Barr Trail Mountain Race
Some things sound like great ideas when they pop into your head. Things like running to Barr Camp and back down as a way to celebrate entering a new age group. Yep, sounded like a great idea back in June! Then July arrived and I realized what I’d gotten myself into. Barr Trail Mountain Race is a big time event - attracting runners from all over the country to test their legs before the Pikes Peak Marathon. And this year, it was the SkyRunner North American Championships, so lots of young, fast kids were going to show up in addition to the local speedsters. Yikes! Seriously, what was I thinking that I could be competitive at this race? So of course, I decided to summit Mount Shavano as part of my long run before the race. Nothing like hiking up a mountain and then back down to get some confidence, right? Nope, all it got me was some sore quads, less miles then I’d planned on running, but a solid day on foot in the mountains. Not the best prep, but...
Volunteering for packet pickup the day before allowed me some time to calm the nerves and write some good luck notes on friend’s bibs. That didn’t last long though as I returned home to organize my crap to race. Ugh. What had I really really gotten myself into? I wasn’t training to run hard up a hill and then come flying down! I was in full on ultra training - run comfortably on the flats and gently rolling stuff, power hike anything that looked like a hill and then be steady down the hills. That’s not how the Barr Trail Mountain Race works though - it’s all in from the gun, into the red within the first minutes and holding red for the six miles up to Barr Camp. Then it’s time for reckless abandon back down to the finish line. My reckless abandon has tempered in the past few year, so I was a little concerned about the downhill as well.
Race morning. Slightly overcast when I woke up but with brilliant blue skies over the Peak. I jogged from my car up Ruxton to the start for my warm up and added in a little bit of the start. Whoa... When I said it would be all in and redlined from the start, I wasn’t kidding! I remembered all the years of doing the Ascent and Marathon in the late 90s. I never ran up that stretch of road and was always hiking up the Ws. Staying out of my head was challenging as I looked around at the other women on the line. And then we were off, charging up the hill like it was a flat road race!
Surprisingly, I felt half decent as we started climbing. I was well down in the field, but maintaining visual contact with a few of the faster women. I was pretty sure that wouldn’t last as we started up the Ws, but kept pushing the pace. This wasn’t an ultra - this was pure trail running and I had to try to run as much as I could. Eyes on the trail, keep glancing up and down few switchbacks to see if I was maintain my place. Not too bad, not to good either. I was still hiking more then the women I could see ahead of me, but keeping tempo with the guys around me. The power hiking was working! Still slower then running, but still a good effort. I could hear the first aid station well before I reached them - the high schoolers heading up the Incline station were taking their job seriously. I didn’t need anything - it was still early in the race and cool out. Time to focus on the next aid station - the No-Name Creek station halfway up the hill. I knew once I hit No-Name, the majority of the climbing was finished. I just needed to keep pushing to get there!
I was doing a good job of not looking at the watch on that first part of the climb. I was hoping for a specific time up to Barr, but didn’t really know any of my splits. That’s what happens when you haven’t set foot on the mountain in years! So the plan was to just keep pushing hard and hope that I would be close to that goal time. Meanwhile, just keep going! One foot in front of the other, run when I could, keep the power hiking up when the running was to hard. The next aid station was Bob’s Road - only a mile or so away. A little more climbing, but mostly runnable. I could remember the landmarks somewhat, but not enough to have the entire course dialed. I know the women who trained on the mountain knew exactly each turn and switch back, but to me - it was all brand new. Kinda fun that way! A vague sense of familiarity, but still the unknown. And as we climbed, the anticipation of seeing the leaders come flying around the corner! It didn’t take long - after I passed Bob’s Road aid, the men’s leader blasted by us. Wow. Almost four miles ahead of me! The second place runner was quite a ways behind, with third right on his heels. One nice thing about out and backs is seeing the entire race unfold - from leaders to middle of the pack to DFL. It also meant it was time to start looking for the women.
I wasn’t as high as I wanted - my goal was top ten and I was just on the edge of 15th. I would have to take some chances to move up. The gaps weren’t too bad, but more then what I would have liked at that point. I refilled my hand held from the super enthusiastic Palmer High School students and turned my attention to the descent. Time to fly. At least that’s what the plan was... I caught one of the women fairly quickly after we turned around and set my eyes down the trail. I was running down the like I hadn’t done in years - leaping from rocks, bouncing from trail edge to trail edge. I was having a blast and quickly catching Emily. I made my move, smoothly getting around her. And then... My reckless abandon got the better of me. I stepped down and felt my left ankle give way underneath me. My leg buckled, but I was able to shift to my right leg within seconds. The damage was done though. My ankle protested loudly as I slowed to a near walk. Panic set in - I had five miles left to run down the mountain, with no other way. How much damage would be done in those five miles? I hobbled along for a few minutes, assessing my options. While my ankle was throbbing, it wasn’t race ending pain. It just hurt. I could run again, but gingerly, measuring each step carefully. No more reckless abandon for me. I had to be careful and be steady. One more wrong step and the entire season would be over.
At No Name, I got a cup of water and continued on my way. I caught Emily again, but had been passed by another woman just before No Name. I was not looking forward to the Ws. I know the steep descents and switchbacks would be painful and challenging. Still, I was feeling comfortable as long as I didn’t take chances. A steady pace and smooth gait was working, but I had to slow on each rock obstacle. I was wishing I’d remembered more of the climb as I descended. That would have helped with tempering how much to push. There were a few times that insteps wrong and felt my ankle wobbling. Every time, that sense of panic that I was done, but every time I was able to recovery. Hearing the Incline aid station was a needed boost - once I hit that point, it was less then two miles to the finish.
Finally, I was starting to remember things and recognize landmarks. The trail was busy with day hikers, but luckily most of them got out of the way. I was taking a few more chances here and there, but mostly trying to stay steady. One more women passed me just before the turn off Barr Trail, but I’d survived the descent with no further damage. Just one little stretch and the final hill up Hydro to the finish. I’d hoped for a 2:10 time, but my finish was 2:20. Still a decent time given everything that happened! And while I hadn’t met my other goal of top 10, I’ll take 15th and first masters. That was the ultimate goal for the race - my first masters event and I wanted a win. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t pretty, but I got it done.
Volunteering for packet pickup the day before allowed me some time to calm the nerves and write some good luck notes on friend’s bibs. That didn’t last long though as I returned home to organize my crap to race. Ugh. What had I really really gotten myself into? I wasn’t training to run hard up a hill and then come flying down! I was in full on ultra training - run comfortably on the flats and gently rolling stuff, power hike anything that looked like a hill and then be steady down the hills. That’s not how the Barr Trail Mountain Race works though - it’s all in from the gun, into the red within the first minutes and holding red for the six miles up to Barr Camp. Then it’s time for reckless abandon back down to the finish line. My reckless abandon has tempered in the past few year, so I was a little concerned about the downhill as well.
Race morning. Slightly overcast when I woke up but with brilliant blue skies over the Peak. I jogged from my car up Ruxton to the start for my warm up and added in a little bit of the start. Whoa... When I said it would be all in and redlined from the start, I wasn’t kidding! I remembered all the years of doing the Ascent and Marathon in the late 90s. I never ran up that stretch of road and was always hiking up the Ws. Staying out of my head was challenging as I looked around at the other women on the line. And then we were off, charging up the hill like it was a flat road race!
Surprisingly, I felt half decent as we started climbing. I was well down in the field, but maintaining visual contact with a few of the faster women. I was pretty sure that wouldn’t last as we started up the Ws, but kept pushing the pace. This wasn’t an ultra - this was pure trail running and I had to try to run as much as I could. Eyes on the trail, keep glancing up and down few switchbacks to see if I was maintain my place. Not too bad, not to good either. I was still hiking more then the women I could see ahead of me, but keeping tempo with the guys around me. The power hiking was working! Still slower then running, but still a good effort. I could hear the first aid station well before I reached them - the high schoolers heading up the Incline station were taking their job seriously. I didn’t need anything - it was still early in the race and cool out. Time to focus on the next aid station - the No-Name Creek station halfway up the hill. I knew once I hit No-Name, the majority of the climbing was finished. I just needed to keep pushing to get there!
 |
| Charging up the Ws Photo - Jay Watts |
I was doing a good job of not looking at the watch on that first part of the climb. I was hoping for a specific time up to Barr, but didn’t really know any of my splits. That’s what happens when you haven’t set foot on the mountain in years! So the plan was to just keep pushing hard and hope that I would be close to that goal time. Meanwhile, just keep going! One foot in front of the other, run when I could, keep the power hiking up when the running was to hard. The next aid station was Bob’s Road - only a mile or so away. A little more climbing, but mostly runnable. I could remember the landmarks somewhat, but not enough to have the entire course dialed. I know the women who trained on the mountain knew exactly each turn and switch back, but to me - it was all brand new. Kinda fun that way! A vague sense of familiarity, but still the unknown. And as we climbed, the anticipation of seeing the leaders come flying around the corner! It didn’t take long - after I passed Bob’s Road aid, the men’s leader blasted by us. Wow. Almost four miles ahead of me! The second place runner was quite a ways behind, with third right on his heels. One nice thing about out and backs is seeing the entire race unfold - from leaders to middle of the pack to DFL. It also meant it was time to start looking for the women.
 |
| Enjoying the downhill before my mis-step Photo - Todd Short |
I wasn’t as high as I wanted - my goal was top ten and I was just on the edge of 15th. I would have to take some chances to move up. The gaps weren’t too bad, but more then what I would have liked at that point. I refilled my hand held from the super enthusiastic Palmer High School students and turned my attention to the descent. Time to fly. At least that’s what the plan was... I caught one of the women fairly quickly after we turned around and set my eyes down the trail. I was running down the like I hadn’t done in years - leaping from rocks, bouncing from trail edge to trail edge. I was having a blast and quickly catching Emily. I made my move, smoothly getting around her. And then... My reckless abandon got the better of me. I stepped down and felt my left ankle give way underneath me. My leg buckled, but I was able to shift to my right leg within seconds. The damage was done though. My ankle protested loudly as I slowed to a near walk. Panic set in - I had five miles left to run down the mountain, with no other way. How much damage would be done in those five miles? I hobbled along for a few minutes, assessing my options. While my ankle was throbbing, it wasn’t race ending pain. It just hurt. I could run again, but gingerly, measuring each step carefully. No more reckless abandon for me. I had to be careful and be steady. One more wrong step and the entire season would be over.
At No Name, I got a cup of water and continued on my way. I caught Emily again, but had been passed by another woman just before No Name. I was not looking forward to the Ws. I know the steep descents and switchbacks would be painful and challenging. Still, I was feeling comfortable as long as I didn’t take chances. A steady pace and smooth gait was working, but I had to slow on each rock obstacle. I was wishing I’d remembered more of the climb as I descended. That would have helped with tempering how much to push. There were a few times that insteps wrong and felt my ankle wobbling. Every time, that sense of panic that I was done, but every time I was able to recovery. Hearing the Incline aid station was a needed boost - once I hit that point, it was less then two miles to the finish.
Finally, I was starting to remember things and recognize landmarks. The trail was busy with day hikers, but luckily most of them got out of the way. I was taking a few more chances here and there, but mostly trying to stay steady. One more women passed me just before the turn off Barr Trail, but I’d survived the descent with no further damage. Just one little stretch and the final hill up Hydro to the finish. I’d hoped for a 2:10 time, but my finish was 2:20. Still a decent time given everything that happened! And while I hadn’t met my other goal of top 10, I’ll take 15th and first masters. That was the ultimate goal for the race - my first masters event and I wanted a win. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t pretty, but I got it done.
 |
| Women's Masters - Second Place Amber Wood-Jensen (2:33:54), Me - 2:20:41 and RD Katie Benzel Photo - Peter Maksimow |
Comments
Post a Comment