2006 Horsetooth Mountain Trail Race

June 11, 2006

Official Results for 8-mile race

Official Results for Baker's Dozen race

    This is probably the premier 'competitive' trail race in Fort Collins, although I think it is still pretty friendly and low key. This year I am only planning to run 4 races: Horsetooth, Barr Mountain Trail Race, Pikes Peak Marathon, and the Wellsville Ridgewalk. Although this wasn't my main goal race, it is an an important checkup race that allows me to see how my training has been going so far.

Race Experience

    I warmed up pretty well this year, putting in almost a mile of easy jogging with a few pickups about 15-20 minutes before the race. When the race started, I was already breathing and sweating. As we started, I could quickly tell that something was off. My heart rate was already shooting up to my target (173) and beyond as I ran around the bend and up the first hill, yet lots of people were just streaming past. I was really working hard and not having much speed to show for it. In my practice run earlier in the week, I had gone faster on this stretch, but with a HR of 10 beats per minute (bpm) lower. This was a preview of my entire race. By the top of the first hill (the small bench), I think my HR was already up to about 179 and I was just feeling sluggish. Many people had passed me by this point (30 or 40), but here I passed a couple people who had started off way too fast. The run up the Horsetooth Rock Trail was a real slog. Because so many had passed me, I was back in the pack and it was a bit crowded. I was very slowly picking people off as I kept up a steady pace, but also a few people passed me.

Yellow girl - good pacing

Passed John Roeske on Westridge

Not caring - didn't have much left to push on the downhill - just trying to hold my place

Clem and the whoop

Ran a ~0:6:50 split (fastest?) for the Towers Road segment.

Herrington - passed the yellow girl, trying to catch the NCTC girl - passed her on the technical downhill - but later both passed

Brutal 0.35 mile uphill stretch

Last mile - feeling wiped, just trying not to get passed - guy breathing down neck

Last spring - I passed one more person on the downhill, put in some pretty good pace (5:10), but not feeling like I had much in the tank. Then at the corner I tried to pour on some steam, since I knew there was less than a minute of left. My final sprint was pretty good, although I don't think it was as good as last year - although I think I was making up a lot of ground on the two girls, it wasn't enough and I was maybe 10-20 seconds behind them.

Analysis

     I trained pretty consistently through the winter and spring this year. Except for May, each month of 2006 featured increased training volume compared to last year.  In May, I lost an entire week of training due to an intestinal bug, then was further hampered by a mild running injury. Then to top off my misfortune, my bike was stolen two weeks before the race, significantly affecting my cross training. In the two weeks before the race, I was taking 'zero' days (defined as days with little or no exercise) nearly every other day. Also, in recovering from my injury and sickness, I had backed off considerably on the quality of my workouts. The weekend before the race, I went on a fairly exhausting backpacking 14'er adventure (Kit Carson/Challenger/Crestone Needle). Over two and half days, we put in about 22 miles and 12,000 feet of vertical). In the week before the race, I tried to make up for lost time by doing the course at near time-trial pace (Tuesday), then running a PR on Thursday (in the process, I set the open Fastest Known Time for the descent portion) for the north summit of Horsetooth Rock. I then took 3 full days of recovery (easy walking) before the race.  In retrospect, I might have pushed it a bit too much in the last week. But I think it was the long layoff a couple weeks before that got me. I just need take some time to make up the fitness that I lost. Overall, I think I am ahead of where I was last season, but I need to keep the consistency going and up the quality of my workouts. Hopefully, this race will mark a turning point in this season's training.

    Things done right

    Things done wrong