Collegiate Peaks 50 miler

Collegiate Peaks 50 miler is in the books.  It was not easy and I hit some low points during the run but I fought through them and finished.  Tim F came out to run the race.  Big congratulations to Tim for running an amazing race.  

We headed up to Silverthorne Thursday night to get acclimated to altitude a bit.  After lunch on Friday we drove up to Leadville and did some recon on the Leadville 100 course.  I am feeling optimistic about the race in this picture at the May Queen Aid Station.  This is the first and last aid station for the race about 13 miles from the start/finish.

We got a look at Power Line, Fish Hatchery, Twin Lakes, Winfield and Hope Pass.  I will have to top it twice in the middle 20 miles of the race.  It felt good to see how the course is laid out but it also was a good reminder that there is a lot of work to do. 

Hope Pass from Twin Lakes

I had to worry about the Collegiate Peaks 50 mile Trail Run first.  I felt like my training was good but I had nowhere near the mileage going into this race as I had for Run Rabbit Run last September.    We got into Buena Vista around 5pm and checked in.  We picked up our race numbers and tech shirts and headed back to the hotel.  We had cooked some pasta and prepared a salad back in Silverthorne and had it for dinner.  It was best not to trust the local fare before the race.  At 7pm there was a short and sweet race briefing.  After that it was back to hotel for an early night of sleep.

                      

                                                                                                              Tim ready to apply a beat down

The alarm went off at 4:45.  I had a banana and peanut butter sandwich for breakfast.  Temps at start time were 35 degrees.  I went with shorts and a long sleeve tech shirt, calf compression sleeves and gloves.  Temps warmed up into the mid 50's during the day and winds were fairly calm but cooled things off at the higher elevations.  Near perfect conditions.

"Enjoying" some pre-race gel

We prepped at our car.  We would get access to it at the 25 mile turnaround.  We headed into the Community Center 20 minutes prior to start time for some last minute stretching, hydration and last rites.  The field filed out of the Community Center slowly.  Not too many people were eager to wait in the cold at the start line.  With about 3 minutes until start time we were all lined up.  Without warning someone blew an air horn.  We all looked at each other, not sure if we should start or not.  Someone started waving and we took off.  The first 3 miles are run primarily on paved road.  I ran with Tim for these miles.  I had an annoying dry cough that concerned me.  At 3 miles we turned up a Country road that quickly dumped into some sandy trail.  I lost site of Tim right before the first aid station around mile 6 and fell into my planned pace.  By the first station my cough went away but I had some drainage into my stomach. 

I had drawn up a conservative pace chart that accounted for me power walking the uphills and running everything else.  I had a very rough training run on this course a month back and I drew on the experience of that run to pace myself.  The race ran through some single track and Forest Service Roads back to a rocky mountain.  At mile 10 the race shoots north at the Rocky Mountain through a series of steep rollers.  At the top of the rollers is a worthless aid station that had me filling my own water bottle.  The aid stations were not well stocked.  They had potato chips, M&M's, pretzels, Chips Ahoy, bananas, water and Heed.  I forced myself to eat 5-6 pretzels and a banana at the aid stations.  It's hard to put down pretzels when your mouth is dry but I had to get eat something besides the Hammer gel I was putting back every hour. 

From the aid station on top of the rollers the course finally heads downhill for 3-4 miles before reaching a sandy washout that marks the beginning of Lenhardy Climb.  Lenhardy Climb is a 4 mile climb that tops out at the high point of the course.  I planned to walk this section.  I felt good but I didn't want to blow it on the climb with 35 miles left to run.  Runners were passing me and it was starting to get to me.  I stuck to my plan.  At the top of the climb I felt strong and started running at a good pace.  Another worthless aid station awaits runners before diving down a steep Forest Service Road.  Just as the road starts to level out the trail dips down to the old Midland Railroad path.  I started passing all the runners that passed me and then some.  I was rolling into the turnaround as Tim was heading out.  We attempted a high five but didn't connect.  It was graceful.  Tim was looking strong.  I was happy I was only a mile behind him. 

I headed into the turnaround around the 4:15 mark.  I was well ahead of my pace plan.  I ran to the car and had some cantaloupe, 2 mini cinnamon rolls and a bite of P&J and refilled my water bottle.  I should have picked up my other handheld but chose not too.  It was a costly mistake.  I texted Meg and took off towards the turnaround.  A race official asked if I was heading back out.  I told them I was and off I went.  I was still feeling good at that point.  At mile 26 that all changed.

The grade of the trail is very runnable between mile 26-29 but I had to walk most of it.  I was feeling stiff in the hips, sore all over, empty and I started doubting if I would finish.  I kept pushing on.  I told myself I had to make it up to the top of Lenhardy.  I began cursing the Leadville 100.  I planned to pull the plug on that race.  I was convinced that the crows were circling above just waiting for me to die.  There was a sinkhole on the side of the trail that looked like a good place to lay down.  I was sure a passing runner would be kind enough to kick some dirt on me and maybe even mark the grave.  My iPod shuffle turned to a song by The Drive-By Truckers called A World of Hurt.

The damn song nearly pushed me over the edge.  I was in a low and dark place and it was still relatively early in the race.  After a few minutes of feeling bad for myself I shut off the iPod and powered on.  I got to the top of the hill and sat down while I munched on some disgusting pretzels and bananas that had been sitting out for the past 6 hours.  Some 70 year old man started talking some smack so I got up and kept cruising.  I was able to run down the front side of Lenhardy Hill and started feeling better.  I power hiked the next climb.  I hit the rollers and they nearly finished me for good.  At this point I had lost all the time I banked away to meet my goal so I changed my expectation from 10:37 to sub 11 hours.  11 hours qualifies runners for the Western States 100 lottery.  I was able to grind away at a slow run until I got about 6.5 miles out.  I was having trouble regulating my breathing.  I believe dehydration and electrolyte imbalance had to do with this.  At that point I decided to put in sub-15 minute miles to get me to the finish line.  If I could do that I would meet my goal.

I ended up finishing the race with Phil from Casper, WY.  We ground out the last 6 miles together.  He was a good person to be with.  He ran Leadville the previous year for the first time.  I was able to pick his mind and got some invaluable information.  We finished a few minutes before 11 hours.  It was a tough race for me.  I wanted to quit more than any I ever have.  I hit my low early on but kept pushing through.  Things got better.  They never were good again but the experience is something I will be able to tap into when I need to.  The course is a tough up and down course with about 6k of vertical gain.  The roads and paths were sandy, uneven and steep.  The scenery was spectacular but it wasn't a very enjoyable race.  I was happy to cross the line.  I take away satisfaction in pushing through when it wasn't my best day.  I felt beat but I wasn't beaten.  I plan on taking it easy this week before ramping it up and committing to Leadville 100%.