Slacker Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Georgetown, CO
Saturday, June 22
Half Marathon #86
Colorado Half #26
Weather - Sunny and warm

Back in February, I added the Slacker half marathon to my schedule. I had received a Zozi offer (think Groupon) and it cost only $25! L had run this race before, while I was racing in Russia two years ago. A few things I didn't consider when I signed up for this.

• How sore I was going to be after running Bighorn 50k the week before. I did NOTHING for three days, and then ran a slow and painful 3.5ish miles on Wednesday.
• STILL having IT band issues.
• L saying that even though it is deemed as a "slacker" downhill race, it is NOT and that she was the most sore she'd ever been after running it. Great.

Alarm was set for 4:38 am, although I woke up before that and couldn't get back to sleep. Annoying. I took the time to tape  my knee again (hoping for miracles again), as well as my ankle. Remember when I said I had rolled my ankle during Bighorn? I didn't realize how sore it was until I tried to run on Wednesday. Ouchie.

We left the house at 5:15 and drove to meet Hope so she could ride up with us. Pick up at Lake Georgetown was easy and the view was beautiful.

We cycled through the bathroom lines before getting on the bus that would take us up the road to the starting area at the Loveland ski area.

I was really happy that I had remembered to wear a throwaway sweater, it was in the 40's at the start. Poor Hope was freezing because she hadn't brought one. We had about an hour until the race started, so all we did was cycle through the bathroom lines over and over.

Due to the long lines (and possibly shuttle issues), the race started about 15 minutes late. Annoying, as I know how hot it gets once the sun comes up.

View from the start

No real goals for this race, except of course to not die and to finish. Secret goal of sub 2:30, but it was all going to depend on how my body felt about running another race so soon after Bighorn.

We lined up somewhere around the middle and getting onto the dirt path was a complete cluster. Very crowded! There were some tiny water crossings that we had to cross, and then we got  onto a nice bike path. I was hoping to not have to walk this course and just take things easy. We made it to the first aid station (which was NOT all downhill, there were a few uphills mixed in there) and it just had water.

I made it until somewhere after mile 3 or 4 before I had to take my first walk break. Nothing really HURT, I was just really fatigued and everything below the waist just sort of felt tight and crampy. Saw this pretty tiny waterfall off the side of the course somewhere after mile 4:

We had the luxury of being on the nice, shaded bike path until the first relay exchange which was at mile 5.75. Then we got routed onto the frontage road for I-70. Arguably, that is where the race got pretty tough for me. We lost all the shade that we had and then there was a nice uphill until we got to the next aid station at mile 6.

I don't remember much of the course between miles 6 and 11. The trees were all very green and it was pretty, it was just really hot and I wasn't running nearly as well as I had hoped I would be.

We ran past the Georgetown railroad station and then noticed that we were suddenly up WAY higher than the river. How did that happen? It was right next to us at the start...

We had some really nice downhill until we hit about mile 12. Then we had to exit off the "highway" and run through historic Georgetown to get to the finish. It was a dirt road, it was hot and it was no longer downhill. All hopes of 2:30 down the drain as Hope and I walked probably a half mile until right before we could see the finish:

I think I'm yelling - "we can totally take that chick!"

 

Official Time - 2:33:56

Overall Place - 951/1335

Gender Place - 586/894

Division Place - 110/153

Mile 1 - 11:46

Mile 2 - 10:48

Mile 3 - 11:36

Mile 4 - 11:29

Mile 5 - 11:06

Mile 6 - 10:44

Mile 7 - 12:22

Mile 8 - 11:06

Mile 9 - 11:29

Mile 10 - 11:49

Mile 11 -  11:32

Mile 12 - 10:26

Mile 13 - 10:41

Mile 13.42 - 6:45 (yeah, walking pace...)

L had obviously been done for a while, so once again, we got our awesome finish line pictures! We got some Popsicles and then wandered around looking for the place we got our medals (they give them to you with your shirt and swag at the finish?) 

I slammed part of a beer and then we made sure to get our finisher picture:

INKnBURN Sugar Skull top, Lululemon pace setter skirt, Brooks pure flows (I KNOW).

 It was about a 1.5 mile walk to back where our car was (or you could take a shuttle, but we didn't want to wait).

Thoughts:

• Don't be fooled into thinking this is an "easy" race, although FOR ME, this did NOT feel as hard as the Georgetown to Idaho Springs race (same concept of running along I-70, but two different starting areas). Two days later and my legs are NOT sore, so I likely didn't really give this my all.
• I wore my Brooks Pure Flows for the first time on a run in AGES. I know, risky business. I remembered to swap out my insoles for the custom ones I have and they felt fine.
• Thank goodness for running with Hope! I had forgotten my iPod, so it was nice to have someone's ear to chat off. I have now run enough races sans music that it isn't nearly as big a deal as it used to be, although when I'm alone it can help make those difficult miles more bearable.
• Aid stations were about every 2 miles, although after mile 8 there was one at mile 9, mile 11, and then a surprise one around mile 12.5. Stopped at EVERY SINGLE ONE and walked longer than I normally do.
• The first 2 aid stations did not have Gatorade, so plan accordingly.
• Be sure to bring warmer clothes for the start, it was in the 40's. They do have a bag drop, but I knew once I got done I would not need the warmer clothes, so the throwaway option was better for me.
• Swag at the end, so know that in advance because there was no one TELLING us that at the end. Long sleeve shirt (unisex size - even the smallest size is huge on me). Fun neon green color this year.
• Liked the medal - having seen the ones from years past, they really improved on this.
• They had nice beer at the finish (wish I could remember which brew, but I can't), as well as soda and hot dogs.
• I likely would not run this one again, unless I got a super sweet deal again to make it super cheap.
• Not specifically race related, but now that I am winding down on  my planned races for the summer, I really plan on working on (hopefully) getting some strength and endurance back and HOPEFULLY I can pick back up some of my speed I have lost over the last few years. I would love to get back to running a solid 2:10-2:15 race again.