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Pikes Peak Marathon

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Location:

Florence,TX,USA

Member Since:

Aug 06, 2006

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

ENTRY 1: Age 61 and I'm still alive and running. . . . . . ENTRY 2: Austin, TX, Muddy Buddy Masters, 1st place, 2005, 2006, and 2008 with Karen F. (see picture above - Karen H.; Karen F.; Me; Carey) (Karen H. & Carey did an Ironman in Idaho in June 2007) . . . . ENTRY 3: St. George Marathon 2001 3:18:03; 2002 3:15:56; 2003 3:18:04; 2004 3:19:03; 2005 3:37:21; 2006 & 2007 did not make the lottery. 2008 3:54:04 (tough).  .  .  .  . ENTRY 4: 2007 San Antonio Marathon - 1st place age group 60-64. . . . . ENTRY 5: Eight consecutive Boston Marathons since 2001. Best time so far was 3:35:09 in 2003. Age 55. . . . . . ENTRY 6: Pikes Peak Marathon 5:56:33 in 2005. 3rd place out of 54 runners ( group 55-59) Age 58. . . . . . ENTRY 7: Pikes Peak Marathon - 2008 - 2nd place in my age group (33 registered, 23 finished) running in the snow and ice the last 2 miles of the Ascent at the top . . . . . . ENTRY 8: 3M Half Marathon at a 7:11 pace in 2005, age 57. . . . . . . ENTRY 9: Congress Avenue Mile Austin, TX 5:46 in 2004. Age 57

Short-Term Running Goals:

Entry 1:  Get in a full 6 months of prep for 2009 Boston, no excuses, run a strong Boston. . . . .Entry 2: Use Pilates methods for core strengthening and flexibility improvements.. . . . . . Entry 3: Get completely healed from the muscle disorder that has plagued me since February 2006 (Polymyalgia Rheumatica)

Long-Term Running Goals:

Entry 1. Complete 10 consecutive Boston Marathons - I have done 8 so far. . . . . . . Entry 2. Continue running marathons through my 60's and into my 70's, 80's and 90's.

Personal:

Married, 2 children, 2 grand children. My 9 year old grand-daughter is convinced she is a runner.  My 4 year old grandson loves to wear his Boston Marathon and Pikes Peak Marathon t-shirts.  He wants to run the mountain with grandpa. 

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
37.2075.822.000.00115.02
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.0012.000.000.0012.00

Met Tom at the top of the Hill of Life at 6:00 AM to do 12 miles up and down reps.  Had to use the flashlight on the first loop down and back up the HOL.  Good news today neither of us tripped or fell down.  We had a great workout and saw several folks who wished us their best as we have two weeks until Pikes Peak. 

The guy who is going up to the Teton's in two weeks was there too.  And we met 3 more Pikes Peak runners and Mike R. was there today as well. 

We both set PR's on the descent today, crazy.  On our 8th descent today we got into a pace where we were pushing it despite the dangers of the rocks and roots.  I had on my new Mizuno Wave Ascend 3 trail shoes and they handled the HOL trail really well today.  On the 8th descent we did it in 4min 04 sec.  I generally try to do a safe descent at about 4:45 to 5:15, but we pushed it good on the 8th descent. 

Then on the 9th descent Tom decided to give it the full push and throw all caution to the wind.  He wanted to see what was the fastest possible descent for him, hoping to make it without falling.  I told him he was crazy, just two weeks before our Pikes Peak Marathon, why take a chance to get injured?  Anyway, he took off and flew down the hill almost without touching the ground, leaping over the rocks, and finished at about a 6 minute pace in 2 minutes and 55 seconds.  Absolutely unreal.  I'm so glad I didn't find him in a pile of bones and blood on the side of the trail as I did my descent in 4 min 20 sec. 

Then we went down to the Barton Springs below the pool and washed off and cooled down in the spring with the other people and their dogs.  Tom headed for home and Lynn and I went over to Maudie's and had breakfast with Karen F. and Karen H.  They had done a 15 mile run up Mt. Bonnell and down Shoal Creek.  What a great start to a hot day in Texas where the temperature will reach 104 degrees today.   

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.004.500.000.004.50

105 degrees with humidity at McNeil HS tonight, and we still had over 40 of us there for the workout. Donnie had us form into teams of two and whild one member ran a 400 meter lap the other member did circuit exercises (pushups, situps, lunges, jumps). We did this for 8 laps of the track so it turned out to be a nice workout in the hot weather.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.0016.000.000.0016.00

Nice runs today.  At 5:00 AM I met Karen F and Karen H at Karen F's home in Austin and we did the 10 mile loop down to Town Lake and around Austin and back up LaMar to Karen's home.  A nice run.  Very humid after some rain last night.  Sweat like a pig.

Tonight I met Tom at Lake Georgetown and we did 6.5 miles across the dam and then down past the dam and down the trail toward Georgetown and then back up to Outlook Park.  It was hot with temps in the high 90's, but still a nice run. 

Pikes Peak is only 1 1/2 weeks away.  Should be a great race. 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.0013.000.000.0013.00

Met Tom and Karen F and Karen H at 6:00 AM and did the Mt. Bonnell 10 mile loop and then the 3 mile People Bridge loop around Town Lake.  Had a really nice run.  One week to go for Pikes Peak.  Then we got cleaned up at the shower at Deep Eddy.  Then we went to Maudie's for breakfast.  A nice start to the weekend.

 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.004.000.000.004.00

A nice evening in Austin, TX at McNeil HS.  Temp was down to about 94 degrees (last Monday 104) with high humidity, but it really felt cool compared to the past several weeks.  I got in a nice warm-up, then we did drills.  There were probably almost 60 of us here tonight, amazing. 

For the workout Donnie had us do 1500 meters at a medium pace, then 100 meters recovery jog.  Then 700 meters faster, then 100 meters recovery jog.  Then 300 meters faster.  I ran this one with Joe, good to see him. 

After the workout I did a recovery mile and then we did the group stretches.  Everyone wished Tom and me to have a great race at Pikes Peak this weekend.  This Monday evening run group is a really good bunch of people. 

 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
1.000.000.000.001.00

Drove to Colorado Springs on Thursday (14 hour drive) and stayed at our daughter's home.  It rained all night in the valley and they said it was snowing up on Pikes Peak. A great night with the grand-children. 

Then today we met Tom and his wife and son in Manitou Springs and drove to the top of Pikes Peak.  We got lucky and picked a one hour window when they opened the road to the top.  Due to severe fog and clouds and snow they had closed the road, and after we got to the top they again closed the road.

It was so foggy at the top we couldn't see the gift shop or the Cob RR station.  We found a park guy in his truck and he pointed out the directions.  We were within 20 car lengths of the gift shop and couldn't see it.  Tom and I ran down the Pikes Peak trail so Tom could get a feel for what it is like to run at 14,000 feet.  This was a good thing, what a great experience.  It was cold, wind blowing, light snow, foggy and clouds.  Awesome.  Now he knows what to expect on Sunday morning.

We had a slow cautious trip back down the mountain in the cars, but we made it.  At the runners expo we got to talk with Matt Carpenter, the worldclass legend of the Pikes Peak Marathon.  A gracious man who didn't act like a celebrity, but he certainly is as he spanked the best in the world when they came here a couple of years ago for Pikes Peak.

Then we had Tom and his family come out to our daughter's home for dinner.  A nice day. We will meet in Manitou Springs on Saturday as we are both staying one block from the start line of the race at the Villa Inn.  This race is already fun. 

 

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Race: Pikes Peak Marathon (26.32 Miles) 06:42:30, Place in age division: 2
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.0026.320.000.0026.32

This is a quick early version of our Pikes Peak vacation and race report. We just arrived home this evening (Tuesday) after driving all day from Colorado, so this is a quick short race report.

The race was on Sunday. We drove to Colorado on Thursday, stayed at Desiree's home on Thursday evening and Friday evening.  It rained Thursday night and Friday and Saturday.

PD, Lynda, Bobby, and I drove up to the top of Pikes Peak on Friday in the fog and clouds. Tom H and his wife Yvonne and son Joseph drove up with us.  Tom and I ran about 1/3 of a mile down the trail and then back up, just to give Tom a feel for running at 14,000 feet altitude.  We all had a ball up there in the fog, fortunately finding the gift shop and spending some time there.

Saturday evening I pinned the dedication to the back of my running singlet, "In Memory of MOM, 1908 - 2008".  Mother passed away in May this year at 100 years old.  During the race a lot of runners gave me encouragement about the dedication.  During the race several times I thought of how mom enjoyed hearing about the races.  She would have loved hearing about this one.

Tom joined me Sunday morning prior to the race at 6:30 AM.  We got our family pictures (Lynn, PD, me, Desiree, Sid, Tapainga, Chaise, Bobby, Madge, and Lynda) and with Tom's family, and some pictures of the top of the snow covered mountain.  The announcer at the start line gave a warning that the temperature at the top of Pikes Peak was 29 degrees with a 32 degree high forecast with 2 to 3 inches of snow at the summit and a storm heading this way, so he said if necessary they would call off the race (sounded like just an official required caution warning).  The temperature in Manitou Springs at the start was a nice 51 degrees.

There are a library of stories to tell about this race, but the short fast summary is that we had snow falling a couple of inches deep on the mountain and packed on the trail for the last 2 miles to the top making a extremely dangerous situation for close to 800 runners going up and down the mountain sharing the same narrow trail.  But what an awesome experience!!  I was full of energy and the legs felt great this year compared to the rubber legs during much of the race last year.

I also took my new Flip Video camera with me and recorded video of much of the run up through the snow.  The family loves seeing first hand what I experienced up in the snow.  I was the only runner that I remember (or that we saw on video) who ran to the summit wearing just shorts and a singlet and a pair of gloves in the cold and snow.  Everyone else we saw had pulled on long weather pants and jackets and ear muffs and gloves.  The reason I do this is because on the ascent I build enough body heat that I do not need the long sleeve shirt or jacket or pants on the ascent.  On the descent for the first 2 miles through the snow and ice I did put on a long sleeve running shirt that I had wrapped around my waist.

I saw runners slipping and falling in the snow and ice conditions, but fortunately none of the runners that I saw got hurt.  On the descent I really took off from the A-Frame (tree line) for 2 miles and had a couple of younger runners tailing me as we flew past other runners.  This was rather dangerous for me as we leaped over large rocks and roots and risked falling on our face, but fortunately none of the disasters caught up with us.  Finally with about a half mile to go to Barr Camp I told these guys that I knew I could not keep this up for the rest of the race so I let them go, and then I backed it down a little and ran my own pace, still steadily passing runners and having a great experience.

With about 5 miles to go a guy from New Mexico caught me and he was running strong.  We ran together for about 200 meters and talked and finally I let him go.  I noticed the grey hair on the back of his head as he took off and I wondered if he was in my age group (60-64).  It turns out he won my age group.  Fortunately I was only 4 minutes 30 seconds behind him to take 2nd place (6 hours 42 minutes 30 seconds).  I had been hoping for a podium finish today and I got it.  There were 33 men registered in my age group.  23 finished.  The guy who took 3rd place finished 4 minutes 37 seconds behind me. The 4th place guy finished 2 minutes 53 seconds behind him, so the top 4 finished pretty close to each other.

I was the oldest Texas runner again this year and my 2nd place finish is the highest placing of any Texas runner in their respective age groups.  There were three who finished 5th in their age group.  There were a total of 41 Texas runners.

Just a great race.  One thing that made it especially good for the family was that I used my cell phone to let them know when I had 4 miles to go, then 2 miles to go, then 1 mile to go, so they knew when to be watching for me.  Just for the good looks I really flew into the finish area as I came down Ruxton Avenue.  Paul Dean was catching it on his Flip Video.

Tom was running his first Pikes Peak Marathon and finished the race successfully and had stories to tell also.  What an experience.  After the race and a visit to the massage tables and the awards ceremony where I got my picture taken with Matt Carpenter (the legend of the Pikes Peak Marathon) we went back to the hotel and went swimming and the hot tub.  We both feel great with no injuries or any problems after the race.

The family had a ball while we were racing as they went through the shops in Manitou Springs.  Then on Tuesday we drove down to the Royal Gorge near Canon City, CO.  We had an absolute ball there.  PD, Sid and I got strapped into the Sky Coaster and had the ride of our lives.  A full fun day with everyone.

From this vacation and race we have a mass of pictures and video.  PD is going to build us a nice DVD with all the pictures and video.  Can't wait for the DVD.

 

Comments(11)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

Met Karen F and Steve S at the Austin HS tennis court parking below Mopac at 6:30.  Lynn did her walk while we ran the 10 mile Town Lake loop down past Longhorn Dam.  A nice run just 6 days since finishing Pikes Peak and the legs really did feel good.  Only 6 weeks until St. George Marathon.  I need to work in some recovery from Pikes Peak and get some training for St. George. 

Temps today were moderate probably in the low 80's.  Quite humid.  After the run we showered off at Deep Eddy and then went for breakfast at Maudie's.  Then Lynn and I and Karen and Elisesha (spelling) went over to Karen's and watched the Pikes Peak race DVD that PD has put together, his Beta version 1.0.  This was fun as they got to see the flip video for much of the race up toward the top of Pikes Peak, in the snow and ice, great video.

This is the way to start off a weekend. 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
2.000.002.000.004.00

A fun silly evening at McNeil HS track.  I forgot my running shoes, but one of the ladies, Jennifer, had an extra pair that was one size too small but I was able to wear them anyway.  Nice lady.

Tam showed up again.  His new running play has him running on Monday's only.  Good to see Tam.  Tom was there too, our first Monday night run with the group since our Pikes Peak race, fun. 

We had 50 of us there again tonight, awesome.  After drills Bill had us do 1500 meters medium hard (7:20 pace), then 100 meters recovery.  Then 700 meters faster (6:40 pace) and 100 meters recovery.  Then 300 meters hard (sub 6:00 pace) felt really good.  Gordon paced our group.

Normally I would have had 2 to 4 miles warm-up, but without shoes I didn't make that.  Still a fun evening, good to get out. 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.000.000.000.003.00

This week at work has been busy with our community service Juvenille Diabetes carnival in two buildings on both shifts.  A busy time as I was in charge of organizing and running the carnival.  Late getting home last night (9:15 PM).  We finished up today after lunch. 

Went over to Florence HS to run tonight and found the high school football team on the field playing a game so we came home and just went up and down the driveway (450 feet one way).  Not much happening, but good just to get out. 

We are planning on 10 to 15 miles on Saturday morning, should be fun.   

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
15.000.000.000.0015.00

Nice run to start a Labor Day weekend.  Met Karen F., Karen H., and Tom H. down at the Austin HS tennis courts at 6:00 AM.  A moderate temp day with temps in the 80's and moderate humidity, not as bad as yesterday.  While we ran our 15 miles, Lynn did her walk of the People Bridge loop.  She saw a homeless guy peeing off the bridge down into Townlake, duh. 

We ran up to Mt. Bonnell and saw a live armadillo run across the road right in front of us, fun.  Then we ran up to 2222 and over to Shoal Creek and then down to LaMar and down to the Town Lake trail and back to the start.  Just a really nice run.  Tom and Karen H. picked up the pace the last mile and we pushed in for a nice finish.  Then we got showered off at Deep Eddy and then over to Maudie's for breakfast. 

During this run we were able to tell Karen H. some of the stories from our Pikes Peak Marathon race because she was in Ohio last weekend during our run.  Tomorrow is the Human Race 10K, should be fun. 

 

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.200.000.000.006.20

The Nike Human Race was held in 30 cities around the world, 5 of them in the USA.  Austin, TX was one of the 5 US cities.  6:30 PM start so it was 96 degrees and high humidity where 15,000 of us were crammed into downtown on Congress Avenue.  I picked up Tom H. and Karen H. and we drove to Austin and got there about an hour before the race so we got parked at the Post Office for $7.00.  An easy walk over to Congress Avenue and 6th street for the start. 

We took a quick trip through the portapotty line and then headed over to the starting line.  We made a decision in this heat to just do a fun run of this event, no sense to race in 96 degree temperatures.  So we enjoyed the pre-race show as they introduced several gold medal winners from the US Olympic team who were from Austin, and introduced Lance Armstrong also from Austin.  Lance is now working on his running race life and had a great race finishing 6th place in this race. 

Overall of the 30 cities worldwide Austin finished in 2nd place overall as a city so despite the heat many of the runners took this race seriously.  Tom, Karen and I just ran a easy pace and finished in 60 minutes, nothing to write home about other than the event and the heat and taking part in a worldwide show.  We saw Karen F at about the 4.5 mile mark.  She finished a little over a minute ahead of us.  For all of us this was basically just a hot early evening run. 

After the race Lynn and Karen H. and I went over to Rounders and had pizza.  Karen had not brought a 2nd shirt with her so she put a towel over her shoulders to cover her sports bra, which we agreed fit into the Austin motto of "keep Austin weird".   A relaxing stop before going home. 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
37.2075.822.000.00115.02
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