Those of you who read this blog may be thinking "wait, you ddin't say anything about racing!" Those of you who know the Denver area might be thinking "wait, a Highlands Ranch Backcountry race?"
Both questions have a point. I heard about this race a couple weeks ago, and after the Bear Creek 10-spot was postponed to the weekend I was in Santa Fe, it moved up a notch. After reading Dave Mackey's
race report, I decided, a good 5 minutes before online registration closed, to bite the bullet and sign up.
As for the second question, it will be explained in the report that follows.
The forecast, as of the night before the race, was for rain at the start turning to snow some time during the race. In Colorado, this always carries the risk of the infamous Colorado mud, that conglomeration of soil and sand that builds up with each step until it cakes to an inch thick on the sole of each shoe and then flies off, leaving just enough to slow your pace.
Fortunately, when I got to the start, it was still clear, and about 55 degrees, though the clouds were piling over the hills of the front range, promising the snow that was forecast. Despite my complete lack of taper, my legs had a surprising amount of pep in them as we lined up at the start. It turns out, we all lined up facing the wrong way, and after a little reshuffling, the gun fired and we were on our way.
After the inevitable fast start, I settled in to what I felt was a sustainable pace, and churned up the first, paved, mile in a little under 7 minutes. We said goodbye to pavement and took a sharp left down a dirt double-track that wound over rolling hills. Mile 3 took us under a road to single track for the first time, and a sustained uphill mountain back track.
I was still feeling solid here, though I had noticed that my GPS mileage did not match the posted miles, where they were posted. But I still felt good, and passed through three and four miles sustaining my average of 7 minute pace. I was pleasantly surprised by this point with the quality of the course. There had been a mix of bike path (inevitable in the suburbs), dirt road, double track, and single track.
Back under the road at the "top" of the hill, and we hit the infamous rollers, man made humps for mountain bikers, that take all the pep out of your legs on the way up, and spring you back on the way down, all while still heading generally uphill.
Surprisingly, though, I had managed to keep my effort reasonable and my legs still felt decent as I hit a stretch of rolling hills. I kept the effort up and stuck it out, and was rewarded when, hearing a shout behind me, I turned around to watch a buck (a good 14 points plus) vault over the fence and dash into the field. It was an almost surreal experience watching that big an animal leap a 5 foot fence with seemingly no trouble.
Rolling section done, I made it to the high point of the course: 7 miles in, the course hit a section of dirt road where I could pick up the pace to 6:40 or so, before dropping down on single track. It was here that the promised precipitation finally began to fall. In the form of ice pellets flying at you from the slide and stinging your face. Fortunately this would later turn to wet snow, which is much less unpleasant.
Dropping down onto the single track, I initially sped up and gained some time. I quickly realized, though, that the trail was iced mud the whole way. Any misstep would send me careening off the trail and into the trees.
Still, I felt alright. And in mile 9, I looked up, and saw a herd of elk bounding across the meadow in front of me. Another completely unexpected wildlife sighting in what was, after all, the middle of a Denver suburb.
Miles 10 and 11 were both mostly uphill single track. And here I finally felt the pace and the distance. I put in a good effort, and was told by a guy at the finish line that I really took off here. He had thought he could catch me up (from 5 people back) on the hill, but ended up losing ground. A good indication that my training has been successful.
This section seemed endless. It consisted of winding, uphill single track. Every so often you could catch a glimpse of the next switchback, and each time it looked like the next switchback was the top, but the hill just kept going.
Whatever I accomplished up the hill in leaving people behind, I lost at the top. The trail topped out at another rolling, but mostly downhill, single track section, and I didn't up the pace enough. I knew I was close to the finish line now, but there were no longer any mile markers, and my GPS was unreliable, so I was unsure how much was left. Had I known, I would have pushed a bit harder.
I didn't, and I got caught by several people here as the race descended back to the start line, once again hitting the bike path. I was unsure of whether the race would head straight for the finish line, or ring the park as it did on way out. Turns out it went straight for the finish line, meaning I did not kick when I should (well, I kept sub 6:30 pace, but I didn't kick as much as I should have).
Still, it was a solid race, and I'm happy with the result. I ran a 1:33:04 on a tough trail course, which Dave Mackey reported as having 1800 feet of vertical. I ran my own race, not getting sucked in to the fast start, and not letting my pace slack too much. I came in 21st place, in a race which saw the top two men and the top woman beat the course record. I was strong on the hills, and solid on the technical downhills, and kept the pace sharp on the flats.
Of course, there are always areas for improvement. I still think, despite the comment of the other runner, that I could have pushed harder on the uphills. I certainly could have pushed it more on the flats, since the 6:30 pace at the end didn't feel as hard as I would have expected.
The race was an affirmation. I am in good shape, and I'm building my confidence in the (slightly) longer races. My legs, over all, still feel pretty good. I think my hill-emphasis in training, combined now with trail tempos and fartleks, is making a big difference.
As for the race organization, the race was well marked, and anywhere you could easily take a wrong turn, there was either a clear arrow or a race volunteer. The one thing I would change is the aid stations. The first was at about 4 miles. Then there was a gap until mile 10 (should have been one more, not sure if I missed it or if it was not set up), and another in the last mile (which nobody used). It would not have been an issue had I brought even a mini-bottle. A minor issue, in the grand scheme of things.
Oh. Did I mention this was a 17 minute PR?
