Thursday, 8/21/08 Pikes Peak, 5 Days Late and 21 Seconds Short

Pikes Peak
8/21/08
13.32 miles
7,815 vertical
2:53:55

Since the weekend, the thought of going back to Pikes for a re-match has been cycling in and out of my consciousness. I know it sounds crazy, but I have worked so hard all year to get my fitness to a certain point and I was ready to go on the 16th to perform better than I ever have. Without a doubt, the nasty weather had a significant impact on me during the race and I was just sure that I could do better.

I packed my gear last night and figured I would get up in the morning and see how I felt. I was a bit sore this week after the race Saturday and then my 17 mile/4,300 vertical foot “recovery run” on Sunday (which included the Incline), so I was not 100% confident that I would be fully recovered. I felt good when I rolled out of bed this morning and took a chance and headed out the door at 5:18am in search of redemption.

I arrived at the “start line” in Manitou about 90 minutes later and geared up/warmed up and put the bathroom at City Hall to the test.

Got underway a bit later than I hoped at 7:23am and just resolved to make a steady pace and see how things went. As soon as things started to get steep on Ruxton, I know that my legs were not in the condition that I had hoped. They felt OK, but I knew I was still tired from the weekend.

I went a similar pace to Saturday, maybe making it to Barr Camp about 90 seconds behind, but still about where I wanted to be. Above Barr, I actually felt better than on Saturday and I am sure I went quicker to the A-Frame, arriving there in 1:57 total. From here, it was all starting to catch up to me. I held it together somewhat for the next mile, but I knew I was losing a bit of time. The next mile is normally much easier and about 2.5-3 minutes faster, but I was deteriorating quickly. The last mile was an absolute disaster where I lost all kinds of time. Uggg.

It is amazing how quickly the time starts getting away from you once the wheels fall completely off, then you get to a point where you start to not care.

It went from:

"Yeah, I think I might be able to finish in the low 2:40's"
"OK, I should still be able to sneak in at 2:45"
"OK, I can live with sub 2:50"
"Holy $h!t, I might not even beat my crappy time from Saturday"
"Dang, I just want to get to the top, I can already smell the french fries"

I considered waiting until next week, but an upcoming backpack trip will for sure make me a bit gimpy and feeling a bit turtle like.

Even though I was 21 seconds slower today than on Saturday, I feel better about it all. I gave it a shot, failed and now I just need to let it go. I am looking forward to a break from pushing myself and I am eager to just take things as they come for a while, forget about Pikes Peak until next year and focus on climbing some new peaks, riding my bike a bit more and spending more time with Allison and Sierra.

Splits:
2:50 Ruxton
9:26 Hydro3
1:2? Top Ws
46:45 No Name
1:21:50 Barr
1:57 A-Frame
2:16 2 to go
2:32 1 to go
2:53:55 summit

Wednesday, 8/20/08 Flagstaff

3 miles
1,300 vertical

Got out for an easy run up Flag today, did not even look at the watch. I only went because I was running errands in Boulder and needed to make the trip a little bit more worthwhile.