Imogene Pass Run 2010

This past weekend marked my fourth year participating in the Imogene Pass Run (17 miles over a rough jeep road pass from Ouray to Telluride- 10 miles up and 7 down with the summit reaching 13,114 feet). However this number is nothing compared to my mom's 15th consecutive year running it! They even announced this feet upon her finishing the run. It is always a fun weekend hanging out in this beautiful part of the state. We made the long drive down to Ouray on Friday (the day before the race) making a few stops along the way which included the yummy Firebrand deli in Gunnison. With stops included, the drive too seven hours! Arriving into Ouray about 5, we quickly settled into our hotel room which was only 50 feet from the start of the race. Nice! Then it was off to pick up race packets and wander the town before getting any early dinner at The Outlaw. I ran into a familiar face at the packet pick up. It was my friend Lee who I met during several training runs on Pikes Peak over the last few years. First of all he is 77 years old and going strong. He has done the Pikes Peak Marathon several years, the Mt Evans Ascent and this is his first attempt at Imogene Pass. He lives in Centennial and would come down to the Springs once a week to train on Pikes Peak where I seeming ran into him often. He is an inspiration to all and it was great to see him. By the way, he ended up making a 75+ course record during this year's Imogene run finishing in 5:26:11.
Race morning quickly approached. The air was quite brisk with totally clear skies (mid forties) on race morning and deciding on clothing to wear was difficult. It was supposed to warm up to the 60's. The Ouray side of the pass is always chilly going up as it is in the shade most of the way but the Telluride side is usually warm and in the sun all the way. There was zero percent chance of rain. I ended up wearing shorts, t-shirt with arm warmers, a light wind jacket, and gloves. I kept everything on until about 1 1/2 mile from the summit when we actually got into the sun and there wasn't much wind. It was chilly enough going up that my quads were numb most of the way but I was still glad to have shorts on as the 7 miles down into Telluride were warm! The summit weather was awesome as I didn't even need my jacket, no wind, clear skies.
This run is always more of a have fun, enjoy the outdoors, and your fellow runners than a competition. I felt pretty good going up but didn't push it too hard and was able to take pictures along the way. A majority of the first 5 1/2 miles is runnable with a few steep parts but past that it gets rather steep and running becomes more difficult. You will find most people hike these parts including myself. I arrived at the Upper Camp Bird aid station (11,235 feet) which is 7.6 miles into the race in a respectable time compared to my past races (about 1:45). As I am taking in the view, drinking water, and eating some snacks, John surprises me with a slap on the back and just keeps on going! After beating me during the Pikes Peak marathon, he is very anxious to beat me once again. At that point, he was definitely on pace for a personal best at this run. It was a third year running it! He was doing awesome.
After a few pictures, I left the aid station and made my way up the last 2.4 miles which are very very steep as you climb almost 2,000 feet. The summit is in sight. It didn't take me too long to catch John, pass him and then keep ahead of him to the summit. He keep a great pace and ended up just over a minute behind me to the summit. My summit time was 2:36:55 which is about 3 minutes off my PR. I spent quite a bit of time at the summit, taking pictures, watching runners, taking in the view, drinking hot chicken broth and filling water! John quickly left the summit as he wanted to get a good time and I waited a little longer at the top hoping Melissa (my running partner and her debut at Imogene) would be summiting soon! She did and was only 10 minutes behind! Awesome! So of course more pictures were taken and I helped her replenish water and then we headed down together. I probably spent about 15 minutes at the top but it only felt like 5. It is always hard for me to leave the summit. But, it was nice to have someone to run the down of this course with as it is very very technical with lots of loose scree and loose rocks and steep. It takes great concentration to ensure you stay upright and because of this we could barely make conversation to each other on the way down because we were so focused. The 7 miles down took about 60 minutes and we both finished in 3:50 (11 minutes off my PR). We were surprised to find out John also finished in 3:50 (if you count the seconds, he was 30 seconds ahead of us). He finished 9 minutes faster than last year and a PR. Apparently, he didn't feel great on the down, was low on calories and had to slow to eat his sandwich. As a result, we had almost caught up to him.
My mom and her running partner Jo Anne (who also has done the race for several years) finished strong. It was my mom's first race back from knee surgery. She felt really strong going up but had to take the downhill easy,walking most of it as ordered by her orthopedic surgeon. Jo Anne had been fighting a flu like illness and so she struggled on the up. In the end, they both finished strong together.
The followed pictures better describe the race!
Jo Anne and my mom outside the hotel headed to the start!
The fab five right before the start- Melissa, Me, Jo, my mom and John peaking through behind us.
Mom and I before headed to the start line.
The up
Jo and my mom taking it all in!
And it gets steeper. Probably 6 miles in.
Upper Camp Bird aid station-7.6 miles. You can see the summit in the background.
Jo making her way up.
Looking back at what we came up. Not quite to the summit!
Getting closer. Probably 1.5 mile to summit. John is just 50 feet in front of me.
The summit. Lots of people cheering us on. The volunteers are awesome.
Looking down from the summit!
Runners just getting to the summit!
Melissa and I at the summit!
John and I at the summit!
Looking down the Telluride side!
My mom coming through the Social Tunnel about 3 miles from the finish!
Some of the steeper sections coming down.
Looking back up from were we came from. Almost into Telluride.
My mom just less than 1/4 mile from the finish!
Mel and I finishing in sync!
Mel, John and I waiting for my Mom and Jo at the finish. My dad and Charlie (Jo's husband) were cheering us on the finish.
My mom and Jo finishing!
Yummy peaches!
My parents and I in Telluride.
Celebrating at the Ouray Brewery.
More celebrating with mexican food and margaritas.

It was another successful race weekend. I love visiting that part of the state and cannot wait for next year!

Elk Park to Pikes Peak Summit and Back!

Last weekend was our last big training run before the big race day on Aug 22. The three of us met up at my place at 7am, jumped in the car and drove up to the Pikes Peak toll gate. The wait wasn't too long and we were up to Elk Park in no time! The elk park trailhead starts at about 11,800 feet according to my GPS with great views of Colorado Springs. It was very windy and chilly to start so we quickly headed out on the trail with all our gear and plenty of water. The trail quickly drops in altitude protecting us from the wind. It is a beautiful trail and a great alternative to get to Barr Camp and/or summit Pikes Peak. Lots of runners were already out on the trail. We covered the 5.5 mile stretch in a little over an hour and dropped 1,500 feet in elevation. We made a quick break at Barr Camp and then off to the summit. We passed many other runners out training as well as hikers. Barr to the Summit took us just about 2 hrs with a stop at A-frame. It was a great feeling getting to the summit. Took a long break in the Summit House refilling water, buying pretzels and coffee and staying warm. It got quite chilly at the top once we stopped. We were all tired but all decided to continue on with our training plan which was go back down the same way we had just come up. We met another runner in the Summit house that was training for Leadville 100 and he was out on a 35+ mile training run from his house in Green Mtn Falls. Even crazier than us. So off we were and it actually felt pretty good going down and the tiredness disappeared and we quickly warmed up. The weather was still looking great too! Made it to Barr in no time, another quick break and then it was off to Elk Park. Most of the way the back was up hill with a few downs but in the end it only took us about 25 mins longer than coming out. We only saw one other hiking group on the way back. It was nice to have the trail all to ourselves. Total miles was about 23 miles with 7 hrs on our feet. We were DONE at the end but managed a couple photos (see above)-you can see the summit in the background! Didn't get back to house until almost 5pm. What a day! Loved it!

Collegiate Peaks 25 Mile Trail Run, Buena Vista

The season for running races has started. On May 1st, I bared the chilly temperatures (lower 20's) but blue skies in Buena Vista at 6:20am with 300+ other runners waiting for the start of the Collegiate Peaks Trail Run. The day brought two distances (25 miles and 50 miles) with everyone starting at the same time and following the same course with the 50 milers making a second loop in the opposite direction. Despite a chilly start, the weather was perfect. It was a great, non technical course with two major climbs and views of the snowed capped collegiate peaks most of the way. We started at about 8,000 feet and the first climb was 10 miles long topping out at about 9,200 feet. These first 10 to 11 miles flew by because I ran them with this very pleasant girl named Becca who I met in the first mile. We chatted most the way before she took off on the downhill and the next time I saw her was at the finish (8 minutes before me). From that point, I found myself quickly descending almost 1,000 feet over four miles which was a nice recovery period. I took it easy as my knee was starting to bother me a little. The next climb brought us from about 8,400 feet to 9,400 feet in 4 miles. These couple miles were definitely slow going but I managed to run most of it. It was sure a great feeling getting to the top of that section knowing I had mostly down ahead of me. At that point, I had made it almost 18 miles. I made a quick refuel at the aid station (Heed drinks, water, pretzels, chips, M&M's) to prepare for the last 7 miles. The wind started to pick up a little but the sun was still beaming down with no clouds in site. It must have been in the lower 40's. Although the down was fairly easy on the feet with soft dirt and few rocks to navigate but by the time we hit a flatter section 3 miles from the finish, my knee was aching a bit, I had very tight hamstrings, achy hips and an overall jelly like feeling. I was still able to finish strong in a time of 4:16:22 good enough for 11th female. John plus Fisher and Willie were patiently waiting for me at the finish. I had a ton for respect for those 50 milers that headed out for another loop. There is no way I could have done another 25 miles. Maybe one day. The winning 25 mile male time was 3:05:13, 25 mile female was 3:24:32 (3rd overall), 50 mile male was 6:52:05, 50 mile female 8:08:44.

Food was definitely a priority after finishing once I put warm clothes as I quickly cooled down as you can see from the above picture. The food at the race didn't sound that appetizing at the time so we headed down the street to the Eddyline Brewery and chowed down on really fresh yummy food. John had nachos and I had a tasty buffalo burger. I would definitely go back there again.

After making a couple of stops in town, we headed back to the Cottonwood Hot Springs where we were staying the weekend. It is 5 miles west of Buena Vista towards Cottonwood Pass which would eventually take you to Crested Butte although it is not open in the winter. It was a great spot in the canyon next to the creek. We were staying in a cabin with a full kitchen, king bed and bathroom. The best part was that we had a private hot springs just next to the cabin. It sure felt good to soak my tired body in the pleasantly warm water with a bubbling creek behind me and nobody to bother us.
Not an bad outdoor living space. We found these pieces of art work near the brewery right up from the river.
The Cottonwood Hot Springs. The fish pond outside our front door.
Our private hot tub.
The dogs hanging out while we soak.
Bighorn sheep just up the road from the hot springs.
They weren't too shy.
On Sunday, we left the hot springs about 10am with the sun brightly shining and drove up towards the pass to the Colorado Trail for a short hike to get the legs moving. It quickly turned from sun to snow as you can see. We headed out anyway. The trail quickly climbed up and if we had stayed on it we could have summited Mt Yale. Instead we went up about 45 minutes before turning around. We had to get back in time to check out a 1pm. It felt great to get out.
The snow didn't last for long.
It was enough to cover the trail and the dogs loved it. Here is our turn around spot. If it were clear you could have seen the summit of Yale.
Patiently waiting for their treats.


We had to get one more soak in after hiking in the snow. It sure helped my tights muscles!

Good time for a nap!


The inside of the cabin.
After checking out of the hot springs, we headed to town to the Evergreen Cafe for some food before making the trip home. The drive home brought wet snow most of the way. Overall a great weekend and definitely a race I would do again! Thanks to John, Fisher and Willie for the support.