Imogene Pass Run

Back in June I had a couple ladies convince me that we need to run a race in Telluride, CO called the Imogene Pass Run (IPR). It looked so hard, but I felt up for a challenge and was excited to have something to keep me motivated during the summer. It might sound weird, but I like running during the wintertime so much more than summer! That might be the sunny Flagstaff winters talking, but it's true!

My training consisted of three or four short runs during the week (3-5 miles) and a long run on saturday that usually had a considerable amount of elevation gain  Flagstaff was the perfect place to train since IPR would be climbing 5,600 feet to summit at 13,114 feet above sea level!  

Training turned out to be super enjoyable. I was able to discover new places in Flag that I had completely neglected since moving here, and thankfully I had my trusty border collie Dessa so I always felt safe.  One of my favorite places to run was the Elden Lookout Road. I even passed Rob Krar on the trail once and he told me I was, "looking good." Talk about a confidence booster! 

After much training the race weekend finally came. Huge shoutout to my mom and sister who came down to watch Wren. Wren was in heaven with them! Imogene is notorious for bad weather so we packed every piece of running gear I own. We made the 6 hour drive, set up camp, and headed to Ouray to pick up my packet and grab some dinner.  During dinner we met a guy named Ryan. Him and I had similar goal times so we wished each other luck and hoped to see each other out on the trail! 

Layne drove me to the bus the next morning, and the first person I see is Ryan! I was so happy to have a bus buddy. The bus ride was about an hour long so we chatted about life. I was praying for a missionary opportunity but it never came! my bad! After the bus ride we stretched together and once again wished each other luck. Come to find out,.... he is really fast! I didn't end up seeing him again but I know he finished about 50 minutes before me! 

Because of the proliferation of variety races (i.e. Color Run, Halloween Run, Turkey Trot, Mud Run's, etc.) and local 5/10k's, the pre-race lineup has become less of a check on any competition and more of a party. This one was definitely the former. You don't sign up for IPR on a whim, and the crowd in Ouray that chilly morning reflected that. I've never been more intimidated by such a strong group of athletes, nor have I felt such elation at the thought that I was one of them! One thing for sure, despite the competitive spirit toeing the line, we knew we were all in it together.

 

Once the gun went off I was surprised by how easy the first four miles were. It was a little up and then a little down. Everyone was keeping a good pace, and I was feeling strong... what was all the ruckus about ?! hahah....After mile four it really started to climb, but I pushed through and met some amazing people on the trail who kept me going.  

Most longer races have time limits on how long they can hold roads or intersections closed in order to keep runners safe, but IPR does things a bit differently by necessity. With the massive climb looming between miles 8 and 10, Mile 7.5 becomes the cutoff point and anyone wanting to complete the race with race support has to make it there in under 2:30:00 and I beat it by 40 minutes! There was no turning back now, and that gave me some mental ammo to fire away at my inner blerch the last couple miles. 

 

You can actually see the top of the pass at this point but you still have 2.5 miles to go and it is straight up..... and when I say straight, I mean straight. The next 2.5 miles were physically the hardest thing I have ever done. I called it the "Death March" No one talked, and no one stopped, no one was really "running". It was intense to say the least.  Hundreds of runner above me and hundreds below me all feeling the physical and mental struggle. I was so humbled and so inspired!

Once I reached the summit I shed a few small tears because I knew that Heavenly Father had helped me. I expressed my love and gratitude in a silent prayer, had some chicken broth (that stuff was golden) and headed down the other side. It was just as steep as the way up the other side, so it was more of a "controlled fall" than running, but hey I'll take credit for running it! This was the easy part, and I cruised those 7 miles right into Telluride. I was so happy to see Layne about 1/4 mile from the finish cheering me on. I could not have done it without him! He took care of Wren most Saturdays during my training and sacrificed his exercise for mine! 

This was one of those races that changes you. It challenge me to the point of almost giving up. I know Heavenly Father played a huge role in helping me to reach this goal!  It makes you realize what your body can do. It helped me to see a side of myself that has been missing ever since I had  baby. I feel like an athlete again. Like a runner. A week or so before IPR, Layne and I attended a Q&A with the aforementioned Rob Krar, now winner of three elite 100M races in the last three months and he talked about how what your mind goes through during a particularly grueling race. He calls it "The Cave", a dark place he goes to face suffering head on. Battling that out in particularly tough runs helps him with depression, and I got a glimpse of that ascending the San Juan Mountains. It's a place you can't just access any time you want to, it has to kind of be forced on you in a way that makes you decide whether or not you are going there or giving up. 

My answer that sunny Saturday morning was to reach way down into a part of me I don't recognize often enough and put one foot in front of the other.

some of the many switchbacks of the race .

Life has brought so many challenges the past couple years. So many of them were unforseeable, like how I would feel not contributing to the workplace. Like how I would react to the 634th time my kid woke up unexpectedly from a nap or at3am. Others I could kind of prepare for. Facing an unmoving, uncaring mountanside with 1,600 other loonies helped me understand why God lets "The Cave" exist. I needed to learn how to go freely into that place of suffering and pull myself out again, better for the journey. That may seem contradictory, but it was exactly what I needed to cope with life's twists and turns.
 

The little town of Ouray where the race started.

my support group.

crazy

near the summit!