Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Saturday, August 11
Idaho Springs, CO
Half Marathon #66
Colorado Half #13
GTIS Half #3
Weather - Mostly overcast, Nice

This will be a fairly short recap, as this will have been the third time I had run the Georgetown to Idaho Springs half marathon. Thanks to my recaps from previous years, I knew exactly how early to get up, when to leave, where to park, and how much "stuff" to have with me at the start.

Our friend Ruth decided to join as at the last minute, so the only unknown was how long race day registration would take. Answer - not long AND we were able to use indoor bathrooms we didn't previously know existed. The line for the bus was long, but as in previous years, moved quick. We were up at the start line probably about an hour before the race. We cycled through the bathroom lines a few times, and I had to still get my socks and skirt on. Dropped my bag maybe 15 minutes before the start.

Start line

L and Me

I didn't take any pictures of the course at all. I've run it a few times, so I honestly didn't even think about it. Check out my recaps from 2010 and 2011 if you want to see course pictures. Anyway, we lined up with the 2:15 pace group, and headed out. I was REALLY hoping to NOT have the calf tightening that I have been having lately. It's been BAD. So we started out slow, and my main goal was to not have to walk.

The start is super crowded, and the 2 miles through Georgetown are also packed. Didn't have to walk at all during that section - improvement over last year.

I wasn't looking forward to the downhills (unfortunate, since there is a LOT of downhill in this course) because my knee has been whack the last few weeks - pretty much since mile 19 of the San Francisco marathon. Three miles in and we were "cruising" and I was feeling pretty good.

We really lucked out that it was overcast - the last few years were pretty hot with the sun beating down. Ruth left us somewhere around mile 3 and we maintained a pretty good pace. Honestly, this part of the race was uneventful.

Maybe around mile 6 I started feeling tired. No wonder, I really haven't been running that much over the last few weeks, and certainly not 6 miles without a bunch of breaks to walk/stretch thanks to my stupid calves.

Nothing of any interest happened the next few miles. We caught up to Ruth at mile 9 while she was waiting for a port-a-potty. I mentioned to L that my knee was starting to twinge a bit and if it got worse I might have to take some breaks. Made it to about mile 10.3 before I got some shooting pain up and down my leg, originating from stupid knee. The last three miles were essentially run for .3-.4 miles, then walk for a minute. SO FRUSTRATING. Ruth hung out with us until about mile 12, then she took off for the finish line. L still stayed with me.

We were running down Colorado Blvd (aka, the longest chute EVER) and the 2:20 pace group was just ahead of us. Man. I really really really wanted to get in front of them. We sprinted and literally crossed JUST IN FRONT OF THEM. So out of three years, this was my worst finish yet. 2:11ish in 2010, and 2:16ish last year. I am really tired of not feeling good running :( But - my sprint sorta rocked:

Bib #3198
Offical 10K - 1:04:04
Official Time - 2:20:09
Overall Place - 1821/2559
Division Place - 186/270
Garmin Time - 2:20:12
Garmin Distance - 13.12 miles
Garmin Pace - 10:41
Mile 1 - 10:36
Mile 2 - 10:49
Mile 3 - 10:08
Mile 4 - 10:15
Mile 5 - 10:23
Mile 6 - 10:32
Mile 7 - 10:07
Mile 8 - 10:24
Mile 9 - 10:44
Mile 10 - 10:56
Mile 11 - 11:21
Mile 12 - 11:42
Mile 13 - 11:14
Mile 13.1 - 8:12

Medal is shaped like a bowl!

We had seen the kids right before the finish line, and they met us right after we got our (optional) medals. I am happy to have spent the $10 for this medal - I think it is pretty unique. My Dad got this picture of us before we wandered through the finisher area to get all our free stuff:

H, L, A, Me, Ruth

I'll likely run this again next year, and I'm down to only one real complaint, and it is the same as last year. The 3 oz cups are too tiny for aid stations. In order to get any reasonable amount of fluid they are overfilled and I end up with liquid all over me. Although, they did better having lots of water at the finish line, but again, the tiny cups don't make sense.