I signed up for the American Heroes Run to be held on September 11 to commemorate those who died during 9/11, and to honor those living today to keep us safe. Little did I know how close this would come to my life.
But first, the run. It was a nine hour and eleven minute event held in Rogers Grove Park in Longmont on a 1 mile loop around Fairground Lake. I was surprised when I got an e-mail the day before from Mike Melton Timing explaining to all of us how the chip timing was to work. This wasn't the same Mike Melton from Florida I knew from earlier runs (Javelina, Across the Years, Motherroad) was it? Turned out it was. When I turned up Saturday morning to check in with the RD David Clark, there was Mike (aka as Dr. Seymour Bush, Gen Patten, the Red Dress Lady, etc.). Also saw some old friends (Alene Nitzky, Tom Hamilton) and made some new ones David Clark, Jeff O’Reilly, etc.).
My goal was to try for 40+ miles but I was in no hurry and would just use this as an opportunity for a long, supported run for my upcoming 100 milers in a few months. My last long run was pacing at Leadville (28 miles) so this was going to be slow and steady.
After listening to the Star Spangled Banner on sax, we were off like a flock of geese around the lake, which started at 8:46 AM to commemorate the time the first tower was hit in NY. I ran with Jeff on the first loop, which we did in 9:25 or so. This was too fast so I decided to back off and do my 8 minute run/2 minute walk regimen for awhile. This was giving me 11-12 minute miles per loop. I was able to keep this up for a few hours, and soon got into a "walk the inclines and run the flats and downs" routine. Being how my car was right off of the course near the timing chute, I made use of my little aid station to change clothes and change bottles as needed. Before I knew it, it was lunchtime. I sat for about 30 minutes eating my sandwich and talking with Alene, watching the other runners go by.
Soon it was time for me to get back up and continue on. It was getting hot, and the cloudless sky was starting to wear on me a bit. I got into a routine where each section of a loop would be a walk or run. The last few hours was mostly a walk, along with Jeff and we made for interesting conversation. As time for the race was drawing near we were wondering if we could get in one final lap. It was taking us 15 minutes and change to do a loop, and we got in at 8:55. Jeff decided to go on, while I had enough thinking I wouldn't have time for another. My feet were killing me at this point so I had no more motivation to go on. I ended up doing 37.15 miles in 8 hours and 55 minutes. I was very happy with my distance.
David Clark put on an excellent event, and it was cool to see his son & father out there participating, and the rest of his family helping out.
I finally got home around 7 PM, tired and dirty. Took a shower and vegged out.
Then came Sunday.......
View of the fire from the evacuation point.
I was feeling sore and tired. I was hobbling around doing stuff around the house (laundry, cleaning up and unpacking my stuff from the previous days' run). I was outside hanging up laundry when Lorraine came out in a hurry: "We just got a reverse 911 call about a fire in the area and evacuation is advised!" I decided to drive down the hill to see how bad it was since I didn't see any smoke or smell any. When I drove down I saw what looked like a plume, but it was hard to make out above the ridgeline to the east and north. I finally got to the overlook and saw a huge plume of smoke just east and north. This was about 5 miles east of us. I drove back home and told Lorraine we needed to get the sheep back in the barn from the pasture turnout in prep to load them out for an evacuation. I did stop at our neighbors Al and Sandy's house down the road, as they have no phone and told them about the reverse 911 call. Lorraine came by as well to warn them too. They have 3 horses, and would trailer out two and Sandy would ride out the 3rd one. At the time the fire wasn't huge but things could change (and did). Lorraine had already gathered up three of the cats and they were in their cat kennels, howling when I got back up to the house. The sheep, goats and Llama were already turned in and haltered, ready to go.
After getting home, I raced inside to get some suitcases for clothes, toiletries, etc.. Lorraine grabbed our photo albums, I grabbed our important documents, and started working on deciding what to bring and what to leave. What a hard situation this was. How does one decide what to take along in limited space and time? I was thinking of little stuff, but didn’t think too much at the time (although it hit me later) about all the furniture my dad had made, which was passed down to us when he and mom died a few years ago. I’m sure Lorraine was thinking of some stuff she has had since she was a child. Man, this is tough! Lorraine got the dogs collared and gathered their leashes. I was grabbing stuff and hauling them out to the SUV, leaving room for the cats. Lorraine had her truck and was getting it ready to load sheep. I was upstairs when the dogs started barking wildly. I went downstairs and saw the ranger's truck outside. He suggested we leave now. I asked if we had time to load our sheep, about 30 minutes. He said he couldn't force us to leave, but we needed to leave NOW. We said okay. He took note of what vehicles were going to be left behind (both of our Audi's). Lorraine and I talked about what to do with the sheep, and we decided they would be okay for the time being, considering the urgency of us getting out at all. This was a tough decision for Lorraine. She has ten years invested in the breeding and so forth of her flock, guiding them towards certain traits for the breed (Jacobs) and the fleece characteristics. I figured they would be safer inside the barn than outside, due to smoke inhalation and all. I went in and got the last load. I checked the house and closed the remaining windows, and locked the doors. When I got to the car I realized I didn't have my keys, so I went back inside. I did another quick walkthrough. We had to leave one cat as she is hard to get a hold of, and thought she would be better off here than at Lorraine's parent’s house in Estes Park. We had an evacuation plan, but ended up missing items anyway.
Got my keys and headed out. Lorraine was already in the truck ready to head down our driveway. As we left we saw Al and Sandy loading up and getting ready to leave. After turning off our road onto the main road, the row of mailboxes belonging to all the residents on our road had yellow police tape across them. I guess this meant everyone has been contacted. The next sight I saw while leaving scared the crap out of me: as we turned onto the main road heading east, the ridge just to our north and east had tons of smoke billowing out along the ridgeline into the sky. It reminded me of the underwater views of the BP oil spill in the gulf a few months ago. In the span of 45 minutes, this thing had really blown up!
This is the Sikorsky Skycrane helicopter, which there were 4 operating to control the fire and protect structures. These monsters hold 2500 gallons, and it took about 20 seconds for the helicopter to fill up. These guys were constantly coming and going, filling from Flatiron Reservoir here. There were two more up at Pinewood.
We got down the hill, watching the flames and smoke billow up, and fire trucks, aircraft all over the place working it. We got to the rally point at the Bison Visitor Center near Flatiron Res. We were there about an hour, watching the helicopters, slurry planes attack the hillsides trying to save homes. Containment at this point was moot....the mission was to save homes. The hillside was completely covered in smoke and it was hard to see any houses on the hill, but they were trying their best to save what they could. Several times we saw the smoke change color from a dirty cream color to a dark black. Either a house was just consumed or more trees caught fire. The pilots were amazing in their precision, but at this time the fire was so fast and furious it was hard for them to keep up. Two houses, several outbuildings and an RV were lost during this time. When we realized we were not going to be able to go back up, we decided to head on up to Estes Park and get the animals settled in. It was hot and the loud noise of the helicopters dipping into Flatiron Reservoir was stressing them out. So time to go.
The fire had grown westward and you can see the new burning behind the original burn area.
We got up to Estes Park, got the cars out of the garage and let loose the cats. The dogs ended up staying on their deck during the day. I was watching the news coverage of the fire. The news helicopter was showing closeups of a house totally engulfed in flames, the Christiansons. Later on, they showed the efforts of trying to save a small A-Frame cabin, but eventually they lost the cabin as it was ablaze. What really hit me while watching all of this is when they showed a helicopter readying a drop of its load of water onto a hillside to extinguish the blaze below. I then realized this was the hillside on the west side of Pinewood Reservoir dam, just 1 mile east of our place!
Watching the news, showing places ablaze you drive by each and every day was sobering. Lorraine and I didn’t get much sleep that night. I ended up getting up around 1 AM and watching TV the rest of the night (Fox News, old Twilight Zone episodes). The next morning we ate breakfast and headed back down the hill to get any news and hope we could get back home. We spent the morning at the evacuation center (The Church at Loveland) and signed in with the Red Cross. We talked with the US Forest Service Information Officer to get any tidbits of info we could get. Lorraine was concerned about her sheep, goats and Llama. The issue now was getting them some food, as they cannot go long without food. We voiced our concerns with the CIO there, and she put us on a list for the Humane Society who were making plans to go up there to take care of left behind animals. Lorraine also found a neighbor whose husband decided to stay behind. She would contact him as well to look in an feed, water the sheep.
It was time for the 10 AM press briefing and it was on a big screen in the auditorium. We sat with other neighbors and watched the briefing. We ate some lunch and decided to head over to the Bison Center for the afternoon briefing to press and residents. Perhaps we would hear if we could at least go up to check on things. Alas, we weren’t allowed. We checked again with the Humane Society POC there and she said they had groups up there taking care of animals, and we were on the list. The smoke today wasn’t as bad as the previous’ day, but the Sikorsky Skycranes were working hard on dousing a lot of areas. It looked like a lot of the fire had moved further north and west, so it was hard to see anything from behind the front ridges. Lorraine’s friend from Fort Collins came down to help us either feed or bring down the animals. Instead, she was good company for Lorraine as they watched the helicopters through binoculars work the fire.
There was lots of this going on....waiting. Waiting to hear any news about going home or making a visit.
Once we knew for sure we were not going to be allowed up, we decided it was time to leave. We headed back up the canyon to Estes Park to take care of the cats and dogs. This time, I had no problem getting to sleep that night. Got up around 7 AM and watched for any additional news on TV. Nothing was mentioned of a briefing, so I assumed it would be held again at 10 AM. Lorraine decided to stay up in Estes, as waiting around in town was too stressful. Driving down the canyon was a nightmare: slow RVs, tourists, etc. made for an excruciating drive, in hopes of making it in time. I got to the Bison Center around 9:30, and the resident briefing was winding up. There was a chance we might get to go up later in the day, but we wouldn’t know until 11 AM. Someone mentioned a wind change, but no details. I then decided to call work and get some weather information. As there was no cell coverage here I would have to go into Loveland to make those calls. Unfortunately, no one was available to talk to (there was a campus wide briefing at the time). I ended up calling a co-worker who telecommutes to get some weather updates.
The lined up convoy of group 3 to make a 30 minute visit to homes beyond the burn area.
Headed back and was a bit late for the briefing, but found out we were going to be allowed back up later this afternoon around 3 PM. I then headed back into town to call Lorraine. She had already heard this on the news and was planning on coming down this afternoon. I then ate lunch, did some errands in town, and got back to the Bison Center around 2:00 PM. Lorraine was already there. We would have to check in and get a resident pass. Lorraine wanted to take her truck up there, leave it and swap it for her more economical Audi. I was going to take the Pathfinder up and load it up with stuff we forgot. At 3 PM we found out when we might be going. We were in group 3 initially. Then a neighbor said we were actually in group 2, which meant we would be going earlier. Then we later found out we were back in group 3. In hindsight, I really didn’t think they knew where our road (Lonewolf) was. Turned out we probably should have been in group 2 all along, as when it came to our turn (around 6:30) they wanted us meet up with the escort rangers at the base of Quillen Gulch, but that was 2 miles west of us. After we informed them of this issue, they changed the rally point to the base of Lonewolf Rd.
We were told they wanted us off the mountain by dark, but we all groaned at this as this would only give us about 20 minutes or so before heading down. Lorraine and I talked about it and she said we would leave when we were ready, and I wasn’t fair we got short on the time. The escort drive up the hill, with about 20 cars was surreal. Lots of firefighters staged along the road going up. When we got to the dam, I noticed a big elk buck running up the hillside. Then it hit us: the charred ground to our right was rightup against the road. The trees were charred and the grass was all black. This ended just 50 feet from the first house on the right. Man this was close!
We headed up Lonewolf and I pulled in and started through my list of items to do. First off, turn off the propane. As I grabbed stuff, loaded it in the car, Lorraine was in the barn tending to her animals. Turned out they had plenty of hay over the course of the last few days: ankle deep. They were in desperate need of water, and she filled up their buckets twice as they all fought for water. As we were off grid, we had power to turn on the lights. Looking over to the next ridge, it was total darkness as power was shut off. While other residents had to deal with spoiled food in their refrigerators, we didn’t have to worry about that. Lorraine lost her 4 pounds of homegrown green beans she just harvested and were soaking in the sink when we left. They were now rotten. We also had a pound of frozen ground beef thawing on the counter when we left. It was thawed, but had a big pool of congealed blood around it. I picked up the ground beef and cleaned up the counter. Lorraine put more food down for the cat, and water. We did a last minute check and it was time to go. As it was total darkness now, we could see the flashing lights of the sheriff’s vehicles at the bottom of Lonewolf. We checked out with them. We also checked out with other sheriff’s deputies near Flatiron. Time to head back up to Estes and unload and unwind. We got up there around 9 PM.
I got up the next morning, thinking I might go into work, depending on what was said in the morning briefing. Lorraine made plans to go to work as well. We went to the briefing and it was mentioned we might be able to go home later in the day. With that in mind, Lorraine wanted to go in to work. I decided to stay and not go in, as the next briefing was at 2 PM and the 2 hour roundtrip drive to Boulder wouldn’t allow much time to get anything done anyway. I did more errands, met Lorraine for lunch at the evacuation center. I hung around there for awhile and saw our neighbors Mike and Peggy Flood, so I chatted with them a bit. We all headed over to the Bison Center for hopefully good news.
The fire had reached the lip of our main road, just beyond the dam of Pinewood Reservoir. This area is a mile east of our house.
An old fire road used by the firefighters to access the west edge fo the fire, up along the ridgeline to the north. Before this was an overgrown road barely discernable from the road.
A view just west of the old fire road showing how charred the landscape is.
Red vegetation indicative of a slurry drop in this area. This was on the lip of the other side of the main road, which is evident from the next picture....
The fire had just made it across the road. They got to this just in time as this could have surely gotten out of control real fast, and put more homes (and ours) in jeopardy.
I never knew there was a Tuffshed up on the ridge, but you can really see it now.
We were told that the fire was 100% mitigated against structure damage, and that “The hotshots have strangled the fire such that it is now gasping for air”. We were going to be able to go home starting at 3 PM. As I was getting into my car a reporter wanted to know if I had a few minutes for him. I said sure. After the interview, I headed out, but noticed that a line of cars was already forming back to the parking lot. It was 2:30 PM. Rather than wait to make a right turn I went left up the hill towards Carter Lake to make a call to Lorraine. Called her, and she said she was going to get off work at 3:30. I told her I would meet her up in Estes.
Got the car packed, the cats crated and the dogs leashed. After eating a nice meal with the in-laws, we headed down the canyon one last time to head home.
Man, what a sweet feeling to be home again. Never again will we take things for granted living up in the wonderful foothills of Colorado.
This was our first full blown evacuation, but probably won’t be out last. Hopefully not for a long time.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
A Wonderful Day in the Park
Attempted my first run/hike/slog up at altitude over the weekend (June 19) up in Rocky Mountain National Park. I originally had signed up for the San Juan Solstice this weekend, but the lack of altitude training and long miles under my feet forced me to reconsider that. So I decided to not go to Lake City and do this little loop instead.
I started doing this loop years ago as a prelude to Leadville 100. I have since introduced it to many of my running friends (Scott Olmer, Vince Gerber, et. al.) in the years since. The loop starts at the Long's Peak Trailhead (elev 9404') and heads up the Long's Peak trail towards Chasm Lake. It then cuts to the north on the way to The Boulder Field via Granite Pass. In earlier years I have gone up to the Boulder Field and returned to Granite Pass, but I felt it would be too snowy and wet to do this, so I opted to head down from Granite Pass towards Bear Lake. Over to Bear Lake and back a short distance to the Sprague Lake trail that takes one over Storm Pass, near Estes Cone, and eventually back to the Long's Peak trailhead Ranger Station. 22 miles in length, and two major climbs to 12K and 10K.
The weather was exceptional, although when I woke up early Saturday morning to head up there it was humid and overcast. "Shit!" I thought, as I really wasn't in the mood for yet another crappy, rainy weekend washout. I decided to head on up anyway and make the most of it. By the time I got to the Long's Peak Trailhead, it was clear skies and a bit mild. I was surprised when I got to the trailhead parking lot at 6:00 AM that it wasn't 10% full. I guess it's too early for the Long's Peak crowd.
This training run was going to be my decision maker on whether or not Grand Mesa 100 will be a go/no go. I'm happy to say it's a go, after this run. This being my first time at high altitude all season, I was a bit anxious as to how it will go.
Headed up the trail at a leisurely pace, noticing the abundance of fast moving and relatively full streams. There were bridges over the major players (good thing as it would have been dicey to wade through these monsters). I hit the first snow at around 10,000', with red flags marking the trail over the mound of hardpacked snow. Before I knew it I was at 11K and the field of view opened up all around me, with Long's and Meeker staring me in the face. I was feeling pretty good (yeah, I was going easy here) and managed to pass a number of hikers on the way to Chasm Lake.
After a brief look see here, I took the right turn back on to the trail leading up to Granite Pass. I got around the next hill and spied a significant snow traverse just ahead, about 100 yards wide. By now the sun was softening up the snow so it shouldn't be too tough to cross. After a number of shorter snow crossings and a pretty wet trail (at one point the trail was completely under 6 inches of water) I made my way up to Granite Pass, elev 12,124'. So far, so good.
Talked with a couple of hikers resting at the pass before they headed up to the Boulder Field and The Keyhole. I made my way down the rocky trail towards the valley below. I stopped a few times to catch the view of Long's behind me, as well as Bear Lake and the parking lot down below in the distance. There were some clouds spilling over the north rim of the Park, but nothing came of that.
This trail is really nice: a nice downhill run, not too steep and not too rocky. After about 5.5 miles I started seeing a bit more civilization: hikers, campers, etc. from around the Alberta Falls/Bear Lake area. The lower part of the trail was fairly wet with runoff and springs gushing forth from the ground adjacent to the trail. Some of the trail was underwater, but not like it was way up high earlier. As I was using a Camelback I decided to continue on for half a mile past the Sprague Lake turnoff (and all the tourists blocking the trail taking pictures or totally oblivious to those around them using the trails) and go to the Bear Lake area and refill. Much to my chagrin (but not totally surprised) I found the water source was "Out of Order". I have yet to see this fully operational over the many years I have done this run.
I stopped here anyway to change out of my long sleeve shirt and gloves as it was now getting warm. I has a nice chat with a couple of hikers who were amazed anyone would be stupid enough to do 22 miles in the Park. Just then, a runner came up wearing a Leadville 100 shirt. I asked him if he was training for Leadville. He said not this year, he was training for Hardrock. He told me his name (Roger) and said he was doing two out and backs on the trail segments I just did. He was a bit pissed that the water was turned off. I offered him a suggestion of instead going back up the trail from where he came from, that he use my route, with a stop off at Sprague Lake campground just 3 miles up the trail. I guess I wasn't convincing enough as he said he had tablets to use with all the stream water available.
I spent about 20 minutes eating and taking a break, then it was time to go. The trail to the trail turnoff was a nice downhill. Saw the sign for Sprague Lake and took a left. I had to stop a second as not far after this, there was a fork in the trail (left for the shuttles, right for the trail). For the next few miles it is a very gentle, rolling downhill to the campground. I knew I best do my running here as it will soon be an uphill grind to Storm Pass. Got to the campground turnoff and took a left jog. 3/4 of a mile later I hit the campground. I spent about 30 minutes here eating, refilling my Camelback, using the facilities, etc..
Headed back out the way I came in, hit the trail intersection and made my way up the trail towards Storm Pass. This part always sucks: all uphill, some steep sections, and heavily treed. This is perfect Leadville training as it so reminds me of the north side ascent of Hope Pass (just not as high but just as long). I was starting to feel the day on me and stopped a number of times to catch a breath or take a moment to pull out something to eat. Thank God for my GPS as it told me I was getting closer and closer to the the pass ahead. I had to rely on distance here alone as the trees were dense enough to prevent a 3-satellite lock to get a decent altitude reading. My altitude was stuck on 8952' for a LONG time, but the distance was still increasing (only needs two satellites for a distance fix).
Got to the top of Storm Pass, elev 10,179'. Now it was a steep, rocky descent out of there back to the Long's Peak trailhead. After the descent, it was a series of ups and downs. Hit the intersection of the trail that takes one down to the ranger station or back up to Chasm. A nice 3/4 mile descent back to the car.
While not a PR (6:50) from earlier attempts, my time of 7:43 was good nonetheless.
I was tired, but none the worse for wear and not sore.
I'm ready for more. Looks like Grand Mesa is a go. This upcoming weekend will be another high altitude romp, just haven't totally decided where yet: Loveland Pass to Grizzly Peak and around, or Greys/Torreys Peaks.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Summer and Fall Racing Plans
With Collegiate Peaks now out of the way, time to start hunkering down and getting in some training for the upcoming summer/fall slugfest.
Unfortunately, the weather of late has not been kind....11 inches of Global Warming dumped on our doorstep last Wednesday (May 12) doesn't help. The good news, a massive warmup is just around the corner and will hopefully harbor good training in the coming weeks ahead.
I'm taking Monday, May 17 off to, well, celebrate 53 years of existence on Earth. Since the weather is going to be stellar on this hallowed day, I'd thought I would try to get in my age (or close to it) in kilometers on a run. I think a jaunt up to Devil's Backbone/Blue Sky Trail in Loveland/Ft Fun is in order. I asked my running buddy Vince "666" Gerber to join me.
So what's in store for me, in pain, misery and suffering this summer?
The San Juan Solstice, formally known as Lake City 50, has drawn me back for a third time. This is truly a scenic and tough run. Three major kickass climbs: the first one hits you after a few miles of road, then about a dozen stream crossings (ranging from minor to major) with a huge climb up to 13,000'. Then a nice descent to the valley below, then another climb up to 12,000'+ to the Continental Divide. From here you meander along the Divide for 11 miles and 12,000' before heading back down to a gully, followed by one last climb up to 11,000' through a dense aspen forest. Then a nice steep descent back to Lake City. The first year I did this it rained right after I got off of the Divide which provided slick mud to run/slog through. The second time it was bone dry and hot, little snow on the Divide to get through. What will this year bring? Hopefully not last year's blizzard that caught many runners unprepared for the wind, cold and heavy snow.
Haven't decided on the Leadville Marathon, but will do so before the end of the month. This is a tough run which takes you up to 13,100' (Mosquito Pass). Good trail and altitude training.
No, I'm not running Badwater this year, but will be crewing and pacing running friend Paul Grimm. This will be my third year there as a crew/pacer role. You can read my earlier post on Badwater here.
Grand Mesa 100 is a new 100 miler in the Grand Mesa area of Colorado. It looks to be a very low-key, scenic event. Having decided against dong a repeat of Leanhorse this year, and since Leadville 100 is not in the game plan this year, I'd thought I'd give this one a whirl. It looks to be a very interesting event.
Yep, another romp in the desert, this time in mid-October to accompany the full moon. This promises to be a hot one, as in years past held during this time. This will be my 8th visit there, for hopefully a 7th finish. Master Slacker "666" Gerber will also be there. I wish he'd quit following me around.
I'll be back to Oklahoma on Route 66 in mid-November for what will probably be the last installment of the Route 66 in Oklahoma - Motherroad III. Last time (Motherroad II in 2008) was an adventure, got lost and barely made it in for the final cutoff. Hopefully I won't be that close at the end. That was not fun. Unlike last time, I plan on having a crew there. I only made it last year due to the good graces of other crews help and assistance.
I made it through the lottery process (a first for me) for Across The Years. I had the choice of 3 venues, so I picked the 48 hour run starting on Dec 30 or Dec 29, and the 24 hour starting Dec 31. I got my first pick, so we'll see how the 48 hour goes for me. Last time I was there, I tried for 72 hours and had to deal with sore quads on day 2 and 3, only ending up doing 154 miles total, with lots of sleep and massage sessions during those last two days. Hopefully 48 hours will go better on me than 72 hours.
There may be some others that get my attention (Silverton 24 hour, et. al.) but I'll have to wait and see how things unfold during the summer/fall.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Collegiate Peaks 50, Uh 25 Miler
Mt Princeton - photo by Tad Nordstrom
I kicked off my Spring/Summer running season by signing up for Collegiate Peaks 50 mile run. Held in and around the Buena Vista, CO area, it offers breathtaking views of the Collegiate Peaks (Mt Yale, Mt Princeton, Mt Harvard) Wilderness. The race this year was held on May 1st, 2010 and the weather was looking reasonable, but cool. Ron Wright and I had to deal with shitty road conditions on the way down Friday afternoon on the east side of Eisenhower tunnel, and over Fremont Pass. When we got to the Copper Mountain/Leadville exit, they had a snowplow blocking the interstate diverting all traffic off onto the Copper Mountain exit due to multiple accidents on Vail Pass. It was white out on Fremont Pass, with the winds kicking up the snow and blowing it across the road. Ron was hesitant to pass some semis ahead due to the wind, snow and poor visibility. By the time was got to Leadville, it was just flurrying and soon it was sunny and void of any snow all the way to Buena Vista.
We rolled into town around 4 PM, so we decided to check in to our hotel first before heading to the packet pickup at the BV Community Center, where the race starts and ends. Picked up our packets and met Pat Homelvig and Karen Pate, and we sat with them while they ate their prerace meal. Ron and I opted out this year to find something else. Not long after, Rick and Jill Hessek showed up. After a bit, Ron and I decided to head over to the new brewpub just south of the community center. There we ran into Bill and Sue Hintze, sat with them, ordered some beer and had a nice conversation. Bob called a bit later saying he was in Leadville. I told him where we were and made a table reservation for all of us for dinner. Ed Green, Michele and Adam Bierstedt showed up with Bob, and we sat down for eats.
Ron and I went back to the room and got stuff ready for next day. Bob showed up not long after. After doing some pre-race stuff we hit the sheets.
Ron and I headed over to the race start, got primo parking right out front so as have easy access for the second loop. Went inside and mingled with old friends, met new ones until it was time to line up outside for the fun to start. It was fairly cold at the start (upper 20’s) so I was bundled up: two short sleeves, a long sleeve and a fleece long sleeve (my RR100 shirt from this year), a face buff, thin beanie with ball hat and gloves. It turned out to be just right during the run.
With the words “GO!” we were all off like turtles in the early morning light. The first ½ mile is on single track, so it is hard to get around the throng of runners. It then hits the city streets and more open to run. I was running with Bob’s friend Tad Nordstrom but we lost sight of Bob behind us. The next few miles are on pavement then dirt road and fairly rolling, so it’s an easy effort to run. I did walk a few of the shorter hills. I hit the trailhead and that’s when it hit me: my breathing sucks. It was all I could do to walk the hills as my breathing was pretty labored. Yep, my old friend Mr. Asthma has made an unwelcome visit. I suspect the cold temps at the start played into that as well. I ran some but walked more of the trails. After about a mile or so of this nonsense, the trails lead to a dirt road and is more flat and runable. Bob and PumpMeHarder caught up with me and I told Bob it’s gonna be a slog, as my breathing is becoming more and more difficult. Soon after Anita Fromm caught up with me and we talked a bit, then she pulled away as well. I got to the first aid station, mile 5.8 and kept going, as I still had plenty of water to go on. I took a couple more hits on the albuterol, that made it 6 since the race started.
Runners On Trail - photo by Tad Nordstrom
The next section is fairly rolling: runable on the flats and downs and a walk on the ups. Soon the rollers became roller coasters: short but steep climbs and moderate downs. I got to the next aid station, 5.6 miles distant in about an hour. From here, it continues to roll. But, then a miracle happened: I started feeling better, I was running more consistently now, and it was warming up. By the time I got to the next aid station I was really feeling great. Once again, I decided to not stop and hunker down to the 3.5 mile climb to the top, mile 17.8.
I walked the whole way along the sandy trail. People were running past, but I kept the walking going. It took 60 minutes to trudge up the hill to the aid station at the top, elevation 9400’. It was fairly breezy and cold up here. I stopped to fill bottles and thanked the aid station volunteers for hanging out. I was looking forward to doing some downhill running, since the past hour was spent walking and gasping.
From here to the end is mostly downhill, 8 miles of rocky trails to an old narrow gauge railway bed, then along a slightly downhill dirt road (part of the old railroad up here). The road section can be a bear at times, 2 miles of fairly boring downhills overlooking the valley below and of Buena Vista and the state prison facility. This year, I was able to run most of this part, walked a few bits, until the final downhill trail descent to the river and into town.
It was along the road that I decided that 50 miles wasn’t going to happen today. I got to the top of the course in 4 hours, and it would take about 1.5 hours to get to the finish line. That makes for a pretty tight cutoff, and with my breathing as it was, I didn’t want to deal with the 8.5 miles of uphill grind.
I saw Ed Green starting the big climb up the trail and told him I was done. I had no energy (or desire) to run the last ½ mile in so I walked it. Finished 25 miles in 5:23:35. Ironically, this was only a few seconds slower than last year’s effort, and I seemed to be struggling more this year than last. Last year I seemed to not be such a slug, but with the time difference of 26 seconds, I’m not sure what to make of that.
Yours Truly Trucking On In - photo by Bill Blasek
I got my finisher’s medal, said hello to Michele and Adam, sat down next to Tad and his wife and waited for Bob to come in. I would leave it up to Bob to tell me if he was interested in going back out for some extra miles. Frankly at this point, I was good either way. Bob finally made it in over 6 hours, and said that was it. Great! Time to break out the beer!
Well, not the race I had hoped for, but this race is always good in that it tells me what I need to work on (or not work on) for the coming summer races. I only had 5 weeks of good training to get ready for this, as I was sick for 6 weeks following Rocky Raccoon. This was also my first time at altitude this year, so that was a factor as well.
Now I know what I need to work on (more hills, more climbs, and more altitude) before San Juan Solstice in mid-June. I only hope it starts warming up soon and the snow starts melting up high so I can get in a few high-altitude runs before then.
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