Community at CMTR
There are two ways to approach a race. One is to focus just on the time and the placement, at the expense of everything else. The other is to recognize that while it is a race, there is more then just the finish time - there is the community around the race. After a hard race at the Rattler Trail Race 50k two weeks ago, I knew that the Cheyenne Mountain Trail Race wasn't going to be a race to focus on the time. It would be community that would be on display throughout my 30 miles at Cheyenne Mountain State Park. That didn't mean I wasn't hoping for a fast time or strong performance - it just meant I was being realistic about the goals of the day. And what were those goals? Run smart - try not to start too hard and be strong the entire 30 miles. Stay in the moment - don't think to many miles down the trail. Work on my hydration for ease of refills, ability to drink and minimize waste. Smile! Always smile. Encourage other runners on the trail and say thank you to all the volunteers. So, how did I do with those pre-race goals?
Running smart. Didn't do so good with this goal. I definitely went out too hard, caught up in the rush and not wanting to get behind people this year for that first singletrack climb. The eventual women's winner took off with the leading men from the gun. I was in 5th as we turned onto the single track and tried keeping up the leading women on the climb up Boulder Run. Whoops. I knew better. Yet, still I pushed the pace. I wanted to keep fourth in sight, but still wasn't ready to start racing. When we started the climb up Blackmere, I knew that I would have to back off. As so, my Blackmere loop was much faster then I wanted, leading to a slower Talons loop. I came through the first 25k in 2:27 - slower then I thought it would be, but faster then I should have run. I was still hoping to be able to run either even splits or negative splits. Yeah, right... That totally didn't happen. I was still moving well, but definitely not fast. Time to settle in. Power hike when I needed, but stay smooth and fluid as possible when I was running. Transition into the ultra saunter - not quite running but faster then walking. It's one of the things I'm developing this year - a smooth ultra saunter to keep moving. I'll need that come September. I will say that by the end of the second Talon loops, I'm very confident that my legs hated me. Two 50ks in two weeks would be considered stupid by most people!
That leads into the next goal - staying in the moment. One of the things I wanted to avoid was the stupid runner math during this race. And that meant not focusing on the time, but staying in the moment of how I was doing and how I was feeling throughout the day. I knew when I started that fast, I was making a mistake. But it was so tempting to see how long I would be able to hang with the fast, young kids (since the woman that won is a mere 21, I will definitely call them kids!) The difference from last year was that instead of panicking when I saw them running away, I just kept running, focused on where I was. There was no chasing. Instead of trying to plan out every move I would make, I just ran. I only looked at my watch three times on the first lap and when I found myself starting to do stupid runner math on the second lap, I simply pulled my sleeve over my watch. If I couldn't look at the watch, I wouldn't have to worry about stupid runner math! Staying in the moment also allowed me to stay in touch with how I was feeling - did I need to eat or drink? How were my feet feeling? Not all that great actually - an area on the top of my left foot wasn't happy and the laces of my shoes were irritating the nerve. Staying healthy is more important then any time or place, so once I realized that an issue was developing, I stopped to relace my left shoe. Ahh - much better.
For this race, I did something different for hydration. Normally for a race, I'd have a small amount of water in the soft flasks and then my Skratch mixed normally in the bladder. While that makes drinking the Skratch easy, it makes refilling harder and ends up taking more time. I also end up carrying more water weight so I can have the water and the Skratch. So this time, I decided to make the Skratch in the bladder really stiff, but not to carry as much and then to use my soft flasks for water. The soft flasks are much easier to refill then the bladder and using them mean I'm not carrying as much weight for the duration of the race. I am so used to being self reliant during long runs and races that it was a bit scary to allow myself to run out of water in the flasks before the aid stations. I'm not used to doing that. But I was able to run up the aid station with the flasks open and ready to be filled, which was nice. I definitely felt like it was more efficient then how I've done things in the past. That and having both flasks meant I had one ready for other fluids like coke or ginger ale without having use a cup! More and more races are going cupless, which I love to see. Now it's up to me to actually do better about not making trash during the trail races. The soft flasks are a great way to do that. I'll be using them more frequently at the upcoming races this summer.
While I wasn't as good with the smiles and the high-fives as I wanted to be, I really made a point to encourage and cheer on the other athletes in the races. Because of the two sections of two way traffic, that was easy to do. (This year, the two-way sections were clearly marked with signs "start/end two-way traffic." Really nice because people were aware that there would be runner coming against them. Well done on that!) It's one of my race goals this year - while I will never be social and join group runs, there's nothing wrong with being nice during the race! We don't have to stand around and glare at each other, sizing each other up. Just smile, say hi and good job. Sometimes that random stranger saying good job or keep pushing is all someone needs to break out of a dark place during the event. I still need to respect the race, but sometimes respecting the race means encouraging others as much as it does focusing on the winning time.
One more thing with the Cheyenne Mountain Trail Race. It's one of the fundraisers for the Achilles Pikes Peak group. As such, there were several Achilles Athletes out on course. I was lucky. Because of my timing starting up the second lap, I was able to see some of them and their guides coming down Coyote Run. I can't imaging doing that race without being able to see where I was putting my feet. To have complete trust in a guide, using a trekking pole as the tether? Inspiring. I don't care that I was "racing" - when I saw the Achilles Athletes coming down the trail, I stopped and let them through so I could cheer them on. We are all out there racing - I want them to know that I respect the challenges they are working with to be able to complete the course. And because of the Achilles Athletes, the main aid station was always a hotbed of activity. Every runner - from the leaders to DFL got the full cowbell treatment and full service support from the volunteers. I think the volunteers had more fun then I did!
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| Dropping down onto the Blackmere Loop on my second lap Photo - Lynne Day |
Running smart. Didn't do so good with this goal. I definitely went out too hard, caught up in the rush and not wanting to get behind people this year for that first singletrack climb. The eventual women's winner took off with the leading men from the gun. I was in 5th as we turned onto the single track and tried keeping up the leading women on the climb up Boulder Run. Whoops. I knew better. Yet, still I pushed the pace. I wanted to keep fourth in sight, but still wasn't ready to start racing. When we started the climb up Blackmere, I knew that I would have to back off. As so, my Blackmere loop was much faster then I wanted, leading to a slower Talons loop. I came through the first 25k in 2:27 - slower then I thought it would be, but faster then I should have run. I was still hoping to be able to run either even splits or negative splits. Yeah, right... That totally didn't happen. I was still moving well, but definitely not fast. Time to settle in. Power hike when I needed, but stay smooth and fluid as possible when I was running. Transition into the ultra saunter - not quite running but faster then walking. It's one of the things I'm developing this year - a smooth ultra saunter to keep moving. I'll need that come September. I will say that by the end of the second Talon loops, I'm very confident that my legs hated me. Two 50ks in two weeks would be considered stupid by most people!
That leads into the next goal - staying in the moment. One of the things I wanted to avoid was the stupid runner math during this race. And that meant not focusing on the time, but staying in the moment of how I was doing and how I was feeling throughout the day. I knew when I started that fast, I was making a mistake. But it was so tempting to see how long I would be able to hang with the fast, young kids (since the woman that won is a mere 21, I will definitely call them kids!) The difference from last year was that instead of panicking when I saw them running away, I just kept running, focused on where I was. There was no chasing. Instead of trying to plan out every move I would make, I just ran. I only looked at my watch three times on the first lap and when I found myself starting to do stupid runner math on the second lap, I simply pulled my sleeve over my watch. If I couldn't look at the watch, I wouldn't have to worry about stupid runner math! Staying in the moment also allowed me to stay in touch with how I was feeling - did I need to eat or drink? How were my feet feeling? Not all that great actually - an area on the top of my left foot wasn't happy and the laces of my shoes were irritating the nerve. Staying healthy is more important then any time or place, so once I realized that an issue was developing, I stopped to relace my left shoe. Ahh - much better.
 |
| Putting the top back on one of my flasks as I head out to start the second lap Photo - Shae Comstock |
For this race, I did something different for hydration. Normally for a race, I'd have a small amount of water in the soft flasks and then my Skratch mixed normally in the bladder. While that makes drinking the Skratch easy, it makes refilling harder and ends up taking more time. I also end up carrying more water weight so I can have the water and the Skratch. So this time, I decided to make the Skratch in the bladder really stiff, but not to carry as much and then to use my soft flasks for water. The soft flasks are much easier to refill then the bladder and using them mean I'm not carrying as much weight for the duration of the race. I am so used to being self reliant during long runs and races that it was a bit scary to allow myself to run out of water in the flasks before the aid stations. I'm not used to doing that. But I was able to run up the aid station with the flasks open and ready to be filled, which was nice. I definitely felt like it was more efficient then how I've done things in the past. That and having both flasks meant I had one ready for other fluids like coke or ginger ale without having use a cup! More and more races are going cupless, which I love to see. Now it's up to me to actually do better about not making trash during the trail races. The soft flasks are a great way to do that. I'll be using them more frequently at the upcoming races this summer.
While I wasn't as good with the smiles and the high-fives as I wanted to be, I really made a point to encourage and cheer on the other athletes in the races. Because of the two sections of two way traffic, that was easy to do. (This year, the two-way sections were clearly marked with signs "start/end two-way traffic." Really nice because people were aware that there would be runner coming against them. Well done on that!) It's one of my race goals this year - while I will never be social and join group runs, there's nothing wrong with being nice during the race! We don't have to stand around and glare at each other, sizing each other up. Just smile, say hi and good job. Sometimes that random stranger saying good job or keep pushing is all someone needs to break out of a dark place during the event. I still need to respect the race, but sometimes respecting the race means encouraging others as much as it does focusing on the winning time.
 |
| Having a great time! Photo - Peter Maksimow |
One more thing with the Cheyenne Mountain Trail Race. It's one of the fundraisers for the Achilles Pikes Peak group. As such, there were several Achilles Athletes out on course. I was lucky. Because of my timing starting up the second lap, I was able to see some of them and their guides coming down Coyote Run. I can't imaging doing that race without being able to see where I was putting my feet. To have complete trust in a guide, using a trekking pole as the tether? Inspiring. I don't care that I was "racing" - when I saw the Achilles Athletes coming down the trail, I stopped and let them through so I could cheer them on. We are all out there racing - I want them to know that I respect the challenges they are working with to be able to complete the course. And because of the Achilles Athletes, the main aid station was always a hotbed of activity. Every runner - from the leaders to DFL got the full cowbell treatment and full service support from the volunteers. I think the volunteers had more fun then I did!
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