Jose's Flat Foot Blues

I typically include a race report of all my Half Marathons and Marathons; however I never included one for Utah Valley (UVM).  This is mostly due to the fact that I was so disappointed with my performance.  I achieved a 3:20 PR at Ogden on May 15 and then I bombed it with a 3:25 at UVM on June 12.  I realize that the main reason this happened is due to the fact that I tried for a PR effort less than one month after a PR effort and my body would not respond.  I am trying desperately for a BQ and UVM was just very disappointing.  So, I am sorry I never included a race report but UVM is one where I will keep the lessons learned and forget about all the other details.

However, the UVM disappointment helped me to focus on my remaining key races for 2010: Pikes Peak Ascent and the St. George Marathon.  In a word the Pikes Peak Ascent was awesome.  It is definitely the best race experience I have ever had and I recommend the race to everyone.  I embarked on this adventure with my wife Jolynne, Scott, and Kelli: Scott as a willing and eager participant and Jolynne and Kelli as tolerant accomplices.  We turned it into a vacation since we had to drive 9 hours to get to Colorado Springs.  Pikes Peak is located close to Colorado Springs and next to the town of Manitou Springs where the Ascent starts.  The Ascent is part of the Pikes Peak Marathon weekend which usually takes place on the third weekend of every August.  The Ascent takes place Saturday morning and the Marathon on Sunday morning.  The race starts in Manitou Springs at 6,300 feet and climbs up the Barr Trail to the Summit of Pikes Peak at 14,115 feet; that’s a 7,815 feet gain!  The course covers 13.3 miles with about 1.8 of those miles on the roads of Manitou and the rest on the Barr Trail.  The average grade of the course is 11% and you reach the tree line with about 3.5 miles to go.  This means that the last 5K or so of the race is done on a section where the oxygen is so thin that trees don’t grow.  Notice I said “done” instead of “run”; this is because the last thing most people are doing at that point is running.  Those last three miles are usually a death march to the summit and represent the most challenging part of the course.

As Scott and I were researching details of the race we noticed that the recommended method to predict our finish time for the Ascent was to take a recent marathon time and add 30 minutes to it.  This would mean a 3:45 time for Scott and a 3:50 time for me.  That’s over 3 hours for 13.3 miles!!!  That had to be wrong.  Well, it started to sound right when we took our first look at Pikes Peak as we were driving into Manitou to pick up our packets.  The Peak looks massive and I must admit my heart sank a little when I saw it.  I could only laugh at our boldness in taking on this adventure.

The Expo for the race was small but it was very organized and the vendors there had great deals.  The Pikes Peak paraphernalia was reasonably priced and the other vendors had a lot of selection at reasonable prices.  The volunteers were also very friendly and helpful.

On the morning of the race Jolynne and Kelli dropped us off at Manitou Avenue where the race would start.  The race starts in two waves, one at 7 am and one at 7:30 am.  Scott and I qualified for Wave 1 so we got there around 6:15.  We lined up for the porta potties where they actually had a volunteer directing traffic.  I don’t know how she did it but whatever she did was efficient since the line moved quickly.  We then dropped off our clothes bag and proceeded to the start line.  It was nice to have Jolynne and Kelli at the start line.  They had parked the car and walked over.  I am used to start lines in the middle of nowhere up in a mountain with no spectators.  In this race the spectators are there to cheer you on at the start and at the finish.  However, you’re on your own for everything in between with the exception of the aid stations where volunteers provided plenty of cheers.

As the gun went off the weather was perfect and the summit was clear of clouds.  The pace started out slow when compared to a flat land half marathon but probably a bit faster than what we wanted to go.  The road went up gradually but once we reached Ruxton street, which goes up to the Cog Railway depot, it went significantly uphill and remained so for most of the rest of the race.  We joined the Barr trail at mile 1.8 or so and quickly moved to a section called the W’s because of all the switchbacks that one has to run through.  The race became very congested at this point and it was very difficult to pass or be passed.  This section drove Scott nuts because it was a pain to pass and people kept trying to go past us, which was very annoying.  Our strategy was that Scott would lead for two miles and then I would lead and we would continue that sequence until one of us faded.  Well I took the lead at mile two and proceeded to pass a whole bunch of people because the congestion of people behind us was driving me crazy as well.  However, soon enough Scott was nowhere to be seen.  At mile 3 I slowed down and waited for Scott to catch up since I thought maybe something was wrong with him.  He said he was fine so I continued through the W’s.  Soon enough again I noticed he was nowhere to be seen so I assumed that he decided to hang back or was struggling or something.  So I kept going and assumed he had faded.

At about mile 3 or so the road opened up significantly and it became easier to pass and be passed.  The race was very competitive.  You were jockeying for position the whole way through and the quality of the field was high.  I never did see many slouches on this trail.  Even the graybeards looked and ran fit as a fiddle.  Many of them passed me decisively.  It was very cool to experience the level of fitness of this field regardless of age.

At about mile 5 my legs started to feel heavy.  I wasn’t terribly fatigued but my legs definitely were holding me back.  There was great diversity in the terrain.  One minute you are on fine dirt, the next on gravel, the next jumping over rocks or dodging trees.  You really have to pay attention to your footing or you biff it as I almost did on at least three occasions.  By this point I had already hit a couple of aid stations (Incline and No-name Creek).  These were fairly small and staffed with about 5 people each.  They had Gatorade and water that they must have hiked in themselves early that morning or the night before.  It definitely takes dedication to be a Pikes Peak volunteer. 

At about mile 7.8 I came upon Barr Camp, which is a major aid station and landmark on the trail.  This is the place that the builder of the original trail, Fred Barr, built for overnight stops on trips to the summit.  It made me smile to get here because my schedule had me arriving at 1:56 hours and I got there in 1:49 hours, so I was well ahead of schedule for a 3:50 finish.  However, shortly after this I started really feeling the effects of the altitude.  Barr Camp is located at 10,200 feet of elevation and the trail remained pretty steep from here on.  By the time I reached mile 9 I started to mix in walking with my running.

Then the totally unexpected happened.  I felt a nudge at my back and I heard someone say “You should have paced better.  You went out too fast.”  It was Scott!!  I thought he was done for and here he was running up that freaking mountain.  I could not believe it.  He looked as fresh as can be.  Soon he disappeared up the trail.  I was shocked and totally angry at myself since I could now feel he was right.  I made a rookie mistake and went out way too fast and now I was paying for it.  However, I had been planning this race for a year and a half and I was not going to let the Peak defeat me.  I buckled down and prepared for pain. 

I reached the A-frame aid station (11,950 feet, mile 10.1) at 2:29 hours, however I only know this in hindsight since I wasn’t paying attention to anything but staying on the road and maintaining my effort.  This put me at 15 minutes ahead of schedule, which would have been great to know since I felt pretty crappy and dejected.  A-frame is also the treeline.  This is the point where there is so little oxygen that trees can’t grow.  At this point the mountain opens up and you can see clearly to the summit.  The view before me was of a huge line of people marching their way up endless switchbacks towards the summit.  I could see a speck up at the top that was probably the finish line banner.  I could also hear the announcer clearly.  It must be that sound travels faster at altitude but I could hear the announcer for the rest of the race.  This was pure torture since the hardest part of the race was about to begin.

By this point, truth be told, I was mostly power walking.  My breathing was much labored and I developed a stitch on my side that hurt horribly.  At this point many people were passing me and I was passing few.  I started getting really worried about my goal.  Mile 11 took me 24 minutes!  Mile 12 was a bit faster at 23 minutes!  Mile 12 was the last aid station called Cirque.  When I arrived there an overenthusiastic volunteer said “Welcome to Cirque!”  I was so tired and in pain that I could have punched her and her giddiness.  Luckily I just said thanks and moved on.

The last mile was the hardest.  There were casualties everywhere.  People were hugging the wall or sitting on rocks or plain old just standing in the trail.  I finally got tired of the people that were right behind me so I stopped and let them pass.  I then mustered the last strength I had and made the final push to the top. I was dizzy from the altitude and the terrain was getting increasingly technical.  I felt a couple of times like I would pass out and go over the side of the trail.  It was a bit scary.  I finally arrived at a section called the Ladders, which is the last section before the finish line. I literally had to use both my hands and feet to get up this section of rocky switchbacks.  All of the sudden I heard the finish line announcer call my name.  I didn’t realize I was so close.  This made me feel better and after rounding the last switchback I called on what little strength I had left and ran to the finish line.

I made it!  The clock read 3:46:35.  I beat my predicted time by about 3.5 minutes!  I was extremely happy but my first thought was:  I could have easily done it in 3:45, DANG IT!  Oh well, that’s how we runners are.  I received my medal and proceeded to walk up to the Gatorade table.  I was happy to see Jolynne and Kelli at the Summit but concerned when I saw Scott.  He was waddling, looking frail, and his face was completely covered in salt.  However, he finished in 3:36:00.  He beat me by over 10 minutes!  He beat his predicted time by 9 minutes; the guy is an animal.  Probably the toughest runner I know.  We hugged, celebrated our accomplishment with Gatorade and then took a picture in front of the sign at the summit that shows the elevation of the Peak. 

I picked up my gear bag at what has to be the best sweat check operation of any race I have participated in.  By the time I approached them they had my bag ready.  I put on my sweats and a windbreaker and we proceeded to the observation deck.

All I can say about the view from the summit is: WOW.  You can see the curvature of the earth from up there!  Then I started to completely run out of juice.  I had to hold on to Jolynne and I started shivering uncontrollably from the cold and the wind.  Scott wasn’t faring much better.  So we decided to get out of dodge and catch the bus down to the parking lot.  All we needed was oxygen because once we got back to town we felt pretty great.  When we got back to the race tent at Manitou Springs we presented our finisher medals and received our finisher shirts.  They also had free food and drinks for us. 

And there it is; the day and the race could not have been better.  However to top it all off I was able to speak with Bart Yasso (great guy) from Runner’s World magazine and I met Arline Piper, who is the first woman in the US to officially complete a marathon.  And yes, she did it before Katherine Switzer.  And yes, it was Pikes Peak:  America’s Ultimate Challenge.  Arline is now 80 and a first rate lady.  It was the perfect way to cap a near-perfect race day.