over the mountain again
Sep. 12th, 2014 05:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ilanaramaI had all sorts of grand plans for dominating my new age group at the Imogene Pass Run this year, but it was not to be. I did not get the consistent mileage, nor the long runs, nor the trail hill repeats I'd planned. My stupid blisters had kept me from trail-running on our layover day on our July 4th weekend backpack, but I had managed to at least get out hiking at high elevation fairly often, including much of the previous week, and so I clung to my unrealistic hopes until they were cruelly dashed.
Bad weather had been predicted all week - rain and possibly snow - but race morning dawned sunny and almost too hot. I discarded my capris and long sleeves for Icebreaker t-shirt and skirt with compression socks, but I ended up taking my shirt off around mile 5 and didn't put it back on until the summit. My gloves and fleece hat never came out of my pack, and I regretted having chosen a cap rather than my visor.
I felt pretty strong (though warm) in the first several miles, and YAY I did not feel the need to go to the bathroom, though my stomach considered throwing up the small amount of oatmeal I'd eaten for breakfast. At Lower Camp Bird I took three or four gummi bears, and other than the chicken broth at the summit, that was all I ate during the run.
I didn't feel too bad by Upper Camp Bird, either. However, comparing my splits with my PR in 2012, I can see that I was running much more slowly, averaging ~11:10 over the first three miles as compared with ~10:40; 16 minute pace over the next four, as compared to 14:50. I had reached Upper Camp Bird around mile 7.5 in 1:45, two minutes slower than in 2012 (but I'd had a 3-minute potty stop then, so I was clearly well off my pace!). That was still faster than my 1:48/1:50 in 2009/2010, so I figured I still had a chance at sub-3:50, if not the 3:45 I was initially hoping for.
But then I got slower. A lot slower. I walk slowly, and usually people (also walking) pass me, but I pass them while we're running - and in the last few miles before the summit. But this time I could not muster any speed at all. I ran when the terrain let me, but then I usually had to slow to such a crawl on the next walking portion that I lost ground relative to everyone around me. Looking at the timing mat numbers, perhaps 100 people passed me in the last 2.5 miles to the summit. :-( I felt a little dizzy and more than a little nauseous as I reached the aid station at the top, but yay, now it was downhill all the way, time to bomb down the descent!
Except I couldn't. I'd reached the summit at a disappointing 2:49 elapsed, the slowest of all but my first race, though not by much, fortunately. I attributed a lot of my improvement in 2012 to increased downhill trail skills, and I hoped they would help me run a faster downhill and therefore a faster time than in 2009 and 2010. But I think my lack of long runs and overall mileage meant I just didn't have the endurance to push the downhill. I ran steadily and more or less comfortably, but slowly; I passed more people than passed me, but mostly I just maintained position, watching the sub-3:50 slip away...then the chance of beating my 2009/2010 3:54...and then I was just hoping I could come in sub-4, for heaven's sake!
I hit the pavement in Telluride, rounded the corner, and saw the clock. 3:59 and the seconds were ticking by. I accelerated, squeezing the last bit of oomph out of my tired legs, and crossed the line at a heart-stopping 3:59:53 on the clock. (My chip time was 3:59:28, but I had started my Garmin on the gun, so I didn't know how much leeway I had!)
This was enough for 6th in AG, which is my highest placement ever despite me clocking my second-worst time, but that's mostly attributable to me being over 50 now. Interestingly, among my friends running this race, about half of them had bad races, and half of them had huge PRs.
I had to sit down right after finishing, and then I made my way on wobbly legs and the shoulder of a friend to a shady spot in the grass, where I just kind of collapsed for a while. My quads hurt pretty bad for the next several days; I think the downhill pounding, with poor form due to fatigue, really took its toll.
But I am running again now, and focused on the Durango Double. Hopefully I will be able to get myself back into better shape for that!
Bad weather had been predicted all week - rain and possibly snow - but race morning dawned sunny and almost too hot. I discarded my capris and long sleeves for Icebreaker t-shirt and skirt with compression socks, but I ended up taking my shirt off around mile 5 and didn't put it back on until the summit. My gloves and fleece hat never came out of my pack, and I regretted having chosen a cap rather than my visor.
I felt pretty strong (though warm) in the first several miles, and YAY I did not feel the need to go to the bathroom, though my stomach considered throwing up the small amount of oatmeal I'd eaten for breakfast. At Lower Camp Bird I took three or four gummi bears, and other than the chicken broth at the summit, that was all I ate during the run.
I didn't feel too bad by Upper Camp Bird, either. However, comparing my splits with my PR in 2012, I can see that I was running much more slowly, averaging ~11:10 over the first three miles as compared with ~10:40; 16 minute pace over the next four, as compared to 14:50. I had reached Upper Camp Bird around mile 7.5 in 1:45, two minutes slower than in 2012 (but I'd had a 3-minute potty stop then, so I was clearly well off my pace!). That was still faster than my 1:48/1:50 in 2009/2010, so I figured I still had a chance at sub-3:50, if not the 3:45 I was initially hoping for.
But then I got slower. A lot slower. I walk slowly, and usually people (also walking) pass me, but I pass them while we're running - and in the last few miles before the summit. But this time I could not muster any speed at all. I ran when the terrain let me, but then I usually had to slow to such a crawl on the next walking portion that I lost ground relative to everyone around me. Looking at the timing mat numbers, perhaps 100 people passed me in the last 2.5 miles to the summit. :-( I felt a little dizzy and more than a little nauseous as I reached the aid station at the top, but yay, now it was downhill all the way, time to bomb down the descent!
Except I couldn't. I'd reached the summit at a disappointing 2:49 elapsed, the slowest of all but my first race, though not by much, fortunately. I attributed a lot of my improvement in 2012 to increased downhill trail skills, and I hoped they would help me run a faster downhill and therefore a faster time than in 2009 and 2010. But I think my lack of long runs and overall mileage meant I just didn't have the endurance to push the downhill. I ran steadily and more or less comfortably, but slowly; I passed more people than passed me, but mostly I just maintained position, watching the sub-3:50 slip away...then the chance of beating my 2009/2010 3:54...and then I was just hoping I could come in sub-4, for heaven's sake!
I hit the pavement in Telluride, rounded the corner, and saw the clock. 3:59 and the seconds were ticking by. I accelerated, squeezing the last bit of oomph out of my tired legs, and crossed the line at a heart-stopping 3:59:53 on the clock. (My chip time was 3:59:28, but I had started my Garmin on the gun, so I didn't know how much leeway I had!)
This was enough for 6th in AG, which is my highest placement ever despite me clocking my second-worst time, but that's mostly attributable to me being over 50 now. Interestingly, among my friends running this race, about half of them had bad races, and half of them had huge PRs.
I had to sit down right after finishing, and then I made my way on wobbly legs and the shoulder of a friend to a shady spot in the grass, where I just kind of collapsed for a while. My quads hurt pretty bad for the next several days; I think the downhill pounding, with poor form due to fatigue, really took its toll.
But I am running again now, and focused on the Durango Double. Hopefully I will be able to get myself back into better shape for that!
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(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-13 12:51 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2014-09-13 11:31 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-13 06:51 pm (UTC)Of course, this flatlander will only be looking to finish.
Glad to hear you are running again. I need to do the same.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-13 11:39 pm (UTC)It's a great race, but no lie, you need to be well-trained for it in order to finish. And as a flatlander you have an even harder time of it especially in the miles near the summit. I think you'd want your marathon time better than 6 hours, or you would risk missing the cut-offs.
Still, it's a great race, and in the last few years it's filled very quickly when registration opens on June 1st.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-15 12:49 pm (UTC)I wanna be in Colorado again, it's so beautiful ;__; ! Though actually PA is, too - they're each their own brand of pretty <3
(no subject)
Date: 2014-09-16 02:18 am (UTC)Hang tough
Date: 2014-09-16 12:35 am (UTC):) Rebecca
Re: Hang tough
Date: 2014-09-16 02:18 am (UTC)