Sierra

Sierra
Sierra

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Sunday, 06/16/12 Mt. Evans Ascent

14.5 miles/3,500 vert.
2:19:50
26th/369

Quick and dirty recap....

My race did not go at all as hoped and I ran a PW (personal worst) and fell way short of my goals.  I was a little down on myself throughout and for a few hours after, but have let it go and am just calling it a good (though expensive) training run.

Nothing was particularly wrong during the race, but I did not feel that I had much to give, or really gave it my all and did not feel like I was at my best.  I could probably dredge up a few lame excuses that led to a less than ideal build up to the race, but they are hardly worthy of mention, just things that most of us encounter from time to time (sickness, family demands, work demands etc.....).

Once it became clear that things were not going my way, I just became somewhat apathetic and my goals incrementally slipped from lofty to simply finishing and getting off the mountain.

Upon crossing the line, I crossed paths with Lucho (who was long done after getting 2nd in 1:50) and offered me a ride down, but not before I ran up to tag the true summit block.  Running back down to the lot, I seriously considered continuing all the way back down to my car cross country, but my road shoes would have made it difficult, I had already made Lucho and his wife wait and the clouds were building in such a way that I knew the weather was going to get nasty quite soon (which it did big time).

Though I signed up for Evans as a training race, I of course set lofty (and now obviously unrealistic) goals after running what I felt to be a good race at the Bolder Boulder.  I think I had an overly inflated sense of confidence going into it, especially given that my training really lacked quality over the past 3 weeks.

During the entire race, I questioned what it is that I really like about racing.  At the time, I honestly could come up with very little and thought to myself how I would have rather been off doing my own thing elsewhere on my own terms.  Of course, had I achieved my goals, I would have been itching to sign up for another race or two.

Oh well, water under the bridge and I'll just use this as a wake up call that if I want to do well in August, I'll need to get my nose to the grindstone a little more.

Thanks to Jim P. for the below pictures and a huge thanks to Lucho and his wife for giving me a ride down and for the great company.



Being a sore loser as Jim graciously took my photo and offered up friendly encouragement (he looked like he was having WAAAY more fun than I was).



7 comments:

  1. I think the key is you need to buy some shorter shorts, especially now that you're a dad. Happy Father's Day.

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  2. I told you the Newtons wouldn't work for running uphill! You were losing a step backwards with each foot plant!

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  3. Hi Jeff,

    This is my second summer coming to Boulder with my 17 yr old daughter. Last summer you kindly helped me out with directions up Green Mtn. I was wondering if you could recommend a mountain to hike up in the Aspen or Silverton area? We are planning on hiking up Longs Peak first then we were going to head to Aspen then Silverton. Sorry to bother you again. Really enjoyed running Green last summer. Thanks Gord

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  4. Jim P, 7" inseam is the bare minimum.

    Brandon, no stroller, but that may have helped.

    Justin, the Newtons were fine for the low gradient of Evans and were even good on SuperFlag which is MUCH steeper.

    Gord, how long and high of a hike are you looking for? There is so much to do in both locations. In Silverton, I would highly recommend Silver Lake and perhaps Little Giant Peak and Kendall Peak that are just above the lake. There are some really cool mining ruins around the lake and the scenery is spectacular. Just drive East out of Silverton to the Mayflower Mill, head up Co Rd. 52 (2wd for a few miles), then park and hike up the road/trail to the lake. Ice Lakes Basin up to Island Lake and Ice Lakes is an epic hike too. You could also tack on Vermillion Peak and Fuller if you want.

    Around Aspen, Maroon Bells is a must see, maybe a hike up W. Maroon Pass or Buckskin Pass. Pretty awesome stuff.

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    1. Jeff, thanks for this, I really appreciate it. We are from Guelph, Ontario, Canada so we will have gauge how much we do because of altitude. But, I am going to for sure go to these.

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  5. Sorry to hear about the rough race. Hey, props for finishing the race and I'm sure it was still a solid workout (at altitude!) that will pay dividends for the big race in August!

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