Last days in Colorado- Rest & Recovery

We were up and out of the hotel by 8:00 this morning. Although we were tired from the race the day before, we were unable to sleep for some reason. Leaving the hotel in Manitou Springs, we headed into downtown Colorado Springs to visit the Olympic Training Center.

We pulled into the center before it opened (at 9:00), so we walked, or tried to walk, around the grounds and toured the sculpture gardens before going on the tour. The tour lasted about an hour. We saw a short video with snipits from past Olympics and then walked around the grounds. We looked at the area where gymnastics are performed, swimming, wrestling, shooting, and weight lifting. It was a very nice facility. It reminded Rolando of his days as a wrestler.

Next, we headed down to memorial park to see the velodrome. There was a gate, so we couldn’t see too much. We also walked around a Farmer’s market and smelled the fresh fruit and veggies. Mike and Karyn were inside the skating rink, so we met them inside and watched a little of an old man’s league of ice hockey. We were starving, so decided to grab lunch in downtown. Nothing exciting or really good, but it was food.

The next stop on our tour back to Golden was at the Airforce Academy. We stopped and toured the visitor’s center and then walked around to the cadet’s chapel. It was really impressive from the outside, but pretty plain from the inside.

We arrived into Golden around 3:00. We picked up the bike case, packed the bikes, and then dropped off the rack. We were on the road to Denver by 4:00. As we were approaching town, we began to run into rush hour traffic. Karyn wanted to go to the Hard Rock Café to get a t-shirt, so we went into downtown. We didn’t see much, just stayed in the car. Due to traffic, we didn’t get to the hotel until almost 6:00. Rolando was exhausted and decided to take a shower. We ordered some takeout and picked it up and ate in the room. We didn’t get to bed until 10:00 and were up at 6:00 on Tuesday to head to the airport to fly back to Austin.

It was a great trip, but we are tired and need a vacation from our vacation. Glad that we are arriving mid-afternoon so that we’ll have time to go to the grocery store and get some laundry done before heading to work on Wednesday. Thank goodness it is going to be a short workweek! Thanks for reading.

Until our next adventure,

Melinda & Rolando
August 2007

Day 6- The Pike's Peak Marathon

Our day started at 4:30 again… no sleep for Melinda. Rolando made oatmeal and had a bottle of Sustained Energy and went back to bed for about an hour. We both got up around 6:00 and got ready for the race. We met up with Mike and Karyn around 6:40 and took some pictures. Rolando went and lined up. Melinda had planned to run with Mike, but he hurt his heels about 2-3 weeks ago while training. He wasn’t even sure if he was going to be able to make it a mile or two today. Mike decided to start at the back and Melinda started somewhere in the middle.

Rolando’s race report: Well… it was the hardest thing that I’ve ever done. Harder than the Ironman, however I’m glad that I did it because I’ll never do it again! Today’s summit time was a little slower than yesterday’s. It was 2:46:00. The first six miles of the decent I was feeling fantastic and was passing lots of people. I high fived CJ around mile 15.5 (10.5 for him) and then around mile 16 (10 for them) I high-fived Cindy and gave Melinda a salty kiss. After mile six of the decent, I started to feel pain in my big toes from all of the banging from going down hill (12% grade). I started to curl my toes, but it didn’t work. Then… I started running sideways. That didn’t work either. I finished the decent in 2:09:00. Total time of 5:55:00. My slowest marathon ever. After the marathon, I did what I always do at any endurance event. I went to the medical tent and told them that I had a bad stomachache and was dizzy and they fed me some food through my vein. It was awesome. Afterwards, I walked back to the hotel and noticed that my favorite restaurant was open (it is normally closed on Sundays). I placed a to go order before I got in the shower. After the shower I picked up my veggie burger and sat down and ate it while I waited on Melinda to finish with her race.

Melinda’s race report: This is the hardest thing that I’ve ever done. Harder than the Ironman. I too will never do anything like this ever again. I’ve been feeling sick for a few days (stomach ache and sore throat). I went to the bathroom a few times before starting the race and had some Imodium in my pack just in case I needed it on the trail. The race started at 7:00am and it was already hot out. The sun was blistering. Thank goodness that I lathered up with sunscreen before the start.

I was able to run the first mile of the race. It was on pavement and steep, but not too bad. I just took it easy. The next 12 miles were pretty miserable. I just took it easy and “hiked” the route. Around mile 7, I started having doubts that I would finish at all. My stomach hurt so badly that I just sat on a rock and took some Immodium. I would walk 2-3 minutes and then sit for 2-3 minutes. I did this for about a mile (longest mile on the course) and started feeling better. Cindy Freeman caught up with me round mile 8.5 as I was just starting to be able to walk without stopping. She set a good pace and I got behind and followed her until a little before mile 11. Once there, I went ahead, but only finished a few minutes in front (summit time 5:39:00). It was great having someone you know to walk with. I pretty much thought that my entire day was going to be a vow of silence for me.

On the way back down, I started to run after the 16 Golden Stairs. I ran for about 3 miles and then my stomach hurt really bad, so I started walking. I did the math and figured that I could walk 20 minutes miles and still finish within the 10 hour cutoff time. It was interesting, I hadn’t had the need to go to the bathroom all day. Around 7 hours into the race I felt the urge to go immediately. I then went 6 times within about 1 hour and 30 minutes. I guess all the water I was drinking and the electrolytes were working! The only bad thing was that it really hurt my knees to squat down (men are lucky). I shuffled/walked all the way into the finish and total time was 9:14:00. My longest prior marathon was around the 4:10:00. This race was more than double that time!

Now we are both in bed resting and thinking about ordering food... You guested it right! From Adam's Cafe :-) Thanks for reading!

Day 4 & 5- Golden, Mt. Evans & Manitou Springs (Day 1- Assent race of Pike's Peak)

The day began early in Golden. We were up to grab breakfast and hit the road to Idaho Springs by 7:30. Since we needed to get to Manitou Springs by mid-afternoon, Mike decided to only ride the last 14 miles of Mt. Evans instead of all 24 miles. For those that done know, Mt. Evans is a 14,000 footer. It is also the highest road in America.

Once a year, there is a bike race up Mt. Evans. The pros do all 24 miles in about 2 hours. Mike expected the whole thing would have taken him about 4-5 hours. We drove up to the start of the park and paid our entry fee (elevation about 9,000 feet). It was about 58 degrees. Mike put on his gear and we got situated in the car. He started the ride at about 8:15. We pulled over and waited for Mike about every 4 miles, however he didn’t always stop. We also spent most of the time waiting in the car since it was so cold and windy!

Mike made it to the top in about 2 hours and 15 minutes. We took a few photos and then headed down. The trip down took Mike about 30 minutes on the bike and us about 45 minutes in the car. Once we loaded up Mike and his bike, we stopped at the picnic table for lunch. We then headed out to Manitou Springs.

We arrived in Manitou Springs about 3:30 in the afternoon. We would have been here earlier, but there were bad thunderstorms that made traffic bad. We also had to spend about 15 minutes searching for Rolando a Starbucks so that he could get his caffeine fix.

In Manitou, we picked up our race packets and checked in the Eagle Motel. Our hotel is only about 2 blocks away from the start and finish lines of the race. After getting cleaned up, we went into town for dinner at the Adam’s café. It was so great that we’ve eaten every meal there since! Back to the room and early to bed on Friday night.

Saturday morning started early. Rolando got me up around 4:30 to have his breakfast in the room. Around 6:30, I walked down to the start line to watch him go out for the race. It was cool when we first got up and went outside, but quickly warmed up with the heat.

Shortly after the racers left, Mike decided to drive up Pike’s Peak. Karyn and I were smart enough to not ride with him. He was trying to break some land speed record going up the mountain. We decided to stay in the room and read books and take a nap.

Rolando finished the race in 3:26:00. His goal was 3:30:00. He said that it was very demanding and challenging, however he was able to maintain a heart rate at 156 average for the race. We’ll see how he feels on Sunday doing the full marathon.

Mike drove Rolando down the mountain and back into town. I met him at the park where he had a 30 minutes massage and then we went back to the Adam’s café for lunch (another great meal). After lunch, we cleaned up and rested in the room and then went to Garden of the Gods to tour around. It is a very beautiful park with Rock Formations. On the way back to the hotel, Mike & Karyn stopped at Wendy’s to pick up dinner and Rolando placed us a to go order from guess where… the Adam’s café! We are now getting our stuff together for the race tomorrow. Early to bed again tonight… I know that I’ll get woken up at 4:30 again tomorrow.

Day 3- Rocky Mountain National Park

Melinda here - We decided to start today a little early since the total time looked to be about six hours for today. When we woke up, it was a little cool out, but no rain and no wind. Karyn and Mike ate breakfast at the restaurant outside of the hotel and Rolando and Melinda ate some oatmeal that they had in their room. We then loaded up the car and headed to the entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park.

After paying a $20 fee (well worth it based on the very nice roads and bathroom facilities) at the gate, we unloaded the bikes and took some photos. Mike and Melinda started off on the bikes at a nice 3% grade. It was much easier to breath today than yesterday. The road was nicely paved and the grade wasn't too bad. We just put the bike in an easy gear and spun our legs. The temperature was about 60 degrees, but the sun was brutal. Thank goodness for sunscreen (too bad that I forgot to put it on my part in my head).

Around 7 miles into the ride, we noticed Rolando and Karyn parked on the side of the road. They had driven up the next 3 miles and realized that it was very steep and that I wouldn't want to ride it. Of course... I jumped into the van and rode up the mountain with them. Mike put on his ipod and took off by himself. Over the next 15 miles, Mike rode along and Karyn, Rolando, and I cheered him on. There was beautiful scenery all along the way. We even went through a few different ecosystems, ending at the arctic tundra at the top! While waiting on Mike to make it to the top, Rolando got on his bike and joined Mike on the last few miles up.

We all had lunch together at Alpine Ridge (chips, PB&J, and some fruit). It was a little overcast and breezy. I think that the temperature hovered in the mid to upper 50s. We were all dressed with our jackets. After visiting the gift shop and Ranger Station we all loaded up again (with many more clothes) to head down the mountain. Karyn drove the van and the rest of us decided to ride down. We did the first 4.75 miles in about 5 minutes! We were going faster than the cars. It started to drizzle on us and rain a little. It wasn't bad, so we kept on going. After about 5 more miles of down hill, the rain got heavier and the road was slick. I decided to flag Karyn down and jumped in the van. I could just see myslef having a wreck and then not getting to do the Pike's Peak Marathon. Mike and Rolando were no where to be seen.

Karyn and I drove down the mountain and about 4 miles from the end saw a bunch of people parked on the side of the road and Rolando waving at us. All I could think is that Mike had wrecked and was on the side of the road. As it turned out, there were 3 large moose. We got out of the car and took some photos and picked up Rolando. We then drove the remaining few miles to pick up Mike at the end of the road.

It was a great day with great weather and great scenery. Some of the numbers for today were a total ride of 41.25 miles in 3:24 07 for an average of 12.1 mph. The last 16.3 miles down from the Continental Divide at Milner Pass helped increase the average a lot since it was mostly downhill and was over 21 mph. The first climb in total took over 15 miles an covered over 4,000 feet of climbing. The total climbing for the day was about 7,800 feet. The highest point was 12,183 feet up. It was interesting watching the altitude change going up. We started at 8,200 feet and after an hour and a half of biking it was over 11,000 feet. At 2 hours of biking, it was over 12,000 feet.

After the ride, we drove down to Golden to spend the night. It was about an hour and a half of driving back to Golden. When we checked into our hotel, we had a few issues. The main one was that when Rolando walked into our room he surprised two people in bed! They had given us a room key that already had people checked in! We then showered and headed out to Wild Oats for a great dinner. Now... ready for bed.

Day 2- Getting High in Colorado- With no drugs just high altitude!

Today we got up early, perhaps a little earlier than we wanted :-). Mike and I went to Boulder Creek Trail for my short run (6 miles). The trail was fantastic. Nice single track at 6,000+ feet of elevation. The temperature was 76 degrees with zero humidity. My heart rate stayed at 130-145 bpm, which is great for being at this altitude.

After the run we went back to our hotel were Melinda and Karen were waiting for us to have breakfast. I'm very picky on what I eat on race week so I already had my breakfast with me; oatmeal, gluten free toast with natural (no salt or sweetener) peanut butter and coffee! If the race doesn't go the way I want it to go it's not going to be because of the food I ate :-).

After breakfast we packed up and we went off to start the bike ride. Today it was just Mike and Melinda. I joined Karen in the sag wag. The route they did today is on the Peak to Peak route from Neaderland to Estes Park ~40 miles. Long climbs and drops with beautiful sceneries.

After the ride we went to Estes Park to go our hotel Alpine Lodge, we got there to early, 2pm and the check in was at 3:30pm so we had to kill time. I came up with a great ideal- "Lets go have coffee!". I love coffee, well good coffee. We found this cool coffee shop "Rock Coffee Shop". It made my day.
After that we went to the Stanley Hotel AKA "The Over Look" from the Steven King movie the Shinning. Best horror movie in that time. Jack Nicholson did a great job- "Where's Johnny" and "RedRum, RedRum..." (murder backwards).

We then went back to our hotel and got checked in. The hotel is clean, we have TV, fridge, microwave and most important high speed internet! Well time to watch Oprah and take a nap. Thanks for reading!

************Post nap************
Dinner was fantastic. We went to this local restaurant that serves fresh vegetables and Quinoa. After dinner we walked downtown Estes Park. I's a really cool town with lots of small shops, however ever third shop is an Ice cream Parlor. I guess people in this town love ice cream!

OK, I'm going to bed... Hasta Luego!

Day 1 in Colorado- Denver, Golden and Boulder

Melinda and I arrived in Denver at 7:30 am, picked up are bike case and bags. Mike and Karen Kozel (friends from TN) arrived a few minutes after us. The airline dropped a few bags and bike case on top of my Rocket Science Sports back pack and I had a jug on Hammer Gel inside the bag, :-( yes the jug opened and it made a mess. Oh well, we cleaned it!

We then drove to Golden, CO were we picked up the bike rack from Rack Attack and Melinda and I assembled our bikes. It was a great deal, $30 installation and $5 per day!

It's lunch time now, so we went to Wild Oaks. For those of you that follow the John Mackey (Whole Foods founder and CEO) internet scandal, this is the Natural Food Store chain that he wants to buy, however on the Yahoo finance site he posted messages using an encrypted name (his wife's name backwards!) saying that Whole Food stocks were a better buy than Wild Oaks. Now SEC is investigating. Oh well, I still love Whole Foods!

After that we drove to pick up Mike's bike at Golden Bike Shop, really cool town. It's were Coors Brewery is located. No, we didn't drink any beers. We have plenty time for that after the race this weekend (Saturday and Sunday).

Finally we drove to Boulder, there we are staying at a Residence Inn. Free wireless... I'm set :-). We plan on going to Target and Whole Foods to get a cooler for ice, drinks and some snacks for the road.

No running today, tomorrow I plan on running 5 miles easy with some pick-ups, just to get used to the altitude (~5,000 ft above sea level) and probably an easy bike ride with Melinda and Mike. Pikes Peak will start at 6,000 ft and it will go up to 14,000 with a avg. grade of 12 percent.

************Post nap************

We went to REI to get some final items for the trip. Following REI we meet Melinda's Stepmom who was attending a Conference in CO (now this is coincidence!). We all went to a great Italian restaurant in Boulder called Radda Tratoria. The food was just fantastic and cheap. Read more about the restaurant here.

More photos and news tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.

Pike's Peak Ascent & Marathon

More to come... We are training :-)

Pike's Peak Marathon events:
Saturday, August 18th- EAS Pikes Peak Ascent
Sunday, August 19th- EAS Pikes Peak Marathon


More Details about the event:
The EAS Pikes Peak Ascent and EAS Pikes Peak Marathon will redefine what you call running. Sure, they start out like a lot of races on Any Street, USA. But your first left turn will have you turning in the direction of up! During the next 10 miles, as you gain almost 6,000 vertical feet, your legs, lungs, heart and mind will be worn to a ragged nothingness. But it won’t be until your last three miles, with still over 2,000' of vertical to go, that you will realize where the Marathon got its moniker—America’s Ultimate Challenge.

There’s a reason trees don’t bother growing above 12,000' on Pikes Peak. They can’t! Makes one wonder if trees are smarter than runners. Above treeline most runners take 30 minutes or more, some much more, just to cover a mile. What little air remains can’t satisfy the endless stream of zombies hoping only to survive their next step—a death march right out of a scene from Dawn of the Dead. Adding insult to injury, it might start to snow!

Then, if you are on the deluxe tour, you run back down for the second half of the Marathon. Along the way protruding rocks are waiting to send you crashing to the ground mangling flesh and only temporarily masking the pain of blood filled blisters. Meanwhile, the temperature has often risen by more than 30 degrees since the race start.