Bill Beagle's Posts - Pikes Peak Sports2024-03-28T18:42:25ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeaglehttp://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2797453774?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://pikespeaksports.us/profiles/blog/feed?user=331uhv4taw3pe&xn_auth=noTaperitag:pikespeaksports.us,2014-08-14:5021591:BlogPost:5843952014-08-14T02:46:55.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p>In keeping with my tapering, I'm shortening the length of my bl</p>
<p>In keeping with my tapering, I'm shortening the length of my bl</p>Taper Wormtag:pikespeaksports.us,2014-08-13:5021591:BlogPost:5844892014-08-13T13:35:53.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
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<p>As part of my rigorous (some might say rigor mortis) training regimen, I am now tapering in order to rest my feeble body and store up whatever energy I might be able to save. The total training regiment also calls for tapering the blog so my blog posts will be getting shorter and shor....</p>
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<p>As part of my rigorous (some might say rigor mortis) training regimen, I am now tapering in order to rest my feeble body and store up whatever energy I might be able to save. The total training regiment also calls for tapering the blog so my blog posts will be getting shorter and shor....</p>Giving the Ascent the Fingerstag:pikespeaksports.us,2014-08-12:5021591:BlogPost:5836962014-08-12T18:47:45.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p>Looking forward to teammate Mary Baldwin sharing her purple and gold nail polish with the rest of the team before the big event on Saturday. As far as i can tell, my two other male teammates are also in touch with their feminine side so we should have a complete, team effort, all 7 of us (The Magnificent Seven) pointing the way to the top with glittering digits. Purple & Gold - For Honor and Glory!</p>
<p>Looking forward to teammate Mary Baldwin sharing her purple and gold nail polish with the rest of the team before the big event on Saturday. As far as i can tell, my two other male teammates are also in touch with their feminine side so we should have a complete, team effort, all 7 of us (The Magnificent Seven) pointing the way to the top with glittering digits. Purple & Gold - For Honor and Glory!</p>Bright Ideas - Part 7tag:pikespeaksports.us,2014-08-12:5021591:BlogPost:5840392014-08-12T18:00:00.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
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<p><span>Since my good friend Tom had expressed an interest in getting some elevation at least one more time before he did the Ascent, I shot him an e-mail asking if he wanted to go to the summit and do an A Frame and back. He responded with a phone call. “Better idea,” sez he. “Let’s go do the Democrat group and we can spend more time above 13,800." Splendid. Capital idea. As Bill Murray said in Ghostbusters, “I’m excited about this plan, I’m glad to be a part of it.”…</span></p>
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<p><span>Since my good friend Tom had expressed an interest in getting some elevation at least one more time before he did the Ascent, I shot him an e-mail asking if he wanted to go to the summit and do an A Frame and back. He responded with a phone call. “Better idea,” sez he. “Let’s go do the Democrat group and we can spend more time above 13,800." Splendid. Capital idea. As Bill Murray said in Ghostbusters, “I’m excited about this plan, I’m glad to be a part of it.” For the uninitiated, this group of 14ers includes Democrat, Lincoln, Bross (“closed” because it’s on private property) and Cameron (not officially recognized, kind of like the former planet Pluto). The weather forecast is a bit iffy and nothing but a bit ambiguous. “Little or no snow accumulation,” it reads. Good because I’m not taking spikes. The sky is less than promising as we start out but the temperature is cool enough that I’m not too worried about lightning since it’s the real hot mornings that spawn volatile weather. Besides the forecast had read “some thunder,” with no mention of lightning. We begin at a brisk walk but I am soon left in Tom’s vapor trail as he jets to the top of Democrat in just 58 minutes (you start around 12,000 so it’s like climbing the Incline). Long story short, he hit all four peaks and caught me just before I finished my two-fer and was on the way back to the car. Coming off Democrat I hustled up to Cameron’s nondescript (there isn’t even a sign atop) summit. The wind was picking up, the temperature was dropping and clouds were rushing up from BELOW (a very cool effect indeed). Got the hood up on the rain jacket and was started down as it started to rain. The precipitation quickly turned to grapple or sneet or snow or sleet, whatever you’d care to call it, pelting at a 45 degree angle. I encountered a half dozen people just standing on the ridge and was obviously mistaken for someone else. “You’re an experienced guy,” says one of the older members of the party, “what would you do?”</span></p>
<p><span>“I’m going down,” I said emphatically just as the first thunder rolled behind us. Thankfully there was no lightning, just some rumbling. Of course in typical Colorado fashion it was blue sky and sunshine about 15 minutes later. Still, a good workout and for those training for future Ascents (I would hope you’re tapering by now) the Democrat group (often referred to as Decalibron) IS a great place to train. Once you get up on Cameron there is plenty of reasonably flat terrain to jog on heading over to Lincoln and then on to Bross. Tom did not descend Bross but returned to Cameron and down. This group also frames one of the prettiest basins you’ll ever see, home to Kite Lake and on the way up to Cameron and above you get a great view of the kite shape. The whole trip around the peaks had taken Tom less than four hours and probably covered about 7 miles. Photo is from the summit of Democrat looking north.<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806515272?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806515272?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-center"/></a></span></p>Stand UP!tag:pikespeaksports.us,2014-08-06:5021591:BlogPost:5833042014-08-06T20:48:23.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
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<p><span>I’ve always had lousy posture, even standing still. Jogging up hills I find myself really leaning into the hill, bent at the hips. Not good. So I work on this constantly.</span></p>
<p><span>I work on keeping my head up. It only makes sense to keep your airway as open as possible right? I also try to throw my shoulders back, push them back, whatever it takes. I’m not a physiologist but it only makes sense that you give your lungs as much room to work efficiently as…</span></p>
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<p><span>I’ve always had lousy posture, even standing still. Jogging up hills I find myself really leaning into the hill, bent at the hips. Not good. So I work on this constantly.</span></p>
<p><span>I work on keeping my head up. It only makes sense to keep your airway as open as possible right? I also try to throw my shoulders back, push them back, whatever it takes. I’m not a physiologist but it only makes sense that you give your lungs as much room to work efficiently as possible right? Another peculiarity I have (among many) is hunching my shoulders. I’ve noticed it just down-climbing a trail, even if that trail isn’t especially steep. I’ll suddenly catch myself with my shoulders all bunched up. On occasion, the most ried muscles I have the day after a climb or jog are in my shoulders. What’s up with that anyway? To combat this bad habit, I’ve tried lowering my hands to hip level as I jog, instead of carrying them higher. Speaking of hand position and arm swing as you run, here’s a tip for the ladies. Not to be sexist, merely an observation, something women seem to do more than men. Often I’ve been able to discern the gender of a runner approaching me from a quarter mile away, just by their movement. I call it the washing machine. Picture the movement of the agitator in a washing machine, back and forth, back and forth, the machine sometimes moving from side to side I see the same wasted motion in beginning skiers. Some runners move with their arms swaying from side to side, as if they were snapping their fingers to some calypso beat. This is really inefficient. As Danny Dreyer suggests in his book “Chi Running,” pushing the elbows straight back helps create a little forward momentum. “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction,” right? It may be a slight advantage but it’s something. So if, during the Ascent, if you should pass me and I’m all hunched over, please, feel free to scream in my ear “Stand up straight!”</span></p>
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<p><span>I started hearing it a few weeks ago. An incessant, gradual, then rapidly accelerating ticking. Worse than Captain Hook’s croc tracking him. That nagging, nauseating feeling that time was slipping away. Like many things in life you can’t expect to put off training for a long run until the last few ticks of the clock and expect to get the job done. So July 22 I drove to the summit of Pikes with teammate Shelley Hitz. We jogged down to the A Frame at treeline and back up, a six…</span></p>
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<p><span>I started hearing it a few weeks ago. An incessant, gradual, then rapidly accelerating ticking. Worse than Captain Hook’s croc tracking him. That nagging, nauseating feeling that time was slipping away. Like many things in life you can’t expect to put off training for a long run until the last few ticks of the clock and expect to get the job done. So July 22 I drove to the summit of Pikes with teammate Shelley Hitz. We jogged down to the A Frame at treeline and back up, a six mile roundtrip. I was pleased that I made the return trip up the mountain in 1 hour, 21 minutes but as teammate Shelley pointed out, we had merely jogged down 3 miles and then 3 back up. The reality is that on the day of the Ascent, one’s legs will have already covered 10 miles UPhill by the time you reach treeline and THEN you’ll have to do those last 3 miles with the air getting thinner and thinner with each step. On Sunday, August 3, I rose at 3:45 a.m. which is a chore in itself. Then, over a bowl of cereal, packing up a few last items and driving to Manitou, the voice of inertia is yapping in my ear, “Y’know you could just go to Barr Camp and back. You could maybe just run up Ruxton and see how far you can go, maybe just a few miles up the Barr Trail. You COULD just turn around right now, go home, back to bed and take a short run later or none at all. After all, it’s Sunday, a day of rest. Then you slip on the pack and briskly walk through a silent, mellow Manitou, the only person on the street. You can hear one of the mineral water fountains nearly a block away it’s so quiet. You start climbing the Barr Trail, check the eastern sky and admire it’s rosy glow above the twinkling lights of the city. You start meeting a few other people on the trail and remember that that is just one enjoyable element that makes endeavors like this worthwhile. Some people are hiking but there are many others training for the Ascent and the Marathon. One young lady passes me and we exchange pleasantries. She asks (I have no idea why) if I’m a member of the PikesPeakSports.us Triple Crown Runners. “Why, yes,” I respond with some surprise. She tells me she was on the 2013 team. Another member of the Purple and Gold Nation! It was Megan Kunkel, who doubled in the past, running the Ascent AND the Marathon on back to back days. She tells me she is planning on doing it again this year. “Funny,” I think, “She APPEARS to be of sound mind.” If you’ve never met Megan, she is a pixie. And she’s doubling. Do I feel like a lesser human? Well, yeah. I see other people that I know along the way and at the summit, including current teammate Bubba Chavez. All of the trepidation, doubt and hesitancy I felt hours ago in the pre-dawn darkness have dissipated much as the darkness gave way to the sun under another brilliant Colorado sky. The temperature is cool, perfect for such a strenuous journey. We should be so lucky on the weekend of the Ascent and Marathon. In short, it didn’t take long on this day to remember why I indulge in such craziness. It’s the people you meet, the sights you see, the serenity of being all alone (hard to believe) on the Barr Trail for up to 30 minutes or more at a time. I am so thankful to be able to do this so it seems like a good time to give props to our team’s sponsors, Mountain Equipment Recyclers and Orange Theory and also to the good folks who make the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon such an enjoyable experience.</span></p>
<p><span>Just received my bib number: 1706....the year I was born! What a coincidence!</span></p>
<div><span> </span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806515652?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806515652?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a></div>Barr Nonetag:pikespeaksports.us,2014-07-22:5021591:BlogPost:5799382014-07-22T04:56:52.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p>So on Saturday, 7/19 I ran up the Barr Trail for the first time in a long while...just a couple of miles due to time restrictions but enough to inform me that I am woefully under-prepared for the Ascent. Let me just say that I'm glad they keep a light on all night at the visitors' center so I'll be able to find my way to the finish. I was thinking of incorporating some of teammate Sean O'Day's suggested Lactate Threshold training into my regimen but I think I'm lactate intolerant. Besides I…</p>
<p>So on Saturday, 7/19 I ran up the Barr Trail for the first time in a long while...just a couple of miles due to time restrictions but enough to inform me that I am woefully under-prepared for the Ascent. Let me just say that I'm glad they keep a light on all night at the visitors' center so I'll be able to find my way to the finish. I was thinking of incorporating some of teammate Sean O'Day's suggested Lactate Threshold training into my regimen but I think I'm lactate intolerant. Besides I don't really have a regimen...that would be too disciplined. For anyone doing the Ascent for the first time, I highly recommend reading the Pikes Peak Marathon book authored by Harald Fricker. It's an entertaining and very worthwhile read. Here's how you can find it:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pikespeakmarathon.org/order.htm">http://www.pikespeakmarathon.org/order.htm</a></p>
<p>Of course, after reading it you may have even more doubts about your sanity but always remember, you're not alone. Far from it.</p>Getting Servicedtag:pikespeaksports.us,2014-07-13:5021591:BlogPost:5767562014-07-13T20:37:01.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p><span>At the Church of the Hidden Root. There is no greater soul-cleansing on a Sunday morning than an 8.5 mile run. Did repeats on the service road (pictured here) at Spruce Mountain. Can’t claim to know exactly how the clinometer app on my phone works but I measured this road at a grade of about 23% at one of its steepest parts. I do know that it’s a half mile long. With the repeats it was a nice, 2-hour workout. I ran comfortably in the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Summer Roundup…</span></p>
<p><span>At the Church of the Hidden Root. There is no greater soul-cleansing on a Sunday morning than an 8.5 mile run. Did repeats on the service road (pictured here) at Spruce Mountain. Can’t claim to know exactly how the clinometer app on my phone works but I measured this road at a grade of about 23% at one of its steepest parts. I do know that it’s a half mile long. With the repeats it was a nice, 2-hour workout. I ran comfortably in the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Summer Roundup (July 6) but experience and humility tells me that I have to get up above 13,000 feet as much as I can in the next few weeks. It’s great to pile up miles but that last 3 miles of the Ascent, above treeline, will test the mettle of the strongest individual.</span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806519966?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806519966?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a></p>Reviewing the Roundup & PRD'stag:pikespeaksports.us,2014-07-11:5021591:BlogPost:5769602014-07-11T03:07:37.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p><span>The highlight of the second leg of the Triple Crown of Running was passing teammate Sean O’Day. This was made possible by virtue of the new course for 2014 which involved an outer and Inner loop. I passed Sean at the merge point of the two loops as he was finishing up the inner or second loop, probably a good 25 minutes ahead of me. It didn’t take him but a few seconds to pass ME but nevertheless I reveled in my fleeting glory. It’s not every day that a plodder such as I gets to enjoy…</span></p>
<p><span>The highlight of the second leg of the Triple Crown of Running was passing teammate Sean O’Day. This was made possible by virtue of the new course for 2014 which involved an outer and Inner loop. I passed Sean at the merge point of the two loops as he was finishing up the inner or second loop, probably a good 25 minutes ahead of me. It didn’t take him but a few seconds to pass ME but nevertheless I reveled in my fleeting glory. It’s not every day that a plodder such as I gets to enjoy the thrill of passing an ultra marathon runner. Yeah, okay, it was a cheap thrill. I did experience a first after the run. For the first time in my life I was called into the doping tent. Apparently they couldn’t believe someone could possibly run that slowly. “Dude,” one said, “when you crossed the chip-tracking mat at the 4-mile mark our counter started to run</span> <span>backward</span><span>!” Or as one of my teammates suggested, “They probably thought you were using Performance REDUCING Drugs.” Now that the suspicion has been raised I feel added pressure to finish the Ascent before nightfall. Good show by teammates, 3 of them winning awards in their age groups. Props to all of you, proud wearers of the Purple and Gold.</span></p>
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<p><span>This year’s attempt to complete the Triple Crown and the Ascent seems snakebitten. Intermittently I’ve lost about two weeks of training due to physical ailments. Now I’m not looking for sympathy because I know there is none to be found, at least not with the crowd I hang with. One of the real joys (not) of aging is the innumerable, inexplicable aches and pains that pop up as in “What did I do to deserve THIS?!” It’s one thing to twist an ankle on a trail and immediately know what’s…</span></p>
<p><span>This year’s attempt to complete the Triple Crown and the Ascent seems snakebitten. Intermittently I’ve lost about two weeks of training due to physical ailments. Now I’m not looking for sympathy because I know there is none to be found, at least not with the crowd I hang with. One of the real joys (not) of aging is the innumerable, inexplicable aches and pains that pop up as in “What did I do to deserve THIS?!” It’s one thing to twist an ankle on a trail and immediately know what’s causing the hurt. It’s another thing entirely to have a good week of training, feeling good about your running only to have your knee announce to you, on a Friday night, that it’s not happy. Just a little soreness mind you so I rose at 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 22 because I had a long hike planned and was eager to see if I could do that kind of distance. So thanks to a very patient (might I also add younger, a LOT younger) companion who knew the way, I hiked up North Cheyenne Canon to the summit of Almagre (12,367 feet), my first serious elevation gain of 2014. Almagre offers a great view of the south side of Pikes Peak, which, of course, serves as a reminder to the lungs that they’ll have another 1,648 feet of elly to gain during the Ascent. The roundtrip excursion to Almagre amounted to a little more than 22 miles, a good day’s work and good prep for the next two legs of the Triple Crown. As many of you know all too well and in the words of Tom Petty, “Coming down, is the hardest thing.” Since it was downhill I had foolishly entertained a faint hope of keeping up with my younger hiking partner. Ha! That silly notion quickly evaporated on the steeper sections as my knees warned me that, if I pushed them too hard, they would abandon me altogether. Young at heart, young in mind and spirit but the body reveals the stark truth of so many miles on a system not designed for long-term abuse. Or in the words of Little Feat (Old Folks Boogie) “You know, that you’re over the hill when your mind makes a promise that your body can’t fill.” Amen. It seems that I read or heard, a long time ago, that the knee is “the poorest designed joint on the human body.” I played a lot of pick-up basketball, maybe as much as three decades worth. All that racing to keep up with the faster players, the abrupt stopping and starting as they were already headed back in the other direction and those high-flying layups I attempted, coming down hard from the apogee of my six-inch vertical leap, all that certainly took a toll on my knees. As I said, however, I don’t seek sympathy no more than I seek personal glory. PRs and age group medals aren’t even remote fantasies. I’m out there just to see how much more abuse this old chassis can take, for the sheer joy of being outdoors, testing one’s mettle, sharing the experience with fun people and the vain attempt to “stay young.” I go at my own, comfortable pace. When I finish, I finish. If nothing else maybe I can be the poster boy for the mudders and pluggers of the world, an example that one should never say never, never say die, just go until you drop or come screeching into that final finish line in a battered, well-worn body. Carpe Diem!</span></p>The Power of P&Gtag:pikespeaksports.us,2014-07-01:5021591:BlogPost:5720772014-07-01T02:30:00.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806509101?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806509101?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a> I knew it was going to be hot Sunday morning especially since I allowed myself to sleep in and knowing I was going to tack on the lollipop loop at Spruce Mountain for a planned outing of six miles. So I thought, this would be a good time to bring out the singlet for comfort, style and to promote the great Triple Crown of Running. Well, I had no idea the experience that…</span></p>
<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806509101?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806509101?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-center"/></a>I knew it was going to be hot Sunday morning especially since I allowed myself to sleep in and knowing I was going to tack on the lollipop loop at Spruce Mountain for a planned outing of six miles. So I thought, this would be a good time to bring out the singlet for comfort, style and to promote the great Triple Crown of Running. Well, I had no idea the experience that awaited. With the sun blazing off that golden singlet, birds and butterflies followed me everywhere, flocking around me. The hummingbirds hummed a happier tune. Two deer stopped and stared at me with that “Deer caught in the glare of the purple and gold glory” look. I thought I was in a scene from “Bambi” or “Snow White.” It took me six hours to run six miles because people kept stopping me to take my picture. Each one had the same question: “Where DID you get that smashing singlet?” (Yes, they were all British as well.) It was a good day. Everyone I met was green with envy of the Purple & Gold.</span></p>Roundup Tune-uptag:pikespeaksports.us,2014-06-23:5021591:BlogPost:5695592014-06-23T14:40:12.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p><span>One thing the June 8, 10-mile run in the Garden of the Gods proved to me is that I have a lot of work to do before the Ascent. The Ascent is 3.2 miles farther. And there are a few more hills involved. Looming like those hills is the second leg of the Triple Crown, the 12K (7.8 miles) Summer Roundup at Bear Creek Park. While preparing for the Roundup two years ago I devised a route that proved to be a pretty good training run for this particular event. I only did it once but it helped.…</span></p>
<p><span>One thing the June 8, 10-mile run in the Garden of the Gods proved to me is that I have a lot of work to do before the Ascent. The Ascent is 3.2 miles farther. And there are a few more hills involved. Looming like those hills is the second leg of the Triple Crown, the 12K (7.8 miles) Summer Roundup at Bear Creek Park. While preparing for the Roundup two years ago I devised a route that proved to be a pretty good training run for this particular event. I only did it once but it helped. I parked along Mt. Herman Road and jogged about 3 miles, on a steady climb, to a trailhead that provides access to the summit of Mt. Herman (9,000 ft.). On the climb to the summit you gain about 900 feet of elevation in roughly a mile. You’re rewarded with some great views (on a good day you can see Denver) that you should enjoy before heading back down. Completing the roundtrip, you’ve done about 8 miles which is a little more than the Summer Roundup, so this is a pretty good test drive. To get there: Take Exit 161 off I-25, make a left onto Route 105 and just head west. Do not turn when 105 makes a right turn toward Palmer Lake but continue straight on Second Street through Monument until this route ends at a stop sign after crossing some railroad tracks. Make a left at the stop sign and go about a mile and make a right onto Mt. Herman Road. Continue up the road and pass the main parking lot for Monument Preserve on your left. About a quarter mile or so up the road, just after the road transitions from pavement to dirt, you’ll see a Forest Service road on your left. Go past that and 30 yards up on your right you’ll see a pull-out big enough to park about 5 or 6 cars. Park there and begin your run up the road. After about 3 miles you’ll find the easily recognizable TH for Mt. Herman. Don’t make the mistakes I did (starting to late in the morning and taking only one water bottle) and get an early start because it will get warm and there is not much shade along the road on your way back down. Enjoy!</span></p>
<p></p>Survivortag:pikespeaksports.us,2014-06-11:5021591:BlogPost:5655212014-06-11T03:26:16.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
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<p>So I made it through the Garden of the Gods 10-miler with virtually no damage to the old machine. The distance doesn’t bother me, the hills don’t bother me. It’s the pavement. About 3 weeks before this run I came down with some painful achilles tendinitis (self-diagnosis) after running 7 miles of this course so I assiduously stayed away from it until the day of the run. It is a beautiful run to be sure but the surface is brutal for a bod with as many miles on it as…</p>
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<p>So I made it through the Garden of the Gods 10-miler with virtually no damage to the old machine. The distance doesn’t bother me, the hills don’t bother me. It’s the pavement. About 3 weeks before this run I came down with some painful achilles tendinitis (self-diagnosis) after running 7 miles of this course so I assiduously stayed away from it until the day of the run. It is a beautiful run to be sure but the surface is brutal for a bod with as many miles on it as mine. I ran my pace, I was comfortable, I had a good time. However it is a bit embarrassing when the motorcycle cops, sweeping the course, are right on your tail. Then you know you’re pretty much in the end of the pack. One of them even barked “Move along sir, nothing to see here,” an indication that I was moving so slowly I looked like a curiosity seeker at a crime scene rather than a “runner.” If you’re someone who has never run this course and are considering doing so in the future or if you just ran it and thought it was really tough, I’ll say it again, train on hills, LOTS of hills. Steep hills. As previously stated here, I don’t run hills just for endurance, I run them, in large part, for perspective. If you train on steep terrain, I guaran-darn-tee ya that you’ll be able to handle anything the Garden throws at you. Two days after this run I took a leisurely jog around my 3 mile neighborhood loop and the hills didn’t seem bad at all after my jaunt through the Garden. It’s all a matter of perspective. No my PPSTCR teammates and I set our sights on the Summer Roundup 12K run on Sunday, July 6. In one way this is a tougher course than the Garden because the first half of this out and back course is almost entirely uphill. Blessedly, for me, most of it is on dirt. So, hit those hills. Work ‘em hard. Then when you’re plowing up through Bear Creek Park and High Drive you can tell yourself, “It’s not as bad as what I’ve trained on.” Or am I the only one with voices in my head when I’m running?</p>All Spruced Uptag:pikespeaksports.us,2014-06-06:5021591:BlogPost:5632512014-06-06T04:53:03.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p>Unlike my previous Triple Crown adventure (2012) I've only taken one practice run in the Garden of the Gods this time around. Call it self-preservation. I know the course well enough and my knees won out over familiarizing myself with a course I already know, choosing softer trails instead. Still, I wanted to get in at least one 10-mile run before the Garden event June 8. So a little over a week ago I went to my favorite trail and did two trips around Spruce Mountain for a little over 10…</p>
<p>Unlike my previous Triple Crown adventure (2012) I've only taken one practice run in the Garden of the Gods this time around. Call it self-preservation. I know the course well enough and my knees won out over familiarizing myself with a course I already know, choosing softer trails instead. Still, I wanted to get in at least one 10-mile run before the Garden event June 8. So a little over a week ago I went to my favorite trail and did two trips around Spruce Mountain for a little over 10 miles and my body didn't object so I guess I'm good to go. Since then I've been "tapering." Best of luck to the rest of my Purple and Gold teammates on the pikespeaksports.us Triple Crown Runners! Don't feel obligated to wait around for me at the finish line...you might miss lunch.<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806507910?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806507910?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a></p>A Keg to Stand Ontag:pikespeaksports.us,2014-06-02:5021591:BlogPost:5616082014-06-02T03:35:50.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
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<p><span>So another PPSTCR alum, Don Solberg, my teammate in 2012, told me I had to blog about my personal best in this year’s Bolder Boulder. Actually it was a personal first.</span></p>
<p><span>After running the BB in 2012 and having passed up the offer of free beer along the route (for those who have never run in this event, you may also find pancakes and popsicles offered along the way by generous residents in the many neighborhoods you pass through), I…</span></p>
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<p><span>So another PPSTCR alum, Don Solberg, my teammate in 2012, told me I had to blog about my personal best in this year’s Bolder Boulder. Actually it was a personal first.</span></p>
<p><span>After running the BB in 2012 and having passed up the offer of free beer along the route (for those who have never run in this event, you may also find pancakes and popsicles offered along the way by generous residents in the many neighborhoods you pass through), I decided not to make the same mistake two years in a row. So I did my first keg stand just a little over a mile into the run. Now it is pretty embarrassing for a graduate of Ohio University to admit it took this long to accomplish such a feat but...that’s just the way it is. Apologies to my fellow Bobcats. Some people might consider such behavior rash, unhealthy or detrimental to one’s overall finishing position. Sorry but the BB is all about having a <i>fun</i> time, not a respectable time. If anything, I believe I had more energy following this infusion of hops and grains. The only noticeable side effect was one slight beer burp and only one (I know, TMI). I was following the excellent example set by another 2012 teammate and two-time PPSTCR rock star, John (JT) Teishter. I figured that anyone who has finished 3, yes THREE, Hardrock runs (arguably the hardest ultra in Colorado if not the nation) should know something about refueling. Lastly but certainly not least, I was also inspired by the pictures my current PPSTCR teammate Bubba Chavez had shown me, evidence of his most excellent keg stands during the 2013 BB. I must say I didn’t come close to Bubba’s form but will work on that in my future running endeavors. The BB is a reasonable tune-up for the first run in the Triple Crown series, the Garden of the Gods 10-miler, although the BB is almost 4 miles shorter and does not have hills as long or as steep as the Garden. In Boulder you top out at 5,391 feet at the highest point in the course, which is nothing for the leather-lunged freaks that live above 6K. Still, like the Garden, the BB is run all on pavement so in that regard it approximates the only run in the TC series that is not run on any trails. The keg visit was also somewhat of an approximation, since, according to local lore, the Garden took its name from a comment made by one of two-surveyors long ago. Upon seeing the area for the first time, one surveyor allegedly said to the other, “This would be an ideal place for a beer garden, a garden fit for the gods.” Or something like that. Bottoms up!</span></p>
<div><span> </span></div>Vertical Vernaculartag:pikespeaksports.us,2014-05-30:5021591:BlogPost:5609912014-05-30T04:42:27.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
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<p><span>Oh, did I say I was running hills in training? heh, heh. Oh, no. No, no, no. Not in the slightest. Wherever did you get that idea?</span></p>
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<p><span>When I was training for my first Ascent (2012), I lost count of how many people told me, “Work on your speed walking, because you’re not going to run the Ascent.”</span></p>
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<p><span>Words of wisdom to be sure. For one thing, unless you’re one of the real fast dogs up front, when you get to the spur trail at the…</span></p>
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<p><span>Oh, did I say I was running hills in training? heh, heh. Oh, no. No, no, no. Not in the slightest. Wherever did you get that idea?</span></p>
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<p><span>When I was training for my first Ascent (2012), I lost count of how many people told me, “Work on your speed walking, because you’re not going to run the Ascent.”</span></p>
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<p><span>Words of wisdom to be sure. For one thing, unless you’re one of the real fast dogs up front, when you get to the spur trail at the end of Ruxton and then on to the Barr Trail, the path is narrow and congested. If you get impatient with the pace, it’s your choice and your decision, i.e. how much energy are you willing to expend at this point to pass people. Passing is not easy and the W’s (the many switchbacks in this stage) are steep. The energy you spend passing people could mean less in your tank when you get to treeline and for those of you who have never hiked to the top of Pikes Peak, 3 miles above treeline will test your mettle. Up there breathing becomes more labored and the mile from marker 3 to mile marker 2 may seem like a day hike in itself. </span></p>
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<p><span>Local Olympic speed walker Carl Scheuler tried it both ways in two consecutive years. One Ascent he ran, the other he speed-walked and the difference in time, for him, was only about 4 minutes or so as I recollect. </span></p>
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<p><span>I don’t train on hills solely for endurance and strength but also for perspective.</span></p>
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<p><span>When you train on really tough hills, then anything you encounter in your races will seem more bearable. That may seem obvious but the same holds true for an entire course. If you’re training course or courses are more rigorous than the course you’ll be running in an organized event, well, for me at least, it’s a psychological boost. I’ll tell myself (and I do talk to myself a lot, especially when jogging) that a hill on a race course “isn’t as bad as such and such hill,” recalling some of my more favorite, punishing hills.</span></p>
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<p><span>Also, as I was working out the other day I was reminded of the Hall of Fame basketball player Bill Russel (What else do you have to do while you run besides think?).</span></p>
<p><span>Russel, known for his intense defensive efforts, said a player should never rest on defense. If you’re going to take a breather on the hardwood, take it on offense. I believe the same holds true for hills. Go hard on the hills, attack them. You can rest, if you like, on the other side, on the downhill. When you work on a hill you get it over with faster and who wants to make any slope seem longer than it already is?</span></p>
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<p><span>With the Garden of the Gods 10-miler looming on June 8, run some steeps and those long but gradual pulls in the Garden won’t feel so bad when you’re on them.</span></p>LRBtag:pikespeaksports.us,2014-05-16:5021591:BlogPost:5588362014-05-16T04:59:13.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p>Since the crowning achievement of the Triple Crown is climbing a mountain, it is only fitting and proper to include hills in one's training is it not? So let me introduce you to one of my favorite little places of pain, a little something I call "LRB." It's located in Fox Run Regional Park and comes about 2.5 miles into a 3 mile loop (in the direction I run it). Attaching a video and some pictures (in photos) for your consideration.…</p>
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<p>Since the crowning achievement of the Triple Crown is climbing a mountain, it is only fitting and proper to include hills in one's training is it not? So let me introduce you to one of my favorite little places of pain, a little something I call "LRB." It's located in Fox Run Regional Park and comes about 2.5 miles into a 3 mile loop (in the direction I run it). Attaching a video and some pictures (in photos) for your consideration.</p>
<p><a href="http://youtu.be/3abGiduBpsY">http://youtu.be/3abGiduBpsY</a></p>
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<p></p>Gardeningtag:pikespeaksports.us,2014-05-09:5021591:BlogPost:5579362014-05-09T02:41:05.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p>Prior to 2012 I had never run more than 7 miles so the first leg of the Triple Crown, the Garden of the Gods 10-miler would be my longest run ever. Fortunately my good friend and regular jogging partner, a Triple Crown winner in his age group, trained me very well. Our first time out we did about 7 miles of the 10-mile course. The next time we did another 7-miles that included the portion of the course we had not run the first time. By the third time I was ready for the entire 10-mile…</p>
<p>Prior to 2012 I had never run more than 7 miles so the first leg of the Triple Crown, the Garden of the Gods 10-miler would be my longest run ever. Fortunately my good friend and regular jogging partner, a Triple Crown winner in his age group, trained me very well. Our first time out we did about 7 miles of the 10-mile course. The next time we did another 7-miles that included the portion of the course we had not run the first time. By the third time I was ready for the entire 10-mile course. I would run it three times in its entirety prior to race day and I concur with my teammate Shelley Hitz, knowing the course very well is a big advantage. First of all there are no surprises, i.e. "OMG, <em>another</em> hill! It helps you pace so that you really know when and where you're going to gear down and grind up those hills. A lot of people feel the Garden is a very tough run because of the hills. No doubt but on the other hand, they are long gradual hills, what I call "pulls." If you train on anything like the Incline, then the Garden's hills are going to be tolerable. To a certain extent, the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Summer Roundup at Bear Creek, while shorter, is as tough or tougher than the Garden because the first half of it is mostly uphill. Back to the Garden, in the past there has been an informal group that meets on a weekday to run part of the 10-mile course, every week leading up to the race. It's a great way to meet other runners, familiarize yourself with the course and do an easy 4 miles or so. If, like me, you don't run more than 5 or 6 miles at a stretch, breaking down a long course is a good way to take some of the intimidation out of it. Another good place to train is the Falcon Trail at the Air Force Academy, it's a scenic 13-mile loop, the approximate distance of the Ascent. Of course it doesn't come close to approximating the lung-sucking elevation gain of the Ascent but if you can do the Falcon, you should be able to do the Garden of the Gods 10 miles with few or no problems.</p>Ai-Yi-Yitag:pikespeaksports.us,2014-05-06:5021591:BlogPost:5568752014-05-06T03:00:00.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p>Well, here we go again, a third stab at that great sentinel above Colorado Springs. I mentioned to someone that I was part of a group attempting the Ascent again and this person, a very nice person mind you, never says a bad word about anyone, said "Yeah, I know" and then I distinctly heard them mutter, under their breath "Crazy fools."</p>
<p>Yup, crazy alright, seeing how fast one can haul their butt up a mountain and yet, somehow, in some peculiar way, it just gets in your blood and you…</p>
<p>Well, here we go again, a third stab at that great sentinel above Colorado Springs. I mentioned to someone that I was part of a group attempting the Ascent again and this person, a very nice person mind you, never says a bad word about anyone, said "Yeah, I know" and then I distinctly heard them mutter, under their breath "Crazy fools."</p>
<p>Yup, crazy alright, seeing how fast one can haul their butt up a mountain and yet, somehow, in some peculiar way, it just gets in your blood and you keep going back for more. More abuse, more memories, more thrills, chills, maybe a bit of nausea.</p>
<p>Since I'm the "retread" on this 2014 edition of the Gold and Purple Nation (I was on the 2012 team) I feel compelled to share some advice. Isn't that what "veterans" are supposed to do? My regular running partner likes to tell the story (I've heard it at least 3 times) of a father and son from out of state that he encountered while picking up his packet for the Ascent. My friend inquired as to whether or not they had run Ruxton yet. "What's that?," they replied. He told them, that if nothing else, they should at least walk that part of the course and take a look at it.</p>
<p>I wholeheartedly concur. You should start running up Ruxton Avenue on a fairly regular basis. Start near the Manitou Police station, roughly the starting point for the Ascent and Marathon. Run up Ruxton as far as you can, past Hydro Street and up as far as where the spur trail is now closed. An alternative would be to run up into the Barr Parking lot, maybe even up the Barr Trail….each time going a little bit father up the Barr. If nothing else you should at least run this opening section of the race as far as the Cog Railway station. You need to get to know this little section intimately because it is a cruel way to start a race…and that's not just MY opinion.</p>
<p>As with any running event, adrenaline is coursing through veins at the start and participants of the Ascent jauntily jog and skip up Manitou Avenue and then on to the turn up Ruxton. At this turn you will see many Holy Cows! as in omigod, what have I gotten myself into. At that turn, some people are already walking, some maybe even tempted to head in to the Loop for a margarita.</p>
<p>Get to know Ruxton, you'll be glad you did. Someone recently said to me that how well one does in this stretch is a good indicator of how the rest of your day will go. If you're hurting by the time you get to the spur trail, that's not a good sign. More pearls of wisdom to come in the next installment. Looking forward to meeting my new teammates and to them I say "Exclesior!" </p>Oh What a Feelingtag:pikespeaksports.us,2012-08-24:5021591:BlogPost:3615012012-08-24T20:00:00.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806497232?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806497232?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="500"></img></a></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Wow! There’s a word that’s almost as overused as awesome. However it succinctly sums up all of my feelings in one, tidy, three-letter word. The Ascent was the exclamation point on one of the best experiences I’ve ever had, i.e. participating in all three Triple Crown runs. I can heartily recommend these three runs to anyone who is seeking a…</span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806497232?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="500" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806497232?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="500" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Wow! There’s a word that’s almost as overused as awesome. However it succinctly sums up all of my feelings in one, tidy, three-letter word. The Ascent was the exclamation point on one of the best experiences I’ve ever had, i.e. participating in all three Triple Crown runs. I can heartily recommend these three runs to anyone who is seeking a very attainable challenge. I say attainable because, out of all of my teammates I believe I was the most “casual” runner. I wouldn’t say I trained excessively hard but I did put enough into it to make it a healthy experience. That is to say at the end of each event I felt great, not like death warmed over or as if I’d left my guts on the trail. Sure, a little more effort and I would have broken 5 hours on the Ascent which would have been, for me at least, a big thrill. As it was, I was only four minutes past my goal of five hours. Close enough to leave me extremely pleased and again, feeling just great on the summit. In addition to my smart looking PikesPeakSports.usTripleCrownRunners singlet, I also wore a goofy, ear-splitting grin for most of the route. I was really beaming as I crossed the finish line and nearly broke into tears I was so happy. However that stupid male gene that keeps a lot of us from crying, kicked in and left merely moist-eyed. When they put the medal around my neck I told them it was just as good as standing on a podium in London would have been. Therein lies the beauty of events like this, even if you aren’t a world class runner, even if you don’t set a personal best, you know that you’re doing something that a lot of people wouldn’t even attempt. Sure there were some 1,600 people who summited and it’s exciting that this event is so popular and so successful but there are far greater numbers that will never know this feeling. High? Oh yeah and a LOT higher than just 14,000 feet. I was up in the clouds somewhere after crossing that finish line. It’s you and the mountain. No excuses, no hard feelings, just give’er (as they say in Wisconsin) and let the timing chips fall where they may, either below your goal or a little bit above. It was interesting to note that some of my teammates were less than thrilled with their times but deep down I know they are rightfully proud of what they did. There are many reasons I would recommend the Ascent and one of the big reasons is that this, in my opinion, is an incredibly well-run event. You feel safe the entire way, which, considering the environment you’re running in, says a lot. Credit for this feeling of security goes to the event organizers and the volunteers they recruit. The volunteers were absolutely amazing, in their numbers and their enthusiasm. I left every one of the 7 aid stations feeling pumped up by these great people. I wouldn’t have cared if I had another 10,000 feet of elevation to gain, they had me jazzed to the point where time and distance just didn’t seem to matter. They did a lot more than hand out liquids and snacks. They nourished my mind and heart as well. People take for granted the physical conditioning that goes into these endeavors but your psyche better be in shape as well and these volunteers went out of their way to make every participant feel like a winner. I am extremely grateful to all of them. A lot of participants thanked these people every chance they got and we also thanked the members of the El Paso Search and Rescue team. There were so many on sites throughout the course that one of their leaders told me they were just hoping they didn’t have any serious emergencies out in the county during the weekend because most of their members were covering the Ascent. It was one of those volunteers that offered the best line I heard all day. When the runner in front of me thanked the SAR people, one of them replied “Thanks for being vertical.” Yup, you have to be vertical to get all of the vertical. The Ascent was beyond exhilarating and the bonus of the entire weekend was the opportunity to meet so many great people, from all over the country. The stories I picked up through various conversations could make this blog go on almost endlessly. A story for each individual out there. If you ran it you know what I’m writing about and my hope is that you A) finished safely, injury-free, B) were pleased with your effort and C) had a good time. So, exuberant as I am, would I do it again? Good question. Despite the effusiveness of this particular blog, the reality is that the Ascent does present a serious challenge and you’d better be committed to preparing for it properly. There will always be those with enough natural ability to “wing” something like the Ascent but for most of us, we have to put in the work. That said, the payoff is huge, a great sense of accomplishment and the joy of the view from standing atop one of Colorado’s great, iconic 14‘ers. Also, I can't imagine topping this experience. The weather was absolutely perfect and that's never a given on a mountain. I would be remiss if I didn’t, one last time, thank Tim Bergsten, Ron Ilgen and Mike Mazzola for their sponsorship and encouragement. You helped make this fun and rewarding. Lastly and far from least, thanks also to my teammates, Don, JT, Katie, Phoebe and Sharon (alphabetical order) for your friendship and encouragement. You all brought the party and I’m sure we’ll see each other from time to time (if you aren’t going too fast when you pass me...don’t blink!) on a trail or in a pub. Be well, run safe...okay, or recklessly if you wish (I know you well enough now!) and Excelsior!</span></p>
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<p class="p2"><span class="s1"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806497551?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806497551?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></span></p>The Evil Rootstag:pikespeaksports.us,2012-08-16:5021591:BlogPost:3585882012-08-16T03:23:03.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p>On Sunday, August 12 I joined a handful of other volunteers for a Barr Trail Work Day sponsored by Friends of the Peak. Almost all of us intended to run the Ascent with all but me being veteran runners with at least several or more Ascents under their soles. All of that experience went a long way toward determining just what kind of "improvements" we would make to the trail. That is, we didn't want to sanitize it too much. This is a trail run after all, right? Mostly we took out some nasty…</p>
<p>On Sunday, August 12 I joined a handful of other volunteers for a Barr Trail Work Day sponsored by Friends of the Peak. Almost all of us intended to run the Ascent with all but me being veteran runners with at least several or more Ascents under their soles. All of that experience went a long way toward determining just what kind of "improvements" we would make to the trail. That is, we didn't want to sanitize it too much. This is a trail run after all, right? Mostly we took out some nasty roots that we thought might pose a serious tripping hazard for those running the Ascent and Marathon. Let me say again that obstacles are a part of trail running and we used a lot of discretion along with the guidance of our FOTP technical advisor, in determining what to take out and what to leave alone. We also did some pretty good work on fencing here and there, straightening and stabilizing as evidenced in the before and after pictures below. This particular section was about a mile up from the Barr parking lot. So, on Ascent Day, if you see Herman Polich, Jack Ramsey, Steve Watts and/or Darrell Weaver, give 'em a pat on the back for all of their hard (about 6 hours worth) work. Still a lot to trip over out there so be safe and have a good run this coming weekend. Stoked? I am more than ready. Let's get on with it! <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806496425?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="250" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806496425?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="250" class="align-left"/></a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806497241?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="250" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806497241?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="250" class="align-right"/></a></p>Wheeze & Whinetag:pikespeaksports.us,2012-08-08:5021591:BlogPost:3554222012-08-08T17:28:58.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p><span>Well I always knew I was the runt of this litter. Last weekend Don does a 9-mile run in the blast-furnace of New Mexico with 4,000 feet of elly gain and JT did some kind of crazoid run in Rock Springs, Wyoming which I can’t find any info on because I don’t think they have internet service in that little whistle-stop. While they were busting butts I was doing a measly walk up South Arapahoe Peak in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, a modest 10-mile (roundtrip) hike with 3,300 feet of gain,…</span></p>
<p><span>Well I always knew I was the runt of this litter. Last weekend Don does a 9-mile run in the blast-furnace of New Mexico with 4,000 feet of elly gain and JT did some kind of crazoid run in Rock Springs, Wyoming which I can’t find any info on because I don’t think they have internet service in that little whistle-stop. While they were busting butts I was doing a measly walk up South Arapahoe Peak in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, a modest 10-mile (roundtrip) hike with 3,300 feet of gain, topping out around 13,343.</span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806496547?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806496547?profile=original" width="640" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><span>Given the way my lungs were often expanding and contracting at an alarming and laborious rate, I’m even more pumped for the Ascent! Ran Ruxton and up the trail a bit on Tuesday the 7th, reaffirming that this is the meanest start to any run I have ever done. In honor of the “world’s fastest human,” Usain Bolt, who recently retained his title, I’ve decided to change my name just for the Ascent. If you’re cheering runners along the trail, I’ll be the last of the Pikes Peak Triple Crown Runners, clad in the gold singlet with purple print. Please, if you will, shout out for “Insane Dolt.” After the run I’ll be searching for a simple symbol, a la Prince, so I can become “the runner formerly known as Beagle.” Maybe it’ll be a simple cross they can plant on the summit after I expire at the finish line. Actually some excitement is starting to build with the Ascent rapidly approaching. So before it gets any later let me once again thank the sponsors of the Triple Crown Runners: Tim Bergsten of pikespeaksports.us, Ron Ilgin of the Pikes Peak Marathon and Mike Mazzola of Mountain Equipment Recyclers. Their support and encouragement has made this entire experience a whole lot of fun, as it should be. Right? Can I start tapering now?</span></p>
<p></p>Holy Cross-Trainingtag:pikespeaksports.us,2012-08-01:5021591:BlogPost:3529792012-08-01T13:30:00.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p>So my training last weekend consisted of a hike up Mount of the Holy Cross, as I hadn’t yet climbed this 14’er (barely making it into the category at 14,005). The roundtrip was 11.5 miles with 5,600 feet of elevation gain (3,700 net) so it was a good workout. I did <i>not</i> run any portion of it. The 1.6 miles of talus at the end of the ascent and conversely, the beginning of the return trip, makes the 16 Golden Stair on Pikes look like a Legos playground. To a person, everyone who has…</p>
<p>So my training last weekend consisted of a hike up Mount of the Holy Cross, as I hadn’t yet climbed this 14’er (barely making it into the category at 14,005). The roundtrip was 11.5 miles with 5,600 feet of elevation gain (3,700 net) so it was a good workout. I did <i>not</i> run any portion of it. The 1.6 miles of talus at the end of the ascent and conversely, the beginning of the return trip, makes the 16 Golden Stair on Pikes look like a Legos playground. To a person, everyone who has done the Ascent of Pikes tells me I will be walking much if not most of the time due to the crowd of participants. So I’ve been encouraged by more than one person to use some power walking in my training, particularly on hills. So I have and have found they are absolutely right, that a power walking pace can be as fast as a slow jog and more efficient. One couple I know recently did an experimental ascent of Pikes Peak, power walking the entire route without stopping and finished it in 4 hours, 20 minutes. Pretty good, I’d say.</p>
<p><span>In addition to working on my posture while I run, so that I don’t look like a big question mark in motion, all hunched over, I’ve decided to also work on relaxing my facial muscles. Call it vanity but I saw a picture of me during the Summer Roundup run with this unsightly grimace on my mug. I didn’t <i>feel</i> that bad, honest. I’ve noticed I have this tendency when I’m concentrating or exerting some effort, to sort of squint. Caught on camera, it looks as if I’m in agony, when I’m really not. Honest. Okay, I can see no one is going to buy this so I’ve been working on relaxing those facial muscles. I would hate to develop a nose cramp from having my face all scrunched up. Not only could that be painful, it just doesn’t look good, especially if it happens right at the finish. If nothing else,despite your time, you want to, at the very least, <i>look good</i> for any photographers lurking around the finish line. Speaking of cramps, here’s one more note about hill running that I failed to include before. Sometimes, on real steep slopes, I will employ a technique I read about in Danny Dreyer’s Chi-Running book. It’s a crab walk, going up hills sideways, leading with one leg for a while, then the other, letting the leading arm hang loose while pumping with the trailing arm. Does it get me to the top of a hill faster? Dont’ know, not sure but the theory about using different muscles and giving others a chance to rest makes some sense to me, so I do it. So if you see someone waddling up the trail on Ascent day, there’s a good chance it’ll be me. Running just makes me “crabby” sometimes.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806496756?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="400" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806496756?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="400" class="align-center" height="300"/></a></p>Huffin' Up Hermantag:pikespeaksports.us,2012-07-22:5021591:BlogPost:3495092012-07-22T00:30:00.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p>So I’ve had an idea in mind for a different workout and finally gave it a try on Thursday, July 19. Monument Preserve has long been a favorite place to run. It offers varied terrain, some up and down but certainly not killer hills and scenic trails that weave in aall over U.S. Forest Service land. There is a main parking lot for the preserve, right along Mt. Herman Road but I usually park at a pull-off area another half-mile or less up the road, almost directly across from a Forest Service…</p>
<p>So I’ve had an idea in mind for a different workout and finally gave it a try on Thursday, July 19. Monument Preserve has long been a favorite place to run. It offers varied terrain, some up and down but certainly not killer hills and scenic trails that weave in aall over U.S. Forest Service land. There is a main parking lot for the preserve, right along Mt. Herman Road but I usually park at a pull-off area another half-mile or less up the road, almost directly across from a Forest Service Road. If you keep driving up Mt. Herman you can find a trailhead that makes for a relatively short hike to the top of Mt. Herman which has an elevation of approximately 9,000 feet. The workout I had in mind was to park where I normally do when I run in the preserve and then run the 3.4 miles to the trailhead instead of driving to it. This made for a steady uphill climb along a very wide dirt road and at that hour on a weekday there was very little traffic which was nice because it can get dusty. Foolishly, I didn’t get started until a little after 11 a.m.</p>
<p><span>Fortunately there was a steady breeze and enough shade, especially on the trail, to make the heat more bearable.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806497786?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="263" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806497786?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="238" class="align-center" height="317"/></a></p>
<p>Once you get to the Mt. Herman Trail you have just under a mile to the summit, with an elevation gain of about one thousand feet. Early on, maybe a tenth of a mile or less into the trail, you start to climb and the steepest section is pretty much out of the way after the first 8-10 minutes. I fumbled around with the clinometer app on my phone and finally conceded befuddlement. I never like to exaggerate so I’d guesstimate that the slope is probably somewhere around 35-40% grade...it’s pretty darn steep for several hundred yards but very wide and not dangerous, although a little slippery on the down climb. I didn’t run it much at all on the way up but tried to walk briskly. Made it to the top in about 23 minutes to find a stronger, rejuvenating breeze up there. Great views always from the top of Herman. On a clear day you can see Denver and of course Pikes looks great from up there and naturally you have a bird’s eye view of the thriving metropolis of Monument. If you’re not familiar with it, Mt. Herman is the broad peak just west of Monument, north of the Air Force Academy. This was similar to the Summer Roundup course in that it was all uphill for the first half. Coming down I picked my way through the rockiest sections then jogged the trail where I considered it a little safer. Back on Mt. Herman road it was all downhill except for one short section up a little incline. However it was now about 1 p.m. as I neared my car and the last mile, with no shade, was a warm one. I wouldn’t have wanted to go much further. Silly to start so late in these kinds of temperatures. All in all an 8.5 mile roundtrip and a workout I would definitely do again and one I would recommend if you’re looking for something different and a workout with rewarding views at the half-way point on the summit of Mt. Herman. Take the Monument Exit 161, head west on 105 but go straight after crossing the interstate and take this road until it ends at a T -intersection, make a left there and about a mile down the road you’ll come to Mt. Herman Road where you can only make a right. From there you’ll need to go a couple of miles or so...with the option of parking in the main lot or the pull off which will be obvious, just up the road. If you were coming down I-25 from the north you would take the Monument exit and make a left at the end of the ramp and follow the directions above. Come visit and as they say in Wisconsin, “Give ‘er!”</p>
<p>Looking up at Mt. Herman and looking down on the road from the summit.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806498766?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="300" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806498766?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300" class="align-right"/></a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806499635?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="372" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806499635?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="372" class="align-full"/></a></p>HilLovetag:pikespeaksports.us,2012-07-20:5021591:BlogPost:3475402012-07-20T20:28:45.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p><span>I’ve always enjoyed running hills and with one exception I’ve always lived in states where there were ample opportunities to to roll up and down a running course. I seem to recall, many moons ago, reading in some magazine about a runner who said races are won on hills, that hills were the place to exert some effort, to pass and maybe even demoralize your competition. Well, if you’ve been reading any of the previous blogs here you know that I am not really out to win anything but still…</span></p>
<p><span>I’ve always enjoyed running hills and with one exception I’ve always lived in states where there were ample opportunities to to roll up and down a running course. I seem to recall, many moons ago, reading in some magazine about a runner who said races are won on hills, that hills were the place to exert some effort, to pass and maybe even demoralize your competition. Well, if you’ve been reading any of the previous blogs here you know that I am not really out to win anything but still I maintain a philosophy of working on hills. Serious hills, the ones that are really steep, say 30% grade and above, require grinding it out but if I’m approaching a gradual incline that may only be about 50 or 60 yards long, I tell myself “power up.” I gear down, maybe dropping my hips a little bit and try to envision my hamstrings as rope tows pulling me up the hill. That little bit of effort seems to make a big difference for me. If I’m approaching a short little knob, say a 6 or 7 foot rise in the trail that’s only 10-15 feet long, I’ll say to myself “roll up.” Just like the Magical Mystery Tour, I roll up and over it, almost as if it was nothing more than a speed bump. You can put whatever word or words you want in your head. Attack is a good one. Even if you don’t get overly aggressive or fast (and I don’t believe in doing that myself), you are attacking the hill, meeting it head on, almost working with it instead of having it work against you. Now I’m getting too touchy-feely aren’t I? Next thing I’ll be talking about embracing hills the way one running book talked about embracing fatigue. I tried that, tried to give fatigue a nice little hug. Ol’ buddy. Fatigue just shoved me away, scoffed at me, told me in no uncertain terms it didn’t want to be friends. Trying to get your arms around fatigue is like, well...never mind. The great Bill Russel, a member of the pro basketball hall of fame, known for his outstanding defense was once discussing his strategy. He said something to the effect that you work on defense and if you want to rest at all, you take a blow on offense. Never on defense. I look at hills the same way. Never walk a hill unless you’re power walking or keeping up a good, brisk walking pace. Work a little bit on the hills, then, if you want a break, coast on the downhills. That’s what the downhills are for, resting. My mentor and coach was cautioning me, once again, to not think of any part of the Ascent being easy, particularly the last 2-3 miles, particularly the 16 Golden Stairs. No worries there! I have nothing but respect for the mountains. I need to get more elevation training in. For now I’m just trying to get in miles (hitting about 20-23 a week) and work on the hills at lower elevations. I try not to think too much about how many more miles others might be putting in. As I said, I believe every individual needs to do what they feel is right for them and their body. Then, last week I meet a guy on a trail. Said he had done the Ascent several times. Tells me that when he was training for it, it was nothing for him to come home and run for three hours at night. Ai-yeesh! Always some kill-joy out there to make you feel like a regular slacker! In my next installment, I’ll tell you about a self-designed workout I did this week that did a fair number on me.</span></p>Two Legs Under Metag:pikespeaksports.us,2012-07-13:5021591:BlogPost:3452312012-07-13T13:00:00.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
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<p><span>The Summer Roundup was a lot of fun and great to see the rest of the team again. For six people who just came together by chance, we’re a fun bunch if I do say so. At the end, there was JT, looking dapper in his lucky Schlitz hat. Anyone else remember Schlitz? He had this amazing, Emergency Energy Recovery and Rescue Kit. It resembles a cooler. Ahh, that ice could be so soothing on the knees but it serves a higher purpose of cooling down the even more soothing barley-pops…</span></p>
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<p><span>The Summer Roundup was a lot of fun and great to see the rest of the team again. For six people who just came together by chance, we’re a fun bunch if I do say so. At the end, there was JT, looking dapper in his lucky Schlitz hat. Anyone else remember Schlitz? He had this amazing, Emergency Energy Recovery and Rescue Kit. It resembles a cooler. Ahh, that ice could be so soothing on the knees but it serves a higher purpose of cooling down the even more soothing barley-pops nestled between the frozen cubes. Just for old time’s sake I had to remind my taste buds what a wake-me-up, pick-me-up a carbonated beverage could be at 9:30 in the morning. I also had to honor my alma mater, Ohio University and the great education I received there. It was OU that taught me that beer isn’t just for breakfast anymore. So I returned home with the second leg of the Triple Crown now propping me up in my quest for the Ascent and another medal of course. I made my family get the step-stool out and stood atop that while one of them placed the medal around my neck and they played the Olympic theme. Well it was something like the Olympic theme. Kazoos just don’t quite do it justice. When I get that third medal I’ll ask for a taller podium. This has been a great experience so far, a learning experience and a lot of fun. It’s fun learning just what a body is capable of, even when you’ve known that body for six decades. I’ve been pleased with the way the old carcass has responded to the first two runs in the series. The Summer Roundup is not easy, some consider it more challenging than the longer Garden of the Gods 10-miler because of the first half of the Roundup is pretty much of a climb for most of the 3.7 miles out. That’s why I can’t say enough about hill work. Once again I’ll say that I believe everyone will have and should have their own way of training. One size doesn’t fit all approach. I don’t need to taper before a race because, for better or worse, I just don’t push myself in training. Oh, maybe a little but I’m very good at slacking. Instead of tapering, I slack. While I keep track of my times during training runs I’ve come to the point where I don’t try to lower it every single time out. Yes, a slacker. Consequently I come to the day of an event pretty relaxed and rested. Sure I look at all of the finishing times after each event and, in the case of the Summer Roundup, I see that another 49 seconds and I would have moved up 3 spots in my age group. On the other hand, I also was faster than quite a few people younger than I. I’m just happy to finish well, finish with a good kick, feeling good and pain free, no injuries. So, with the caveat that what works for me might not work for someone else, I’ll tell you that just pushing a leetle, a very leetle bit on hills during training makes a big difference to me during an event. Having run the Summer Roundup course a few times I knew that High Drive presented a challenge, as its steady climb came almost two and a half miles into the run. On the day of the event I handled High Drive with a nice, steady, rhythmic pace. As I was climbing it occurred to me that what had helped me the most in preparing for this was my weekly runs at my aforementioned favorite trail, Spruce Mountain, 3 miles north of Palmer Lake. There’s one hill there, about a half-mile long, that, in some sections probably has a 40% grade...or so. In the little mind games I play during a run, as I was chugging up High Drive I kept thinking, well, this grade isn’t as bad as Spruce. More on hills another time. Right now, having used the word chugging reminds me that I should be looking for JT and his emergency kit. </span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806498114?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="353" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806498114?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="353" style="padding: 50px;" class="align-center"/></a></p>Perspectivetag:pikespeaksports.us,2012-07-06:5021591:BlogPost:3426702012-07-06T21:31:52.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p><span>Saturday, June 23 I see an e-mail about a fire near Waldo Canyon. Hmm, not good. Later, leaving for a trip to Denver I glance south from Monument and see the towering, wide white plume. Oh no, this is only going to get worse. And Waldo is so special. Then came the carnage of Tuesday night, June 26 and the horror of watching a home burn in real time on television. In the flash of a fire, suddenly the challenge of jogging up Pikes Peak looked insignificant compared with the challenge of…</span></p>
<p><span>Saturday, June 23 I see an e-mail about a fire near Waldo Canyon. Hmm, not good. Later, leaving for a trip to Denver I glance south from Monument and see the towering, wide white plume. Oh no, this is only going to get worse. And Waldo is so special. Then came the carnage of Tuesday night, June 26 and the horror of watching a home burn in real time on television. In the flash of a fire, suddenly the challenge of jogging up Pikes Peak looked insignificant compared with the challenge of rebuilding homes and lives. Next to the heroic efforts of the firefighters, the incredible generosity and charitable efforts of the community, completing the Triple Crown would be such a minor, personal accomplishment. Reality checks are good but unfortunate when they are this severe. Runners whose favorite trails were closed, those in serious training who had to breathe foul air or find alternative workouts indoors, had minor inconveniences to deal with. Evacuees and those who put them up had major challenges to deal with. Even though my family and I made modest contributions to the relief effort, one cannot help but feel a sense of helplessness when it comes to consoling those who lost so much. So I will run the <a href="http://www.summerroundup.com/"><span>Summer Roundup</span></a> with them in mind. If it gets a little hot, a little steep or a little dusty, if I and the other runners are still inhaling a bit of residual smoke in the air around us, I will not whine! Promise. I’m looking forward to the Second Leg of the Crown. I’ve run the course enough times to be comfortable with it and the steady uphill beat it presents for the first half of the course. It will be good to see all of my <a href="http://www.pikespeaksports.us/page/the-2012-pikespeaksports-us-triple-crown-runners-team-page"><span>pikespeaksports.us Triple Crown Runners</span></a> teammates in one place again and hear of their recent adventures on the trails and mountains. As some of them have already pointed out, in times like this, it’s just good to come together, in any kind of setting, and celebrate what and who we are as a community, pushing on, ever forward, ever upward. Excelsior!</span></p>
<div><span> </span></div>sPEAKtacular Daytag:pikespeaksports.us,2012-06-18:5021591:BlogPost:3396962012-06-18T17:03:48.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p><span>It occurred to me the other day that one of the real benefits of being on a “team” is the motivation it provides. Since we’re not competing as a team for any particular award there is really no pressure or concern about letting your teammates down. The motivation comes from just knowing other people that are pursuing similar goals of running and finishing races, challenging themselves, striving for PR’s. This was a benefit I hadn’t really considered when I applied to be on the…</span></p>
<p><span>It occurred to me the other day that one of the real benefits of being on a “team” is the motivation it provides. Since we’re not competing as a team for any particular award there is really no pressure or concern about letting your teammates down. The motivation comes from just knowing other people that are pursuing similar goals of running and finishing races, challenging themselves, striving for PR’s. This was a benefit I hadn’t really considered when I applied to be on the PikesPeakSports.us Triple Crown Runners. I suspect we all had different reasons for applying. Sharon has talked about the sense of community among runners and this is very true. Being on a team also provides camaraderie and support for your individual effort and in that regard this team has been great.</span></p>
<p><span>So the good news is that teammates provide motivation. The bad news is that teammates provide motivation as it was Sharon who suggested we run Pikes Peak on Fathers’ Day and catch a ride down with her and her Dad. So I rise at 4:30 a.m. on “my day,” when I should have been allowed to sleep in, be fed breakfast in bed and had my feet massaged. Instead I’m pounding my poor dogs up the Barr Trail in the early morning light of a spectacular Colorado day. Knowing there would be no aid stations (what’s with that? C’mon, it’s Dad’s Day!) I took plenty of liquid with me. Early on, 2-3 miles in, despite all the training, my legs are noticing the significant increase in the amount of weight I would normally carry on a run. I finished just under 6 hours (including breaks for snacks and water).</span></p>
<p><span>Sharon, who started nearly two hours behind me, finished just about 15 minutes after I did. Don passed me on the way up and finished in 3:22, chagrined that he was 9 seconds off his all time best. I suspect he’ll get his PR during the actual Ascent. Katie had parked at Elk Park and ran from there or did she hitch a ride up the highway...hmm?. Just kidding. I have to accept my position in life as a slogger, marveling at the people jogging by me at treeline and above and also those doing the 3-2-1 training. In the interest of full disclosure I walked all the way from Barr Camp. Now I was carrying a full camelback, a 16-ounce bottle of Gatorade and snacks that I won’t be carrying on Ascent day. That’s my excuse for now and I’m sticking with it. That and trying to breathe on the upper part of the trail frequently swarmed by...what? what are they, gnats? What’s with the gnats...or whatever they are. Come on! It’s difficult enough just trying to breathe at elevation without inhaling a bunch of bugs at the same time. If you’re in the kind of shape where you can just breathe through your nose while keeping your mouth shut, fine but please, tell me these flying annoyances will be gone by August. Or should I run with some mosquito netting over my mouth? Other than being bugged it was an absolutely spectacular day to ascend the peak. Blazing sunshine but a consistent, cool breeze that made it feel like 55-60 degrees all the way to the top. Thanks Sharon for providing the impetus! Pictured in the photo: Katie, Sharon, Sharon's Dad Phil, Donut Don and the Old Dog<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806497397?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="350" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806497397?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350" class="align-full"/></a></span></p>
<p></p>A Gem of a Day for the Crowntag:pikespeaksports.us,2012-06-12:5021591:BlogPost:3355452012-06-12T21:00:00.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p><span>One jewel of the <a href="http://www.pikespeakmarathon.org/tcr/index.htm"><span>Triple Crown</span></a> in hand (Garden of the Gods 10-mile Run) I pursue the next, the <a href="http://www.summerroundup.com/"><span>Summer Round-Up</span></a>.</span></p>
<p><span>Since every successful running team needs someone to run the anchor leg, I am officially declaring myself the…</span></p>
<p><span>One jewel of the <a href="http://www.pikespeakmarathon.org/tcr/index.htm"><span>Triple Crown</span></a> in hand (Garden of the Gods 10-mile Run) I pursue the next, the <a href="http://www.summerroundup.com/"><span>Summer Round-Up</span></a>.</span></p>
<p><span>Since every successful running team needs someone to run the anchor leg, I am officially declaring myself the <a href="http://www.pikespeaksports.us/page/the-2012-pikespeaksports-us-triple-crown-runners-team-page"><span>PikesPeakSports.us Triple Crown Runners</span></a> anchor man because I run as if I’m dragging an anchor. I don’t know what teammate JT did while he was waiting around for me and others to finish (read a book, had breakfast, drove to Denver and back) but I sure appreciated his support and encouragement as I approached the finish line. It’s great being on a team, especially with such classy people.</span></p>
<p><span>Actually I was very pleased with my run, completing the 10-miles in 1:48:20 or about 10:50 per mile. I probably could have pushed harder but it was a good, consistent pace, very comfortable, never labored or felt tired. In fact I was having such a good time, enjoying the beautiful morning that I had a big silly grin on my face for the first couple of miles. Until that 8-year old went zipping by me as if I was in a rocking chair. Naw, he just made my grin broader. Thanks to Tim Bergsten's "Podium Coffee" (guaranteed to make you a winner) for the jump start at 5:45 a.m. It had a long lasting effect, as I was still chewing on the grounds at mile 5 (no, seriously Tim, it was mighty good). Finished 24 out of 39 in my age group (that would be the Paleozoic to Pleistocene group). Checking results I could've moved up about 3 places by being just a couple of minutes faster but as my Daddy always said, “If wishes were horses, beggars could ride” so I’m going to take pride in and enjoy this accomplishment. I had never run this far in an organized event and never thought I would. I was a little over 3 miles into the run when I saw the leaders coming back. According to my "on the run" calculations, they were reeling off miles of about 5 and a half minutes. I just laughed at them. "Boy are they going to be tired," I thought. How silly to run that fast instead of my nice, measured pace. I found it to be a huge benefit to have run the course 3 times in training. There were no surprises, you know where every hill is, what’s around the next bend and you know that once you’ve covered 7 miles there aren’t any real significant hills left, there’s a fair amount of downhill and you basically have just a 5K left.</span></p>
<p><span>Speaking of the 5K, props to teammate Sharon’s son Mike who took first in his division in the 5K. Imagine rolling out of bed at that hour and clocking a 22:15 in the 5K. Ahh to be young again. As George Bernard Shaw wrote, “Youth is wasted on the young.” </span></p>
<div><span> </span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806499472?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="350" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806499472?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350" class="align-center"/></a></div>
<div><p><span>Many thanks to my "coach" Mark who had me well prepared for this run, who showed up to support me, and take the photo above at the 7 mile mark. Many thanks also to all of the wonderful volunteers who give of their time to support these events and help make them happen. Most of all thanks to the sponsors of the PikesPeakSports.us Triple Crown Runners for letting me be a part of this fun and memorable adventure: Tim Bergsten, Ron Ilgen of the Pikes Peak Marathon and Mike Mazzola of Mountain Equipment Recyclers.</span></p>
<p><span>Best t-shirt of the day: Early in the run a guy passed me and the back of his shirt read: "If you see me passed out, please pause my watch." I’m sure many of us can relate. Took a day of rest to revel in my accomplishment (and let one knee loosen up) and now back to training for the Summer Round-Up.</span></p>
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</div>Taper Timetag:pikespeaksports.us,2012-06-06:5021591:BlogPost:3304812012-06-06T21:04:29.000ZBill Beaglehttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/BillBeagle
<p><span>Ran the entire GOG 10 mile course on Friday, June 1 for the third and final time. A good, former long-distance running friend said “You know you should start tapering two weeks before any race.” Oops, I’m kinda inside that timeframe aren’t I. I’ve taken a couple of runs, just under 5 miles, with the great group of people who meet in the Garden every Tuesday and Thursday morning. For me, that means getting up at 5 a.m. but boy is it worth it to watch the creeping sunrise gradually paint…</span></p>
<p><span>Ran the entire GOG 10 mile course on Friday, June 1 for the third and final time. A good, former long-distance running friend said “You know you should start tapering two weeks before any race.” Oops, I’m kinda inside that timeframe aren’t I. I’ve taken a couple of runs, just under 5 miles, with the great group of people who meet in the Garden every Tuesday and Thursday morning. For me, that means getting up at 5 a.m. but boy is it worth it to watch the creeping sunrise gradually paint those red rocks in the cool morning air. Tuesday, June 5 a thick cloud bank clung to the summit and entire north ridge of Pikes Peak like a fine ermine stole draped over a lady’s shoulders. </span> </p>
<div><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806498379?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="400" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2806498379?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="400" class="align-center"/></a></div>
<div>The Garden is a spectacularly beautiful place to run but having been mostly a trail runner for the past 15 years, the road surface through the Garden is just eating up my legs. All the basketball I played when I was younger and my 4-inch vertical leap really took its toll on my knees. So I’ll be glad when this first leg of the <a href="http://www.pikespeakmarathon.org/tcr/index.htm"><span>Pikes Peak Triple Crown</span></a> is over and we can move on to more trail running. I picked up my bib and shirt for the June 10 run today so the anticipation continues to build...sort of like looking forward to a vacation, I think I’ll start packing now so I don’t forget anything when I have to rise early on Sunday. My “coach” suggests taking a cooler with some drinks but also a wet wash cloth inside. Probably a good idea for freshening up afterward. Even though the race starts at 7 a.m. my last run through on the entire course proved that coach was right, even by just 8 a.m. it can start getting very warm. Now, off to the couch to continue “tapering.”</div>
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