Co-worker, "You know you can drive up that right."
Dave, "That would be a lot easier wouldn't it."
Co-worker, "Yep."
I am excited and maybe a little scared... not that a mountain really cares. I did in fact register for the Pikes Peak Ascent yesterday. According to their website, Ascent Wave 2's (the slower wave, I didn't qualify for the fast wave) 865 spots filled in 1 hour 7 minutes. They still need to confirm my qualifications (that I did a half marathon in under 2:30), but once that is complete I willl be all set to knock off a couple of things off the list. Pikes Peak Ascent as an event is on the list, as is climbing a 14,000 ft mountain. If I don't get up a 14,000 foot peak before August 16, I will just have to kill two items off the list with one "run." Pikes Peak's summit is at the elevation of 14,115'.
I will post more info on this as my training continues, but the more I read about it, the more I get a little "concerned" with what I am getting into.
From their website:
The Pikes Peak Ascent® 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 it 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!
Great.
Well I have decided I need to keep challanging myself, this should be a good start.
I got the night off of working out. Joined my good friend Meghan Robb for dinner. Meghan is getting back into triathlons after a few years off. A natural swimmer, she is considering ESCAPE FROM THE ROCK Triathlon this summer. Could be a really cool event!
