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Pikes Peak Ascent - RunHalf Marathon


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Manitou Springs, Colorado
United States
Triple Crown of Running
60F / 16C
Sunny
Total Time = 4h 25m 29s
Overall Rank = 815/1702
Age Group = 50-55
Age Group Rank = 59/127
Pre-race routine:

5ish, up, Drank Go Juice while checking weather and then showering. Relieved to find Weather forecast had improved, and though there was still a slight chance of Precip while I was running, the big % chances were later in the day. Left Jacket and gloves I'd otherwise carry at home as a result, thus lightening the load considerably.
Go Juice was 4 Scoops Heavyweight Gainer 900, 1 Banana, 1/2 Cup Carbo Gain, Total Cals 929.5 but I had some in the evening night before, so say 800 Cals.
Packed car, drove to Manitou and parked at back of School. After warm up (below) walked to Sweat Check and hit the porta-pottys, then eased into the crowd (maybe a little too far back- note for next year) and after some singing we hit the Trail.
Event warmup:

Walked down from School to Manitou Ave and back up the big hill as initial warm up, then walked a lap and finally ran a lap on the school track. Day was perfect so far.
Run
  • 4h 25m 29s
  • 13.32 miles
  • 19m 56s  min/mile
Comments:

Went within a minute of this time on my own 2 weeks ago.
2 weeks ago went out slower and got faster as I went, to the point of making up almost 4minutes on the Skyrunner pace chart in the last mile alone, but it's very hard to do that with folks all over the trail.
In the race, went out faster than finish-time pace, and eventually slowed down. This is the nature of getting to a trail with 500 other folks at the same time, and trying to pass at such high altitude on the steepest rockiest trail. Was pleased I adapted to both these extremes, kept my head in the game, dialed in the nutrition, and got the PR.

Got to Hydro 2mins ahead of 4:15pace, at 14:xx, and was still within 2mins of 4:22 pace at the Bottomless Pit sign. But by A-Frame watch was off and it was pushing and fighting to get to the top but not blow up/cramp completely out. When stymied by the crowds I stayed focused on big picture and got'er done. Gotta be happy with that.
What would you do differently?:

The ONLY way to go faster at this point for me is to run more and work to hike just a bit faster up high. To do so I must lose weight and improve my overall running, and then spend more time at Altitude so that I can run and hike faster up high.
Even so, I flew by folks in the last 2 miles, including both the people who had passed me in the first mile after treeline.
I'm all about "Positive Self-Talk" and use a lot of Mantras, like the Tarahumara's "Easy, Light, Smooth, Fast" etc. but up high with the fog of Altitude closing in "F*#king Fight!" as an exhortation was working great. :-)
Post race
Warm down:

Walked through finish chute, got my Medal and kept walking. Told Sweat-Check folks my number and kept walking so that by the time they found it I was at the top of their oval not the bottom. They tossed it up and I continued walking directly to the Van line. One van was filled as I got there and when it pulled out we filled the next.
Had another Saltstick and offered a couple to folks in the van and had no cramping on the way down. Yeah!
Got a few grapes and saw Jay at Glen Cove. He hadn't subtracted 30mins from the finish-line clock time so was happy when I told him, especially because he's wave 1 qualified now. We tried to hit the school bus right away but it was full 2 folks in front of us. Luckily we filled the next one almost immediately and got going off the Mtn.
Had a Mass Transit Ale and a Cookie at the Tent after getting my shirt, and talked to Jay a little more, hit the Motel after talking to Mom on the phone.
Just jawed and showered and ate a strange Subway El had got- Chipotle Mayo and Yellow Peppers when I'm just a Light Mayo, Lettuce and Tomato kind of guy.
Hit the town later. Alison was really funny, but we were done by 9:30 and back at the Motel and already in the Pool before 10. Rain finally came and shut down the "Incline Dream" and then real suddenly everyone wanted to hit the hay. I was up before 6:30 and brought Sonic Breakfast Burritos home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Biking the USA Pro Cycling Challenge "Ride of Champions", through Garden of the Gods and along the Prologue course, with Radio Shack, Saxo Bank, HTC-HighRoad, and LiquiGas riders, (which I WON from the local Newspaper) the day before did have an impact, but I PR'ed at 50, and still see room for improvement, so I'm pretty psyched.
Intrigued by Kent's 11mins to Hydro- he ran 3:48. Will have to train over and over on the lower portions of the course and need to ask more folks where on the course they run.

Event comments:

Mental effort was a 4-5, really kept my head in the game, and passed everyone I possibly could above treeline, dancing along rocks on the edge of the trail at times. Results show I finished 2 seconds behind someone but I didn't see anyone and I actually think that's a guy I passed right at the end. Mmm.
Have found myself wondering if I maybe could have gone harder, but remembering the sudden jolts of cramps I got a couple/few different times (groin (surely from the Biking) and Calf (although VERY slight or that would have been the end!)) in the last 1.5miles tells me effort was excellent and well meted out, and while "Could I have gone harder?" might be a no, "Can I improve?" I believe is a yes!
As for the Race eval... look this race is unique. Yeah, the Aid Stations get farther apart as the Altitude increases, exactly what you don't need. And again, Cirque was out of Gatorade, not that I needed it, but others were asking and I know how deadly that can be if you need it and they don't have it at 13,000ft and a mile to go.
But the Volunteers do incredible work to get anything to the middle of the Mtn and us and it all back off. So the crowding, and aid stations running out, and the date of the race being on the cusp of bad weather on the Peak, those are givens.
I've worked hard to dial in my nearly self-sufficient Nutrition strategy, and I think the HydraPour system is a winner and hope it is adopted with multiple pour-stations per Aid Station.
All told this race goes off unbelievably well, and I always especially say "Thanks for coming out" to the Search and Rescue folks... cause someday we may actually need 'em!




Last updated: 2011-03-24 12:00 AM
Running
04:25:29 | 13.32 miles | 19m 56s  min/mile
Age Group: 59/127
Overall: 815/1702
Performance: Good
Nutrition- Took 28-30oz of 4X PowerBar Recovery in the 50oz HydraPak, and a 20oz Handheld of water, which I refilled at the aid stations a couple times, including using the new Hydrapour system, which I really liked. It seems almost pressurized, it fills so fast. In RaceReady shorts pockets had 8 Gels (I think), 3 with Caffeine, and 1 PowerBar pre-opened-and-broken-in-half. Old-School 35mm Film Canister with 9 Saltstick tabs.
Course: Mostly one Big Hill averaging 11% grade and topping out at 14,115ft, but due to a few downhills and some 5%-6% sections, that means much of it is 13%-16% grade, on a trail varying from dirt to loose gravel, to big rock step-ups.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2011-08-22 8:55 AM

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