Now This is Racing; Threepeat at Imogene

I'll admit that strategy in racing has never been my strong point. I've come to realize that it is one of those things that evolves with time; trial and error and learning from mistakes. They say the definition of insanity is repeating the same mistake over and over and expecting different results each time. Well I'm happy to say that Imogene Pass Run this year was a turning point for me and proved that maybe I'm not insane.


After 12 days straight of work (lots of over time!) I was more than ready for Imogene, if nothing else for a mental break, destressing through physical exertion. Not knowing what my competition would be my plan was to relax and enjoy the commradery but still put forth a solid effort. After the gun I resisted the urge to attack the first climb with the guys and settled into a steady pace that I knew would be maintainable. Within the first mile though an unidentified female blew by me and took the lead. In the past I would have thrown it into overdrive and outright raced her, knowing I would blow up sooner or later, most likely settling for second place. Instead I decided to match her pace and keep her in sight, with the hopes she would herself blow up, it can be very stressful to be in the lead. She never slowed and in fact sped up. I watch as she passed guys left and right and then passed over the summit. At the summit I decided it was now or never, this was my chance. I let gravity do its job, successfully recovering from near falls here and there, and took the lead with about four miles to go. If there is one thing I've gained from snowshoeing it is the art of descending; and fast.

At the finish line I was excited to learn that the female that so impressed me was Stevie Kremer from Crested Butte. Gunnison and CB seem to represent well at this race...something in the air. Great job to Stevie's stellar climb up Imogene!!

Anyways I got to eat La Concina and spend some time with my mom, sister, and aunt; which made the weekend perfect. Oh and I did race on Friday as well. A series of smaller bike races against my awesome, 9 year old cousin. All I can say is the athletic world better watch out for him! Best of all he asked me Friday night as I collapsed from exhaustion "if you're a runner how come you are tired before I am?"

And the Winner Is...

I can't believe it has been over two weeks since Pikes Peak. Where has the summer gone? It always goes this way though, I wait all winter for summer to come and the next thing I know it's Fall again...and then it snows. But maybe it will be different this year since I will be in Canyonlands. So, up next is Imogene Pass Run. I LOVE this race. I suppose that is why I keep coming back to it, or maybe it is the ultimate post race pig out at La Concina de Luz, my all time favorite resturaunt. After eating my own cooking all summer I can hardly wait!

I haven't run much since Pikes, what I have been doing is backpacking. There is nothing quite like backpacking in the canyons, its like doing a 1,000 one leg squats with a 50 pound weight on your back. And then there is the sand and this year, quicksand. Alot like snow, the progress through sand/quicksand is slow and arduous, especially with a pack on. Ofcourse there is nothing like a swarm of blood thirsty, agressive mosiquitos to motivate you, as Brad and I discovered last night. Luckily my pack was about half the weight of his and I was able to somewhat out run the attack.
THE JOINT TRAIL


Which brings me to the winner of the Needles Backpacking Ultimate Challenge of the summer. As the unofficial judge I name Brad the winner with an outstanding 80lb. load carried through 12 miles of flash flooded Salt Creek. In a close second place was Andrew Bliss, who does take the cake for the greatest amount of buckets carried out of Salt Creek. And me in third, which I am content with considering I weigh a significant amount less than Andrew and...well Brad is just an animal there's no denying that. I can still out plank the both of them. I did get word from Tucson that Andrew is being the excellent, studious type now that school is in session. Hope you have a great semester Andrew, we do miss you here!

That's it for now from the Needles...