Day ONE – Pikes Peak Ascent training – How could I forget how brutal this is??

 Somehow I got a wild hair and decided I wanted to run the Pikes Peak Ascent again.  I mean run/jog/hike/walk/maybe even crawl up the Peak again.  The weather finally warranted a trip up the Peak to start Day ONE – Ascent training. 

Dave and I started at Memorial Park on a beautiful Colorado morning.  As we ran up Manitou Avenue I was feeling pretty pleased with myself.  Even when we turned up Ruxton Avenue I thought all my time on the Garden hills seemed to be paying off.  Then the grade seemed to stop me in my tracks like a brick wall.  My first thought was I couldn’t believe I had paid $150 for this race.  What was I thinking?  I am as frugal as it gets and I really think through where every dollar is spent.  ONE HUNDRED and FIFTY DOLLARS I kept saying to myself like my high school vinyl record was skipping.  Then as I trudged up Barr Trail I started listing off all the things I could be spending $150 on.  Listing these items to myself as per usual Dave was quite a ways ahead.  A vacuum.  Boy do I need a new vacuum.  I have an extra furry, shedding, adorable Golden Retriever and her hair has all but burned out the engine in my current vacuum.  I spend quite a bit of time thinking about the vacuum.  Then I was on to paint.  I am moving to a new home Memorial Day Weekend and my new home really could use some paint.  I was trying to calculate how much paint costs and how much I would need and how many rooms would $150 cover.  Then I was on to my toenail polish.  I am so frugal that I haven’t paid for a full pedicure in more than 4 years.  I pay the $10 polish changes when I get there.  This math was easier as I was jogging slower than I could walk up Barr Trail. 

At long last we hit the snow and yippee we could turn around and head down.  I was wasted.  I know that I am going to need a lot more time on this MOUNTAIN.  I am incredibly slow going down, really any hill, which gave me time to pull myself together and forget (kinda) how hard the way up was.  It’s been several weeks since that first day and I still have not gotten back to the PEAK.  It’s tough as the GARDEN just pulls me in week after week.  I can’t wait for June 12^th my FAVORITE race of the year.  I better schedule a Peak re-run….. I’ll surely wait until after the GARDEN…..