last year I used a differnt technique where I walked up some of the steepest parts, this year I ran the entire course. I do not know if this is the reason for my improved time because I have run the entire course with slower times in the past. Last year I came in 11th place while breaking the 1:00 mark (sort of a milestone standard for this course), this year I was hoping to top 10... And I did, coming in 8th over-all and 3rd in my agegoup... Man I thought things would get easier once I turned 40... instead, it has gotten tougher... the 2nd place finisher was 42 and got up in 52 minutes!!!

Also, I don't usually get political on this site, but the war in Iraq sucks!!! The course record holder didn't run this year... he got killed in Bush's war for oil... enough on that.

Anyway, this is one of the races that I use to guage where I am at fitness wise... I'm happy to report that I chopped 2 minutes off last years time - and I thought tri-training was slowing my running down!
What would you do differently?:

Well, I didn't put up a good fight at the end. The guy that I was sort racing against (race within the race), past me with a few hundred meters to go and I didn't try to fend off his burst... Turned out he was in my age group and took 2nd by seconds!
Post race
Warm down:

Lunch with the Lilia at the Ajax Tavern... some beer, some wine... Rode 18 miles up to the Maroon Bells with the Lilia and then had dinner... beer... late night drinks... beer/wine... and I now write this with a head-ache...

What limited your ability to perform faster:

no limitations...

Event comments:

Great race... fun local event - Aspen has great athletes!




Last updated: 2005-08-14 12:00 AM
Running
00:57:35 | 04.41 miles | 13m 04s  min/mile
Age Group: 3/
Overall: 8/200
Performance: Good
My new Polar S725 HRM has stopped working... but based upon experience I believe my heart rate was hovering around 160 peaking around 165 but never below 155... those 13 minute miles were 5:50s effortwise.
Course: The start is near the base of Aspen (Ajax), mountain and it follows Summer Road to the top of Ajax near the dismount of the godola. It covers 4.41 miles and gains 3400 feet of elevation.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2005-08-14 5:40 PM

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Subject: Aspen Uphill (3400 ft/4.8 miles)
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