PIke's Peak Ascent Race Report

Since I didn't get into Leadville Dan and I decided this was our opportunity to run the iconic Pike's Peak races. Dan was going to end his season with the marathon and I'd start mine with the ascent. Dan has been rehabbing his knee since Never Summer and while he most likely could have finished the race...slowly...he decided it was best if he didn't run. He would have finished only to not run for 6 weeks or so while he started his knee rehab over. It just wasn't worth it. So that left me to run the ascent.

I worried all week I wasn't ready for a race like this. Would my legs hold up? Did I have the endurance? The speed? Would my stomach hold up? What I didn't ask was if I was ready to race? I kept telling myself this is a training run? It will help with Run Rabbit. But I never prepared myself to actually race. As it turns out the months off of racing left my racing mindset just as out of shape as my body. 

This is what happens when Dad watches the boys!

The only thing I read about the course was not to waste your energy passing in the Ws and not to redline there. I took this to heart a bit more than I should have. I'm not sure my heart rate ever broke 100, I was never out of breath, my stomach never went south and all I kept thinking was "man I'd really like to be running more". Needless to say my performance was seriously sub-par for my capabilities. I was really disappointed at the end of the race. But really I have no one to blame but myself for not being mentally race ready. It was a good experience though. I know I need to work on my mindset before Run Rabbit or I'll end up with the same results. The good thing was at the end of the race, at over 13k feet my legs felt amazing! I started powering uphill more with no fatigue. Hell I chugged a PBR with a quarter mile left, at that point I figured why not, and then sprinted into the finish. So I know my legs have it. I know I'm strong enough for Run Rabbit the biggest question is endurance. 

Overall though it was a fun and very well organized race. I didn't run well, but I learned a lot that will better prepare me for Run Rabbit and I dusted off the cobwebs. Better to have a lackluster race at Pikes than RRR right? Now it's time to step up the training and get serious...both mentally and physically. 

Week August 10 - 16

Miles: 59.0
Hours: 12.5