Pikes Peak Ascent - RunHalf Marathon

Then the gun went off and we headed out. I wanted to start slow and start to push once I got to the top of the Ws. I decide that I’m going to run up Ruxton until the bottleneck begins. As soon as I got in the bottleneck I realized that this pace was not going to allow me to achieve my 4:30 goal. So I started to expend a little energy here and there to pass people that were substantially slower than me. I finally ended up behind a guy who was going the right pace but he was wearing nothing but some really super short shorts and there was stuff I didn’t want to see hanging out of them. I had to pass this guy, it was not an option. So I pushed a little and got past him, luckily that was the last I had to see of him. That is just SSSOOO wrong, maybe that was his race strategy to keep people away from him.

I was really sweaty and hot for this whole bottom section, I had forgotten that I was going to experiment with Ecaps and potentially use them for the race. First mistake. My second mistake was my nutrition timing. At 1:30 I finally started in on my clif shot blocks and water. I was supposed to start earlier but I wasn’t disciplined enough to do it. Not good.

I get to the aid station at Bob’s Road and I look up and realize that my ex boyfriend Jeff (who lives in Baltimore) is standing there scanning the crowd of racers as they go by. He caught my eye and I said hello and kept moving. I didn’t know what to do or say. I was glad that I could just keep moving.

I saw John from the Incline Club shortly after this and I followed him all the way up to Barr Camp. It was nice to see a familiar face and as he passed people I followed right behind, somehow it’s less energy to let someone else initiate the pass and then just follow immediately after. I used that strategy quite a bit during the race.

I arrive at Barr Camp, say hello to Theresa (who somehow always recognizes me), refill my water container, and head out. The section of the course between Barr Camp and A frame is the toughest section for me, those long straight switchbacks, I mentally just told myself to keep putting one foot in front of the other, find the best path, step over the rocks, keep checking pace and pass if it’s too slow. My next mistake was not to fill up my water at A frame. I knew I had 3 miles left which on first thought seemed like nothing. However within the next few minutes my right inner thigh started seizing. Uh oh. So I take more clif shot blocks, slug down some more water, and walk very very slowly. The seizing goes away and I pick up the pace a little bit more and bam, the left inner thigh starts seizing. Oh no. I slow down again wondering if this was going to be a torturous race finish. But then that one goes away. I decide that I need to start taking in more nutrition more often. Soon after however my calves both start seizing. I have never had any muscle cramping before, I wasn’t sure what was going on. I get to the mile 2 to go sign and I am happy because I know this is a fairly easy mile. I take it as easy as possible while trying to maintain as good of a pace as possible without engaging my calves. The only way I know to walk without using my calves is from the Chi Running book where you pick up your feet instead of pushing off to propel yourself forward. You use your core to move forward instead of your legs. So I go with that style and I am surprisingly fine. I barely noticed that it had started to hail – I was so focused on picking up my feet. And thinking about those dreaded golden stairs. I get to 1 mile to go and I have only 2 oz water left. I know I need nutrition so I take a ½ a gel packet and drink the rest of my water. I get to the golden stairs where I hear ‘Welcome to the Golden Stairs’ and I’m thinking she should be saying – ‘Welcome to the Calf Torture Section’. I told myself the only way I could get through it without my calves completely seizing the entire time would be to push up completely with my upper leg (use my quad) on every step. So I do that and it almost worked. I did accidentally push with my down leg once and I almost fell over when my calf completely shut down – I learned that negotiating around a rocky trail with one good leg is very tough. I don’t think I blocked anyone too badly though. Luckily the spasm stopped shortly and I kept going. I made it to the top of the stairs and I continued my Chi Running stepping. It worked with no spasms and I finally see the finish line!! Oh my gosh was I glad to be done. My goal was 4:30 and I came in a little over 4:33.

I would have been a little more aggressive with my passing.

I get some water (finally!), Gatorade, food, my finisher jacket (very nice!), and get on the shuttle. No puke smell like others had warned me about. My inner thighs were seizing the entire way down the mountain as I was trying to make sure not to take up more than my share of seat. But the conversation on the bus was enough to distract me from the pain and the time went by pretty quickly. We arrive at Memorial Park, I get some food and beer, sit in the grass, and wait for Chris to come get me. I tried not to look around too much for fear of the ex showing up.


I am currently following the paleo diet which calls for no salt in my food. I may have to modify this for races and longer training sessions in order to prevent muscle cramping. Or it may have been the fact that I sweated so much on the lower sections and I need to take Ecaps or start my nutritional intake sooner. Or maybe all of the above.

If I can get the cramp issue figured out I know I can improve my time significantly. My HR was in the mid 150s at the top, from a cardio standpoint I could have pushed harder, it was my muscles holding me back. I may also have to push harder at the very beginning of the race to avoid so much passing through the Ws and pretty much all the way to Barr Camp.


I really enjoyed the race, there were lots of volunteers and aid stations given the nature of the course. I would definitely consider doing it again, or possibly signing up for the marathon.