Pikes Peak

The end of something old marks the beginning of something new. That’s the way I feel as I sit here and write what I hope is only a short entry to my blog. Nothing too special was accomplished this weekend; not in the big scheme of things anyway. No races that I took part in, though I am anxious to hear how my friend Kelly Ping did in the Treasure State Triathlon, which took place this morning up in Bozeman, MT. I know she will do well.
For my weekend, I took care of some unfinished business, climbing Pikes Peak. Funny thing is that I have lived in Colorado Springs since 1998, and I have climbed a few of the 14teeners by now, but for some reason I had never bothered to take care of Pikes Peak. Perhaps it’s because I didn’t think the ascent of the peak itself was going to be technical enough to satisfy my appetite for climbing. Of course I have climbed many times upon Pikes Peak; the ice climbs upon its north face and over at the Bigger Bagger too.
Since having seriously taken up running a couple of years ago, I have been able to look around Colorado Springs and say,”Yeah, I’ve run there”. Everywhere except for the most important spot, or at least the biggest one. So, it was on Saturday morning that I set out to take care of that loose end.
In front of the Cog Railroad depot was the spot we were going to meet at 6:00 AM; a bunch of us from our running group, the Attack Pack, after having suggested the idea earlier in the week for a Saturday long run. Knowing it was going to be insanely busy on Ruxton Ave that day, I parked down at Memorial Park at 5:40 AM and began a slow warm-up heading up to the depot. Ramsey, Dave, Monique, Brian, and Hope all gathered with me, each of us with a different distance in mind, as most of the group was only going up to Barr camp and back. It was neat also to see many other folks we recognized from different Pikes Peak Road Runner events; lots of folks it seemed were out today with plans of heading up on the peak. At about 6:20 AM we headed out on the trail too.
Having never run with any of the Attack Pack on the Barr Trail, I was wondering what kind of strategy everyone would have for the W’s. Normally I will walk up Ruxton from just above the depot, where the road is really steep, run a little to the gate at where the dirt road begins, where I walk to the first bend back away from the creek, and then run up to where the cut-off trail meets the actual Barr trail. From there to the top of the W’s, I run a little and mostly walk the odd or north facing segments of each switchback, and then run all of the even or south facing ones. No one seemed to be in the mood to suggest anything different. So, I was relieved to get a mellow start and not have to deal with anyone wanting to like totally run the first part of the trail. From the top of the W’s, we ran where the trail was rolling on up to No Name Creek, and then walked for the next segment until we got on top of the ridge and ran most of the way up to Barr Camp, except in a couple of the more uphill sections. Perhaps I should add that we also walked most of the section from where the ½ mile to Barr Camp sign is.
We got to Barr Camp in 1 hour and 40 minutes. Saying goodbye to Ramsey, I headed on up the trail, and was pleasantly surprised that Dave wanted to stick with me for a little while longer. I pulled out a chocolate peanut-butter sandwich and split it with him. Aside from the sandwich, my nutrition plan consisted mostly of Power Gel, Enduralyte Caps, and a hydration pack full of water. I was eating a gel and a cap each hour, and sipping water whenever I could remember to. I had brought along a 20 oz bottle of HEED too, but wasn’t planning on breaking into it until much later.
Dave stuck with me until we got to the trail that turns off for the Bottomless Pit. We said our goodbyes, and I headed off up the trail alone; Dave headed back down. Not that I was really alone though; there were what seemed to be almost a hundred other people out on the trail, with designs on climbing the peak that day.
The section between Barr Camp and the A-Frame is the roughest part of the trail in terms of how rocky and technical it is. Soon enough it passed by and I was at tree-line, where I could see the top of the mountain, though there was still a long ways to go. It is 3 miles from tree-line to the summit, and I walked most of it. The trail is much smother in this section, though there was still a patch of snow or two to be negotiated. I was amazed at the views, and also by some really nice looking cliffs where there would be some good climbing, if only it weren’t so far from the road.
The trail gets rocky again where the 16 Golden Stairs are to be found just below the summit. For the most part I had stayed pretty warm up to this point in only a short sleeved shirt and some shorts. At the top, a jet of cold wind was coming over the summit from the west, as is so typical of the weather on top of Pikes Peak. I stuck around long enough to talk someone into taking my picture, and to say hello to a fellow runner, Mike Shafai from Colorado Springs, who is also taking part in the Leadman series. Mike had left the depot about the same time I had, but is a much faster runner, and had gotten to the top I am sure quite a bit sooner than I had.
Not wanting to cool off too much on the summit, it wasn’t long before I said more goodbyes, and headed off again, this time actually running, as I was now headed on my way back down the mountain. So, I ran most of the way back down. Of course I stopped to walk in a few spots, where there were large rocks to negotiate just below the summit on the 16 Golden Stairs, and for the couple of snow patches. However, all the way back down the mountain I kept up a slow shuffle, only stopping to walk just below Barr Cap, where there is a slight uphill section.
I wasn’t embarrassed to pray to God for exactly what I wanted; to not trip and fall down and get hurt. A couple of times I stumbled when my feet hit upon a rock sticking up out of the trail. For the entire descent though, God kept me safe from all harm and danger, and for that I was very grateful.
By the time I got back down to Barr Camp, I decided to break into my HEED, mainly as an experiment to see how it would sit on my stomach after having wrung so much out of my body on the way up. So, I stuck with the gels and water on the hour, and started drinking some HEED on the half hour. It tasted good, but it didn’t set too well on the tummy. Mostly it just gave me some gas. I was thankful to not have any major GI distress. Maybe I need to find something else to try instead of HEED. I love the stuff, and drink it pretty regularly while I am on the bike, but it doesn’t love me when I run…
As I got further down the mountain I allowed myself to visualize what it would be like to run back down Manitou Ave and cross in front of the Coquette Creperie, where we always cross the road while running with the Incline Club on Sunday mornings. Except I don’t get to run with the Incline Club too much, because I usually go to church instead. Visualization became reality, and I eventually did cross Manitou Ave. and made it back to my vehicle at Memorial Park at 1:00 PM exactly. By my figuring, this was just about 7 hours round trip for a distance of 28.4 miles. My legs felt a little worn out as I walked a lap back and forth in front of the park as a cool down. Other than that though, I was pretty much injury free; no severe knee or foot pain and no blisters either.
Back to the beginning; where I started with the end of something old marking the beginning of something new. Today also marked the turning of a page so to speak in my journey for this summer. Next week, on July the 3rd, the Leadman series starts. How it will end, I can only hope is with success. I realize that this is a journey that not only will my mind have to accept, but my body must be a willing accomplice too. Can I hold up physically and mentally to see this through to the end? Will I discover that I truly enjoy and want to try other ultra-endurance races? Will I finish and say that’s enough for me? Or will I crash and burn, ending somewhere in between with a DNF? I place my faith in God that He always takes me exactly where I need to be. I’ll keep you posted along the way.