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Posted by Joe Grant on Jun 15, 2011 in Blog | 6 comments
Somehow
Nick Clark convinced me to go run 30 miles on the road on Saturday. Well, he didn’t do much convincing rather he simply stated that he wanted to, “1. run 2. avoid significant snow. 3. get up high.” In that respect, running the civilized route up Mt. Evans, America’s highest paved road, makes a lot of sense. In practice though, while you are running, avoiding significant snow and getting up high, it’s hard not to curse whoever built the road for taking the most ridiculously circuitous route up the hill. They certainly didn’t consult with
JV otherwise the road would have been closer to 4 miles long instead of the interminable 14 from the ranger station.
Pete came down with Nick from Fort Collins while
Scott and
Jlu met us directly at the Echo Lake parking lot. I left my jacket, bottle and gels in the car planning to pick everything up at the turn around on the summit where we'd be meeting Jlu. I figured it would only be about a couple of hours or so of running to the top so I'd be fine with our halfway makeshift aid station but I hadn't anticipated just how cold the ascent would be. Every other turn, we’d get blasted by a strong head wind and it felt like the skin, blood and bones in my arms were fusing together into solid ice blocks. Most of the time, even when the wind subsided and despite going up such a shallow grade, I had the sensation of running in place, my effort restricted by the thin air.
Photo: Jlu
Nick had kicked it up a notch and was out ahead while Scott and Pete were a couple minutes back, leaving me in the middle, alone with my thoughts. The main thing I was thinking was that I had just about had enough of running up this bloody road and so, without a moments hesitation, as I passed Summit Lake, I continued straight up the talus field to the summit cutting off the last four miles or so of pavement. I was happy to hit the dirt, happy to get to the top but then spent the next half hour huddled by the bathrooms out of the wind waiting for the crew to rally.
When everyone got there we spent a minute warming up in the car, sucking down gels and taking photos on the summit before beginning the long 15 mile downhill back to the start. I spent most of the descent chatting to Nick in what he referred to as my ”Eddie Izzard voice,” a combination of theatrical delirium most likely linked to the lack of oxygen and the Brit in me brought back by the presence of a fellow countryman. We all hung out at the lake at the end enjoying the sunshine before setting off with pounded legs but happy nonetheless to have gotten another early 14er in for the season.
Great shots and post but I'm confused, are you English? I always thought you were French 🙂 Keep up the great work and hope trainign is going well.
Thanks, Malcolm! It is a little confusing…I was born in England, moved to France when I was 6, went to school there through college and then moved to the states after that for a lady 🙂 I've lived in a lot of places but the longest I've spent anywhere was in France.
Real spectacular colour shots and nice writeup – but…. you've been there before without enough kit…
verb. sap.
Gramps
Ah, the things we do for ladies eh 🙂 Cool, you're a wanderer, a bit like myself. Aiming to head down to Chamonix for a break for the UTMB so hopefully catch you there and if you are anyone need any help etc then no probs. Latest photos are super too.
Hey Joe,
Just wanted to pick your brain about shoes: What are your impressions of the adidas rockets? How many miles did you get out of them and are they durable enough to be full time trainers? Also what kind of shoes are you wearing during this run? What are some of all-time favorite shoes?
Hank – I really like the Rockets. The main thing I like about them is the foam in the midsole. It's firm and super responsive and doesn't lose much of it's sharpness over time. It's low to the ground and very stable and also surprisingly protective on rocky terrain. I mainly use them on dry trails but find they work reasonably well when conditions get ugly despite having virtually no traction. In terms of durability, it really depends what type of terrain you're running. They get pretty worked in the mountains cause they're a road flat and I usually blow out the uppers fairly quickly. If I stick to pretty smooth terrain though I can easily get 500 miles on a pair. The Adios lasts longer I find but has a quite a bit more heel so I don't like them as much.
On Evans, I was running in the NB road minimus. It's a comfy shoe for cruising around on the roads or for recovery runs. In training, I'll running in pretty much anything as long as they're not too built up but that doesn't necessarily mean I love the shoe. The NB 110s, released next year, are going to be pretty amazing.