HPb 159 - Collegiate Peaks

Not much to say about this one. I knew going in it was going to be rough, as I hadn't fully recovered from my Grand Canyon or Fruita runs. Getting up at 3AM to drive out to BV didn't help either. But I figured it would be great Hardrock training to do a hilly 50 miler on dead legs, and on that account the day was a huge success.

I knew things weren't going to be pretty right from the start. My hamstrings were tight from the get go. My legs just felt dead, even though I took the first three miles very easy in an attempt to warm up.

And that's about how the rest of my day went. My legs never really came alive. I was struggling the first half, just not feeling like running, and I had actually decided to drop out at the 25 mile point, which would give me an official finish in the shorter race. My thinking was that I didn't want to risk injuring my hamstrings. Then Shad caught up to me and told me he was dropping and I called him a pussy. So thanks to my big mouth I was forced to head out on that second loop, as I couldn't quit after saying that.

Second loop was rough, but I persevered. I actually ran most of the loop, including the long climb after the halfway point. Even passed five or six runners over the final 20 miles.

For how much I was whining about how bad I was feeling, it was not that bad of a race. Once I decided to treat this as a training run, I really took my time through aid stations and easily wasted over half an hour just BS'ing with the volunteers. Take that half hour away and I'm approaching PR territory.

Some other thoughts I had on race day:

-Whenever I pass a runner headed out on the second loop, I'll cheer or yell for them, and they usually do the same in return. As I passed the second place guy, he said, "brownie, you're doing a heckuva job." I'm not sure who it was, but thank you!

-Eddyline Brewery opens May 23rd.

-This was by far the most competitive field for CP. I hit the halfway point around 4:12 and was in about 25th place. A year ago that time would have put me near the top five.

-Beer drinkers need to be more responsible. I picked up several beer cans out there, and there were many more. All either bud light or coors light, so I'm sure the rednecks with their oversized 4WD trucks and guns are out there goofing off, but quit giving beer drinkers a bad name and clean up your shit!

-I listened to the same four songs by the Flobots for the final two hours of the race.

-I love the volunteers at this race. I don't think any of the aid station volunteers were runners, and you could tell they thought we were crazy. But they were there, for a LONG time, helping us out. I enjoyed wasting tons of valuable race time talking with them.

-Swine flu mania continues. We were required to sanitize our hands before eating at an aid station. Maybe that's a good thing. I try not to think about it, but most of the food I eat in ultras has already been touched by a guy who rubbed vasoline all over his junk a few hours earlier.

-I'm light years ahead in my Hardrock training than I was at this point last year. I'm going to hammer Jemez and then start getting up above treeline. Bring on the mountains!