An oldie.... Colorado 2-plus years ago

Zebulon Pike determined that summating that little mountain in Colorado they named after him was not humanly possible. After all, he never managed to make it up the craggy steps to the very top.
Turns out of course, that he was wrong. And not only have I, myself, proven it – now for the fourth time – but I have seen mere mortals actually run the entire distance. The record for the 13.4 mile Pike’s Peak Ascent is somewhere around 2:01. Zebulon Pike was not properly trained, or acclimated, or inspired.

I almost didn’t do Pike’s Peak this year, because despite actually getting my entry in on time, I couldn’t find the appropriate plane fare. But Mark Dick began immediately working on me to drive up – with he and Baby Jay, who were going to Leadville to crew Letha Cruthirds. In the end, that became a workable option when our CEO put us to mandatory 4-day weeks until the end of summer.

So I hauled my Tyler dog to his Uncle Jeff’s, threw Jennamere’s crate in the car and headed to Chuck Chandonia’s house on Thursday after work. Mark, Jay and Mark’s neighbor Janet met us in Lewisville and the caravan was on.

We used those two-way radios all the way to Wichita Falls, where we decided to eat at Burger King and Jenna got her first taste of traveling – a Whopper Junior for dinner. Jenna eats tomatoes and onions. I have witnesses.

Sometime around 11 p.m. I turned the wheel over to Chuck and started to sleep. He woke me several times for gas/potty/direction breaks and then asked me to take over driving at 4 a.m. I made it to Walsenburg where he joined the others on their trek to Leadville and I drove another 45 minutes before pulling over to sleep. I got to COS about 6;30 a.m. their time.

Lisa greeted me, put me to bed, went to work and made arrangements to call me for lunch. We had Vietnamese and bummed around for a few hours before going to pick up my packet in Manitou. It was very nice in Manitou, but too warm. We were both exhausted and decided we needed more Asian food – so we had Thai Ginger. We picked up Kelly at the airport (her plane was an hour late) and were off to Lisa’s house again to get ready for the race and sleep.

I felt fine when I woke except for my stomach. That was quickly remedied with coffee. It was warm enough to wear nothing but shorts and a t-shirt at the start. I saw my friends from all over the place and then it was time to start.

The first 3.4 miles is the worst part of the whole trail…. There is a lot of elevation gain climbing out of Manitou and you’re on switchbacks the whole time that seem to go on forever. I walked with a 68 year old marathoner who was in from Florida but had been acclimating for 9 weeks. He kept telling me to leave him, but we were going really the same pace. I lost him eventually, but I know he made it. It was a very inspiring way to start the day.
Then, I got to the part that I like the best… from where the switchbacks end to Bar –Camp is just over four miles and it’s pretty, scenic, relatively flatter and it holds a great reward. At Bar Camp I got a coke. This was a trick Amy taught me two years ago. And it works… the caffeine staves off altitude sickness and of course gives you energy… and the sugar doesn’t hurt either.

I trudged to treeline and made the cut-off with 38 minutes to spare and then was out in the open at 11,000 feet. Here, the mantra is relentless forward motion. I did not sit, or rest, or waver during this ascent. I felt good the whole time, never succumbing to the emotions I usually get when I’m at the wall. I also managed my electrolytes very well this time and had no stomach problems – which is always a major concern for me.

I was feeling good, but not moving too quickly and I realized I was not going to achieve my goal of breaking six hours in the ascent. I made it to the 1.5 miles aid station and ate grapes and cookies before going on. The water was warm here, but the grapes were nice. I peeked over the edge at The Cirque on my way past. In other years I was a wreck by this point… that never happened. I hit the 16 golden stairs and began counting… somehow, though, I just kept losing track.

Before I knew it, I was at the top, smiling and posing for Bob Marsten to take my picture.

And then I saw it. The finish line. The finish line clock…. I crossed at 6:12. The exact same time I ran two years ago in my last Ascent. I am cursed.

Anyway, people kept asking me if I was OK, and I thought that was weird because I was smiling. I guess they might have thought I was delusional. I could not find a place to change clothes or any more coke, so I got in line for the shuttle vans.

We think the reason I wasn’t faster this year despite being in much better shape is because it was so hot. Everyone was much slower. To the point that they didn’t have the shuttles moving effectively for the number of late runners and I waited an hour and 15 minutes for them.
The ride down was nice – what with oxygen coming back, but the wait at the top took its toll and I was overly tired and very cold by then. I walked back to the race headquarters and found Lisa and Kelly waiting for me there. They immediately got me a Chipotle burrito, three cokes and a chair.

We made it back to the house in time to take showers, drive through Garden of the Gods and make Adams for dinner by 6 p.m. I had duck. It’s the fabulous place to eat where all the food is divine and Kelly entertained us all for hours.

That night, I was beyond tired. But we got everything set for Kelly and Lisa for the round trip the next day and eventually got to sleep.

Kelly and Lisa had good races considering they were each injured and undertrained. I experienced remarkable panic when Kelly crossed the finish line without Lisa but Lisa came through on her own about ½ hour later and we were off immediately to the house because by then the Leadville Crew was coming back to town.

We got to Lisa’s house at the exact time they all arrived. I had Italian Hoagie sandwiches, pasta primavera, Italian sausage and salad for an army. Amy and Kurt brought beer. We were all laughing and telling stories and carrying on and all of a sudden we realized that we were exhausted. So we got everyone ready for bed and we all asleep by 9:30 p. m.
Mark, Baby Jay, Letha and Janet got up at 3:30 and started driving. Chuck and I left at 7:30 a.m. (a much more civilized time). Jenna pouted the whole way home. We pulled into Chuck’s neighborhood at 8:15 p.m. and I had Tyler in the car and was to my house by 9:30 p.m.