Training Log Archive: Kat

Drove to Denver airport and then flew to New York. My legs feel tired, but ok. This next week is planned rest and recovery. No training whatsoever. Lots of food, friends, family, shopping, and even a haircut. :)

The Pikes Peak Ascent.

13.32 miles, 7,815 feet of climb to get to ~14,050 feet.

I was actually nervous this morning, which is very unusual for me. The weather had been pretty grim all through the night and the forecast called for 20F and snow on top of the mountain. I was not sure I could finish this race given the conditions. I was not even sure I would be allowed to finish, since the organizers could send us back down anytime if it became unsafe. Fortunately, Boris and Christoph were amazingly supportive and I started the race feeling about as prepared as could be.

I started at the front of the crowd, but took it very easy in the beginning and let others pass me. About 15 minutes in, I took off my orange rain jacket and hat. Around this time, I started passing people back. This was not easy, given the narrow trail, but I ran where I could, walked where I had to, and gradually made my way up. Mentally, the hardest part for me was at around 90 minutes. It was then that my resolve started to waver and I was actually contemplating quitting. But after the nicer flat section and some cheerful conversation with a fellow runner, I was feeling fine again. It helped that I had very realistic expectations.

By Barr Camp, I was passing people from Wave 1 (people that started half an hour earlier than I did). By the last several miles, I was passing people in groups of 3-5. I do not know exactly how many people I passed during the race, but it was quite a high number. In the beginning, this was encouraging. By the end, it was just frustrating. I wanted to run up to the finish and every 15-20 seconds, people were in my way!

I was freezing when I finished. For the first 2.5 hours, there was constant rain. Then once I got above tree line, there was hail and wind. Then during the last couple of miles, there was snow. My legs felt so cold that I wondered if it was possible for them to go numb and fail me. After I finished, it took Boris the better part of an hour to help dress me and stop my shaking.

The scary part is that I was one of the healthier-looking finishers. Boris and Christoph said they saw people who looked a lot worse than I did, and at least one ambulance was sent to the top of the mountain. Hundreds of runners were turned back at A Frame shortly after 10 AM, so I feel very lucky to have made the cut-off!

Despite everything, this race was amazing and I will certainly be back to do it again. I am certain that better knowledge of the trail, a Wave 1 start, and better weather conditions could have saved me at least 10 minutes. And I'll keep training hills. Perhaps 3 hours is doable someday.

RESULTS: 47th woman, 308 overall, 3rd in the W20-24 category.

C • Awesome!! 8

After spending yet another night in a motel, Boris and I visited the Royal Gorge Bridge and then continued on to Colorado Springs. Lots of dense fog and rain. I could barely see the cars in front of me, and certainly not Pikes Peak. But I did get to see the kissing camels in the Garden of the Gods, which cheered me up.

Boris and I drove part-way to Colorado Springs today. We stopped along the way to visit the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and go for an easy run. My right foot hurt whenever I stepped on a rock (I think it is bruised), so I did not do the planned 30 minutes.

Today, Boris, Amy, and I headed up on a rocky, wide trail to a nearby waterfall, climbing about 1,000 feet in the process. I only timed the running portion of this, but we were actually out for longer.

[Aside: Telluride is an amazing place. It is situated at 8,750 feet and is surrounded by mountains on most sides. Even better, the gondolas are considered public transportation (at least in the summer), so that in theory I could run up a mountain and then ride down on one of those for free!]

Drove Will to Denver airport and then headed out to Telluride to visit Amy and Mat. Lots of driving, but really pretty views!

After the US Champs, Boris, Will, and I drove through Rocky Mountain National Park and spent the night at Estes Park. This morning, we set off early for Longs Peak, one of the more difficult fourteeners. We made very good progress up the trail to the keyhole (13,000+ feet), but then decided to turn back because we felt our sneakers did not provide enough grip to safely continue the climb.