2017 Pikes Peak Ascent

2017 Pikes Peak Ascent
Manitou Springs, CO
27th Overall, 2nd AG 2:54:07

The Pikes Peak Ascent has been on my radar for a couple years now. I actually registered last year for the event but wasn't able to make it out there unfortunately. This year I was able to free up a week and head out West once again for yet another mountain race. But this time I flew out to Denver instead of driving. Took a rental from Denver down to Colorado Springs and stayed with a friend there. Manitou Springs was just a short 15 minute drive from here which was nice. I got in 2 days prior to the race and was able to get a pre race run in and just mill around a bit. Getting into town a couple days prior was key for me in the fact that I wanted to kind of sneak up on the altitude so it didn't have a chance to catch up with me. I was excited and relaxed going into the race. I wanted to race well and stick my nose up front a bit. I knew Id have my work cut out for me racing against people who come from altitude. I wanted to represent well for the flatlanders.  I feel my training was adequate and well planned for the race; its just frustrating because I know I could do much better if only I could train out there in the mountains at altitude. But I can't so I try and make the best of it and find different ways to train for mountain races like this in the flatlands. I also kind of enjoy the challenge of training where I live for mountainous races and competing with some of the best that come from mountainous regions.

The Race:
The race itself was such a neat experience. The course is absolutely unbelievable and it was really really tough. Training on an incline treadmill is good to get you prepared but nothing can quite prepare you for a race like this other than just getting on similar trails. From the gun the race just sends you straight up. The opening mile is on the road that takes you through downtown Manitou and takes you to the trail head. The road section is still slightly uphill. In the opening mile I stuck myself up in the top 10-15 and just tried to find a pace.

Course Layout

The first couple miles my chest cavity just felt tight, maybe a quick altitude shock, but I finally settled in and just found a nice climbing pace. I think I did a good job of staying within myself and not redlining. I knew if I flirted too much with that line that the altitude would come back and bite me and I didn't want to deal with that too early in the race. Up to Barr Camp mile 7ish I was still feeling good and had a good clip going but was still getting passed by runners here and there. After Barr Camp and up to A-Frame I played yo-yo with a couple other runners and up to A Frame I was still moving really well. Once the tree line started to thin out I knew it was about to get real. I just stayed under control and tried to leave a little bit in the tank for the finish. Once the trees cleared and I had 3 miles to the summit it started to get real. My climbing slowed quite a bit but I was still moving forward and hadn't felt a bonk yet. The last mile was atrocious. My last mile was 21 minutes and some change. Which sounds terrible but actually the winners last mile was a high 15 minute mile to put it into perspective. I got passed quite a bit the last mile which is fine, I just tried to keep putting one foot in front of the other. The altitude was really starting to take affect on me and I started to get loopy and hazey. The last 1/2 mile was a lot of scrambling up rocks and boulders which made it tough to stay upright.

At the top

It was also tough because you could here and partially see the finish for the good majority of the finishing climb but it was still so far away. But once I got to the top it was all worth it. Unbelievable views and I had a real sense of accomplishment. Theres a lot of races that I do that I don't get that true feeling of wow I just conquered something extremely tough and with this race I got all that. Climbing a total of 7,815 vertical feet up Pikes Peak is something Ill never forget and I'll more than likely be back sometime soon.

Strava Link:
https://www.strava.com/activities/1141770685

Results:
http://www.pikespeakmarathon.org/Results.shtml