Platte River Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Littleton, CO
Sunday, April 15
Half Marathon #58
Colorado Half #10
Platte River Half #2
Weather - Chilly, overcast, gloomy and WINDY

I ran the Platte River half marathon last year, and registered as soon as it was open this year. It is inexpensive, close(ish), and "not bad" in terms of course for Colorado. Of course, the weather can be iffy in April. Up until a few days before the race, the Facebook page for the race was discussing cancellation because of snow. (Not that I ever thought it would get cancelled, this is Colorado for crying out loud). Lisa and Kim were coming out for the race and were unimpressed with the forecast. Sorry :(

They both arrived Saturday afternoon and hit up the expo. I did not. I had planned on just picking up my packet race day since Littleton isn't exactly right around the corner. Apparently L's boyfriend got bored and picked up mine for me anyway. Thanks!

Our plans to meet up were for an early dinner at Chili's. We were supposed to meet up at 5:00, but between getting lost and the rain, we were late. Luckily my bloggy friends are understanding. Dinner was delicious, and of course the company was fantastic. We also met up with Lisa's friend and fellow blogger, Kate, who is SUPER nice.

Cajun Pasta

Kate, Lisa, L, (Hannah), Me, Kim

Lisa, Kate, Kim, Me, L, A & H

Lisa headed back up to our place for the night. We stayed up until 9ish, and then we headed to bed. Oh yeah, we are total party animals. With the race not starting until 9:00, we were even going to be able to sleep in. Forecast NOT looking so great... check out those wind speeds!

Race Day


So the weather wasn't looking that great when I got up. It wasn't raining or snowing, and it wasn't windy yet... I still planned on wearing a shirt instead of a tank, with arm sleeves and gloves. I remember it being cold and windy last year and didn't want to be cold. I'll be honest, I was *almost* nervous for this race. Only because my training has really been suffering the last few weeks, and I just wasn't sure I had it in me.

We leave the house around 7:35. Only to get a few miles from the house when Lisa realized she had forgotten to put her timing chip on. Ooops... drove back to the house, grabbed it, and on our way. We were able to get a parking spot just a few blocks from the start. We had packed a drop bag in anticipation of moisture and cooler temps. 30 minutes before the start and there were no lines for the bathroom. The sun was out and it *seemed* to be warm, so we dropped our bags early. That left plenty of time for goofy pictures.

I don't even know what's happening here

Giants v. Midget

You can't tell, but I'm actually wearing the Baltimore half marathon shirt. I've never worn a race shirt in a half!

With all our screwing around, we forgot to line up. We ran over to the start right after the gun went off. I think we ended up feeding in right where we wanted to, at the back of wave 2. I was feeling decent, but really wanted to start out slow and hopefully avoid those pesky leg cramps I've been having again. Kim and S passed me almost immediately. I did get a shot of her somewhere around 3/4 mile in. Look how sunny it is!

At about 1.25 miles in, I was already feeling warm. I tossed my gloves and was wondering if I had overdressed. Ruth caught up with me (I had forgotten to text her at the beginning, but it is funny how we always find each other). We ran together for a little over a mile. I remembered the merge from the road to the trail and how SUPER narrow it is. We had to walk a bit because it was too congested to run. I lost Ruth at the first aid station around mile 2.4 - the awesome RUNNER'S ROOST station. I walk a bit longer than she does and I didn't want to chase her down.

I was still feeling good, and it was still feeling warm out. Went under a bridge around mile 3, and the wind picked up. It never stopped, it just intensified as the race went on. I think the course is pretty boring, and since I'd run it before there wasn't too much to look at. I did take this one picture at the mile 4 aid station:

See the dark clouds rolling in?

I caught up to Kim and S right after the aid station. I had apparently just missed an awesome picture opportunity. Darn. We ran close together for a few miles, and then somewhere around mile 5 or 6, I gradually eased in front of them. I was feeling good and pushed a bit. I expected them to catch me at one of the next aid stations, but they never did.

I had been chasing a woman in the heartstooth running skirt because she was keeping a pretty steady pace. Somewhere around the halfway point, I passed her, and she never caught up either. Mile 8 is when the race got tough for me. My legs were feeling ok, lungs feeling ok, but I was cold, the wind was awful, and my ankle was hurting. I had taped it before the race, but it still felt tender. I didn't want to be out there any longer than necessary, so I kept on going.

I looked down at my watch every so often and I was usually between 9:30 and 10:00 pace, which I was SUPER pleased with. Mile 11 came and so did the tiny raindrops. Luckily it didn't turn into anything more than that, although I think it was about then that the wind got WAY worse. Mile 12.2 is roughly when the only substantial hill is, and I remembered it from last year, and managed to run the whole thing, AND pass people in the process. I was super happy to see the finish line, and pushed as much as I could. All I wanted was my jacket and sweatpants!

Unlike last year, we got a medal! Woo hoo! I ran into L almost immediately, and she wasn't sure what had happened to Kate, Lisa, and the drop bag we were sharing. Sad panda. I knew Kim hadn't passed me, so I doubled back to the chute and managed to get a couple pictures of her and S finishing:

We did not stick around for food, but we grabbed some fruit strips and vitamin water and jumped on the light rail:

LIGHT RAIL!!

S has an insanely good sense of direction, and even though we are from Colorado, and he is not, he managed to get us to the right stop. He rocks.

Too cold for a picture in actual running outfits

I had a pretty decent race, and I felt a little badly that Lisa and Kim had to race in such yucko weather. Kim even said she will never come back to Colorado. Sad face.

Bib #2727

Official Time - 2:10:23

Overall Place - 1326/2409

Gender Place - 615/1421

Division Place - 127/273

Garmin Time - 2:10:24

Garmin Distance - 13.15 miles

Garmin Pace - 9:55

Mile 1 - 9:36

Mile 2 - 10:10

Mile 3 - 9:46

Mile 4 - 9:38

Mile 5 - 9:54

Mile 6 - 9:29

Mile 7 - 10:15

Mile 8 - 9:41

Mile 9 - 10:12

Mile 10 - 9:38

Mile 11 - 10:23

Mile 12 - 10:00

Mile 13 - 10:27

Mile 13.1 - 8:15

By the time we got to the car and drove home, it was already 1:00. Even with super fast showers, we weren't out the door to get lunch until after 1:30. Obviously, as seems to be our luck, we had the worst service ever, and it was almost 3:00 before we got our food. It helped a bit that it was one of the best burgers ever:

Our last adventure was to meet up again downtown at the Wynkoop Brewery. We also had some pretty awful service. However, I got to hang out with some awesome people, had a super tasty Chili beer, and A got to fist bump a gorilla:

I just love my bloggy friends, and a weekend visiting with them is always a blast. Excited I get to see Lisa in just a few weeks when we travel to Nashville for the Country Music half marathon!

(Also, pretty much all these pictures shamelessly stolen from Kim and Lisa. I was SUPER lazy with the camera this race).