Wednesday, July 21, 2010

14,000 Feet in 3+ Hours!

It's all about the view!!! Some time back in March when Keith was signing up for every race he could get to I challenged him to run the Mtn Evans Ascent with me. This is a 14.5 mile uphill climb from Echo Lake to the top of the mountain (and I do mean mountain) at 14,000+ feet. It is on the highest paved road in North America and although it isn’t really a “race” for most of us it isn’t for the faint at heart.
Keith picked me up and we headed up to Echo. After a brief yet welcome tea and potty stop we got to Echo just in time! Phew. Actually we were there in plenty of time but then we had to park too far away and neither of us was too organized….
I forgot my sunglasses and my Garmin had decided to go to sleep again. I HATE when it does that I haven’t figured out when or why…grrrr
We both had time to pin on our numbers, “trot to the pot” and head out. The day was gorgeous! Sunny, warm and clear. Clear is most important because once we get above tree line the storms can move in fast and furious and no one wants to get stuck on the mountain in a hail, rain or snow storm. No joy in that at all. As we cleared tree line there were a few puffs of clouds but it looked like we were going to have a great day. I had some tummy issues so that Keith had something to abuse me about later in the day…3 potty stops and they were necessary! Ugh! I’m not sure what that was all about but I have to say I don’t think it really impacted our results. Every time I stopped he would chat people up and we would run right back up to where we were when I stopped. We ran into some old friends and made some new friends. Katie O was out there preparing for Leadville and the long run back down (CRAZY!) and our new friend Duane discovered that it isn’t really a sprint but more of a timely slog. He is built like a marathoner and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him killing it on the marathon circuit some day soon! He was good company and a great distraction. I love this kind of race because people are so fun and wacky. On one of my potty stops there was a woman running in place while she waited to use the potty…as if she was going to cramp up at mile 6? And she started pounding on the door to get the guy in the pot moving…really? We were NOT in contention of anything except a beautiful day! Too funny!
When we passed Summit lake at mile 9 we were both feeling pretty sassy and kept a steady pace. Not until mile 12 did the altitude start to press down on my brain and remind me how stupid these efforts really are!  By mile 13 I was over it and we cruised to the finish in just over 3 hours. I am very proud of htat result regardless of the fact that the winners finished more than an hour ahead of us! And the woman who won is the daughter of a long-time friend of mine…a rockstar runner as well! Nice job Kim!
The highlight was really the post race party! We took the shuttle down which was interesting as the driver was about 20 years old and she explained to us that she was not only afraid of heights but it was her first run down the mountain. Mt Evans has a few guard rails but if you aren’t paying really close attention, especially with all the people, cars and animals, it wouldn’t be too hard to drive right off a 1000 foot drop! Yahoo! She managed nicely and Keith and I headed to the party. Sitting in the sun, eating taters and drinking Diet Pepsi. I also sucked down a couple Mix1s before the Diet Pepsi! I promise!
John was up there with us. He rode his road bike from Echo Lake to the top while we were running. I was very happy to sit in the sun and wait for him to finish his ride! He is so freaking strong and makes it look so easy! Whoa!
I love this run and will keep it in my schedule every year I can. There are few things more amazing than running up a mountain and seeing a 360 degree view of the top of the world!

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