Pikes Peak Ascent - RunHalf Marathon


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Manitou Springs, Colorado
United States
Triple Crown of Running
40F / 4C
Precipitation
 		Total Time = 00m
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Right around 1,000 Cals of Go Juice, still testing for IronMan Ariz. 300 Met Endurance, 200 CytoCarb II, 200 Soy Protein, 100 Metabolol II, 1 Tbls Olive Oil.

50 degrees and steady rain at start, low 30's and driving sleety-snow at the top. Dressed in Nike Tech Tank, Hind LS Technical, Gore-Tex Jacket, Turtle Fur Hat, Gloves, Tights, RaceReady Shorts over Tights, SmartWool Socks.
Had 3 Powerbars, 6 Servings Hammer Gel, and 3 Gels containing Caffiene onboard in the 6 pockets in the RaceReady Shorts.

Event warmup:

Took Hot Shower, easy stretching at the house as I dressed, waited as long as possible to leave, and got out of the car less than 10mins to start. Walked to Start from Manitou High to warm up, dropped off Summit bag and used one of the restrooms behind City Hall. Then eased through the crowd to just left of center not too near the front, and bang we were off.
Run
  • 5h 35m
  • 16 miles
  • 20m 56s  min/mile
Comments:

I had done the full Ascent on my own twice in the last 6 weeks, once in 4:50, and 3 weeks ago in 4:33, both times carrying 94oz of water and Go Juice. But the weather was so bad I had tossed any PR idea out the window. Frankly even without bad weather, it seems unlikely I can go faster during a race than by myself despite the 6lbs of water, due to being impeded by the massive wave 2 crowd.
What would you do differently?:

Weather had been great for weeks, even Tuesday/Wednesday of this week were cloudless, with 85 at the bottom. But you really take your chances on any given day. I got a 5:35 workout in, but the damage from running downhill is probably not worth the recovery- expect to be out until Wed or Thurs.
Post race
Event comments:

MUCH impressed with that the Aid Stations stayed open for everyone's descent. Again 1972 Entries, 760 Finishers, and everyone else turned around and went all the way back down the Mtn, from as far up as 10miles (A-Frame). So some went 20miles with 10 being down when they trained for 13 up. That the volunteers easily doubled their committed time was a real Godsend to those trudging that farthest. THANKS!




Last updated: 2008-04-17 12:00 AM
Running
05:35:00 | 16 miles | 20m 56s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance:
Course: Course was closed 2:30 into it (about 10am at A-Frame and word was relayed down by Walkie Talkie). 1972 entries, 760 finishers, including only about 60 from wave 2 (my wave) who basically went out too fast and then slogged it in after A-Frame. So I was turned around by volunteers at Barr Camp who said A-Frame was closing in a time short enough I knew I couldn't make it. So the extra mileage and time is the trip back down.
Keeping cool Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]