Pikes Peak Marathon 2014

I had really been looking forward to this race ever since I registered back in March. This race fills up really fast so I was online, signing up, right when registration opened. I did the Ascent last year, and just fell in love with the race. I struggled with the altitude last year & had to get oxygen when I got to the top. This year, my goal was to spend as much time as possible in altitude so that wouldn't happen again. My Mom & I made this an opportunity to go away for the weekend, just the two of us, and stay in some cute little cottages in Manitou Springs, CO. We spent the weekend, getting some much needed Mother/Daughter time, laughing, eating, & shopping together.

When we got to the packet pickup, I started to get really nervous. Something about receiving the bib & wristband just gets the nerves going.

The night before the race, I tossed & turned. The next morning, my Mom was up at 5am getting ready to walk me down to the start line. I think she might have been more nervous than me! Making it to the starting line of this race was a pretty big deal for me because I had injured my hip after Colorado Marathon in May. I was unable to run at all for 2 months. I had only 7 weeks to prepare for the marathon. Standing at the start line brought some tears to my eyes. My Mom gave me a big hug & I was off!

I went out pretty fast, in the beginning, because I didn't want to get stuck in the back, once I got the base of the trail. This race is so fun because everyone talks to each other while running. I met so many cool people. When I got near the top, the really fast top runners started coming down, and all of us coming up had to move to the side to allow them to come down. The trail is very narrow at some points. One guy bumped right into me, forced me to fall, & knocked the wind out of me. He felt horrible so I just got up & kept going. My Garmin had just broken a couple weeks prior, so I had nothing to track my time or pace for the entire race, which I actually really liked. I got to the top & the clock read, 4:01:07. I had told my Mom that I would get to the top between 4-5 hours. Thank goodness she had gotten up there early, because I made it up quicker than I thought. My Mom was screaming, "Go Tara!" I gave her a hug & started running back down. Now, I was the one coming down & people were trying to move out of my way. One guy actually got mad at another guy for stopping to allow me down. Geese!

Downhill can actually be more challenging because of the fear of falling. A lot of people passed me at first. I fell once &I landed on my right knee & felt a sharp pain. My quad muscle also cramped up. But, I shook it off & kept running. That knee hurt the whole way down but I just put it out of my mind. After I got to Barr Camp, I started flying down & passing lots of people. Sometimes the mind can be a powerful thing & I had the ability to put the pain out of my head. I got into town & continued to pass people & the cheers from the town residents were so cool! I saw & heard my Mom screaming, "Go Tara!" I saw the clock & it read, 6:41:07. I was shocked! I didn't think I could complete this race in less than 7 hours, especially when I only had 7 weeks to train! I instantly put ice on my knee & jumped in the cold river for 10 minutes. I told one of the volunteers that this is my new favorite marathon. He said, "Are you being sarcastic?" I laughed and said, "No! I am serious! I can't wait to do Pikes Peak Marathon again next year!"

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