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Mt. Evans Ascent
6/16/07
14.5 miles
3,800 vertical +/-
2hrs 12min 56 sec
8th place overall
3rd division
After bowing out of the San Juan Solstice earlier in the spring due to a nagging knee injury , I quickly signed up for the Mt. Evans Ascent, as it was to be held on the same day and I figured that it being all uphill, it would not bother my knee like a rolling 50 miler.
I have known about this race for some time, but have never been too thrilled about it since it is a road race, as I have only raced one other race entirely on pavement, the “Key to the City 10k” in Washington DC back in 1991. My good friend and regular training partner George Zack encouraged me to sign up with him and I gave in to the peer pressure.
The plusses to this race for me was that it is all uphill, goes to 14k and would be great training for the Pikes Peak Ascent in August. The minuses for me were that it is paved and not as steep as I normally like.
Training this spring has been quite erratic. A nagging knee injury meant nearly 2 months off my feet. Fortunately I was able to ride my bike to maintain/improve upon my fitness and when my knee finally started to improve, I was able hike and do some light uphill running without too much consequence, but true running, especially running with high foot turnover was rare.
To dial in my speed and road skills , I ran on the track once with my friend Dave Mackey and got my butt kicked, ran hill intervals on the road with George Zack and ran the Mt. Evans road from Summit Lake last weekend at a moderately fast pace.
George and I carpooled up to the race together, arriving shortly after 6am, got a primo parking spot right at the start line and had plenty of time to get ready for the 8am start (i.e. eat, empty bowels/bladders and nervously pace around/warm up ).
The race starts promptly at 8 and I am in the lead for the first 100 feet or so, but I quickly realize that this is a really ill-fated position . I back off and let Dave Mackey, George Zack and Bret Wilson take over the pace making and I am in 4th place for the first half mile or so. Soon after I hear some breathing over my right shoulder and a woman with an Army shirt passes and maintains a great pace and I am able to pace off of her for 6 or so more miles, maintaining 5th position.
The long, wide open stretches of road preceding Summit Lake were the toughest for me and I really started to struggle with the seemingly endless views of the road ahead. The lack of gradient was also wearing on me, as I had to constantly remind myself to keep up my cadence.
I sucked down a caffeinated GU, two ibuprofen, an electrolyte tablet and washed it all down with some Hammer Heed which helped put a little pep in my step. I had been passed by Dan Skarda a few miles back, but was able to re-pass him at the Summit Lake aid station. I was also passed by Anita Ortiz a short while back and was able to stick to her pretty well for a short while, but she just kept on cranking and started to put a little distance on me.
Although I had not been looking forward to the brief downhill and flat section near the lake, it proved to be a boost for me and I really cranked it up through here. My time check at the lake was 1:19:20 and I had run this upcoming final stretch last week in 49 minutes at a moderately quick pace, so I knew I was in the ballpark of finishing near my 2:10 goal.
Soon after the lake, the road steepened dramatically, and although I excel on the steeps, my legs were feeling a little fatigued from 9 miles of pounding the pavement and I knew the last 5 miles were going to be a suffer fest .
There were a few fast guys breathing down my neck and I ended up playing leap frog with a few of them for a while. There were times I was tempted to just walk and give in to them, but I knew I would later hate myself for conceding, so I kept pushing, knowing that they were hurting as bad as me and that before I knew it, it would all be over.
The suffering and perseverance paid off and I put between 1 and 5 minutes on all but one of my nearest threats (Dan Skarda dug deeper than I could manage and beat me by 30 seconds). As I neared the line, I could see the clock nearing the next minute and really sprinted for all I was worth and just snuck in at 2:12:56, about 3 minutes off of my goal time, but I was still satisfied that I achieved my goal of a top 10 overall placing, and a prize in my age division.
Knowing that I gave it my all was all that I could really hope for and I am satisfied with that. Of course I had to head up to the true summit and take in the views for a while.
My friends Dave and George took first and second respectively coming in at 1:58 and 1:59, about a minute per mile faster than me. All in all a very well run race, fun people, competitive field and great scenery. I can’t wait till next year.
Results:
http://www.racingunderground.com/mtevans/results/runresevans07.html |
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