Stage 1-16 miles
Well, day 1 is done and I am humbled. Two thing: my fitness is not where it needs to be (not a huge surprise) and pushing it at 10 000 feet hurts! Phil was an all star today!! The bad news was my calf was excruciating for the first 20 km, where it was relatively flat. But we hit the climb and then my fitness (or lack of) was maxed. The last climb was approx 2500 feet (approx) and Phil towed me the last half which helped us a ton.
We caught 4 teams in the last 2 miles and finished 6th overall today on top of Mt. Vail, and 3rd in our category. So considering the hardships we still finished ok.
The first part of the day started at Beavercreek Resort (elevation 8100 feet) with a pretty nice gradual climb on a mix of single track and double track. I descent of a thousand feet or so brought us to a long road section. This section was brutal on my calf and we slogged away with me wimpering now and then. I’ve never felt pain like that and I hope tomorrow it is better.
After the road section, we started the long climb to the finish. We passed about 4 teams on this section as people were suffering with not used to the altitude or they went out hard. The word on that mountain was carnage. I feel bad for the people who were out there a couple hours longer as an INTENSE rainstorm blew through. We were cozy in our trailer. I’m secretly hoping for snow though.
On a positive note, we still ran consistent, which is what I think the next three days will need. We’ll have to start slow and maintain. Stage two is 27 miles, 5500 feet of climbing to 11700 feet altitude (ouch) and 6600 feet of descent. Our tow rope will come out and guess who will be towing who…
At the end of the day, we had a massage from Chris. We then kicked around camp, organized our trailer and went to the dining tent for a great dinner, awards and photos/video of the day events. Watching the video and slide show was a ton of fun.
The Montrail crew is sticking pretty close together. We ate with the Skagg brothers (Eric and Kyle-1st overall today) and Billy Simpson and Whit Rambach. We got a great Nathan hydration pack for 3rd overall in the category-good swag.
Let’s hope the leg feels better tomorrow and spirits are high. I’m looking forward to the course and the stories that go along. I know I’ll put Chris to work on my body again but he seems keen. The best thing is we’re having loads of laughs.
Living: Three of us living in a 20 foot camper. Tons of gear and the smell is…not good. However, it is cozy and feels like a great little mountain home. It is pouring rain again, so I’m glad we’re not in one of the tents. 90% of participants chose the tent option (cost). I was lucky enough to get a free entry and accommodations for the week so cost have been reasonable for me.
Stage 2- 22 miles
It poured all night last night and I mean poured! Luckily we were in our trailer while 90% of the field, were in the field (tents). We woke up to reports of snow up high where we would be running that today. Stage 2 started on top of Vail Mountain after a 1 hour delay due to weather. The stage was scheduled for 26 miles but due to 24 hour of downpour the last 4 miles had to be cut. So we had 22 miles of amazing single track, 4000 feet of climbing and 5000 feet of descent.
After a lot of massage, ice, heat, massage, ice my calf still was very painful this morning. I was very weary of today’s stage and how it would hold up. I ended up wrapping my lower calf, wearing a compression sock and putting in a bit of a heal lift to take the pressure off it. It seemed to work…
After the gondola up and another wait, we all toed the start line. This is my least favorite part. The line blast out like it’s a 10 km road race, and I am not a 10 km road-runner. Unfortunately Phil is and I know it must be frustrating for him. So we started out with a long climb. We’ve seen people using toe ropes, so Phil made one and I hooked up to him. It slows him down a bit and speeds me up a bit. Two of us together will run better than apart. We hit the climb and stayed steady. We were in about 8th place at around 7 km but gaining on people. We hit the 10km mark and we moved into 5th. From here we rolled through high country single track in an inch of snow with stunning views. It was slick and fast as we slightly declined before another hard ascent. We ran with our new buds (Masters leaders and Montrail, Patagonia Athletes), Billy Simpson and Whit Rambauch. We ended up gapping them on the climb up the steep section to 11700 feet altitude.
From the top of the climb, another amazing (and slick) single track winded down the mountain. We were running pretty full on and figured we’d be gaining on the folks in front-well not the Skagg brothers. We patiently winded our way down and hit the 17 km mark at the forest service road section. From here we knew we had another 18 km downhill run on the forest road. I was pretty much red lined the entire way down with Phil keeping the positive vibe. We never went thorugh any down moments today so that was excellent. We ran, and ran and ran for what seemed like forever. We caught two teams, one of them being a contender for the Open Men’s category, Glen Redpath and Martin.
As soon as we finished, we hopped in a cold river and made our way to a local pub for some food. We had to wait for our shuttle to the start so we warmed up with tea and chips and salsa.
We ended our day in 3rd overall and had a much more positive experience than yesterday. My calf was painful but it was manageable. If it stays like that we’ll be fine.
One of the best things so far (besides making new friends) is the swag we’ve won for being 3rd in our category each day. The list so far:
Nathan Backpack-Horton Experience
Adidas Sun Glasses
Stage 3-27 miles
Road-more road. The morning was brisk and beautiful We had 3 minute lead on Glen and Martin but today's stage (and the rest) are relatively flat and a lot of road. Not good for me.
We started on a 4 mile road section with us starting fast. As an ultra runner, I don;t usually start as fast as we have been With Phil being a shorter diastance runner (but strong) he is used to redlining it for the entire race. Not me0but that is what we have been doing, well I have.
We left to road section and hit a great valley section of single track. We were in about 8th at this point. It had some steeper shorter climbs and we moved well through this trail section passing 3 or 4 teams. After this, we started a gravel road descent that was a bit technical. We also hade some small river crossings which were fun.
As we finihsed the trail/road, it was all pavement for the last 9 miles of the stage. We could see three teams in front of us. Martin and Glen being one of them and I knew Martin was a stronger road runner. We ran the early section hard and passed the lead open mixed team. Martin and Glen turned it on though, and ever so slowly they kept gapping us. Our good buddies Whit and Billy remained a torturous 300 metres ahead of us for the entire 9 miles. I pretty much hated this section. My calf was killing on the road and it turned into an ultra shuffle. But as Kyle and Erik say " a slow shuffle is faster than a fast walk."
We finally could see the finish line in Leadville. We finished 4th overall today. Not bad, but Glen and Martin were now 2 minutes a head of us. We're off the podium but at this moment, I don't care. All I know is we have 28 miles of road tomorrow! Ouch
Stage 4-28.5 miles
We woke up to another great morning. Wandered to breakfast and had loads of laughs with Billy, Whit and the Skagg brothers. Phil and I talked strategy. Our plan was to go out easy and maintain. The day's profile is basicaly a pyramid. Up for 10 miles and down for 18. Road.
We left the start line feeling positive, but I was tired. I know my calf was going to hurt today. When the gun went off, we started easy. We would be getting up to 12000 feet today so no need to blow it early. Martin and Glen were with us which was probably their plan.
As we started the climb, we settled in. We were not moving fast and not gaining any ground. As the climb went on, I got slower and my hamstrings and calf were killing. I'm not used to the same stride obviously and know where my weakness is now. I make a mental note to tell my new training coach Curb about this.
When we reach the summit of the climb (12000 feet) Glen and Martin are nowwhere in site. All I know is we have 18 miles of downhill road. To top it off as we started down I twist my ankle very badly. It immediatley swells to the size ot a grapefruit. It's going to be a long way home.
The bore of the descent was really hard mentally. A couple teams passed us and we were somewhere around the 12th team through the last aid station. I was hurting both mentally and physically. Phil and I did not talk much during this period. He just let me run my own pace and was one of the only times we were not connected by our rope.
The amazing thing is Phil never once was negative to me or showed frustration even though I knew he was frustrated. Some teams in the race already seperated due to fighting. Phil was a true team player.
We hit the last 4-5 miles of pavement and I hooked in to Phil. No words were spoken-he just turned it up a ton. We ran downhill on the road as fast as we could. I closed my eyes for most of it just turning my legs over with a heart rate completely maxed at 10 000 feet. I was suffering BIG TIME, but there was no way Phil was stopping. I was thinking if I fell, he would drag me.
We passed 3 teams and finally reached the end. I was toast. Too much road for me! I jumped in the river, got a massage from Chris and sat in the shade with Kyle and Erik. We talked about tomorrow's 18.5 miles of paved bike path. Not fun. We lost a ton of time today on 3rd, so it is out of site, but we just want to maintain our 4th placement,
If you can watch video on the transrockies we site, you will get sense of how we are all feeling. Every night they show us pictures and a 5 minute video of the day. My favorite today from Billy, "we ran our hardest today and still got our butts kicked." That is how I feel. Dinner is always a ton of laughs as we've become a tight Montrail group. No matter how the runs goes, I know Phil, Chris and the other guys will be laughing a lot.
The views today were amazing. The road cut along the continental divide and major 14 000 foot snowpeaked mountains made up the skyline. That alone made the suffering worth it.
My ankle is black and blue so we'll see what our last day brings tomorrow.
Day 5-Finish in Aspen
We have an 18 mile slightly escending paved bike path to look forward to. I just want it over. It's hot already this morning and I know people will suffer. The gun goes off, and I start my limping stride. I don't care about the pain (and it hurts), I just want to finish.
We start off at a good clip but not hammering. I was surprised that my legs felt ok even though my calf and anlke were killing. At about the 10 km mark I think we were in about 10th or so. Billy and Whit, racing for 1st overall in the Masters were not looking good. They are trail runners, each doing Hardrock several times. This was not going to be their day.
Phil and I worked consistently for the first 1.5 hours and then I hooked into Phil. I wanted to maintain the pace we had. We actually started to build our speed and could see several teams in front of us. We had about 10 km to go when we both just started to run faster. We closed the gap on several teams and passed them. Chris (our massage/crew) ran out on the path and met us for a few km's. As we hit one of the climbs, Phil said we would walk, but I told him if he could run do it! He did and we just kept hammering. We passed a couple more teams and we knew we were within one mile to finish in Aspen. The mile clicked over and we crossed the line in 6th or 7th overall for the day and maintained our 4th position. We finished in about 2:34:00 today. Not bad considering the state my calf and ankle are in.
The Skagg brothers actually took second today-but they shut it down. With over an hour lead on everyone, they had no reason to hammer. We'll be hearing a ton about them in the future for sure! I love ultra running for guys like Kyle and Erik. Elite athletes but the nicest guys out there. When I think of what true ultra running means, it is them.
Billy and Whit lost their first place in the Masters division to the fast road running duo from Team Gortex. It was really a road runners course so that is not surprising. Day 2, the only real trail day saw the trail runners take over. But we all ran the same course and the best teams won!
Phil and I were happy to be done, smiling at our accomplishment. Even though it was not my best performance, I suffered more mentally than I ever have and I was happy to have made it. The race is over, the laughing has already begun and everyone, from first to the end fought hard. I love the stage races because you really get to make great friends and share an epic adventure. I'm don't think I would do the race again as it is right now, but if they change it to a trail race, I would go back. I'll be fitter, stronger and one more year into my prime.
We cracked a beer, washed up and went to the awards. Everyone is in great spirits and we'll be sharing stories for a long time.
Thanks to the organizers of the event, it really was spottless. They did their best to provide a world class event and it was.
Now time to heal and get ready for a 50 miler in two weeks.
Thanks to Phil and Chris for an amazing adventure and for dragging my fatass through the Colorado Rockies!
Comments
Atta go, Dommer!
Fantastic Effort Dom!