Tales From the Trails :: The Gore-Tex TransRockies Blog

Thomas Miller is a long time Ironman competitor who decided a while back toexpand his suffering way beyond just swim, bike and run. He decided to givethe world of long distance trail running a try. What the heck was the guythinking? For the following week he’ll be keeping a blog for us on his andhis teammates experiences during the six day, 125 mile 2nd Annual Gore-TexTransrockies Run in Colorado.

Thursday, August 28

Please excuse me while I gloat. I promise to keep it short. Today, for the first time in my entire life I made it up onto the podium. Whoo Hoo!!!!. Thanks to the amazing support and unyielding encouragement from my good friend and amazing teammate Mark Kaufman we grabbed third place in the mens 80 Plus category. What made it even sweeter was we did it on one of the toughest stages of this years Gore-Tex TransRockies Run. Thank you MK, you are the rock.

The day began under crystal clear blue skies and our coldest morning so far. It was the first morning we actually had frost on the ground and on the tents . A rough way to begin a day that would take us up over 11,500 feet in five miles. With the sun shining on us at the start we began our journey up the 3000 foot ascent to the summit where we were greeted with some of the most stunning views I have ever had the privilege to witness. On one side we had views of Mount Holly cross and to the other direction we had views of Vail Mountain where we will end our fifth day of racing on Friday. After we crested the summit we began another blazing extremely technical descent to the small and charming town of Red Cliff. With three miles to go to the finish we not only had four knee creek crossings in a row we actually had to run in ankle deep flowing water for about 1/4 of a mile. The water was so cold that by the time we had completed the fourth and final crossing we could not feel our feet for about a mile. It felt like we were running on pegs.

The climb was brutal and pitched up to 45 degrees in places so it was a slow relentless grind that was quickly replaced by the rooted and rocky steep descent. The quads were so engorged with blood by the time we reached the peak that every foot strike going down was shear agony. I have never been so happy to be finished with a run in my life. The sweet reward waiting for us was our third place finish and a trip to the podium where we earned some serious Timex swag. It was a great day.

And then there is stage five tomorrow. We begin at Red Cliff and will run for 23 miles to the finish at the base of the world famous Vail Mountain. The total gain for the day will be over 4000 feet and we will top out at about 11,700. The profile looks much like todays stage with an additional nine miles to get us that much closer to our Saturday finish in Beaver Creek. As the days go by you can begin to see the signs of four days of racing at high elevation and many hard miles take it's tole on the field. We have been above 9000 feet now for days and so the bodies ability to recover and rebuild is drastically diminished. So not only are we beating our bodies up pretty good with the miles and the climbing we are also tearing ourselves down due to essentially living above 9000 feet for four days. Beaver Creek here we come.

See you after stage five...........

Wednesday, August 27

Suffer Fest...... Todays entry is dedicated to Bryan Diekmann, MS.ed, A.T.C of the world renowned Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Vail Colorado.

Steadman Hawkins is on sight providing medical support to all the athletes for the entire week again this year. The one little piece I left out of yesterdays blog (partly due to pride and also because I was in total denial) is the fact that I took a good tumble in stage two while on that steep descent I was describing. The end result was a severe ankle sprain and some good old road rash to go along with it. It appeared that my race was over as my ankle swelled to the size of a grapefruit with some interesting shades of blue and magenta. Fortunately for me my new best friend (sorry Monica) Bryan, Athletic trainer of the highest caliber came to my rescue.

After the finish of stage two Bryan provided amazing care and was there bright and early before stage three to give me the tape job of the pros to get me to the start line. Did I mention he works on the US Ski Team, the Colorado Rockies and Avalanche? Yeah, he is the real deal. The amazing thing was that he told me I would be in pain until the end of mile two and then I would be almost pain free for the rest of the 22 miles I would be running. And that was exactly what happened. A little intervention from my good friend Advil helped as well.

So you are probably wondering why the suffer fest if there was no ankle pain? Well, that was the frustrating part of the days run. The cumulative effect of the first two days of racing above my ability level finally hit me like a Louisville Slugger across my quads. They were hammered and hurt from mile seven all the way to mile twenty four. It was torture and all I could do was be thankful that I was able to run at all due to the nature of the injury to my ankle. Ok, enough of that.

For the athletes who properly managed the first two days stages, today was an enjoyable run. We did have our longest day so far with some serious climbing early on after leaving Leadville but then it rolled most of the way to the finish at Camp Hale with the last ten being a combination of a seven mile descent into some flats for the last three. It all felt like it was uphill to me. The finish at Camp Hale was just beautiful with the warm summer sun shinning, bright green meadows and views for miles. The night was so pleasant that we were able to hold the evenings festivities under the stars as the sun was setting casting hues of pink across the skies. Each night after dinner we have an awards ceremony where the days stage winners in each category are swagged out with amazing product from our sponsors and presented with certificates worthy of framing. We then bring the GC leaders back up and they are presented with leaders jerseys that they wear for the next days stage. Following the awards presentation there is a photos and video of the day presentation as well. It is a great way to see all your fellow competitors doing their thing captured on film.

On tap for tomorrow is another short and and steep day. We will be running for 14 miles and will climb up to about 11,700 with a total of 3000 feet of elevation gain. The profile looks much like day two where we basically went straight up for the first half of the stage and straight down for the second half. Just 4 miles longer. That profile boded well for Mark and my strengths and will hopefully be the same tomorrow. We shall see. We are now right in the middle of the race and we still have some heavy lifting ahead of us. Each day we get ever closer to the race finish in Beaver Creek and the rocking finale nights celebration. Last years was wild to say the least. There will be much to celebrate.

Tuesday, August 26

Peeps from the Steeps....... We were greeted once again this morning with clear blue skies and crisp morning rocky mountain air. The energy at the start was electric as we all knew we were heading for some serious climbing and within the first 20 minutes of the start of stage two we were a climbing. There was no gentle approach to todays very steep and extremely technical ascent. It shot straight up towards the clouds and we did not hit the first switchback for two miles. The air got thin and sparse quickly and the breathing became labored even quicker. Most of the field settled into a power hike mode with the exception of the race leaders who amazingly ran the entire route. Those guys are machines. The finishing time was a smoking 1:30. I know that does not seem fast for the 10 miles we had to tackle today but keep in mind we went up to 12,600 and had 5000 feet of elevation gain compressed into 3 miles. Air Please.......

My teammate and I had a great day and came within four minutes of making it onto the podium in our division. We are racing as team "Under The Radar" in the mens 80 plus category. The 80 plus division is comprised of two person teams with a combined age of over 80, AKA the FOG's. The frustrating thing is the the old guys are not getting any slower. What's up that? I know endurance athletes don't peak until their late 30's but these guys are in their 40's and 50's and are showing no signs of slowing down. Neat!!! Never the less Mark and I had a very strong day and managed our effort up the ascent very strategically leaving a fair bit in the tank for the equally steep and even more technical descent in the scenic Twin Lakes region. We are now only four minutes behind the third place team in our category and 20 minutes behind the division leaders.

Stage three will be our first stage were we will jump up in mileage to over the 20 mile mark and after an 8:00 a.m. Main street start we will finish at the famous Camp Hale where the tenth mountain division trained for major mountain warfare starting in 1942. The total mileage for the stage is 24 and we will climb once again to over 11,500 feet with a mixture of steep climbs and more gradual descents than todays stage. After the quad crushing flying descent of todays stage there will be some interesting changes in peoples gaits and pace as we approach the middle of our six day adventure. With a six day stage race there is a lot of course management that goes into determining when to push and when to hold back. Today was about holding back on the climb and then letting it out on the way down. The downhill was awesome. We flew.

The views from todays stage were breathtaking and it wasn't like we had any extra breaths to be taken. The views were so dramatic that I can't even describe them so since it is said that a picture is worth 1000 words here are a few pics from 11,500. Enjoy.  

 

Monday, August 25

So forget everything I said in yesterdays pre race entry about the easy first stage and gently easing us all into what is to follow for the rest of this years Gore-Tex TransRockies run as it turned out to be anything but, at least for me and many other competitors. It was the 13 miles with minimal elevation gain as was promised but what caught many of us off guard was the heat. With a 10:00 a.m. start and the sun already shining brightly upon us for the entire stage we raced in 80 plus degree heat. The SaltStick electrolyte capsules were flying out of the control station at mile 6 providing much needed relief from the heat. Add to that a much quicker pace due to the flat and short profile of stage ones route and their were some pained looks on some of the more seasoned veterans of the sport at the finish line. Later in the day the talk around the campfire that Salomon hosted was OUCH, that was tougher than expected.

I can echo that sentiment as the blistering pace my teammate and I started with made for much more of a challenge than I had hoped for. The saving grace was that the scenery was spectacular. We spent most of the stage paralleling the Arkansas river with huge massive fourteeners looming in the distance. It was a welcome relief from the pain of the pace to take in the views that were ever present throughout stage one that took  us from Buena Vista to Vicksburg.

As part of TransRockies commitment to constant improvement they polled the participants from last years race and there was an overwhelming cry for more vert and more single track and TRR was more than happy to oblige. In fact, they are wasting no time in delivering on their promise.

So I give you stage two. A gnarly 10 miler that will take us up close to 13,000 feet with a total of 5000 feet of elevation gain within 3 miles. Can you say steep.13,000 feet, isn't that for mountain climbing? Certainly not for trail running let alone trail racing, I thought. But no, leave it to the good people at TransRockies to take us through some of the most epic terrain the rockies have to offer. We begin at Vicksburg, an old silver mining town rumored to be inhabited with ghosts and we finish at the scenic Twin Lakes.  We will have a steep and technical ascent to just below 13,000 feet and then a swift drop down to the finish with one major river crossing. And not a straight across the river crossing as that would to easy for this event. We will actually be running down the river for a ways before we are able to forge the crossing. After the days finish we will then be shuttled to Leadville, the highest incorporated city in Colorado at 10,430. WOW and that is only day two.

Ok, I'm getting tired just thinking about tomorrows stage. See you in Leadville.

 

Sunday, August 24

KABOOM!!! Thunder so powerful it rocked the Buena Vista Community Center where the opening ceremonies for the second annual Gore-Tex TransRockies Run were taking place. After a beautiful late summer sunny Colorado day we rapped up registration in a deluge with a lighting show to round out the rocky mountain drama. There are about 150 of us athletes getting ready to take on the six day 112 mile rugged and rural terrain that will take us from Buena Vista to Beaver Creek Colorado. We have an international field with 11 countries represented as well as many us racers from all over the country.

We hit the trail tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. with a light day to get us acclimated to what lies ahead. Our route on day one is an easy 13 miles with little elevation gain. Just the perfect day to get our montain legs under us and trust me when I say the course only gets longer and steeper from there. This years route will take us on a northerly trek with much more single track and a significant increase in elevation gain from last years race. Great!!!! Yes, this would be my second year with this challenging yet oh so rewarding endeavor.

Last years race was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and one that I would put right up there with finishing Ironman Hawaii. Now that I think about it the only experience that tops it was meeting my best friend and wife Monica. The only thing that would make this week more complete would be if she were here running with me as my partner. Next year???? That said I'm here with a very good friend and someone who I know will push me both physically and mentally throughout the week. Mark Kaufman hailing from  the great Wolverine state of Michigan is my teammate for this years event. The folks at TransRockies designed the race as a two person team event mostly for safety reasons and at the same time it allows for some great camaraderie. Mark and I are ready to ROCK!!!! Thats it for now. I will catch you all after day one.

Stay tuned for more "Tails From the Trails." Whoo Hoo, bring it on TransRockies.

Click Here for an in depth look at the Gor-Tex Transrockies run.