By mile 3 I had moved comfortably into 2nd place
with 1st only 25 yards ahead. We ran along through the trees on jeep
roads slowly gaining elevation as we ran up Iowa Gulch. At mile 7 I caught up to Ethan Linck. We
continued up Iowa gulch taking in the breathtaking beauty. What a climb! The
trail continued up to nearly 12,000 feet before we gained the Iowa Gulch road
and started our decent. The Iowa Gulch road ends at the base of 14er Mount
Sherman. Ethan and ran comfortably down the road perhaps pushing the pace a little
but I can usually use some downhill pounding. We continued rolling in a
controlled manner up to Ball Mountain and around it. Both of us felt
comfortable and neither of us tried to drop the other. We ran into the Stump
Town aid station, the half way mark. Our time was 3:25. Not bad for a leisurely
stroll of a training run.
We turned around ready to repeat our steps. We had about a
20 minute over third place and we both seemed confident yet patient of our
running ability. That being said, I started to notice confidence rise in Ethan.
It was his day and he was ready for a race. We continued to run as I started to
look for crack in Ethan’s demeanor. I was content not to push the pace and just
keep a steady pace. Meanwhile I stayed patient and hoped eventually to wear
down my opponent. Alas, it was to be the other way around.
We sent back up Iowa Gulch matching each other step for
step. At the top we turned back onto the rocky jeep trail and stared our fast
pace decent. Within a few minutes I started to cramp up. Ethan must have seen
my obvious straining because he instantly took off. We came to the last aid station
with Ethan leading by a measly 10 seconds. He blew through the aid station and
I stopped for some much needed ice, liquid, and substance. I was there for no
more than a 1 minute before I took off again.
I figured I was only a minute back however I never saw Ethan
again. He was running scarred and therefore quite fast. I followed the course
feeling decent and half expecting Ethan to show up around the next bend. I kept
up my pace and finished 2nd in a respectable 7:13:08. Results can be
found here: http://results.chronotrack.com/event/results/event/event-6402?lc=en
I was pleased with my run. It was a solid training day that
boosted confidence and made me think of how short a 50 mile race really is. A mentally
tough place to be, and right where I want to be.
Pleasure racing with you! Good luck at LT100, and hope to run again sometime. -- Ethan
ReplyDeleteEthan, I've been away from my blog for a while, I'm glad we can reconnect. If you are ever in Leadville let me know and we can go on some runs. Good luck at Pine to Palm. Tim
ReplyDelete