Mt. Evans Ascent, 6/14

What a fun day on Mt. Evans! I ran this race for the first time last year (2013), and absolutely loved it. I'm going to try and continue running this race every year. Make it a tradition, so to say! The Mt. Evans Ascent is a 14.5 mile road race up the road to the summit of Mt. Evans (14,264ft). You gain almost 4,000 ft in elevation, and sometimes you get some nasty weather the last few miles at the top (in this year's case- nasty wind!).

Left the house at around 5am, a little early so we'd have time to stop for coffee. Before almost all of my races, I like to sip on black coffee on my drive to the race. Gets me going! Got to the race at 6:30am for packet pickup, and was ready to go at 7am. 

The first 3 miles are always the hardest for me. I seem to get stronger the further into the race I get. I've never been the runner to take off from the start line! 

Treeline is around mile 4, and I started to feel better around then. I'd gotten into a good rhythm and the weather was still cooperating. I still didn't feel my best, so I grabbed some coke and downed some sport beans at the mile 6 aid station, and felt better from miles 7-9. 

Mile 9 marked summit lake, and I was well underneath the cut-off time of 2 hr. 30 min. Here is where the winds started picking up! The last 4-5 miles to the summit are already harder due to altitude, and today I got wind mixed into the equation! There were times I had to lean into the wind, or brace myself from side gusts. It definitely drained my fuel tank and made me work just that much harder for the summit.

Finished with a 3:37, which I'll take. I remind myself I'm using these races as training, and not placings.  Ended up 3rd out of 7. I am very pleased with my effort and will continue resting up for my trip to Kilimanjaro and the Leadville 50.

Love the finisher shirts and medal! 

“If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.” -- Thomas Jefferson