Transrockies Run: Day 2 Recap

Day Two of the Transrockies Run was basically a half marathon from Vicksburg to Twin Lakes, over the infamous Hope Pass. After this stage, team Colorado Runner/Inov-8 sits in fifth place in the open male category, 21 minutes behind the leaders.

Day 2 Hope Pass:

Alex Nichols
For me (Alex), today’s stage was like meeting up with an old friend. I’ve been up and over Hope Pass around a half dozen times in the last 5 years so the climb itself was nothing new. I knew it would be steep and unforgiving.

After catching the absolute last vehicle to the start line, Peter and I decided on our game plan for the day. We would take the lead on the climb, hold it until the top then see what would happen. After the first little roller I thought our plan seemed to be working perfectly. We were just where we needed to be as the trail narrowed and turned decisively upward. Unfortunately that’s about when the plan stopped working. On the initial, and steepest parts of the climb I set the pace for the lead group. I tried to stay consistent rather than fast, but as soon as I looked back, expecting to see Peter on my heels, I saw only the faces of my competitors. Peter was clearly not having a great day, so I spent the rest of the climb yo-yoing back and forth between Peter and the rest of the group. It was especially hard to see the other teams pulling away from us on the section of trail that I thought we would have a chance of really dominating.

The downhill was more or less the same. I knew we were going slow but it felt almost inevitable. When we reached the finish we found out just how much time we had lost. For my own mental health I won’t get into the specifics, but it was a lot. Even with the amount of time we have lost I am reassured by one thing: Peter’s shin is holding up. Stress fractures suck, I know from experience (you don’t get nicknamed “Mr. Glass” for nothing). So, just the fact that Peter is able to run 3 hard days in a row, with definite plans of 4 more days, in his first week back makes the lost time seem almost inconsequential.

Peter Maksimow
After the way I (Peter) felt at during the Pikes Peak Ascent on Saturday, which was comfortable and controlled, I had grand plans for how this not-so-long and gruelingly climb up Hope Pass would play out today. Alex and I both know that our strength lies in ascending, the longer and steeper, the better. Plans happen to be very different from reality, however, and reality struck today. The accumulation of almost 50 mile of running in a three day span (about what I have done in the previous 5 weeks combined) has taken a toll on my power output needed to grind uphill. On Saturday, I was well rested. Ask me how well rested I am today and I would probably laugh. No, better yet, I might not have the strength to muster up a laugh. The positive is that I was able to get going again on the flat section and feel relatively intact after we did not pound our quads into oblivion on the downhill like the other teams seemed to do.

We have both began to really understand the layers and depth of what a stage race really is; from strategy to going easy when you want to move fast and pushing when your mind is telling you to slow down. It plays out like a big chess game. If you have ever become engrossed is a cycling race like Le Tour de France, you know that one little slip up could result in a lost yellow or polka dot jersey, that every stage is critical: you NEED to stay with this person, if that person is relaxing in the peleton, I need to as well. (side note: How did the Pro Cycling Challenge prolog go in Co Springs, today? We are in Leadville, we don’t get news here!). We are doing so much more plotting and strategizing than we anticipated and still think that we are doing the right thing by not destroying our legs on the second day so that we are struggling on the fifth day, however, the accumulation of the lead team times on us daunting. The most important thing is that the leg is holding up and the team that killed themselves on the downhill to get a gap on us is only 2 minutes and 39 seconds away from us. Tomorrow is a new day!