Training On the Top of Pikes Peak

My running buddy, Debbie, and I drove down to the peak yesterday to run the top part of the peak as part of our training for the Ascent. We drove to the top (beautiful, by the way) and it was SUPER WINDY! On the way up, we were delayed a little by cars practicing for the Pikes Peak Auto Climb which was this weekend. Dan and Noah would have loved to see all the cool race cars if they were there too. Anyway, so we started at the top of the Barr Trail and ran/walked down just over 3 miles to the A-Frame, a shelter that is right at timberline. Once we got off the top of the peak, the wind died down and it was really a beautiful day; literally there was not a cloud in the sky when we started. The trail up that high has some sections that are really rocky/bouldery, so we didn't run as much as we probably could have. Going back up was a different story. There were plenty of sections that I should have run that I didn't because I was dying from the lack of oxygen. But I did manage to run some of it, and it was a really good workout. I didn't bring the camera because I didn't want to carry it, but I took some pics on my phone that I posted on facebook if you are interested. All in all, we did 6.5 miles 12,000 and 14,000 feet, and we had a great time!