Ascent

Finally, it was time to put up or shut up! I had been talking mad shit about the Pikes double, and finally race day had arrived.

Began the day with a 4:20 wake up, and soon I found myself drinking coffee at the Pikes Peak Inn in Manitou Springs, which was serving as Rogue HQ.

Slowly rumbled over to bag check. Since the Ascent ends on the Peak, and it's sorta chilly up there, you're allowed to send a bag from the start line up to the top of the mountain. I had a very heavy bag, due to the fact that I had a six pack of PBR in there!

Great to see a ton of my Austin buddies before the start. Took my mind off all the normal pre-race jitterey stuff. I'm still amazed that anyone from Austin (elevation of about 600 feet) can come up here and finish these mountain races, and congrats to all who did just that!

Race starts at 7AM. I start at the back and am basically in last place, a strategy that served me well at the Barr Trail Mountain Race. Way too many folks run the Manitou/Ruxton part of the race way too fast, and they're already finished once they get to Barr Trail. I had been working out pretty hard lately and knew I'd have a good race as long as I didn't go out too fast.

First aid station was run by the Jack Quinn's Running Club. So I had a lot of fans there. Thanks to Ryan, Charlie, Lauren, and all the other Quinn wanks. Though I still can't believe yunz guys wouldn't give me any booze!!!

On to the W's. People are already hurting here, less than two miles into the race. I begin to pass people. Lots of people. About halfway up the W's I see Abe. He looks pretty good and is walking, a good strategy for folks who don't train on the mountains. Still, as I pass him, I say, "Hey Rogue, the walk-a-thon ain't 'till next week!"

Still feeling good as I top the W's, still passing a lot of people, but I still resist the urge to speed things up. Before the race I told myself to take it easy until No Name Creek, and I'm holding to that strategy. The tunnel and the top of the incline come and go.

Grab some Gatorade at No Name Creek and decide to pick up the pace. I run this section of the trail about once a week with Team CRUD, and it's usually at a suicidal pace, so I'm used to discomfort here. I start passing even more tired runners.

Hit Barr Camp at just over 90 minutes. Say hello to Teresa and Neil but I keep going. Bottomless Pitt comes and goes and I have yet to walk, a new Barr Trail record for me. I make it about another half mile before I have to slow to a walk.

But even as I start to walk, I'm having a great race. I'm almost at treeline now, and the thin air doesn't affect me. My legs are starting to burn due to the previous ten miles, but I know I'll be able to push to the finish. Not even thinking about Sunday's upcoming marathon, I decide to give everything I can for a good Ascent time.

Had a great race above treeline. Was able to run a lot of it, and even when I had to walk I was able to pass some runners. Definite benefits for a former infantryman who now has Pikes Peak in his backyard.

Final sprint up the Golden Stairs and I hit the tape in 3:07:31. Over 20 minutes faster than last year. Good for 69th overall male (out of 1091 men finishers) and 8th (of 128) in my age group. Also puts me in 8th place for those doing the Double!

More importantly, my finish allows me to pick up my drop bag and pop open a Pabst. I scramble down some rocks and grab a nice seat about 50 meters from the finish line. Great spot to watch the final stretch of the race. Had a lot of friends in this race, and it was great to see them finish. Congrats to Nicole for her first Ascent finish!

Ended up spending several hours on the Peak waiting for Easy Access to finish. Unknown to me, she had been turned around at Barr Camp and wasn't going to hit the top that day. Oh well, more time above 14,000 feet for me! And don't worry Steph, you'll get 'em next year!