The long hours of exercise with no rest started working it’s havoc on me here. I was tired as fuck. And I almost started to panic since I hadn’t seen a course marker in several miles. I know I was going the right way, as there’s really nowhere else to go on the road, but your mind can play tricks on you during these endurance events. I really panicked when I passed two T-intersections. Am I supposed to turn here? I worried, because I knew any wrong turn would spell disaster for me. But, luckily, I made the right choices and soon I could see the lights of Grouse Gulch. Turns out my worries were well founded – Neil, who has several Hardrock finishes under his belt, earlier had gotten lost here for a full 90 minutes. For the record, even though the course is marked as sparingly as possible, I didn’t get lost the entire race.
I check into Grouse at 3:44AM. Took me over 7.5 hours to travel the 14.5 miles from Ouray to Grouse Gulch, a blistering 31:04 per mile pace. Considering the circumstances I feel pretty good, but I know I need a nap before tackling Handies Peak. I prepare myself for a battle with Melissa, but she seems to think I look pathetic enough for a few zzz’s. I chow down another Purple Castle cheeseburger, crawl into the back of Katie’s car, and rack out.
In hindsight, I wish I would have had Melissa pace me from Ouray. Might have been able to knock off an hour or more, since she would have kept me moving forward at a faster pace and wouldn’t have let me slack off quite so much at the Engineer Pass aid station. Might have even been able to meet my goal of 20 miles during the night.After what seems like an eye blink I’m roused from my dream world. The sun is coming up. Handies Peak looms. The next section, Grouse Gulch to Sherman, is the longest stretch between aid stations and takes you up and over 14,000 feet. I clock out at 5:01AM. 23 hours, 58.4 miles down.
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